Moderators and Speakers
Jenny Febbo (Event Moderator)
As vice president of integrated communications, Jenny Febbo plays a key role in shaping Tri-C’s image. She manages the College’s in-house marketing agency, which is responsible for advertising, media relations, publications, the public website and other social media and digital marketing channels that drive enrollment and communicate the Tri-C mission to key audiences.
Febbo previously served as vice president of marketing and communications for Team NEO. She has held numerous marketing and public relations leadership roles for many of Ernst & Young’s domestic and global business services. She also served as director of corporate communications for Penton Media.
Febbo is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America and has received many professional awards for her work. She serves on the board of trustees of the Beck Center for the Arts and is chair of its marketing communications committee. She lives in Avon with her husband, their children and many animals.
Connect with me: jenny.febbo@tri-c.edu
Rachel-Yvonne Talton, D.M. (Opening Speaker)
Rachel-Yvonne Talton is an entrepreneur who helps organizations enhance leadership, inclusive culture and consumer needs as CEO of Synergy International Limited Inc. She also serves as chief transformation officer of Flourish Leadership and the Flourish Conference for Women in Leadership, providing leadership coaching and mentoring for women and helping companies implement inclusive policies and practices.
Talton’s bestselling book, Flourish: Have It All Without Losing Yourself, was published in 2016. She serves on various executive boards and has received numerous awards for her expertise in economic and social development. In 2021, the National Diversity Council named her one of its Top 100 CIOs.
In addition to a certificate in diversity and inclusion training from Cornell University, Talton holds an MBA from Cleveland State University and a Doctorate in Management from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management.
Her personal passions include international travel, community service, public speaking, writing, art and music.
Connect with Rachel-Yvonne Talton on LinkedIn
Megan O'Bryan (Panel Moderator)
Prior to joining Tri-C in 2016, Megan O’Bryan served as executive director of the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, a public-private partnership advocating for education reform to ensure excellent public schools for every child. For 13 years, she worked on behalf of sexual violence survivors as president and CEO of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.
O’Bryan holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University and a B.A. in English from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She serves on the board of directors for In Counsel With Women and is a former trustee of Cuyahoga Community College.
A certified yoga instructor, O’Bryan enjoys facilitating women’s wellness retreats. She lives in Rocky River with her family and their dogs.
Connect with me: megan.obryan@tri-c.edu
Shelly Cayette-Weston (Panelist)
Shelly Cayette-Weston is executive vice president and chief commercial officer for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Monsters, Cleveland Charge, Cavs Legion Gaming Club and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. She joined the organization in 2012 and most recently served as senior vice president of global partnerships.
Since relocating to Northeast Ohio from Louisiana, Cayette-Weston has become an active community and civic leader. She sits on the boards of the Tri C Foundation and College Now and is involved with the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Commission on Economic Inclusion, Women in Sports and Events and Black Sports Professionals.
Sports Business Journal honored Cayette with its 2019 Game Changer award, which recognizes women leading the next generation in sports business. She is also a 2021 Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 and 2019 Crain’s Cleveland Business Forty Under 40 honoree.
Cayette-Weston holds an MBA from Tulane University, where she played on the women’s basketball team.
Connect with Shelly Cayette-Weston on LinkedIn
Helen Forbes Fields, J.D. (Panelist)
Helen Forbes Fields, J.D., is the executive vice president and general counsel for United Way of Greater Cleveland. She came to the organization with more than 30 years of experience practicing law with the Forbes, Fields & Associates law firm, where she was active in the firm’s public law and municipal finance practice. She also served as law director for the City of East Cleveland in 1997 and 2005.
Forbes Fields has been admitted to practice before the Ohio Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Sixth Circuit. She is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, where she has served on the Bar Admissions Committee.
A graduate of Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 1994, Forbes Fields has been profiled in several publications for her community and civic interests. She was recognized by Crain’s as a 2019 Notable Woman in Nonprofit. She currently serves as a trustee for the Cleveland Museum of Art as well as Cuyahoga Community College.
Connect with Helen Forbes Fields on LinkedIn
Standish Stewart (Panelist)
Standish Stewart is CIO and vice president of information technology services at Tri-C. She has worked for various consulting companies, nonprofit organizations, startup technology firms, hospitals and academic institutions throughout her career.
An avid problem-solver, Stewart enjoys transforming processes to improve the student, faculty and staff experience. She relishes hands-on technical work just as much as strategizing and engaging with institutional leaders to innovate and embrace new technologies.
Stewart holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an M.S. in computer science from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Cleveland State University. She lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband and daughter.
