Four New Directors Elected to Board of The Commonwealth Institute

The Commonwealth Institute, a nonprofit  organization that helps women CEOs, corporate executive and nonprofit executive directors build successful companies and organizations today announces the election of four new board members to serve for a term of two years. New board members are Deborah Besemer, Former CEO BrassRing; Andrea Cohen, CEO HouseWorks; Lauren Jennings, Of Counsel Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP and Helene Solomon, Founder Solomon McCown & Company. With the addition of these four directors, the board is now comprised of twenty four directors.

The election of these four new directors indicates the strength and diversity of the board as they enter FY 2010.  It also shows the power of The Commonwealth Institute’s network and programs as Besemer, Cohen, Jennings and Solomon have all been active members of The Commonwealth Institute and participated in CEO Forums, confidential roundtables that assist CEOs in building their businesses and creating personal advisory boards. All women continue to lead or advise highly successful businesses in the greater Boston area.

According to Pamela D.A. Reeve, Chair of The Board, “The growth of the board of directors at The Commonwealth Institute indicates a new direction for the Institute as we seek to expand membership opportunities and services, monthly programmatic events and continue to serve as a resource for women leaders in the Greater Boston area”.

Deborah Besemer was most recently the CEO of Gemvara, an e-commerce designer jewelry company.  Previously she was the President and CEO of BrassRing, a leading provider of talent management solutions.

Lauren Jennings, Of Counsel, at Posternak Blankstein and Lund is the firm’s Immediate-Past Managing Partner and a member of the Corporate Practice Group.  She is engaged in a general business practice, with particular focus on structuring of strategic relationships, mergers and acquisitions, entity formation and planning, and contracts, including both transactional and ongoing company representation.

Andrea Cohen, HouseWorks Co-founder and CEO has been a leader in eldercare business development for the past 20 years, transforming the way private-pay services are delivered through a series of successful, widely replicated ventures. Throughout her career, her driving vision has been to create a society where seniors can age in place by developing innovative home care options and supporting family caregivers.

Helene Solomon is the founder of Solomon McCown & Company and is widely recognized for bringing an entrepreneurial spirit and keen sense of strategic thinking to the recognition, definition and protection of mission-focused organizations and businesses. Helene melds a track record of work for some of the most recognized brands in their fields with an understanding of and passion for issues that stem from her background in politics and experience in the public sector and serving on boards.