<\/p>\n
Each year, the Nob Hill Gazette and San Francisco Examiner honor the women whose work and philosophies shape the City in visible and invisible ways. They come from government, business, philanthropy, health care, media and grassroots organizing. Some names are instantly recognizable, while others are the quiet architects of policy, community care and institutional change. What unites these women transcends title and tenure, instead highlighting impact as the ultimate inspiration. <\/p>\n
This year, we sat down with 21 new honorees for candid conversations about the paths that brought them here: the risks taken, the setbacks absorbed, the communities served and the values that guide them. Collectively, their stories form a portrait of San Francisco at its best: ambitious, resilient, collaborative and deeply committed to public good. These interviews reveal how the leadership of Inspiring Women can move the world forward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
RJ Muna<\/p>\n
Tamara Rojo<\/p>\n
Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet<\/p>\n
In over three years at the helm of San Francisco Ballet, Artistic Director Rojo has infused the company with global perspective, bold commissions and a deep commitment to community. A former international ballet star whose career spanned Canada, Spain and the UK, where she was both artistic director and lead principal dancer with the English National Ballet for a decade, Rojo arrived in San Francisco with reverence for the art form\u2019s history and a conviction that ballet must continuously evolve.<\/p>\n
Under her leadership, the company has honored the classics while premiering contemporary programming with works from\u00a0William Forsythe\u00a0and\u00a0George Balanchine, expanded sensory-friendly performances and strengthened ties to local artists and schools \u2014 reaching tens of thousands of Bay Area residents each year. For Rojo, ballet is a living language \u2014 ephemeral, human and constantly renewing itself. Her philosophy is simple: Honor tradition, invest in people and, above all, \u201cembrace the unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Craig Lee<\/p>\n
Lisa Presta<\/p>\n
Political Fundraising Consultant<\/p>\n
Presta has been quietly shaping the national political landscape from behind the scenes for decades. A force to be reckoned with, the veteran Democratic Party fundraiser\u2019s client list has included Speaker Emerita\u00a0Nancy Pelosi\u00a0and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Presta has helped power campaigns, advanced gun safety efforts and contributed to a historic rise in women serving in Congress.<\/p>\n
Comfortable out of the spotlight, she built a career on persistence and discipline by raising resources for candidates she believes can make a difference. At the same time, she raised a family, which she says helped her \u201cto be very efficient and direct in my style,\u201d skills that directly translated into how she manages teams and mentors younger operatives entering the field. For Presta, politics has always been about impact and proving that women can build powerful careers without sacrificing the lives they want at home.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carla Peterman<\/p>\n
President of PG&E Corporation and Executive Vice President in Customer and Corporate Affairs<\/p>\n
Peterman has spent her career pushing California to think bigger about energy, climate and impact. From high school lessons in environmental justice to shaping some of the state\u2019s most ambitious clean energy initiatives, her path has moved fluidly through academia, government and corporate leadership.<\/p>\n
Now an executive at PG&E, which serves approximately one in 20 Americans, and the company\u2019s president since January, Peterman remains focused on scale: how to build reliable, affordable and clean systems that work for diverse communities today while accelerating climate progress for tomorrow. She speaks with urgency, but also with optimism \u2014 rooted in California\u2019s history of exceeding its own expectations. For Peterman, leadership isn\u2019t about titles or lanes. It\u2019s about having the courage to \u201cswing for the fences and go for what you think will have impact,\u201d she says, even when others say it\u2019s too soon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Carmen Chu<\/p>\n
San Francisco\u00a0City Administrator<\/p>\n
Chu has spent her career inside San Francisco\u2019s government with a seemingly simple question always in mind: Does this actually make people\u2019s lives better? The daughter of immigrants who worked long hours in their family restaurant in Los Angeles, she says her approach to public service was shaped by watching people like her parents work hard without a voice in government, the \u201cday-to-day folks who had to struggle to survive and support their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, Chu has served in roles at the Mayor\u2019s Budget Office, the Board of Supervisors and the Assessor-Recorder; since 2021, she\u2019s served as city administrator, overseeing complex, citywide operations \u2014 all while raising two young daughters. Known for consensus-building and tackling difficult bureaucratic challenges, she serves as an inspiration to others looking to solve complex problems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kim Tavaglione<\/p>\n
