About Us
Tracey Welson-Rossman
Tracey is the founder of TechGirlz. She is also a founding member of, and Chief Marketing Officer for, Chariot Solutions, a Philadelphia-based Java and open source software development and consulting firm. Tracey has created the branding and marketing strategy for Chariot, helping it to grow from 10 employees in 2002 to 50. She is also responsible for managing the strategic planning process, as well as spearheading Chariot’s sales efforts.
After graduating from Drexel, Tracey started her career in retail management and advertising sales. She learned about lead development, marketing, and distribution in these roles, but what she really learned was that she’s an entrepreneur at heart. In 1996, Tracey bought a New Jersey-based child transportation company called KangaKab. In 1999, with revenues at $2.5 million and having started a branch in Pennsylvania, Tracey sold KangaKab. As the director of sales & marketing for accounting software provider Skylight Systems, Tracey developed and executed marketing and channel efforts around one of the first-ever hosted accounting products. This program supplemented the existing sales of RFS, Skylight’s server based flagship product. It was very early on for the web-hosted software concept, but several firms began to use this product for their clients.
Tracey is also the founder and current chair of the Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Conference, (ETE), which is held in Philadelphia each year. ETE attracts world-renowned thought leaders in cutting-edge technologies and serves as a community forum for regional technology companies. Tracey is one of the founding board members of Philadelphia Startup Leaders, a regional organization dedicated to growing technology startup businesses (www.phillystartupleaders.org).
Yasmine Mustafa
Yasmine Mustafa is constantly involved in different ventures. Her two main passions at the moment are 123LinkIt.com and GirlDevelopIT. 123LinkIt is a blog advertising company with the #1 most downloaded WordPress affiliate tool. The software scans blog posts and transforms product keywords into affiliate links. GirlDevelopIt aims to repair the wide gender gap in development by focusing on helping women learn how to program in a supportive and fun environment. When she has free time, Yasmine enjoys people watching and playing poker.
Karen Stellabotte
Karen is a passionate, dedicated professional who enjoys helping people. She is a leader with extensive experience in commercial operations in the Pharmaceutical Industry. For the past 19 years, Karen has worked for Pfizer, formerly Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, as Senior Director of Commercial Operations where she led a management team that was responsible for compliant promotional processes and meeting the commercial business challenges and objectives.
Skip Shuda
Skip is the co-founder of Philly Marketing Labs, a Social Media and Internet Marketing companythat partners with mid-sized businesses to provide visibility to profitability using diital marketing and goal- driven dashboards. Skip and his team employ Social and Search channels coupled with community building tactics to drive results. Skip has a passion for building Internet and software companies and guiding others who seek to do the same. In the mid-90’s he started an eCommerce software company that created one of the world’s first online banking systems for Bank of America. He has provided Web marketing and strategic guidance to brands like Comcast Corporation, The Vanguard Group and Mellon Financial.
Skip serves on the advisory board of a number of technology startups and teaches entrepreneurship at the Wharton Small Business Development Center. In addition to working with TechGirlz, his volunteer work includes donating time to The Philadelphia Academy, Integral Philly and The Main Social Media Meetup. Skip has his BS in Computer Science from University of Delaware and his MS in Computer Science from Villanova University. He has a certificate in Integral Theory studies from JFK University. He has certifications in SEO, Web Analytics and Landing Page Optimization. He holds a black belt in Aikido and enjoys camping, big picture thinking and spending time with his family in Wayne, Pa.
Anita Garimella
Anita Garimella Andrews is a senior Internet and software product management executive with almost 15 years e-commerce experience – most recently she was VP, E-commerce at Nutrisystem. She has expertise in building B-to-B and B-to-C platforms, social gaming and viral metrics optimization, search and advertising, user experience design, online marketing, and social networks. She currently is CEO of Sepiida, an Internet marketing optimization and product management services company, whose clients include Zynga Games Network, Haymarket Media, Coveroo, and Real WaterSports.
Anita holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction. She earned her B.A. from New York University majoring in Politics with a minor in Mathematics. She is a member of the Mayor Nutter’s Digital Philadelphia task force and also on the Board of the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE). She teaches product management and online marketing internationally.
Joyce Akiko
Joyce Akiko supports the Techgirlz website with self-taught development skills. An entrepreneur at heart, she started her first company at age 17 by designing, creating, and selling sustainable clothing for women. She started a market research organization in 2011 after teaching herself the fundamentals of SEO, marketing, web development, and advertising. She later founded an independent consulting company called Go HR for Startups after earning her Master of Science in Human Resources Development from Villanova University. Joyce is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Talentoid, a startup that helps companies such as American Red Cross and iLaborNetwork streamline their hiring process.