Meet Cohort 3 of the GC4W Entrepreneurship Program
As The Global Connections for Women Foundation begins to teach its third cohort of the GC4W Entrepreneurship Program, we are excited to introduce the strong female founders who will be participating and taking the next step in their entrepreneurial careers.
This diverse cohort includes students across the country and globe as well as students from different business sectors. For example, we will be having our first non-profit founder in this cohort. We look forward to meeting and empowering these female entrepreneurs with resources that help them achieve their business goals.
The Global Connections for Women Foundation launched the GC4W Entrepreneurship Certificate Program to develop and train the next generation of entrepreneurs on ways to scale their business ventures and improve their leadership skills. In addition, we aim to connect entrepreneurs to successful business leaders and investors as well as develop their entrepreneurial skills and techniques to improve their business success. If you would like, you can apply here, or invest in the success of female entrepreneurs by donating here.
Meet our brilliant GC4W University students:
Jeanette Duperon
Jeanette Marie is the owner of Marie J Cosmetics LLC located in Philadelphia. Marie J Cosmetics LLC is a makeup and esthetics spa that also offers a range of natural, vegan and cruelty free cosmetic products. Jeanette Marie started her journey with makeup at the Chanel Boutique in New York in 2006, she learned how to transform young and aged faces from the best. “When you wear makeup, you should still look like…you”, is what you will hear Jeanette Marie tell any client that consults with her. Jeanette Marie’s ultimate business goal is to have her products featured in big box stores such as Target and Walmart.
Farah Farchoukh
Farah Farchoukh has a B.Sc. in Medical Sciences. She is a Highly-proficient educator. With 15 years of professional experience as a Scientific and Hi-Tech influencer in education. She received an award as the Top third Lebanese score in Colloquium 2016. Farah is Affiliated with regional corporations, NGOs, private, and public organizations. She is a Member of the Women Leaders Council of Lebanon and Coordinator at NGO. Lastly, she is an active participant in major regional business conferences
Ifedayo Jegede
Hi! My name is Ifedayo Jegede. I am a New York native , Nigerian American by birth. I am a graduate of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Currently I work as an Agency Attorney in the Body Worn Camera Unit of the NYPD. I decided to start EsquirePages, one of my many passion projects, as a legal consulting business focused on helping small businesses, start ups and creatives. I am honored and excited to be part of this program, and I cannot wait to meet and learn from all of the wonderful women bosses in this organization.
Sweta Sinha
Sweta Sinha is an expatriate from India. She earned her Bachelor’s in Economics and a Certification in Software Engineering from Delhi University, India. She is also Google AD certified and pursuing SalesForce certification! She has been a Swiss resident for 5 years and Singapore Resident for 4 years. She started her e-commerce store “Colournthread” in the year 2016. Her store brings handmade and print on demand premium quality gifts and accessories. Since 2016, the store has been growing exponentially. Part of the journey is dedicated to the well being of the poor women artisans in Asia and Africa. Her biggest dream is to get the store Fair Trade Certified and to spread the word of women empowerment around the world!
Ezgi Todurge
Ezgi Todurge is the founder and CEO of Lordess; an empowering women’s footwear brand that offers limited edition, limited release, handcrafted designs. As a woman in a corporate who struggled to find comfortable yet edgy shoes she could confidently wear, Ezgi set the objective to launch a footwear brand where comfort, style, quality and versatility would co-exist.
Inspired by the growing number of fierce women in the workforce and shifts in gender roles/norms, Ezgi created the signature Lordess design—a feminized oxford that exudes just the right amount of androgyny. After conducting intensive research and strategic development overseas in 2019, Ezgi officially launched Lordess in February 2020.
An advocate of slow fashion, Ezgi embraces craftsmanship and choosing quality over quantity—values which she ensures are embraced by Lordess. Through Lordess, Ezgi hopes to help consumers to form smarter shopping habits while allowing them to curate a more specialized closet.
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey—Ezgi moved to Florida at the age of 10. In pursuit of her passions, Ezgi left her parents behind at 18 to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Ezgi holds an AAS Degree in Fashion Merchandising Management, and a BS Degree in Cosmetics & Fragrance Marketing, with a minor in Psychology.
Amy Quichiz
Amy Quichiz received her bachelor’s degree at Syracuse University majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology. Throughout her college career, she has been known for her commitment to continuously bring awareness to the Latinx community and fighting against gender violence, sexual assault, gender and sexual inequality, queer discriminations and racial issues.