Executive Director of the San Francisco Labor Council<\/p>\n
Tavaglione has been a steady, unmistakable force in San Francisco\u2019s labor movement after being raised in a union family. Steeped in class consciousness from childhood, she learned early that solidarity isn\u2019t theoretical \u2014 it\u2019s lived. From walking picket lines with her grandfather to leading one of San Francisco\u2019s most influential labor councils since 2020, Tavaglione has built a career defined by consistency and conviction.<\/p>\n
Rather than stopping to celebrate successes, Tavaglione keeps her eye and energy on the end goal. \u201cThere\u2019s always something else around the corner \u2014 so you\u2019re always moving,\u201d she says. That relentless forward motion has shaped her leadership style: values first, politics second and a belief that when workers stand together, entire communities grow stronger.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Sonja Hoel Perkins<\/p>\n
Founder of the Perkins Fund, Project Glimmer and Broadway Angels<\/p>\n
Perkins is a San Francisco\u2013based venture capitalist, philanthropist and civic leader whose work centers on advancing women and girls through visible leadership and meaningful investment. She is the founder and managing director of the Perkins Fund and a founder of Broadway Angels, a collective of nearly 90 accomplished venture capitalists created to elevate women as decision-makers in technology and finance.<\/p>\n
She is also the founder and chairman emeritus of Project Glimmer, a national nonprofit that has reached more than 1 million girls by pairing tangible support with confidence-building programs and mentorship. Guided by a belief in investing in \u201cpeople and companies that matter,\u201d she directs her time and resources toward initiatives that strengthen communities, expand opportunity and foster equity. A longtime San Franciscan, Perkins continues to form the City\u2019s philanthropic and leadership landscape through work that is impactful both locally and nationally.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Mary Furlong<\/p>\n
CEO and Founder of Mary Furlong & Associates<\/p>\n
Furlong spent her life building companies, conferences, ecosystems and communities in the longevity space long before it became a buzzword, and before most people imagined older adults as a technology audience. A native San Franciscan and serial entrepreneur, she founded SeniorNet before AOL existed, later launched the venture-backed startup ThirdAge Media and has since become one of the country\u2019s foremost connectors in the business of aging.<\/p>\n
Her mission has remained consistent: \u201cReinstantiating the role of older people so they can be leaders in society and we can tap into their knowledge and wisdom,\u201d as she tells the\u00a0Gazette. Blending policy, venture capital and social impact, Furlong has helped grow companies now worth tens of millions while mentoring generations of founders and students.<\/p>\n
At 77, she is still convening innovators, teaching women in leadership and building what she calls an ecosystem around aging \u2014 and, as she likes to say, she has \u201cnever been bored a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr. Mary Norton<\/p>\n
Perinatologist, Clinical Geneticist and Vice Chair of Clinical & Translational Genetics at UCSF Health<\/p>\n
The intersection where science meets deeply personal conviction has defined Dr. Norton\u2019s distinguished career in maternal-fetal medicine and clinical genetics. A nationally recognized leader at UCSF Health as vice chair of the clinical and translational genetics department, Dr. Norton has spent decades guiding families through the evolving landscape of prenatal diagnosis, where innovation moves swiftly but decisions remain profoundly human. After finding her calling during a residency rotation, she encourages other people on their career journeys to be \u201copen to different experiences,\u201d because you never know where that path might take you.<\/p>\n
In a specialty transformed by advances in genome sequencing and prenatal testing, she has become known not only for her scholarship and research, but for her steady insistence on clarity, balance and patient autonomy. During an era of remarkable medical possibility, Dr. Norton\u2019s work reminds us that information alone is not enough: Understanding is everything.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Drew Altizer Photography<\/p>\n
Sherri McMullen<\/p>\n
Founder and CEO of McMullen Boutique<\/p>\n
