Elissa Ellis-Sangster
Executive Director
Forté Foundation
Elissa serves as Executive Director for the Forté Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring women business leaders. Ms. Ellis-Sangster brings to the role extensive knowledge of issues affecting women’s abilities to seek, prepare for and attain business leadership positions, drawn from her prior experience as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. There she oversaw all activities related to the full-time McCombs MBA program including marketing, admissions, student services, and alumni relations.
Elissa received her MBA and her B.A. in English from Texas A&M University, where she was the Assistant Director of the MBA Program until 1997. She is also past Chair of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Annual Industry Conference. Elissa formerly served as chair of the MBA Student Services Professionals (MBA SSP). She is an ex-officio member of the Forté Foundation Executive Committee.
Denise Montana
Director of Corporate Relations and Programs
Forté Foundation
Denise has an extensive background in Human Resources, with over 20 years experience in leading firms including Philip Morris (now Altria), Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank. For over 10 years, Denise has focused on Diversity and Inclusion, starting the first Diversity function at Citibank and managing Diversity in the Americas for Deutsche Bank. Her expertise includes developing and enhancing the effectiveness of Diversity programs and strategies, consulting with senior leaders to develop practical solutions to business issues, enhancing the effectiveness of employee resource groups, and implementing professional development programming for diverse populations. In addition, Denise has experience in HR Legal Compliance, Recruiting, Generalist and Employee Relations functions. She has a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.S. from Pace University. She lives in Harding Township, New Jersey with her husband Steve and 2-year-old Bichon Frise, Maddie.
Sara Nordhoff
Director of School Sponsor Relations
Forté Foundation
As the Director of School Sponsor Relations, Sara manages the relationships between Forté and its sponsor MBA programs. She also oversees program development for the college and pre-MBA audience, including the Career Lab series and Forte Forums. And finally, Sara directs Forté’s strategy with MBA women such as the Forté Fellows program, outreach to MBA women in business clubs and the annual MBA Women’s Conference.
Prior to joining Forte in February of 2006, Sara worked at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth as the Senior Associate Director of Marketing within the admissions office. She oversaw development and execution of all print and online marketing collateral, messaging, presentations, and email campaigns for prospective students. In her role at Tuck, Sara also directed women’s outreach and worked with Forté’s marketing committee. Before heading to Dartmouth, she worked for a boutique communications consulting firm in Boston while completing her masters degree in communications at Boston University. She began her career in undergraduate admissions with the admissions teams at both Bennington and Mount Holyoke Colleges.
Sara earned her bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College with a major in history. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband Andy, her son Riley Daniel and their pup, Baxter.
Leslie Sirianni Thompson
Director of Marketing
Forté Foundation
Leslie Sirianni Thompson is the Director of Marketing for the Forté Foundation. Leslie is responsible for developing the marketing strategy and tactics that will attract members to the Forté Foundation, communicate the special events and offerings relevant to their individual career stages, and ultimately create an ongoing relationship. Specifically, she is responsible for brand identity, internet and email marketing, advertising and public relations, value-added partnerships, and targeted communications efforts. A priority is to promote awareness of and participation in Forté’s networking and educational forums.
Prior to joining the Forté Foundation in November 2006, Leslie was employed by Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, where she worked in various product and channel marketing management roles. She also held progressive product management roles at Kellogg’s and Nabisco, specifically in the foodservice channel. Leslie started her post-MBA career at American Express, where she was a Marketing Manager in the Interactive Services Group.
Leslie earned her B.A. degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Boston University and her M.B.A. in Marketing from New York University. Originally from New Jersey, Leslie lives with her husband in Frisco, Texas.
Jessica Cowan
Marketing Program Coordinator/Intern Manager
Forté Foundation
Jessica Cowan is Program Marketing Coordinator for Forté
Foundation. Jessica joined Forté Foundation in the fall of 2004 as the
Events Coordinator. In her current role, she works to develop and
implement marketing plans that drive awareness to the organization and its
events. Specifically, she’s responsible for the development of online
content for web pages and HTML email campaigns, managing the creation of
marketing assets and other event related activities. Beyond marketing
organizational programming and events, Jessica is responsible for managing a
team of interns each semester.
Prior to working for Forté Foundation, Jessica worked for the
Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, a state education
association. Working on behalf of school administrators from around the
state of Texas, she planned a number professional development conferences and
seminars yearly. Jessica earned her BA from Texas State University,
graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Communications. Jessica loves
living in Austin, Texas, and enjoys running. She is currently training
for her 8th marathon.
Elizabeth Bassett
Program & Event Coordinator
Forté Foundation
Bryan Treat
Online Marketing Specialist
Forté Foundation
Beth Lopez
Executive Assistant
Forté Foundation
Beth Lopez joined Forté in September of 2006 as the Executive Assistant, in which capacity she handles data management and provides bookkeeping, administrative and marketing support. In addition, she is responsible for updating and maintaining content on the Forté Foundation website.
Prior to working for Forté, Beth spent 7 years at Executive Association Management Incorporated. She was the executive and publications assistant to seven local, state and national associations.
Originally from San Antonio, Beth now enjoys living in a small town near Austin with her husband Alex and two Boston Terriers, Spyder and P-Nut.
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