To celebrate Women’s History Month this year, the Andy Street Community Association presented Powerful Women Speak, an hour-long forum. Hear a select group of influential female voices share their truth about the most important issues facing our community.
Click PLAY to watch the full forum below (1 hour 8 minutes).
Veronica J Holcomb – Leadership Development – VJ Holcomb & Associates
Transforming our world one leader at a time: This phrase captures Veronica Holcomb’s life as a Leadership Development Strategist and Coach. For more than 30 years, Veronica has worked with leaders who accept the challenge to lead and perform at higher levels of impact and influence.
Veronica’s approach combines personal insight with a proven model of structured analysis, reinforcement of strengths, one-on-one coaching, and a strategic plan for increased effectiveness. Veronica and her clients collaborate to carefully examine the expectations and demands associated with their roles and identify their true talents and technical abilities. Veronica guides everyone to strengthen his or her leadership acumen as a foundation to maximize personal and organizational effectiveness.
A graduate of Southern Connecticut University, Veronica holds a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Leadership Coaching from Regent University. She was a long-time speaker with the American Management Association, a Certified Feedback Coach with the Center for Creative Leadership and holds various certifications including but not limited to: The Hogan, Intercultural Development Inventory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace. She is the author of Ready, Set, Grow! 10 Success Strategies for Winning in the Workplace and a contributing author to Leadership Defined with Dr. Warren Bennis. Veronica is currently writing a series of children’s books on leadership.
Born, raised, and educated in Connecticut, Veronica now lives and works in her home state after many years as a New York City resident.
Dr. Nina Richardson – Associate Director USC Marshall School of Business
Nina Richardson, Ed.D. is a seasoned professional with more than a decade of experience and leadership in higher education administration. She is a collaborative leader with extensive expertise in developing and executing educational programs at the graduate level at post-secondary institutions.
Nina currently serves as the Associate Director for the Master of Science in Business Analytics program at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include educational equity, online learning, and international students.
Nina holds a Masters and a Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Southern California. Additionally, she is a governing board member at the Long Beach YMCA’s Early Childhood Education Center and is civically involved in several roles in the Long Beach community, where she resides with her family.
Lori Ann Farrell Harrison – City Manager of Costa Mesa, California
Lori Ann Farrell Harrison was appointed as the City Manager of Costa Mesa, becoming the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history, in May 2020. She is a local government expert with 30 years of financial management and local government experience. Prior to becoming the City Manager of Costa Mesa, Lori Ann served as the second in command at the City of Huntington Beach, the 4th largest City in Orange County, as the Assistant City Manager.
Lori Ann was appointed to the prestigious Board of Harbor Commissioners for the Port of Long Beach, the second largest container port in the country. The Port of Long Beach is the region’s greatest economic engine and is responsible for $180 billion in international trade, across 55 countries worldwide. Lori Ann was voted by her peers to serve as Board President for two years.
Lori Ann has been featured on Bloomberg News, ABC News, Telemundo and National Public Radio for her strategies to address local government challenges.
Lori Ann received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. She is married to the Director of Emergency Services for the City of Long Beach, Reggie Harrison, and has five lovely children.
Judge Camara Banfield – Clark County Superior Court, Vancouver WA
Camara Banfield is a judge for the Clark Superior Court in Washington. She was appointed to the court on January 19, 2021, by Gov. Jay Inslee and sworn in on February 5, 2021. Banfield is the first woman of color to serve on the court.
Since 2004, Banfield has served as a criminal prosecutor with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. She most recently was serving as the office’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor. In that role she supervises the division, manages its budget and shapes the office’s policies and procedures around such prosecutions.
Born and raised in Clark County, Banfield graduated from Mountain View High School in 1990. She attended the University of Oregon on a sports scholarship, pursuing her then-dream career of becoming a U.S. diplomat. Her strengths as a sprinter led to a gold medal at the World Championships in Athletics in 1995
She earned both her law degree and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.
