Board
Women recognized as trailblazers in their fields…
Valerie Rainford is Managing Director and Business Manager of JPMorgan Chase Global Compliance. In this capacity, Valerie serves as the Chief of Staff to the Head of Global Compliance. She also leads the Global Compliance Business and Program Management Office. Valerie was previously a member of the Chase Mortgage Bank executive team where in addition to leading a number of key businesses, she also served as Chief of Staff to the mortgage company CEO.
Prior to joining Chase, Valerie was a senior leader with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 21 years.
Valerie is an avid executive supporter of diversity and equality in many circles. At Chase, she is a member of the JPMC Global Diversity Council and a member of the Black Leaders Forum. She previously served as Chair of the Mortgage Bank diversity council.
Valerie’s commitment to the community is equally strong. She co-founded the Black Women of Influence network, is a Steering Committee member of the Black Women for Black Girls Giving Circle and is a member of the esteemed Executive Leadership Council.
For her professional achievements and community involvement, Valerie was honored in 2007 by the Network Journal magazine as one of “25 Influential Black Women in Business” and in 2009 by the Harlem YMCA as a “Black Achiever in Industry”. Valerie’s achievements have also been featured in Black Enterprise magazine.
Marsha Haygood
Marsha Haygood is a highly respected motivational speaker and a dynamic career and personal coach with a solid career development track record in corporate America. She founded and is President of StepWise Associates, LLC, which offers professional and personal guidance to individuals, corporations and small business owners through coaching and motivational speaking.
Marsha speaks on topics which offer personal and professional success strategies. She offers practical tips that inspire clients and audiences to identify their passion, assess their skills and potential and craft a roadmap to reach their goals. She cultivated her coaching expertise during 25+ years as a Human Resources Executive where she advised Senior Management and coached employees at all levels.
In her last corporate position, Marsha was Executive Vice President – Human Resources and Administration at New Line Cinema, a division of Time Warner. She has been featured in a number of publications for her contributions to corporate America including USA Today, The New York Daily News, Essence, Ebony, Heart &Soul Magazine and was featured in the book, Speaking of Success. She is also the coauthor of The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women published by Random House/One World Press.
Marsha holds a BA degree from Lehman College in New York and Human Resource Training and Development Certification from New York University. She has won numerous awards for her accomplishments including the prestigious YMCA Black Achievement Award and The Trailblazer Award from The National Association of African Americans in Human Resources. The Network Journal also named Marsha one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for YouthBridge-NY, a non-profit high school leadership development organization, and is the cofounder of Black Woman of Influence.
Michelle Taylor-Jones
Michelle is AVP of Diversity Recruiting and Strategy with Massachusetts Mutual Financial Group (MassMutual) in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her responsibilities include execution of both short- and long-range diversity recruiting strategies to support the talent needs for one of the largest mutual insurers in the country. Previously held positions include Senior Diversity Leader with EMC Corporation, and and also extensive work with Fleet Bank on initiatives that helped the bank gain first-mover position in the marketplace amongst women and minority owned businesses.
Michelle serves as an honorary board member of Black Women-Owned Enterprises and is a founding member of Black Women of Influence. In 2005 The Network Journal also named Michelle one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business. Michelle supports numerous non profits with programs that specifically target leadership amongst girls, and she will soon be a published author of her first in a series of inspirational books.
