Board of Directors

Holly Weiss

Founder, President, Board Member

Bryn Bowen

board member, secretary

Nancy Tepper

board member

Sumi Vatsa

Board Member

Sara Solfanelli

board member

Hollie Harper

board member, teaching artist

Karen Bergreen

Board Member

Sara Pandolfi

board member

Alicia Glekas Everett

board member

Holly Weiss

Founder, President, Board Member

Holly Weiss is a member of the Board and is the Founder and President of Stand Up! Girls®. She focuses on organizational strategy and fundraising. Holly is the founder and owner of HWH Mediation, a firm that provides mediation services in connection with legal disputes. For nearly 20 years, Holly was a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, a New York-based law firm, where she specialized in employment and employee benefits law. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. Holly has developed and performed stand-up comedy in New York.

Bryn Bowen

BOARD MEMBER, SECRETARY

Bryn Bowen is a member of the Board and the Secretary of Stand Up! Girls. He is a Director of MCCG Guyana, a management and resource consulting practice focused on development. Bryn is also the Principal Consultant at Greenheart Consulting Partners, a boutique Governance Risk & Compliance consulting practice. Bryn is a frequent speaker and author on issues relating to Corporate and Information Governance, and serves on the board of the PS3til6 Afterschool Program. Bryn has a lifelong dedication to supporting scientific, educational and social justice efforts.

Nancy Tepper

BOARD MEMBER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Nancy Tepper is a member of the Board and is the Executive Director of Stand Up! Girls where she focuses on all of the management responsibilities. While Nancy has a background in brand management and marketing, she has pivoted to a career in a personal development life coaching. Nancy is also the co-host of the MT Nesters brand which is platform (podcasts, panels, and events) that provides relevant information to women who are looking to find more purpose in their lives. Nancy is also the Transition category expert for Kuel Life and writes articles to inspire positive changes in mindset.

Sumi Vatsa

BOARD MEMBER

Sumi Vatsa is a member of the Board of Stand Up! Girls. She has been helping her clients and customers buy, sell, rent and lease property all over New York City for more than a dozen years. Sumi credits her success to having a good sense of humor, as she helps clients achieve one of the three holy grails everyone is seeking in New York City – the perfect home! Sumi has been performing stand-up for the last seven years, gracing such stages as Gotham Comedy Club and Stand Up NY.

Sara Solfanelli

BOARD MEMBER

Sara E. Solfanelli is a member of the Board of Stand Up! Girls. She oversees the law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel’s pro bono program. Sara started her career as the director of international programs at Women’s Campaign International, a non-profit dedicated to empowering women in emerging democracies. Upon graduating law school, she joined Schulte as an associate, where she counselled clients on a wide range of employment matters. While at Schulte, Sara provided extensive pro bono services to a variety of non-profit clients and helped start Foundation Rwanda, where she remains director and secretary. Sara also served as a global HR director and in-house counsel for media and advertising agencies. In 2017, Sara transitioned to public service full-time and joined the Urban Justice Center as chief operating officer and general counsel, where she helped launch the Social Justice Accelerator which counsels start-up and early stage non-profits. Sara is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Resource Exchange.

Hollie Harper

BOARD MEMBER, TEACHING ARTIST

Hollie Harper — a writer/comedian/actress — is a member of the Board of, and a teaching artist for, Stand Up! Girls. Hollie is a co-host of the nationally trending Twitter Storytelling Chat “BlerdDating.” Her blog “Hollie Harper INK” on Medium has Top Writer status in Parenting, Black Lives Matter and Racism. She is the creator of the popular sketch comedy show AMERICAN CANDY. They have played the Comic Strip, Gotham Comedy Club, BAM Café as well as the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Hollie is a regular host for West Side Comedy Club. As an actress she recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of Melanie Maria Goodreaux’s “The White Blacks.”

Karen Bergreen

BOARD MEMBER

Karen Bergreen is a member of the Board of Stand Up! Girls. She has been teaching stand-up comedy with The Manhattan Comedy School for fifteen years. Prior to that, she co-founded the teaching program at Kids N’ Comedy, where she co-wrote a comedy how-to for kids called Young, Funny and Unbalanced. A regular on the New York City Standup scene, Karen has made multiple TV appearances, including The Jim Gaffigan Show, The View and Comedy Central. Karen has written two comic novels, Following Polly and Perfect is Overrated, which have earned praise from The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and her mother-in-law. Karen was a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and More Magazine.

Sara Pandolfi

BOARD MEMBER

Sara Pandolfi is a member of the Board of Stand Up! Girls. She leads her own social impact firm, Sara Pandolfi & Company, working with nonprofit organizations, foundations, companies, and philanthropists, connecting a community of voices for change. She specializes in nonprofit development, corporate and community partnerships, crisis relief management, marketing, and strategic planning. From managing enrichment programs for at-risk teens, to helping organizations develop the tools to maintain a sustainable and meaningful business operation, Sara has chosen a career path that is aligned with her passion to serve and to help others. She mentors students and young professionals, giving them unique opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world development and marketing initiatives. Sara is the recipient of the 2015 NYU Bart Lawson Alumni Award for Public Service.

Alicia Glekas Everett

BOARD MEMBER

Alicia Glekas Everett is a member of the Board of Stand Up! Girls. Alicia is the Head of Business Affairs for WME Books, a division of Endeavor. Alicia leads the team that advises the literary agents of WME on publishing, copyright and intellectual property matters. Alicia is also passionate about film and the entertainment business generally. She is on the board of ARCAthens, a non-profit organization that promotes artist residencies in The Bronx and Athens, Greece.