ACG 101 August 27th 2025 Women In Corporate Growth Luncheon

Michael has nearly 20 years of Information Technology experience and is a Partner in BPM’s San Francisco office. He helps clients manage, maintain and upgrade their Information Systems. Michael has experience consulting with small and medium-sized companies to find the right Managed IT services for their business. He also assists larger companies with IT support and services. Today, Michael leads BPM’s Managed IT Support team and works with a group of network engineers and system administrators to install and maintain clients in a wide variety of industries.

In the past, Michael has helped a client with 300 employees automate the onboarding of employee computers and application delivery. He also upgraded a Metropolitan Area Network for another client by installing an outdoor wireless network consisting of 50 wireless devices and connecting 12 buildings with another 30 small structures. In additional, Michael upgraded a network backbone of 36 devices over those 12 buildings, including upgrading a central cloud-based management platform for the entire MAN.

Michael is a skilled network architect, network administrator, Identity Management Solution provider and all-around IT automation professional.

Joanna McFarland is the CEO and Co-founder of HopSkipDrive, the B2B technology company driving the $30 billion school transportation industry into the future and solving one of the most pressing challenges facing kids, families, schools, and communities in America. HopSkipDrive’s mission is to create opportunity for all through mobility, and the company currently partners with school districts across 14 states and supports more than 10,000 schools. Contracting directly with school districts, the company offers a network of highly vetted drivers from the local community through its care-centered transportation marketplace, and sells routing software called RouteWise AI, that solves districts’ fragmented transportation plans at scale. Joanna is on the board of LA-Tech.org, a nonprofit that connects LA’s tech community to talented, underrepresented individuals in the community and drives economic opportunities and job creation for underserved LA residents. She is on the board of Sidecar Health, a company revolutionizing health care and putting power back in the hands of the consumer. She is also an investment partner at XFactor Ventures, where she leads pre-seed and seed-stage investments in female-founded companies. Before co-founding HopSkipDrive in 2014, Joanna spent over 15 years in product management, investment banking and private equity, building and scaling businesses for top technology brands, including WeddingChannel, Green Dot, and YP.com. Joanna has an MBA from Stanford University and a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her two boys.

Katie Brewer is CEO at LERETA, a national property tax and flood services company, serving the residential real estate space.  LERETA is an industry-leading provider that leverages data and technology to provide optimized products and services to residential mortgage Servicers and Originators.  LERETA has been serving the industry for over 35 years and continues to expand and innovate in the space, harnessing automation, AI, and technology to provide enhanced products and services.  LERETA serves over 4,000 clients and monitors over 41 million properties for property tax and flood services.

Katie has a demonstrated track record of managing large and diverse organizations both domestically and globally and delivering exceptional business results through her people. She joined LERETA in January 2025 and prior to that served as the President of Selene Finance, LP, where she led the daily operations of Mortgage Servicing, Title, Due Diligence, and Insurance businesses.  Under her leadership, the company achieved significant growth and profitability, with a focus on automation, process improvement, and workflow efficiencies. Before joining Selene Finance, Katie managed various residential real estate, valuations, and technology businesses at Radian.  Katie began her career in Mortgage Servicing, and spent 12 years between Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, and GMAC-ResCap.

Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in International Business and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Spanish from Oklahoma State University.  She is actively involved in various professional organizations and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the industry. She is a champion for developing talent and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, has founded a Women's Leadership Resource Group, and was an executive sponsor for DEI and numerous other Employee Resource Groups.  Katie lives in Park City, UT with her husband of 19 years and her 3 daughters.  In her free time, she enjoys skiing, spending time with her family, traveling, exploring the outdoors, and participating in various philanthropic activities with her daughters. 

Neha Kumar brings over 15 years of experience in startups and a proven track record as a changemaker and strategic leader. 

Before co-founding Full Glass Wine, Neha served as COO and CFO of Create & Cultivate, where she successfully led the company through a private equity acquisition in 2021. Following the exit, she launched New Money Ventures, a fund to invest in early-stage startups, further solidifying her reputation as a forward-thinking leader in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Neha is also a dedicated educator, having spent nearly a decade as a lecturer at UCLA, where she shares her expertise in finance and operations. 

At Full Glass Wine, Neha plays a pivotal role in identifying acquisition opportunities that align with the Full Glass mission, while also spearheading a rigorous vetting process to ensure each acquisition delivers long-term growth potential within the multi-brand strategy.

Neha earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA and holds an MBA from USC.