SEATTLE NETWORK Leadership Team

Leadership Team

Alicia Redmond

Alicia brings skills in business and product strategy, operations, insights, and leadership development with demonstrated experience working in technology and engineering. Alicia works at Microsoft in the Worldwide Learning team as a business strategy leader who creates learning experiences for anyone around the world to gain technology skills. She represents the Lean In Seattle chapter as a Regional Leader for global LeanIn.org initiatives and leads overall chapter operations and leadership onboarding and development. She credits her Lean In Circle (together since 2013) with helping her identify her unique leadership strengths and feel comfortable demonstrating them in her life.

Ashlea Elliott

Ashlea is a researcher, consultant, and global thought leader in the following areas: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging; Exclusion, Inequality and Injustice; Developing Inclusive Leadership Skills and Organizations; and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). She is a global public speaker and guides dialogue about dimensions of difference, dismantling exclusions, behavioral design, parity, and peace. Ashlea is an entrepreneur and holds leadership positions with Lean In, JCI (Junior Chamber International), Peace Is Possible, D&I steering committees in Seattle, and the United Nations Foundation. Her free time is spent traveling the world with her wife and speaking with Congress and young leaders from around the globe about equality and the importance of ending malaria.

Emily Lynne Clare Sheridan

Emily is a former corporate marketing leader turned global marketing consultant, passionately working with brands to integrate, activate and up-level brand awareness, positioning and publicity. Part storyteller, part strategist, Emily brings nearly fifteen years of integrated MarCom, PR and brand leadership with Fortune 500s, boutique brands and startups. For Lean In Seattle, she advises and oversees areas of marketing, communication, social media and public relations. Emily was compelled to be a part of the movement from the moment she read Lean In and is driven by her own corporate world experiences to contribute to creating change—particularly for young women leaning in and navigating the direction of their life and career.

Shellie Willis

Shellie is a U.S. Army Veteran who has a heart to serve those who have served and provide them with the tools they need in order to SHIFT to their next. For Lean In Seattle, she serves as the veteran liaison providing support to her fellow women veterans and military spouses while increasing awareness within the chapter membership of civilian supporters. Her goal is to continue the growth of military membership and military circles.

Lisa Weber

Lisa is a program manager on Microsoft’s Worldwide Learning team where she leverages her experience in educational technology to design and manage certification programs for students and professionals to validate their skills and move forward in their careers. For Lean in Seattle, she manages marketing projects, edits the newsletter, collaborates on process improvement and welcomes the opportunity to develop leadership skills in Lean In’s supportive environment.

Lauren Ferguson

Project manager, driver, outdoor enthusiast and advocate are a few words to describe Lauren and her passions. In her 9–5 life, Lauren works at Limeade, an employee engagement company, and is focused on creating a meaningful employee experience through initiatives on fostering inclusion, increasing employee engagement and improving overall well-being. For the Lean In Seattle Chapter, Lauren is committed to growing and increasing engagement of our local Circles and providing resources to Circle Moderators.

Christine Owner

Christine is a marketing and communications professional who helps people and businesses reimagine their future. A warm and professional storyteller, she provides transformational counsel to people in all stages of life and across the business spectrum. In her financial services career, Christine proved a high-wattage generator of ideas at firms such as Silicon Valley Bank, Barclays Global Investors, Visa, and Charles Schwab. Her roles included global leadership of marketing and communications programs as well as coach and mentor to junior staff. Her passion is working with women to make success a self-fulfilling phenomenon. For Lean In Seattle, her focus is on women’s advancement and empowerment, specifically teaching negotiation skills for career promotions and compensation increases.

Olivia Shjeflo

Olivia is a marketing professional with a specialty in launching brands and creating consumer experiences. She loves to create projects from the ground up and build something that is truly sensational. Olivia is currently working for Tata Global Beverages as a Brand and Activation Manager launching a premium water brand in the United States. Outside of the office, Olivia contributes to Lean In on the Chapter Operations and Large Events team. She loves being involved with an organization of remarkable women all working together to move women forward. Olivia spends her spare time with her husband renovating their home, traveling, and hanging out with their crew of animals, two cats, a dog and a fish.

Emily Denis

Emily is a multidisciplinary creative with a passion for branding and marketing and an obsession with typography. With a hands-on, concept-to-completion mind, she thrives on the fast-paced Lean In Seattle team, focusing her efforts on branding, visual and graphic design, and website efforts.

Naomi Margolis

Naomi’s work at Microsoft over the last decade has spanned from Xbox databases to high-volume licensing, with an emphasis on scale. Think BIG! She is passionate about supporting, connecting and promoting women, which led to her joining the Microsoft Women of Windows Devices Group Executive Board and the Seattle Lean In chapter. Her goals include Circle advocacy (because the right Circle can change your life!) and figuring out how to use data to uncover truths and tell great stories.

Ada Kussainova

Ada is a passionate leader in technology and machine learning spaces who loves building products that help solve the world’s most pressing problems. Ada built and sold two successful startups before receiving her MBA at Kellogg School of Management. She currently is a Lead Product Manager at a gaming company. Ada is leading a strategic team in Seattle at Lean In that is focused on data and aligning Lean In initiatives using a data-driven approach.

Nikki Barron

Nikki is the Director of Marketing at Mastin Labs. At Mastin Labs we create photography presets for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop as well as the iPhone in our app Filmborn. She’s a longtime activist for gender equality and sits on the board of Techbridge Girls Seattle and the Female Founders Alliance. Within Lean In Seattle she works as a marketing strategist focusing on community building and chapter membership growth.

Nikki Barron

Nikki is the Director of Marketing at Mastin Labs. At Mastin Labs we create photography presets for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop as well as the iPhone in our app Filmborn. She’s a longtime activist for gender equality and sits on the board of Techbridge Girls Seattle and the Female Founders Alliance. Within Lean In Seattle she works as a marketing strategist focusing on community building and chapter membership growth.

Laura Espriu

Laura is a women’s advocate by heart. She is the founder of Laura Espriu Consulting and the creator of the Dare with Grace™ program, designed to help women boost their confidence by connecting with their strengths. As a Latina and Executive Coach, her personal agenda is helping other Latinas to raise their game. Within Lean In Seattle Chapter, she co-leads the New Member Onboarding Project, created to welcome new members and to help them to navigate smoothly through the Chapter. She is also one of the founders of the Latinas in Seattle Circle.

Maggie van Winkle

Maggie is a web developer at Publicis. She’s passionate about UX and communication and is involved with Lean In Seattle Chapter’s website and onboarding teams.