Women in Leadership 2025: Cynthia Larsen
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
She began her legal career in Washington, D.C., where she worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. She chose the civil division, which handled cases such as aviation disasters, the U.S. government giving LSD to soldiers in the 1950s as an experiment, and whether radioactive atomic testing in Nevada caused cancer. “It was pretty exciting stuff,” she says.
Women in Leadership 2025: Jita Pandya Buño
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
Buño certainly knows a thing or two about stepping outside her comfort zone. At 16, she immigrated to the U.S. from India with her family and joined the Air Force just a year later.
Women in Leadership 2025: Laura Knauss
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
In the four decades that Laura Knauss has been practicing architecture, a lot has changed. In the late 1980s when Knauss began her career, women were woefully underrepresented in the field. Now women make up nearly one third of all architects and almost half of all candidates pursuing a license.
Women in Leadership 2025: Cassandra Jennings
Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region
At St. HOPE, Jennings oversees a collection of nonprofit entities — including a charter high school, a development company and an endowment — aimed at revitalizing the Oak Park neighborhood. She is, and has always been, a community builder.
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GILBERT CPAs
SHATTERING GLASS CEILINGS WITH TWO NEW DYNAMIC AUDIT MANAGERS
As Gilbert CPAs moves forward into another year of caring for their clients, the firm is not just crunching numbers — it’s shattering glass ceilings. With a recent promotion of two dynamic women to audit manager roles, Gilbert CPAs is proving that in the world of accounting, women are definitely counting.
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UNITED WAY
MOBILIZING FOR CHANGE THE WOMEN DRIVING UNITED WAY'S IMPACT
United Way California Capital Region (UWCCR) isn’t just an organization — it’s a movement. A community-driven powerhouse that mobilizes people to action so all can thrive.
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SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND OF MIWOK INDIANS
Malissa Tayaba, vice chairperson of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, is leading a charge to protect tribal water rights and preserve cultural connections to California’s waterways.
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SAGENT
In the fast-paced world of marketing, Shelley Cousineau discovered her true passion many years ago. With a contagious enthusiasm and nearly three decades of experience in strategic campaign planning and execution, she’s become a powerhouse in the realm of purpose-driven marketing.
Sponsored
ROBERT CRAIG FILMS
JENNIFER STOLO IS NOW GRANTING BIG-SCREEN WISHES
While Jennifer Stolo made her mark in Sacramento as the longtime head of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s regional chapter, she shifted her wish-fulfillment talents to the big screen nearly three years ago, becoming CEO of Robert Craig Films.
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PIONEER COMMUNITY ENERGY
BRINGING CHOICE INTO THE ENERGY MARKET
Seven years ago, a desire for competition in the local electricity market sparked a neighborly revolution in the foothills region: the creation of Pioneer Community Energy, a customer-owned, not-for-profit electricity provider that serves the unincorporated areas of Placer and El Dorado counties and the incorporated areas of Auburn, Colfax, Grass