ISSA Members: $150 USD
Nonmembers: $300 USD
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This event is a transformative forum where industry leaders and women trailblazers come together to connect, inspire, and drive the continued support of the advancement of women in the cleaning and facility solutions industry. Discover key insights from the Women in the Workplace 2024 Findings which will explore major themes from the report, the largest study of women in corporate America, and opportunities to enhance women’s workplace experience and advancement. This event is more than just a gathering—it’s a catalyst for positive change.
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Linda Silverman began her career as a sales consultant at Maintex in 1978. She subsequently served in other management positions until 2010 when she assumed the role of president. Linda, her brother Stu Silverman and nephew Danny Silverman own the company which is a chemical manufacturer/ JanSan distributor located in Southern California. Linda currently serves as Executive Chairwoman of Maintex.
Linda has been very involved in the cleaning industry serving on numerous local and international boards in a variety of capacities. She began her active participation at ISSA as a District Director prior to becoming the second women to serve as ISSA President and International Director in 2000.
Linda was a two-term board member and secretary of the ISSA Foundation, the charitable organization affiliated with ISSA which has become ISSA Charities. Today, Linda is an ISSA Charities Board member.
In 2016, Linda became a founding Hygieia Network Council member. In 2020-2022 she served as co-chair.
In addition to industry association activities, Linda is a board member of several community organizations.
She received her B.S. in Psychology from UCLA in 1975.
Katie Snider is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Network Distribution, a global leader in supply management solutions for janitorial, foodservice, packaging, and paper products. With over 25 years of experience in HR leadership, Katie has been with Network since 2017 and has since been instrumental in shaping the company’s human capital strategy and culture.
In her role, Katie oversees all aspects of human resources, including organizational development, talent acquisition, employee relations, HR operations and technology, total rewards, and office operations. As a key member of the executive leadership team and advisor to the CEO, she provides strategic guidance that balances corporate objectives with employee well-being.
Throughout her career, Katie has consistently elevated the role of Human Resources as a trusted business partner across various organizations. Her expertise spans strategic workforce planning, talent management, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and change management.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Katie is committed to community service. She serves on the board of Open Heart Magic, a non-profit providing bedside magic and entertainment therapy to children in Chicago area hospitals. Additionally, Katie is an active council member of the ISSA Hygieia Network, further demonstrating her dedication to industry advancement and social responsibility.
Katie’s leadership approach combines strategic business acumen with a deep understanding of human capital management, positioning her as a driving force in Network Distribution’s continued growth and success.
Kim Price is Vice President of Away from Home Market Sales with Georgia-Pacific’s CPG Customer Organization. She assumed this responsibility in 2021. Kim joined Georgia-Pacific in 2005 in our Entry Level Sales Associate Program (JumpStart). Prior to GP, Kim graduated with a B.A. in business from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Throughout her career she has held various roles in pricing, field sales, channel sales, and sales strategy/enablement/ effectiveness.
Kim has a passion for employee development and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She has served as a Council Member for ISSA’s Hygieia Network since 2018 and currently serves as the Co-Chair. Hygieia’s mission is to advance women’s careers in the cleaning industry. In her spare time, she’s probably doing something active or spending time with friends and family. Kim and her two sons reside in Roswell, Georgia.
Susan Gambardella joined Kimberly-Clark Professional (KCP) as President of North America in February 2020. In this role, Susan is accountable for KCP’s largest region.
Prior to joining KCP, Susan most recently served as Executive Vice President of Growth Channels at Advantage Solutions, a global provider of technology-enabled sales and marketing business solutions for large consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. She spent 27 years with The Coca-Cola Company in numerous leadership positions, including Sr. Vice President, National Retail Sales and Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the CEO and Chairman.
While at The Coca-Cola company, Susan also served as Group Vice-President of the Wendy’s Global Account Team, Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola North America’s Integrated Marketing team, and Zone Vice President for Coca-Cola Foodservice and On-Premise. Before joining The Coca-Cola Company, Susan was a Unit Manager with Procter and Gamble.
Dr. Tatum Thomas is the Dean of DePaul University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS). SCPS offers undergraduate adult, graduate, and nondegree programs. Notably, its centers, and special initiatives, such as the Center for the Advancement of Adults in Education, Labor Education Center, and the Adult Men of Color Initiative emphasize access and activism. Dr. Thomas is a member of the Board of Directors with the University Professional Education Association (UPCEA), where she serves on the Governance Committee, and Credential Innovation subcommittee for typology, terminology, and standards. She also serves as a Peer Evaluator with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and she is on the DePaul University’s Planning Committee for the Institute for Restorative Educational Engagement, supporting advancements in college-in-prison programs. Dr. Thomas previously held strategic leadership roles at Columbia University in the City of New York, and New York University.
Lydia Work is the President, and founder of American Paper Converting, Inc (APC), a convertor of Towel and Tissue products, with manufacturing facilities in Woodland, WA and Richmond, VA.
Born in Nicaragua, she came to the United States to learn English. Her first dream was to obtain an education, which she did, graduating in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington.
She then worked for several integrated paper mills, gaining experience in towel, tissue, newsprint and linerboard production, and quality control.
In 1997 Lydia embarked on an entrepreneurial venture as a flexible and innovative manufacturer of towels and tissue, founding American Paper Converting in Vancouver, WA.
