Meet Our Counselors
Anne Flynn Schlicht
Business Counseling
Anne received her Masters of Business Studies in Entrepreneurship from the University of Limerick, Ireland and a Best Practice in Teaching Entrepreneurship Certificate from the University of Cambridge, UK. Anne brings a wealth of international experience as a professor of entrepreneurship and as a business consultant. Anne has presented at seminars and conferences internationally on the topic of entrepreneurship education and women entrepreneurs. In January 2005, Anne was chosen as the second "Rooney International Visiting Scholar," which facilitated her move to the US. Anne joined the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship in 2008. In 2016, Anne was appointed Director of Chatham's Women Business Center (CWBC). In 2019, CWBC and CWE merged into one Center and Anne was appointed Director.
Rachel Webber
Business Counseling
Rachel joined the Center in June 2022 as Business Advisor. Rachel has a background in community development, small business advocacy, and neighborhood planning. Rachel previously served as the Nighttime Economy Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh and as Business District Manager at Lawrenceville Corporation. Rachel holds an undergraduate degree in English and Public Relations from Duquesne University.
Wendy Mascio
Business Counseling
Wendy is a serial entrepreneur that started her entrepreneurial journey by co-founding Medical Equipment Source, LLC a multi-million dollar medical equipment company. After experiencing domestic and international success, Wendy went on to co-found VIVO Worldwide Inc. to serve as a strategic partner to Medical Equipment Source, LLC to manage the growing international distributions channels as well as medical device development. Her next entrepreneurial endeavor CompleteIt Consultants was formed from Wendy's years of entrepreneurial experience where she utilizes her talents in "getting things done" to help organizations succeed by planning, implementing and achieving their goals. Wendy's passion for the entrepreneurial spirit has led her to be active with business development/entrepreneurial programs at several universities and organizations around the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, Wendy was an award winning sales professional with over a decade in Pharmaceutical sales and sales training experience. Wendy believes that the entrepreneurial dream is attainable through with good planning, strategic execution and hard work.
Lillian Rafson
Business Counseling
Lillian, founder and CEO of Pack Up + Go, launched her business at 23 years old. Originally from Pittsburgh, and a graduate of New York University, Lillian has always had a passion for travel and supporting small businesses. Without raising a dollar, Lillian has grown Pack Up + Go to a multi-million-dollar business, learning so much along her entrepreneurial journey. She has been honored as a member of the inaugural Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 class, a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow, a Travel & Leisure A-List Travel Planner, and a Top Woman in Hospitality. She is thrilled to share her love of entrepreneurship with the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship.
Talpha Harris
Business Counseling
Talpha Harris is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sustainible, a business model assessment tool that helps entrepreneurs determine how they can improve or implement their business model. She also owns Ancient Path Adventures, a biblical innovation hub, producing creative card games, board games and more. Talpha previously worked as an Entrepreneurship Hub Manager at a local CDFI, helping entrepreneurs build businesses by developing entrepreneurial programming such as accelerators and incubators. Talpha graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship and currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and toddler.
Rachel Graper
Marketing Counseling for the Food Industry
Rachel Graper is brand marketer who specializes in building compelling narratives and marketing strategies. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in a variety of marketing roles from corporate (Heinz, GNC) to entrepreneurial endeavors, including Ideal Grain Free Granola. She partners with businesses and entrepreneurs to craft their unique brand positioning statements and select communication tactics which support their story. She earned an MBA at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and a B.S. in Hospitality Management at NYU.
Marian Neilson
Diversity Certification Technical Assistance
Marian Neilson provides primary support for Abator's GetDiversityCertified.com service designed to assist SDMWVLGBTBE business owners on the path to diversity certification. Having documented eligibility requirements for federal, state, city/county and third party certifying organizations in the US, Ms. Neilson has unparalleled knowledge of certification processes with a deep commitment to help others successfully navigate them. She is responsible researching and tracking any new certifications offered or eligibility requirement changes to existing certification programs. She is a 2003 graduate of Chatham University with a BA in English, minoring in History and the SBA's Emerging Leaders Program.
Jessica Eberley
Human Resources Technical Assistance
Jessica's experience in human resources and recruiting have made her an expert in the industry. Jessica founded HRT Solutions in 2016 with a focus on providing services in HR, University Recruiting, and RPO Services. While she works with clients of all sizes, Jessica enjoys partnering with small businesses and is able to leverage her own experience as a business owner.