With a career rooted in global fashion buying \u2014 first in Neiman Marcus\u2019 Executive Development Program and later as a textile buyer for Pottery Barn Kids \u2014 McMullen translated her keen business instincts and discerning eye into a singular retail vision when she opened her namesake boutique in Oakland in 2007.<\/p>\n
Over nearly two decades, McMullen has cultivated a space that celebrates both established and emerging designers, with a thoughtful emphasis on women and creatives of color whose voices have too often been overlooked. Under her leadership, McMullen has grown from a pioneering local shop into a nationally recognized fashion institution, earning accolades from\u00a0Vogue Business\u00a0as a Champion of Change and establishing a new boutique in San Francisco\u2019s stylish Presidio Heights in 2024. Her work transcends clothes to incorporate community, empowerment and expanding what luxury retail can be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mame Annan-Brown<\/p>\n
Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at Gap Inc.<\/p>\n
With a career spanning global finance, international development, public policy and consumer brands, Annan-Brown now guides Gap Inc.\u2019s storytelling, philanthropy and civic engagement from its hometown of San Francisco. Throughout her work \u2014 from leading communications and charitable initiatives at JPMorgan to advancing global development at the World Bank Group and championing corporate foundations in the apparel industry \u2014 she says one belief has remained constant: \u201cPurpose and profit can coexist.\u201d<\/p>\n
That philosophy has shaped her leadership across sectors, grounding business strategy in community engagement and long-term impact. Deeply influenced by a family of strong women and a career built on mentorship and sponsorship, Annan-Brown approaches success as preparation meeting opportunity. Whether advancing water stewardship initiatives globally or supporting revitalization efforts in San Francisco, she continues to model a form of leadership that blends representation, responsibility and results.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Romana Bracco<\/p>\n
Festival Napa Valley and San Francisco Opera Board Member<\/p>\n
From breaking barriers in aviation to championing her Italian heritage in San Francisco, Bracco is a longtime civic leader, arts patron and trailblazer. An immigrant from a small town in Italy, Bracco built her career by following a lifelong fascination with flight, taking on a managerial position in aviation in the 1980s, which was pioneering for women at the time.<\/p>\n
After decades in airline leadership, she turned her focus toward philanthropy and cultural advocacy, becoming deeply involved with institutions such as the San Francisco Opera, Festival Napa Valley and Italian Community Services. A passionate ambassador for Italian culture in the Bay Area, the Nob Hill resident has dedicated herself to preserving heritage while supporting innovation, music and community care. Known for her humility and generosity, she continues to inspire through action \u2014 opening doors for others while helping shape the cultural heart of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
JaMel Perkins<\/p>\n
Cofounder and Board Member, Freedom Forward<\/p>\n
For more than four decades, Perkins has shaped the Bay Area through community activism rooted in action. A Chicago native who made California her home, Perkins has devoted her life to education, anti-trafficking advocacy and philanthropy. She doesn\u2019t describe herself as a career woman, but as a volunteer \u2014 someone who simply showed up, took on tasks and kept going. \u201cYou give me a job, I\u2019ll do it, and I\u2019ll figure it out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
That steady presence led her from answering a newspaper call for volunteers at a domestic violence shelter to chairing boards, raising funds and in 2016 cofounding Freedom Forward, a prevention-focused organization working to stop exploitation before it begins. Her approach is practical and deeply human: See something, do something. In neighborhoods, schools and boardrooms, Perkins has built impact through sustained commitment to community.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jennifer \u201cMurph\u201d Murphy-Ellamar<\/p>\n
Vice President of Culinary Operations at Graton Resort & Casino<\/p>\n
Murphy-Ellamar, aka Murph, oversees one of the largest culinary expansions in Northern California. As vice president of culinary operations at Graton Resort & Casino, she is guided by the fundamentals: \u201cWhen you start with good ingredients, you respect it, you cook it well and then it shines on the plate on its own,\u201d she says. Murph arrived in Sonoma County last year after two decades in Las Vegas with deep fine-dining credentials and high-volume experience. Now, with proximity to fresh produce, she is blending Vegas-level execution with Northern California ingredients to transform Graton Resort & Casino into a dining destination all its own.<\/p>\n
