SEM's Reach: Biz 1st Power 100

July 31, 2015

SEM alumnae, trustees, and parents studded the Buffalo Business First list of 100 powerful women who live in Western New York. The magazine defined the women “by the level of influence a woman has in her orbit — at her company, in her city or county, by the length of her career.”  We define them as women we're proud to call our own.

7. Alumna, trustee, Cheryl Klass, president, Buffalo General Medical Center and vice president, Kaleida Health – As the highest ranking woman at the $1.3 billion Kaleida system, Cheryl Klass manages Buffalo General, the adjoining Gates Vascular Institute and the HighPointe on Michigan skilled nursing facility.

23. Parent, Michele Trolli, executive vice president and chief information officer, M&T Bank – Deemed a “banker to watch” by American Banker, Mrs. Trolli is part of the executive management team at M&T in charge of technology, alternative banking, central and lending operations, corporate services and global sourcing.

25. Alumna and trustee, Virginia Shaefer Horvath, president, State University of New York at Fredonia – Appointed president of Fredonia in 2012, where she leads the only four-year college in Chautauqua County. Ranked third largest college with more than 5,000 students and 1,024 employees.

46. Parent and trustee, Alice Jacobs, chair, WNY Women’s Foundation – Leads the nonprofit and its mission to provide opportunities for women and girls to become self sufficient. She is a member of the Jacobs family, owners of Delaware North.

65. Alumna and trustee, Shelley Drake, president, M&T Charitable Foundation, and senior vice president, M&T Bank – One of the highest-ranking and longest tenured women executives at M&T, Ms. Drake also heads the region’s largest grant-making private foundation, overseeing allocations of nearly $20 million. 

73. Parent. Lavonne Ansari, CEO, Community Health Center of Buffalo – Ansari has grown this federally funded nonprofit into the 90th largest Million Dollar Nonprofit with $7.8 million in revenues and three sites that reach thousands of clients.

98. Parent, Lana Benatovich, president, National Federation for Just Communities – Presides over agency that promotes respect for race, religion and cultures through education and programming.

100. Alumna and trustee, Catherine Schweitzer, executive director, The Baird Foundation – A driving force behind the 2011 National Preservation Conference, credited with kickstarting national attention on Buffalo architecture. Baird Foundation is 24th largest with assets of $11.1 million.