• Asset Threat: The Oxymoronic Realities of Black Women Leaders in Education
• The impact of personality on women academics’ perceived leadership effectiveness: The mediating role of motivation to lead
• Women and Leadership Identity Development: The Influence of Perceptions and the Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Education

• "Asset Threat-The Oxymoronic Realities of Black Women Leaders in Education"  Mia Settles-Tidwell, Ed.D, California State University, Sacramento
• "Equality for Women in U.S. Healthcare Leadership" Corey Adalikwu-Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
• Korean Women Leaders' Resistance" Yonjoo Cho, The University of Texas at Tyler
• "Leader Gender and Construal Elicitation- An Advantage for Executive Women" Rachael Goodwin, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University
• "Personal Qualities of Women in Leadership" Ashlee Leite, Cal State East Bay
• "Setting the tone- Workplace negotiations with female, male, and non-binary counterparts" Negin Toosi, Psychology, Cal State East Bay
• "The impact of personality on women academics’ perceived leadership effectiveness- The mediating role of motivation to lead" Jiaqi Chen, University of Southampton
• "The Misrepresented Black Woman- Examining the Impact of Gendered Racial Microaggressions" Kayla Parker, Claremont Graduate University
• "The Queen Bee And Firm Performance- Do Female CEO Awards Help Or Hurt" Chenli Yin, Xiamen University Malaysia
• "Women and Leadership Identity Development – The Influence of Perceptions and the Intersectionality" Aliya Khizer-Varela, California State University, Bakersfield

Cathy Sandeen, Ph.D., MBA is an educational leader who is committed to continuing Cal State East Bay’s momentum in students’ social mobility, social justice and sustainability. As a two-time alumna of the California State University, she feels fortunate to work in a system that emphasizes access and opportunity.

For more than 60 years, Cal State East Bay has provided access to higher education for a diverse student body and advancing regional engagement through its academic programs and leadership. More than 60 percent of Cal State East Bay’s student body are the first in their families to go to college, and the university is recognized nationally for its diversity and impact on social mobility. 

Prior to returning to her hometown in the East Bay, Sandeen was chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage from September 2018-December 2020, and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and UW-Extension for four years. Previously, as vice president for education attainment and innovation at the American Council on Education, she led ACE's nationwide effort to increase post-secondary educational attainment.

She also held leadership positions in the University of California system including at UCLA, Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

Sandeen earned a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Utah and a Master of Business Administration degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She was named an American Council on Education Fellow in 2010-11.

A prolific writer and speaker, Sandeen has published and presented widely on the issues surrounding educational innovation and nontraditional students.

Mindy is a highly effective communications coach, a speaker and leadership expert. She is passionate about helping professionals at every level be effective, influential communicators; and she is passionate about helping people reach their goals.

Whether you need a keynote speaker or a coach to be an influential speaker yourself, or need focus on getting to your next benchmarks, Mindy brings over 30 years of training and experience to the conversation.

She speaks at women-focused conferences, retreats, and professional organizations, as well as being a TedX speaker. She is an ambassador, volunteer, and communicator for organizations bringing hope and healing to the most marginalized in society.

Dr. Shubha Kashinath believes that the foremost professional priority is to improve the effectiveness of clinical practice to better meet the needs of individuals with communication impairments. She believes in doing so by advancing scientific knowledge of the profession as well as developing “real-world” interventions that bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. It is in this niche that her professional interests are grounded. Dr. Kashinath teaches coursework in autism, language development and disorders, research methods, counseling, and early intervention.

As director of the CSD Early Social Communication Research Clinic, Dr. Kashinath leads undergraduate and graduate students in research, outreach, and training activities related to autism, family centered intervention and collaborative and consultative practices. She also leads the Conversation Club-a social skills group intervention program that is focused on social communication skills for adults with autism enrolled in the College Link Program at CSU East Bay.

Paulette is an engineering Program Manager at Googler and she studies privately at San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Susanne Mentzer.

Her specialties include Computer Science, Diversity & Inclusion, Strategic Planning, Branding and Identity, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Database Architecture & Management, and Professional Development & Leadership.

This past season she delivered her keynote "The Limit Does Not Exist" internationally, sang at Opera San Jose as Cantore in La Rondine, performed the National Anthem at a SF Giants Game and was a vocalist on "Kirtan Lounge: Precious Jewels," which was nominated for 6 Grammys, including best foreign Language Album.
Paulette enjoys fashion design, studied Boulengerie at Le Cordon Bleu, is an avid fan of Jane Austen and she volunteers as an advocate to help youth navigate the foster system.

Becky Barton
CEO People415
Maximizer, Includer,  Analytical, Harmony ,Arranger
Becky is a native of Omaha, NE, and currently lives in San Francisco. She is fluent in Spanish,
and at 16 years old, self-funded a trip to Ecuador to teach children how to brush their teeth and
the community how to build latrines. Her HR background includes staffing, recruiting, and
organizational development, and she is recognized as a thought leader on optimizing
performance for start-ups and companies on the move and aligning talent with strategy. She
started her HR career in 1997 in staffing and has since led HR Strategy in non-profit, start-up,
professional services, and creative agency organizations. Outside of work, Becky’s time is a
flurry of kid-centric activities (including Denver the guinea pig), sports, outdoor exploring, time
with her two boys, and catching up with friends. (BA, Spanish; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
in the Workplace certification)

Danielle is currently a Senior Manager at Meta focusing on Operations in the platform integrity space. Prior to joining Meta, she was a Senior Manager at Instacart where she had the opportunity to lead her teams through the pandemic, including the evolution from working in-office to working remotely.

Danielle is a CSUEB Alumni (MBA ’19) and was a student in the first Women in Leadership course offered at CSUEB. She’s passionate about taking a human-first approach at people management, being the change that she wants to see in leadership, and empowering women in the workplace.

Valerie is a consultant with the North Highland Company. She has over 15 years of experience in financial services, operations, professional services, and non-profit leadership. Specific areas of expertise include: project management, business case development, merger and integration activity, Human Resources service design and delivery, contact center strategy, compliance, and technology.

North Highland is a global consulting firm that has changed the model of how a consultancy serves its clients. We hire only experienced consultants who live and work where our clients live and work, leveraging our global network of service area expertise. We also guarantee our work. As a result, we achieve exceptional results for some of the most recognizable names in the world.