PLJ – Magazine Issue – Mid-Year 2026 – Award Winners

2026 Mid-Year Women Worth Watching^® in Leadership Award Winners

• AAON, Inc. – Abbey Davis, PhD – Vice President, Chief of Staff
• Braverman Greenspun – Cheryl Ginsburg – Partner
• Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP – Chelsea L. Ireland – Associate
• Curriculum Associates – Kelly Sia – CEO
• Dechert LLP – Megan Johnson – Partner
• Exelon – BGE, Delmarva Power (MD) & Pepco (DC) – Valencia McClure – Senior Vice President of Governmental, Regulatory, and External Affairs
• FUJIFILM Biotechnologies – Laurie Braxton – Senior Vice President and Site Head, Holly Springs, North Carolina
• Herrick – Carol Goodman – Partner, Chair of Employment Practice, Co-Chair of Litigation Department, Member of Executive Committee
• Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP – Charlotte Baigent – Associate
• Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP – Madison Gardiner – Associate
• J&P National Youth Empowerment Network, NFP and J&P Consulting Group LLC – Dr. Mariann Jordan – Founder/Chief Executive Officer and Joint Owner and Principal Consultant
• Knobbe Martens – Charlene Azema – Partner
• Krauss Shaknes Tallentire & Messeri LLP – Grace Chamoun Taranto – Senior Associate
• Litera – Rachael Rekart – Chief of Staff to the CEO
• Mayer Brown – Gabrielle Levin – Partner and Co-leader of the US Employment Litigation and Counseling Group
• Moses & Singer LLP – Jessica Caterina – Partner
• Native Forward Scholars Fund – Sara LaBarge – Director of Strategic Partnerships
• New York Life – Zerlina Jackson – Vice President, Experience Design Strategy
• Orbital Engineering, Inc. – Brittany Chapman – Director of Transmission Engineering
• Reading Horizons – Trisha Thomas – President
• Robins Kaplan LLP – Ellen Jalkut – Counsel
• Smith Currie Oles LLP – Allison Geewax – Partner
• Social Good Solutions (SGS) – Kaci Y. Patterson – Founder and Chief Architect
• Stretto – Sheryl Betance – Senior Managing Director
• Workforce Connections – Rachelle Bauer – Managing Partner
• zyBooks | Wiley – Dr. Yamuna Rajasekhar – Senior Director, Learning and Research

2026 Mid-Year Human Resources Leadership Award Winners

• Curriculum Associates – Sandra O’Sullivan – Chief People and Operations Officer
• Dechert LLP – Alison Nina Bernard – Chief Talent and Human Resources Officer
• New York Life – Kathleen Navarro – SVP, Chief Diversity Officer & Head of HR Business Enablement
• PENN Entertainment – Kevin Grove – Vice President of Human Resources

2026 Mid-Year Mentoring Leadership Award Winners

• Knobbe, Martens, Olsen and Bear LLP – Irfan Lateef – Partner
• Latham & Watkins LLP – Sarah M. Gragert – Former Partner
• Orbital Engineering – Brent E. Harting – Utility Client Director
• Orbital Engineering – Jason Richards, PE – Director, Plant Projects

2026 Mid-Year Latino & Hispanic Leadership Award Winners

• SERHANT. New Jersey LLC – Alexander Calle – Broker of Record / Team Leader, JC Luxury Group at SERHANT
• Knobbe Martens – Jessica L. Achtsam – Partner
• Litera – Dennis Garcia – Vice President & General Counsel
• New York Life Insurance Company – David Cruz – Senior Vice President and Head of Institutional Annuities
• Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP – Gerardo Alcazar – Partner
• Prosperity Now – Marisa Calderon – President and CEO
• Queston Roofing & Construction, Inc. – Tina M. Cordova – President
• R3 Wound Care & Hyperbarics – Chris Burciaga – CEO
• Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP – Jaime Cardenas-Navia – Partner
• Robins Kaplan LLP – David Martinez – Member of the Executive Board; Member of the Firm’s Diversity Committee; Pro Bono Chair, Los Angeles Office
• Stretto – Ricardo Tejeda – Managing Director, Administration and Development
• WellTheory – Wallace Torres – Co-Founder and Head of Operations

2026 Mid-Year Emerging Leaders Award Q1 Winners

• Dechert LLP – Meghan Redding – Partner
• Litera – Endrine Rafuna – Director, Product Marketing
• Mayer Brown – Kathryne (Katie) Gray – Partner
• Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP – James Leito – Partner

2026 Mid-Year STEAM Leadership Award Winners

• Dechert – Marina Schwarz – Partner
• Knobbe Martens – Christy Lea – Partner
• Latham & Watkins LLP – Gloria Ring – Partner
• Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP – Sharon M. Sintich, Ph.D. – Partner
• New York Life – Marina Printz – Vice President, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
• Orbital Engineering, Inc. – Bryan Shive – Senior Vice President of Engineering

2026 Mid-Year Asian Leadership Award Winners

• Bernstein Litowitz, Berger & Grossmann LLP – Li Yu – Partner
• Litera – George Ku – VP, Corporate Development
• New York Life – Nabeed Zaman – Vice President, Corporate Compliance
• Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP – Su He – Of Counsel
• Stretto – Clarissa Cu – Director
• Stretto – Angela Tsai – Managing Director

2026 Mid-Year Leadership Through Community Engagement Award Winners

• New York Life – Heather Nesle – SVP, Corporate Responsibility, New York Life

2026 Mid-Year Employee Resource Groups Leadership Award Winners

• Epiq – Jason Kim – Manager, Information Governance
• New York Life – Aaron Ball – Executive Vice President and Head of the Foundational Business