Judith Herron
Accounting Technical Assistance
Judith Herron, CPA works with businesses to deliver financial information to investors, banks, taxing authorities and managers. Judith helps her clients sharpen their focus on financial data essential for managing performance. Prior to working in public accounting at Crawford Ellenbogen, Judith served in executive positions for Fortune 500 companies including CIGNA and GE Capital. Judith provides technical consulting for the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship at Chatham University. Judith's continuing education work includes Six Sigma certification, GE Situational Leadership training and Synectics Facilitation Workshops. She has an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from NYU.
Marlene Van Nelson
Legal Technical Assistance
Marlene van Nelson is the founder and principal attorney at Trellis Legal, LLC
Beth A. Slagle
Legal Technical Assistance
Beth A. Slagle is a business attorney at the law firm of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP where she maintains an active practice focused principally on business disputes, insurance coverage, entrepreneurs, and employment law. Her involvement in insurance coverage claims has translated directly into the recovery of millions of dollars for many companies, including more than $100,000,000 for a single corporate client. She represents a number of entrepreneurs and new ventures, assisting them with business and operational issues, and has dedicated a significant amount of her practice to assisting female-owned companies in business formation and executing strategic solutions for a myriad of business issues. Ms. Slagle is the Chair of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Group, Co-Chair of MUSolutions (focused on entrepreneurs), and Chair of the Diversity Committee. She is included in Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Coverage and Commercial Litigation, has been selected to Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list and maintains an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating Program. Additionally, from 2005 to 2013, she founded and operated BizChicks, a professional women's organization focused on networking, education and empowerment, and now owns/operates a residential rehab business.
Meesha Gerhart
Digital Marketing Technical Assistance
The owner of RedTree Web Design, Meesha Gerhart and her team help companies build their businesses by building better websites. She provides expert niche services for any type of business through smart website development and design, inspiring user experiences and lead-producing SEO. An award-winning developer and designer, Meesha gets to the heart of her client's goals to help supersede them by generating exciting, solid results.
Jane Ann Regan
Marketing & Branding Technical Assistance
Jane Ann has more than 30 years of experience in Marketing across multiple industries with experience at H.J. Heinz Co., AT&T Wireless, and regional grocer, Giant Eagle. She founded Regan Management Consulting, LLC (RMC) in 2012 to help small businesses focus their limited resources on the efforts with the largest impact. A passion for learning, drives Jane Ann! She quickly grasps a business challenge and transforms that challenge into a set of realistic targeted plans to drive successful results. RMC helps clients to establish a focus supported by solid business analysis on their journey to creating a successful strategic plan and marketing strategy. A native of the Pittsburgh region, Jane Ann attended Seton Hill University and has an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Melanie Ansell
Funding Clinic Technical Assistance
As President/Owner of My Business Builders LLC, Melanie is well versed in assisting small businesses. She is a past Bank President, current business owner, and a teaching professor at several universities on the topics of Finance and Small Business Planning and Management. Throughout her career, she has worked with thousands of business owners and those contemplating starting a business to help them achieve their life dreams of being successful entrepreneurs!
Mary Jo Lincoln
Accounting Technical Assistance
Ms. Lincoln is currently the President of RSG Accounting Services, a Riverside Sales Group division. RSG Accounting is a consulting firm with primary areas of expertise in accounting, tax, marketing, sales, and business startups. Ms. Lincoln has over twenty years of accounting experience and has been a CPA since 1986. During this time, she has held various financial positions, including the Chief Financial Officer of the National Development Company of Pennsylvania, LLC and CFO of MTR Gaming, Inc. She currently holds her CPA license in Pennsylvania but has held licenses in Nevada, Ohio and West Virginia.
Auldyn Matthews-McGee
User Experience and Web Design Technical Assistance
Auldyn Matthews-McGee is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching UX and interaction design. Previously, she worked for 10 years as a user experience designer and leader at healthcare and higher education companies, including Elsevier and Ellucian. Auldyn's experience includes designing electronic health record software for nurses and patients, transforming patient experiences through mobile applications, and facilitating design thinking workshops across the globe. Most recently, Auldyn started the first UX team at Phreesia, a healthcare tech company. Auldyn holds a master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University and bachelors' degrees in math, Spanish, and psychology from Ohio University.