Her path from line cook to executive leader has been shaped as much by trial and error as by technical mastery. For her, the real craft isn\u2019t exclusive to cooking \u2014 it\u2019s also building teams, earning trust and creating something that lasts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Lisa Countryman-Quiroz<\/p>\n
Countryman-Quiroz didn\u2019t set out to become a CEO. With an academic background in literature and philosophy, she was drawn to \u201cthe big ideas of what it means to be human.\u201d That foundation now shapes her leadership as CEO of JVS Bay Area, one of the region\u2019s largest workforce development nonprofits, which has helped connect more than 100,000 people to jobs and career training.<\/p>\n
Since stepping into the role in January 2020 \u2014 just weeks before the pandemic upended the labor market \u2014 she has led the organization through a period of rapid change by focusing on culture, empathy and resilience. As she puts it, \u201cThe culture of the organization is what gives it resilience and the ability to weather all kinds of storms.\u201d Countryman-Quiroz continues to champion economic mobility and human-centered leadership across the Bay Area, including by adapting the organization to the new era of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Drew Altizer Photography<\/p>\n
Nonie Greene<\/p>\n
San Francisco Leadership Council Chair of Reproductive Freedom for All<\/p>\n
Greene doesn\u2019t talk about reproductive rights as an abstract political issue. For her, it\u2019s something women carry \u2014 in their bodies, in their memories and in their futures. \u201cI will never feel free in this country until all women have reproductive freedom,\u201d she says. A longtime San Francisco organizer and leader with Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), Greene helped shape one of San Francisco\u2019s most visible annual gatherings supporting abortion access and policy advocacy.<\/p>\n
Her path into leadership was fueled by anger, sharpened by persistence and sustained by collaboration with other women across generations. In California, she sees progress worth protecting. Nationally, she sees rights under threat. Personally, she sees her granddaughter\u2019s future as the clearest reason to keep going \u2014 it\u2019s work she will continue pursuing with optimism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Annie Pearl<\/p>\n
Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Azure Product and Ecosystems at Microsoft<\/p>\n
Pearl\u2019s path to product leader at Microsoft looks less like a ladder and more like what she calls a \u201cjungle gym.\u201d With a background that spans law, early-stage startups and now large-scale leadership within Microsoft\u2019s Azure Experiences business, she has made a habit of choosing learning over linearity and curiosity over certainty. Along the way, she has helped shape programs that support the next generation of startup founders while also leading efforts to democratize technical learning through platforms like Microsoft Learn.<\/p>\n
Grounded in team empowerment and maintaining a growth mindset, Pearl is known for modeling what it looks like to be, as she says, \u201ca learn-it-all, not a know-it-all.\u201d In an era defined by AI and rapid technological change, she approaches innovation with both optimism and a deep sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shefali Razdan Duggal<\/p>\n
Retired U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands<\/p>\n
Razdan Duggal\u2019s path to diplomacy began long before she ever stepped inside an embassy. For the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands from 2022 to 2025, conviction, discipline and an unwavering belief in the promise of this country led to her first serving on the board of Emily\u2019s List, then on the National Finance Committee of\u00a0Joe Biden\u00a0for President 2020 and as deputy national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee. An immigrant raised by a single mother, Razdan Duggal learned early that resilience is a practice forged through hard work and an unshakable sense of purpose.<\/p>\n
Over the years, she has moved between politics, public service and international engagement with a leadership style that blends directness with empathy. Known for mentoring young women, Razdan Duggal views representation not as symbolism but as responsibility. For her, opening doors and widening pathways is part of the work itself. Whether in the United States or abroad, she has sought to make public service feel both principled and personal. Inspired by U.S. Representative\u00a0Shirley Chisholm, Razdan Duggal believes the advice: \u201cIf they don\u2019t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Buffy Wicks<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Representing California\u2019s 14th Assembly District<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Wicks\u2019 path to public office was shaped by a working-class upbringing in rural Northern California, where she grew up in a mobile home in the Sierra Nevada foothills and saw firsthand how inequality affects everyday lives. Wicks began her career