Our Mission is Focused on Diversity

The Girls Who Invest Team embodies that vision of diversity through our education & experience—united by our passion to transform the investment management industry.

katherine jollon colsher
michelle defossett

  • Katherine Jollon Colsher is the President and CEO of Girls Who Invest, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing gender diversity and inclusion in investment management with a focus on growing the pipeline of women in frontline investing positions.

    Before joining Girls Who Invest, Katherine was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and the National Director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, the firm’s largest-ever philanthropic initiative to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing access to education, capital, and business support services.

    Prior, Katherine was the Director of Organizational Development and Effectiveness at ONE, an advocacy organization co-founded by Bono and other activists to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, and a Manager in the government practice at Accenture. She currently serves on the CFA Institute’s Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee and the Milken Institute’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Asset Management Executive Council.

    Katherine earned a BA in English, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Richmond. She is also a graduate of the 2016 Presidential Leadership Scholars Program.


  • Michelle is Girls Who Invest’s Chief Operating Officer. In her role, she oversees GWI’s finance and operations, including human resources and IT. Michelle utilizes her experiences driving strategic leadership, collaborative projects, new programs, and technology platforms to steer organizational growth and operational transformation.

    Prior to GWI, Michelle spent six years serving as Vice President of Finance & Administration for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO). Previously, she oversaw the CFO functions for several non-profits, including: Habitat for Humanity-New York City, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Maple Street School.

    Within all these organizations, Michelle worked to establish and maintain best practices in finance, HR and IT, as well as to develop the next generation of leaders.

    Michelle also spent over twenty years within the financial services arena before embarking on her career in the non-profit sector. She began her career at the Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. and transitioned to a career within the asset management sector after completing business school. Throughout her career, she spent time at well-established firms, such as “JPMorgan Asset Management, Pareto Partners, and Stanfield Capital Partners.

    Michelle earned a B.A. in Economics from Vassar College and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she was awarded the Robert F. Toigo Fellowship.

christina kim

  • Maria Gracia Asayag, M.Ed., is the Director of Recruitment and Admissions at Girls Who Invest. In this role, she oversees recruitment and admissions strategy for the Summer Intensive and Online Intensive Programs. Maria brings over 13 years of experience in targeted recruitment and admission for highly selective admissions programs. Previously, Maria served as Senior Associate Director of Admission and Director of Multicultural Recruitment at Columbia University where she led strategic initiatives to recruit, select, and enroll students to Columbia College and Columbia Engineering with a focus on historically underrepresented students within higher education.

    She believes strongly in college access and opportunity and led the selection process for several access-based programs including Columbia's Opportunity Programs, QuestBridge as well as strategic initiatives for first-generation and/or low-income students and created partnerships with community-based organizations at the local and national level with a focus on creating pipelines. Maria also brings over a decade of leadership experience in international admissions, scholar designations, and DEIB committees.

    Born in Lima, Peru, Maria is fiercely passionate about providing impacted communities with opportunities for social mobility. She earned her B.A. degree from Muhlenberg College and her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University. Outside of work, you can find Maria taking long sunset walks with her husband and dogs as well as enjoying a good cup of coffee.


  • Mayela is the Director of Development at Girls Who Invest and brings to GWI years of international and domestic social impact and fundraising experience.

    Prior to GWI, she most recently worked as Director of Development and Communications at a School in the Square Public Charter in the Washington Heights community of NYC. Prior, she worked to build, strengthen and grow corporate and strategic partnerships with some of the nation's largest youth non-profit organizations, including Girls Who Code, City Year, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Before officially moving to NYC in 2015, she lived in sub-Saharan Africa for 3 years where she completed her 2-year Peace Corps service in Cameroon and a fellowship with MCW Global directing their youth vocational centers in Rwanda and Tanzania. In March 2020, she was invited to the United Nations Headquarters to speak about her experience mobilizing youth through advocacy, technology, and resources to achieve SDG's.

    As an immigrant from Mexico City, Mayela brings her passion and insights to guide her work and her "why" in bringing equitable access to opportunity for high-need communities. As a personal passion project, she started a scholarship fund for at-risk youth in her Peace Corps village of Bibemi that she has continued since 2014. In her free time, she loves salsa dancing, traveling, and finding the best tacos in town.

  • Lindsay Granger-Weaver, Ed.D. is the Director of Programs for Girls Who Invest. In this role, she supports the Head of Programs in ensuring the implementation of programming for scholars and alums.

    Prior to joining Girls Who Invest, Lindsay spent over a decade in higher education as a career services administrator. Most recently, she ran internship programs at Barnard College through the Beyond Barnard office, where she was also the department’s equity lead. In this role, she led and managed the day-to-day operations of five distinct funded internship programs, while also ensuring they were representative of the Barnard community.

