2025 New Board Institute Class

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shawn Taylor Kaminski, skaminski@directwomen.org, 708-244-9006 or Sheri Singer, sheri@singercomm.com, 703-346-7111

New DirectWomen’s 2025 Board Institute Class Announced

Board Institute Positions Women Lawyers to Serve on Corporate Boards

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NEW YORK (February 21, 2025) — Women lawyers have a unique blend of legal knowledge and business skills, which makes them effective independent corporate directors. To this end, DirectWomen has announced its NEW 2025 Board Institute Class. DirectWomen’s annual Board Institute program is designed to position board-ready women lawyers to serve on corporate boards of directors. Identified through a rigorous search and selection process, these women hail from preeminent public and private companies, law firms, and academia.

“We are delighted to welcome this new class to our Board Institute,” said Shawn Taylor Kaminski, Executive Director of DirectWomen. “We are proud of our 286 Board Institute alumnae who have held more than 208 corporate board seats since DirectWomen’s inception in 2007.”

Empirical studies* specifically indicate that lawyer-directors’ professional judgment, knowledge of corporate governance, legal expertise, and familiarity with regulation and risk management greatly improve the value and operation of the company.

“This class of highly qualified board-ready women lawyers are business executives and strategic thought leaders,” said Lily Yan Hughes, Chair, DirectWomen Board of Directors. “They represent a wide range of industries and experiences and will make excellent independent corporate directors.”

Over the course of the program, the new Board Institute class will meet with a faculty of CEOs, Csuite and search firm executives, and directors of public companies. The Board Institute faculty will discuss relevant and challenging issues facing corporate directors today and strategies for acquiring a board seat.

DirectWomen’s Board Institute is chaired by Professor Hillary A. Sale, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Leadership and Corporate Governance and Professor of Management, Georgetown University; Director, Cboe U.S. Securities Exchanges, Cboe Futures Exchange, Cboe SEF, and Legg Mason Closed End Funds; Advisory Board Member, Foundation Press.

Members of the 2025 DirectWomen Board Institute class include:

Christine J. Chao
General Counsel and Interim CEO, Foremost Group
New York, NY

Samantha Hale Cripsin
Firmwide Corporate Department Chair and Partner, Baker Botts L.L.P.
Dallas, TX

Angelica Espinosa
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal, Compliance and Corporate Affairs Officer, Portland General
Electric
Portland, OR

Jessica A. Garascia
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer, and Secretary, AAR CORP.
Chicago, IL

Kendall Handler
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary, IAC, Inc.
New York, NY

Christie (Chris) Hill
Former Chief Legal Officer, Aristocrat Leisure Limited
Las Vegas, NV

Tanya M. Jaeger de Foras
Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer, Ingredion Incorporated
Westchester, IL

Jennifer A. Johnson
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, International Flavors and Fragrances
New York, NY

Natasha G. Kohne
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
San Francisco, CA and Abu Dhabi, UAE

Meredith M. Lackey
Chief Compliance Officer, Southern Company
Atlanta, GA

Kimberly Banks MacKay
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, West Pharmaceutical Services,
Inc.
Exton, PA

Gwyn Goodson McNeal
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, Extra Space Storage Inc.
Salt Lake City, UT

Karna Nisewaner
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
San Jose, CA

Amy L. Perry
Former Executive Vice President of Strategic Development and General Counsel, NuStar Energy L.P.
San Antonio, TX

Z. Scott
President, Chicago State University
Chicago, IL

Wanji J. Walcott
Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer, Pinterest
Chicago, IL

Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative and Legal Officer, Board Secretary, CECO Environmental
Corp.
Chicago, IL and Dallas, TX

*Links to studies include:
https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2276&context=facpub
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3537883
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/why-diversity-matters-women-on-boards-of-directors/
https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2022/03/05/women-in-the-boardroom-2022-update/

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About DirectWomen

DirectWomen’s mission is to increase the representation of women lawyers on corporate boards. To this end, DirectWomen identifies leading women lawyers who provide the experience, independence and business judgment required for corporate board effectiveness. Through its various programs, DirectWomen develops and positions women attorney leaders for board service. It also serves as a resource for companies seeking qualified board candidates.