A recipient of the Silver Star Award from the Small Business Development Center, in the state of Washington, she is past president of the Southwest Washington Chemical Engineers Association, the Oregon Sanitary Supply Association and the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA).
Lydia has also served on several Boards of Directors in the industry.
Maureen Carroll is currently the Sales Director for the Food Service Segment at Essity and the Co-Chair for the ISSA Hygieia Council. Prior to joining Essity she was with SC Johnson Professional, Hoover Commercial and Rubbermaid Commercial Products.
She has been part of the ISSA Hygieia Network for the past 7 years and has been involved in several committees including mentoring and education. Maureen has a passion for mentoring as both a mentor and mentee and believes we can all learn something from each other. Outside of work Maureen is mom to her teenage daughter and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Christina has more than 15 years of commercial consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) experience and does extensive work on marketing and sales optimization, portfolio growth, consumer insights, and capability building to support companies within the consumer-goods and private-equity industries. She also leads McKinsey’s ConsumerWise capability to understand consumer insights and trends. She is passionate about Women in the Workplace and helping companies understand opportunities to improve equity
“Our GOJO Purpose not only fuels creativity, but gives us the courage to experiment, to be entrepreneurial, to learn from our failures and never stop trying. The result: market-making innovation that changes the way the world stays healthy and well.”
Carey brings passion for our Purpose — Saving Lives and Making Life Better Through Well-Being Solutions — to her daily work at GOJO. Her focus is on continuously extending GOJO leadership as a market-making, growth-oriented Company that cares about the health and well-being of people both out in the world and within its own walls. Carey joined GOJO in 2014 as a board member, then held executive roles as Chief Strategy Officer – where she oversaw Marketing, Product Management and Innovation – and as Chief Operating Officer, before becoming President and CEO in January 2020.
As an operator, investor, and board member, Carey has worked on and in more than 50 organizations— from established public and private companies, to startups and non-profits. Prior to GOJO, Carey was the President of Walnut Ridge Strategic Management Company, and was a Vice President at Dealer Tire, a large privately held tire distributor. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a management consultant at Bain & Company.
Carey is a Board Director of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO) and Advisory Board Member of venture-backed menstrual products startup Aunt Flow. She also serves on the Boards of The Cleveland Foundation, University Hospitals, and Laurel School.
Carey received her A.B. in Public Policy from Brown University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She and her husband live in Northeast Ohio with their three children.
Melanie Sergejeff is the Vice President of People and Culture at Maintex. An energetic, forward thinking, and creative HR professional with high ethical standards, Melanie is recognized as an inspirational, motivational leader who celebrates diversity, builds trust, proactively leads, and challenges staff. With a broad range of successful experience in change management, coaching and mentoring, training and development, risk management, benefit administration, performance management and employee relations, Melanie brings a new level of professionalism to the Maintex human resources practice.
Melanie is PHR certified and holds a Masters Certification in Organizational Leadership from the Eli Broad College of Business.
Rebecca Stanonik is a seasoned Human Resources professional with over two decades of experience in fostering organizational growth and employee engagement. Currently serving as the Human Resources Director at Essity, Rebecca has been instrumental in driving strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, and professional development initiatives. Her commitment to creating a culture of respect, excellence, and responsibility has empowered employees and managers alike to embrace Essity’s core values of Commitment, Care, Courage, and Collaboration.
Beyond her professional achievements, Rebecca is a loving wife, a mom of two wonderful young men, and actively involved in her community.
Laura Craven is the vice president of marketing at Imperial Dade, a national distribution company headquartered in Jersey City, NJ. Her responsibilities include overseeing the marketing function including brand management, content marketing, communications, and experiential marketing events. She manages a dispersed team of marketing and design professionals across the country.
She has been with the company for 20 years and has contributed to the organization’s tremendous growth. As a LEED AP, Laura consults on sustainability initiatives for customers and at industry events and as a GBAC Trained Technician she helps businesses create hygienic indoor environments.
Before joining Imperial Dade in 2004, Laura was director of marketing for Network Distribution, a Chicago-based association of independent distributors. Her prior roles included project manager and purchasing agent at HAVI, a company specializing in supply chain management for leading brands.
Laura is on the Board of Directors for the International Sanitary Supply Association and the Executive Advisory Board of the ISSA Hygieia Network an organization that focuses on advancement of women in the cleaning industry. She is a frequent guest speaker at conferences, universities, and podcasts.
Dr. Felicia L. Townsend is the Program Director for the ISSA Hygieia Network where she oversees the operations, development, and implementation of leadership conferences, educational webinars, a mentoring program and outreach efforts in the US and internationally. She collaborates with over 75 corporate leaders across several Hygieia Committees, Council, and Executive Advisory Council. Since starting with ISSA Hygieia Network in 2019, the Hygieia community has grown to over 6,000 members across the US, Canada, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Latin America and China.
Felicia started her career in adult education as the Director of Business and Industry Services at a community college where she secured and developed customized trainings and conferences for non and for-profit organizations. She continued serving adult learners in a dual role as an Assistant Dean and Director of the Center for Professional Excellence at a private university and later as the Director of Corporate and Community Education at a public university in Illinois.
Felicia earned her doctorate (Ed.D) in Adult and Continuing Education from National Louis University, a M.B.A in Marketing from Illinois Institute of Technology, a M.Ed in Instructional Leadership from University of Illinois at Chicago, a B.S. in Marketing from DePaul University, and a Certificate in Instructional Design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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