    Lindsay earned a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.Phil.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an Ed.D. from New York University. Outside of work, you can find her crafting with her daughter, watching sports with her husband, and doing the NYT crossword puzzle…often at the same time.


  • Kelsey manages marketing, social media, and program efforts for GWI including outreach to our scholars and GWI community, coordinating our Summer Intensive Program, and serving as a program manager on campus during our Summer Intensive Program. Prior to joining Girls Who Invest, Kelsey was a Resident Teaching Assistant for our cohort at the University of Notre Dame where she helped to facilitate the on-campus scholar community, promote the program externally, and gather insights to enhance the experience for future scholars. She has also provided Writing and Project Assistance to the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing and was a Manager and Reading Specialist with Kumon.

    Kelsey graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in American Studies and English. Kelsey is a thespian at heart and can usually be found strategizing for a win at a weekly trivia night in Manhattan.


  • Abby works on career development programs and resources to equip and propel GWI scholars and alumni in their investment management careers. Previously, Abby worked in career education at Columbia University. In her role, she worked one-on-one with students and partnered with employers to execute a portfolio of industry exploration, recruiting, and skill-building programs. Prior to Columbia, she worked in client relations at a media analytics firm creating solutions for high-profile accounts including the Office of the First Lady of the United States.

    Abby received her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Virginia and M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Outside of work, you will find her listening to live music, watching college sports, or reading on the beach.


  • Samantha (she/her) works to recruit and select the annual cohort of GWI scholars. As Recruiting and Admissions Manager, she helps shape outreach strategy, maintains relationships with mission-aligned institutions and organizations, and supports the operation and execution of the application review process.

    Prior to joining Girls Who Invest, Samantha worked at Columbia University in Undergraduate Admissions for Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. In addition to first-year selection and recruitment, her role involved oversight of the alumni interviewing program and aspects of Non-First Year selection (e.g., the Combined Plan Program), as well as varied engagement with data and reporting, QuestBridge Scholar application review, athletic recruitment, and staff development.

    Samantha received her B.A. in Astronomy and Philosophy from Columbia University’s Columbia College, and M.P.A. from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Outside of work, Samantha enjoys experimental cooking, reading, and board games.


  • Danielle manages community development and engagement for Girls Who Invest's rapidly growing alumni base. She has dedicated her professional life to education, community engagement, and developing meaningful outreach with alumni. Most recently, she managed alumni relations at NYU School of Professional Studies, focused on strategic engagement across seven different industries.

    Danielle received her B.A. from George Mason University in Communication & Public Relations and her M.A. from New York University in Performing Arts Administration.

    Danielle is a native New Englander and is passionate about all Boston sports teams. When there isn't a game on, she enjoys spending time with her friends, husband, and dog, Minnie.

  • Rosaura is a Partnerships Analyst at Girls Who Invest, supporting the department in managing partner relations. Her studies at Hunter College centered around redressing historical narratives about marginalized populations in the United States and Latin America, with a strong focus on intersectionality, racial and social structures of oppression, and regional political policy--topics that hold personal significance to her as a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic.

    Before joining Girls Who Invest, Rosaura worked as an Operations Associate in the Bridal industry, gaining experience in client relations and stakeholder management, and as a Childcare Professional with extensive experience with K-12-aged youth groups. The latter fueled her passion for creating educational access for underrepresented communities and highlighted the importance that ethnic and cultural education has on an individual's sense of self and identity construction.

    At GWI, Rosaura hopes to employ her knowledge of historical barriers to access in supporting the diversification and reach of the organization. In her free time, Rosaura enjoys travel, quality time with family and friends, and watching period-era films and TV.


  • Heather manages programs for Girls Who Invest. In this role, she provides strategic direction and creation of educational content and oversees all on-campus, online, and year-round scholar and alumni educational programming.

    Before joining Girls Who Invest in 2021, Heather worked at Columbia University as Executive Director in the Center for Career Education. Her role included strategic development of career programming for students and alumni, including designing and growing a portfolio of domestic and international internship programs. Prior to Columbia, she worked at Credit Suisse recruiting and building training programs for equity, fixed income, and private banking analysts and associates.

    Heather earned a B.A. in Psychology and International Relations from Wesleyan University and an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. Outside of work, Heather enjoys spending time at the beach and lots of backyard baseball with her children.

  • Christina manages partnerships for Girls Who Invest. In this role, she supports the current partner community of over 100 asset management firms to build engagement, coordinate internships, facilitate partner events, and drive communication. She is focused on expanding these relationships as well as leading other fundraising initiatives to support the GWI program.

    Before joining Girls Who Invest in 2021, Christina was a portfolio manager in the multi-asset class investment group of Goldman Sachs Asset Management working with endowment and foundation clients. Prior to joining GSAM, she worked as a portfolio manager at family office ArcherOak Capital Management. Previously, she was a partner and senior research analyst at hedge fund Andor Capital Management.