Amy also articulates theories and personal experiences into writing pieces that cover various topics such as whiteness, radical self-love from brown girls, mental disabilities in Latinx households, Latinx body issues, borderland identities and radical queer love. Her work has been recognized by numerous platforms such as The New York Times, Bustle, Bon Appetit, i-D, Self Magazine, Mic, and VegNews. Through Instagram, Amy has the opportunity to continue sharing knowledge through radical story-telling and creating workshops throughout the community.
Lastly, Amy is the Founder of Veggie Mijas, a women of color collective that highlights the importance of veganism through the lens of those with marginalized identities. Through this collective, she has opened new chapters in several states and cities and is organizing vegan folks of color in a national perspective. Amy also provides resources for folks in these cities on how their food can be more accessible and to learn more about the food system.
Emmanuella Duroska
My name is Emmanuella Duroska, Executive Director of The Curly Code. In my 9 year tenure serving low-income students of color, I’ve discovered a pervasive need to create a safe space for students who look like me. The Curly Code is a chapter-based organization that creates a curly-girl friendly, college-going culture at various high schools in NYC. Our mission is to inspire academic excellence while promoting self-love through daily natural hair maintenance.
Dominique Horner
Dominique Horner has lived a life full of duality: a dual-citizen of the US and UK, a single child and an older sister later in life, and an education in liberal arts and later computer science. Understanding the different facets of people, ideas, and systems has always been a passion which evolved from a college education of Psychology and French language to a career in technology. Skilled from data to design, she is interested in empowering others by making their ideas and passions a reality through development.
Kristina Lopez
Kristina Lopez is a marketing & branding creative working at the intersection of art, hospitality, and wellness in New York City. Cultivating a strong sense of community is central to her work in creating change from the ground up for the organizations she collaborates with. She develops forward-thinking programs from events and curatorial projects to brand strategy and digital marketing campaigns. Her project, RITUALWERK, integrates mindfulness with social justice in its aim to make meditation accessible to all.
Leana Silverberg
Leana Silverberg is a healthcare and biotech entrepreneur. She is currently the Director of Global Newborn Solutions, a nonprofit organization developing medical innovations to address neonatal health and survival in resource-limited settings. Before completing her Master’s in Biotechnology at Brandeis University, she started and became the CEO of a nanotech company. The company was accepted to MassChallenge and was then selected as part of the Alumni-in-Residence program. She has consulted over 40 startups, developed curriculums to teach professors and graduate students how to take technologies out of academic settings, and has been awarded government grants. In her spare time, she teaches high school students globally about entrepreneurship and biotechnology. Leana is always interested in understanding health and biotech challenges and how to create sustainable solutions.
Stephania Schirru
Stephania Schirru is a Marketing and Public Relations Analyst with over 10 years of industry experience. She was born in Libreville (Gabon), raised in Germany, holds Italian citizenship, and speaks 4 languages (German, Italian, French, English). After graduating high school she was recruited by Italian Professional Basketball Teams and played two seasons as a professional basketball player. Just playing basketball didn’t fulfill her. Therefore she pursued a double bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University and The University of Bamberg. After gaining valuable work experience with Coca-Cola Germany she completed her Master’s degree in Marketing at Texas A&M University and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Not short after she started working in the Fashion and Event Promotion industry, leading all event planning, sponsorship, and press liaison efforts. She has helped brands such as Uber, Dallas Cowboys, and Fireball achieve the popularity they have gained today. After having gained the necessary experience and having built lasting relationships with the media sponsors, Stephania decided to open up her own Marketing and Public Relations firm Dynamically Branded. Her clients not only benefit from her extensive marketing and pr experience but also her international background which allowed her clients to be placed internationally. Stephania now helps professional athletes, fashion designers, and non-profits reach the next level through targeted events, brand partnerships, media placements, and personal branding. She’s also teaching a fashion marketing class for emerging designers that can’t afford yet to hire a marketing pro.
Selmin Karatas
Born with an entrepreneurial drive, Ms. Karatas sought to create a unique and natural product based on an ancient Mediterranean recipe that her father grew up with. Born in Manhattan, N.Y. Selmin has been playing the piano since the age of 9, she attended The Royal School of Music in London Queen and Queen Mother. She loves learning, reading and researching. She speaks French. Her hobby is to travel to other countries, researching, learning and creative writing. She also loves trying out new food in different restaurants. She graduated from Berkeley College with a BBA in International Business and Management and received a graduate degree from Harvard University. She currently lives in New York.