in grassroots organizing, working in the antiwar movement in San Francisco in the early 2000s before turning her focus to health care advocacy after a close friend contracted HIV without insurance. That work led her to former President\u00a0Barack Obama\u2019s campaign and later the White House, where she helped pass the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou realize in those moments that the work that you do can have a positive impact on people\u2019s lives, not in a small way, but in a large way,\u201d she says. Even bringing her baby to the floor to sign a bill in 2020, since it couldn\u2019t be done remotely, challenged outdated notions on how elected women can lead. Today, Wicks brings organizing roots and bold courage into state government, focusing on honest leadership, coalition-building and policy decisions that deliver meaningful results for Californians.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nico Oved<\/p>\n
Janis Mackenzie<\/p>\n
Founder and President of MacKenzie Communications<\/p>\n
Since launching MacKenzie Communications from her Russian Hill dining room table in 1983, MacKenzie has built one of the City\u2019s most respected public affairs and communications agencies, advising major companies, institutions and nonprofits while remaining rooted in the community. A former journalist, she credits her early career with shaping her belief that \u201cwhat you say and how you say it really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond her work in communications, MacKenzie has devoted decades to civic engagement, including leadership roles with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. She is known for her commitment to mentorship, especially for women leaders, and for a guiding principle that has defined her career: doing well by doing good.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Curtis Jermany<\/p>\n
Barbara Lee<\/p>\n
There are origin stories, and then there are callings. For Lee, the two are inseparable. Recounting how her mother was denied lifesaving care during childbirth in a segregated Texas hospital \u2014 almost costing both of them their lives \u2014 Lee believes she was born to fight injustice and marginalization.<\/p>\n
She changed the landscape upon moving to California, becoming the first Black cheerleader at her high school after working with the NAACP to change the selection criteria to include girls like her. From there, Lee went on to become the first Black woman elected to multiple offices, often the only one in the room dealing with the systemic racism she was there to challenge. Yet her focus has never been on firsts. \u201cI\u2019m trying to disrupt and dismantle policies that are barriers for people to move forward,\u201d she says. In Oakland, that work continues \u2014 rooted in lived experience, and anchored in \u201cthe power of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
David Downton<\/p>\n
Denise Hale<\/p>\n
Hale moves through the world with Old World discipline, sharp wit and a collector\u2019s eye for what\u2019s genuinely worth attention. Having survived Nazi and Communist occupation in Europe, she knows what matters in life: \u201cI\u2019m allergic to drama.\u201d Hale is consistent by design, preferring a\u00a0David Downton\u00a0illustration over photography and keeping her public footprint deliberate, elegant and controlled.<\/p>\n
Raised by grandparents whose rules were nonnegotiable \u2014 including, \u201cWhen you wake up in the morning, don\u2019t think about you: Think about someone else\u201d \u2014 Hale credits them with a lifelong code: impeccable manners, absolute discretion and a reflex to give back. She\u2019s curious to the core, drawn to art, people and places that expand the mind, and unimpressed by entitlement or empty status. Whether underwriting public television or choosing silence at her 6,000-acre ranch in Sonoma County, she prizes substance, independence and the kind of dignity that doesn\u2019t need to announce itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each year, the Nob Hill Gazette and San Francisco Examiner honor the women whose work and philosophies shape…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[30734,7,90628,90627,1472,8610,2500,710,5055,8669,13,90629,16572,101,4459,103,102,104,106,105,60831,16614],"class_list":{"0":"post-193760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-ballet","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-carmen-chu","11":"tag-concert-dance","12":"tag-dance","13":"tag-entrepreneurship","14":"tag-leadership","15":"tag-mentorship","16":"tag-microsoft","17":"tag-nancy-pelosi","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-reproductive-freedom-for-all","20":"tag-reproductive-rights","21":"tag-san-francisco","22":"tag-san-francisco-bay-area","23":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","24":"tag-san-francisco-news","25":"tag-sf","26":"tag-sf-headlines","27":"tag-sf-news","28":"tag-startup-company","29":"tag-venture-capital"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}