    Christina earned a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University. Outside of work, Christina enjoys international travel, foreign films, trying different kinds of coffee, and taking too many photos of her kids.

  • Gina is the Director of Communications and Marketing for Girls Who Invest. Previously, Gina served as the Director of Communications and PR at One Love Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to ending relationship abuse. Her other past experience includes her time at Blue State, a strategic communications firm where she managed digital campaigns and donor messaging for a number of non-profit clients, including UNICEF USA, Susan G. Kamen, and March of Dimes. She also previously worked at the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson (JWT) where she worked on employer branding campaigns for clients that included Goldman Sachs.

    Gina received her Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and baking, and spending time with her family.

  • Sarah works on the career development and program teams supporting professional initiatives. Previously, Sarah worked in career education at Columbia University and the University of Kentucky. In her role, she worked with students and partnered with employers to help students make the most of their experiences in the workplace.

    Sarah received her B.A. in Psychology from James Madison University and M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the School of Education and Human Development, the George Washington University. Outside of work, you will find her going for walks with her family and newfie, Hazel, popping into a yoga class, or making sourdough bread.

  • Amalya (she/her) is the Partnership Engagement Manager for Girls Who Invest. In this role, Amalya supports the Partnerships team's fundraising efforts and relationship management to ensure collaborative programming for GWI scholars and partners. 

    Amalya brings years of non-profit experience from both the program and fundraising perspectives. Prior to GWI, Amalya worked as the Individual Giving Officer at City Year New York where she was responsible for a portfolio of major donors, family foundations, and managed three different boards. As a passionate advocate for educational equity and disrupting inequitable barriers that exist in the workforce, Amalya brings her expertise in Diversity, Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion (DBIE) to GWI. In addition to her fundraising work, she chaired the National Equity Advisory Council for City Year Inc., working closely with the managing executive committee and sites across the country in order to build and implement DBIE learning and strategy. Her other past experiences include her time as an Community School Director at an elementary school in the South Bronx where she was responsible for cultivating grant funded resources for students and families such as no-cost GED classes, language/translation services, food pantry services, a mental health clinic, and she also established an academic tutoring program and after-school curriculum rooted in intersectionality and cultural humility. 

    Amalya received a B.A. from Bates College with a degree in Gender & Sexuality Studies and American Cultural Studies. Outside of work, Amalya enjoys cooking with friends, traveling, reading an interesting novel, and making playlists for her family and friends.

  • Odienne is a seasoned Executive Assistant with over 20 years of experience. Having held positions in the entertainment, publishing, marketing, and legal fields, she is able to skew her skills to meet the needs of her team members and managers almost on a custom-tailored basis. Odienne attended Norfolk State University in VA for two years but had to take a break to tend to family matters and return to NY. It’s during that time she developed her work ethic and learned the how to successfully maneuver her way around in the corporate world.

    She landed positions at The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Dean Witter Morgan Stanley, and Alliance Bernstein, supporting management, working closely with other departments to learn as much as possible. Although life presented some hurdles in completing her education, after raising a family of her own, she never gave up on that goal. Odienne is currently attending University of Phoenix and is expected to graduate in Winter 2023 with a B.A. in the Science of Communication.

  • Carlie is a Strategy Associate for Girls Who Invest. Previously, Carlie worked on the financial strategy team at Hudson River Trading and was an investment banking analyst on the Global Natural Resources coverage team at Barclays. Carlie was a 2017 Participant in GWI's inaugural online program, which ultimately became the Online Intensive Program.

    Carlie received a B.A. from Bowdoin College with a degree in Economics and Classical Archaeology. Outside of work, Carlie enjoys game nights, trying new recipes, and spending time with her family.

  • Brett Scott is the Operations and Office Manager for GWI. After starting his Office Services career in the insurance industry, Brett moved on to Twitter's Real Estate and Workplace team where he worked for 7 years in various roles, most recently serving as a Workplace Manager in their NYC office.

    Brett graduated from Keene State College in New Hampshire with a film production degree and outside of work, he enjoys video games, 90s television and NBA basketball.

  • Ella and is a Programs Intern at GWI. In her role, she will contribute to the Programs Team in a variety of ways: supporting scholars throughout the pre-work process, helping to prepare for summer programming, assisting with event management, and contributing as needed to ongoing projects. She’s a MFA candidate in poetry at West Virginia University and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

    She is passionate about promoting equity in higher education, and is a GWI alum! As a scholar in the SIP ’20, she interned at EJF Capital, an alternative asset management firm. Though she’s followed a non-traditional path, she has always admired GWI’s mission, and is thrilled to be a part of it once again.

 Our Team