Connect with Standish Stewart on LinkedIn
Vanessa L. Whiting, Esq. (Panelist)
Vanessa Whiting specializes in economic and community development law, real estate law, tax credit law, public finance and banking law. Currently president of AES Management Corp., she started her own law practice in 1995 after working for several firms in St. Louis and Cleveland. Northern Ohio Live named her a Top 100 attorney for her impactful work in economic and community development.
Whiting’s professional affiliations include the American Bar Association, Norman S. Minor Bar Association and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. She holds a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, an M.S. in urban affairs policy analysis from Southern Illinois University and a B.S. in public policy sciences from Duke University.
The Black Professional Association Charitable Foundation recognized Whiting as its Black Professional of the Year in 2019. She serves on numerous local boards, including the Tri-C Foundation, and is a lifetime member of the NAACP.
Connect with Vanessa Whiting on LinkedIn
Marcia Moreno (Presenter)
Marcia Moreno came to the United States from Chile in 2005. Blending her personal experience with her professional expertise, she works to pave a better road for up-and-coming Latino talent — including her bilingual 9-year-old.
In 2018, Moreno founded AmMore Consulting to elevate Cleveland’s Latino professionals and help organizations become Latino Ready™ by supporting the development of processes and systems to effectively attract, recruit, retain and advance Latino talent. This work is increasingly important as Latinos continue to represent a larger segment of the U.S. workforce.
Moreno has received multiple awards for her leadership, including 2021 Crain’s Women of Note, 2020 Notable Immigrant of the Year from Global Cleveland and Crain’s, and 2020 LeadDIVERSITY Alumni of the Year from the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio and PWC.
She holds a master’s degree in applied communication theory and methodology from Cleveland State University.
Connect with Marcia Moreno on LinkedIn
Melena Carbary (Presenter)
Melana Carbary is a private wealth manager at Burning River Advisory Group (BRAG), where she helps women create financial plans that support their goals and dreams. The special bond she shared with her strong and independent mother helped shape her career and passion for working with women.
Carbary and her mentor, Ed Vargo, founded BRAG in 2009. She specializes in working with women who are new to financial services, and she serves as the firm’s in-house insurance specialist. She is also active with Vargo’s advocacy organization, enlightenHer.com, and belongs to the Financial Planning Association and the Center for Principled Family Advocacy.
In addition to a slew of distinguished industry designations, Carbary holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Heidelberg College. She is also a certified yoga teacher.
Connect with Melena Carbary on LinkedIn
Phyllis "Seven" Harris (Presenter)
Phyllis "Seven" Harris is executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. A strong advocate in Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community for many years, she has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and fundraising.
Throughout her career, Harris has leveraged her passion and multifaceted experience to lead organizations such as the Cleveland Sight Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland and Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio on a path of sustainable growth and vitality.
Harris serves the boards of the Women of Color Foundation, Graffiti HeArt and CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers. A member of the 2019 Leadership Cleveland cohort, she is a recipient of the Cleveland Foundation’s Homer C. Wadsworth Award for innovative leadership.
In addition to a B.A. from Baldwin Wallace University, Harris holds a master’s in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University. She served as co-chair of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s transition team and was named to the 2022 CLE 500 by Cleveland Magazine.
Connect with Phyllis "Seven" Harris on LinkedIn
Holly Clemens, Ph.D., LMT (Presenter)
Holly Clemens is a professor of sport and exercise studies, health and physical education at Tri-C. She also provides strength and conditioning and movement-based training assistance for the College’s Triceratops athletic teams.
Involved in the fitness industry for more than 30 years, Clemens has taught a variety of health, fitness and wellness classes and has served as a wellness consultant for various U.S. corporations. She has also written articles and developed workshops geared toward coaches and movement instructors.
Clemens is a 2016 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award in Honor of Ralph M. Besse and a 2021 AAUP Authenticity Award winner. In addition to numerous specialized industry certifications, she holds a B.S. in physical education and health from Bowling Green State University, a M.Ed. in exercise science from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. in health promotion from Kent State University.
Connect with Holly Clemens on LinkedIn
Cheryl Agranovich, RN, BSN, MPH (Closing Speaker)
Entrepreneur and women’s health advocate Cheryl Agranovich was the first in her family to graduate from college, working full time while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s in public health.
In addition to working on the front lines as an emergency room nurse and life-saving health care provider, Agranovich has founded and sold two nationally recognized health care companies. Her book, A Woman’s Health Survival Guide: Helping You Become Your Best Self, was published in 2020.
One of the most trusted experts and innovators in the field of organizational health and peak performance, Agranovich has advised and consulted with companies such as IKEA, Nordstrom, Progressive and Sherwin-Williams. Her 4-Step Vital Signs framework inspires positive change and empowers women to take ownership of their health.
All proceeds from her speaking engagements, book sales and board work support education for girls and women in need.