Meet Our Board

Juleen Lapporte is the creative force behind Studio Jule, where she specializes in crafting custom fine art portraits that you can't wait to share with family and friends and hang on your walls. She loves helping clients discover a new perspective of themselves and ensuring the entire photo session is a fun experience. Juleen believes that personal portraits are a special way to connect with ourselves and others. She works with high school seniors, families, businesses, and women all around the SF Bay Area. 

Outside of her photography, Juleen is passionate about giving back to her community. In the past, she's been an active volunteer in local schools and her synagogue; she continues to volunteer for local community organizations. When she's not behind the camera, you can find Juleen hiking, taking dance classes, or exploring the Bay Area's great food scene with her adult daughters.

Julie trained to be an end of life doula in 2021 when she was looking for her next way to be of service in her community.  Prior to that targeted training, she had taken multi-year courses about soul work, end of life issues and grief.   Julie shares her personal experiences with death and grief with her clients and their loved ones to remind them that they are not alone in how they are feeling and to help them determine how they want to honor and carry their loved ones with them moving forward.  Please visit  www.finalseasondoula.com for more information.  

Julie was born and raised in Maryland.  She earned a bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement and a Masters degree in Forensic Science.  Julie moved to California in 1990 to start a career as a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) with the Oakland Police Department.  Julie retired in 2015 after 25 years of service.  She co-taught a Crime Scene Investigation class at Diablo Valley College from January 2016 through May 2020. 

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Julie is a very organized, detail-oriented person who has cultivated relationships with people who provide services to seniors to have a vetted network available for her future clients.  She is a member of several local networks including end of life doulas and many types of service providers for education, collaboration and support.   

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Julie shares her Martinez home with her cat, Cara, as well as lots of art and photographs of her loved ones.  She loves to travel and enjoys hiking, cooking & baking, movies, live theater & music.

Diane Kaplowitz is a seasoned personal lines, employee group benefits and life insurance agent/broker for R.C. Fischer & Co. in Walnut Creek CA. She is the first successful woman producer since the company started in 1939. Diane has been a California resident since 2010 having roots in the Tacoma/Seattle area. She has been married to her life partner for over 40 years and is a mother our four grown children. When not helping people with their insurance needs, Diane enjoys cruising, the beach, gardening, hiking and playing a round of golf.

Pamela is a seasoned accounting professional and an Enrolled Agent licensed by the IRS as a tax accountant. She is a member of the East Bay Association of Enrolled Agents and CSEA, California Society of Enrolled Agents. She has worked in the bookkeeping and write-up accounting industry for over 37 years. Her current work is exclusive to small businesses, including sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, nonprofits as well as income tax preparation specializing in individuals and small business. Pamela received her Bachelor’s degree in Business from JFK University. She is also an Ambassador to the Concord Chamber of Commerce. She enjoys being involved in local community organizations, such as her community choral groups that help expose inner city kids to life influencing musical experiences. She lives in Concord with her fur baby Gabe.

Carolyn Seefer retired in December 2022 from Diablo Valley College, where she was a professor of business administration for over 26 years. While at DVC, she served as faculty advisor for Phi Beta Lambda, an international student business organization, for 18 years; was a member of the DVC Scholarship Committee for 24 years; was chair of the Business Administration Department; and served on the DVC Academic Senate as the Business Division representative and as secretary. In addition, Carolyn taught in Florence, Italy, for two semesters for the college’s Study Abroad program. She was also one of the first to teach online at the college, beginning in 1999, when she also cofounded the DVC Distance Learning Advisory Task Force. She was selected as Teacher of the Year for the Contra Costa Community College District and as Best Club Advisor for DVC. In addition, she is a textbook author; her book Business English, published by Cengage, is the premier textbook in the field. Carolyn lives in Walnut Creek with her husband. They enjoy their daily walks together, reading, dining out, attending concerts, photography, and exploring the world through travel. They have already been to 51 countries on 6 continents and have plans to visit many more in the next few years.

Cheryl brings more than 30 years of experience in finance, operations, compliance, and risk management across the financial services and nonprofit sectors. She is passionate about building strong communities through volunteer leadership and helping mission-driven organizations strengthen their financial and operational foundations.​

Cheryl currently consults for Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area. She also serves as Board Secretary, Audit Committee Chair, and Past Board President of the Ruth Bancroft Garden, is a member of the Finance Committee at Lamorinda Village and is the Board Co-Secretary of Mt Diablo Business Women. Through her nonprofit work, she has found the greatest reward in fostering connection, supporting meaningful causes, and helping organizations create lasting impact in their communities.​

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Outside of her volunteer work, Cheryl and her husband enjoy taking long walks in search of the perfect cup of coffee, hiking, and traveling.

Anna Febiana is an independent agent and living benefit specialist with National Life Group. Anna specializes in life insurance with a focus on living benefits—insurance that you benefit from without having to pass away. She helps individuals protect their income against the financial impact of debilitating illnesses or injuries and assists in planning for a tax-free retirement. Her goal is to ensure that every client enjoys the security and confidence of being well-protected, through all of life’s circumstances. This comprehensive approach helps her clients secure their financial future and protect their loved ones. Her business is all about providing peace of mind.​​

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Anna also serves as Board of Trustees member for the Bay East Association of REALTORS® Foundation, social media chair for the Women’s Council of Realtors Contra Costa, ambassador for the Concord Chamber of Commerce, greeter for PWRG Concord, merchandising manager for Walnut Creek Aquanuts Artistic Swimming Club, and board member for St. Perpetua School PTA.​ In her free time, Anna enjoys cooking, gardening, sewing, arts and crafts, and spoiling her children.

Miriam Schaffer is a college admission advisor and the founder of Colleges for You. Her expertise lies in guiding students and their families through the college application process, including choosing colleges that are the best fit for a student, helping with completing college applications, and assisting with developing and finalizing college application essays, personal statements, and University of California personal insight answers. Miriam’s clients have been accepted at public and private colleges and universities nationwide, including all University of California campuses. Miriam has served on MDBW's Board as Marketing chair and as President from 2021-2023. She was named MDBW's 2023 Woman of the Year.

Marlene Bartlett is the Co-Founder and Chief People Officer of Uplift
Home Care, a boutique home care agency serving seniors throughout
Contra Costa County. She launched Uplift with a mission to redefine the
home care experience by genuinely listening to families, investing
deeply in caregivers, and helping older adults age with dignity in the
place they call home.

As Chief People Officer, Marlene oversees caregiver recruitment,
culture, and client experience, believing that exceptional care for
clients begins with exceptional care for caregivers. She is passionate
about elevating the caregiving profession and creating meaningful
partnerships throughout the local senior care community.

Before entering the senior care industry, Marlene spent a decade in
retail and consumer packaged goods, including seven years at the
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in brand management leading innovation and
consumer marketing. She later owned and operated a licensed childcare
program while raising her three daughters, experiences that deepened her
passion for serving families through life's changing seasons.
Marlene enjoys speaking on topics related to aging, caregiving, and
building stronger intergenerational relationships. She is honored to
serve on the Board of Mt. Diablo Business Women and looks forward to
fostering meaningful connections within the organization and the broader
community.

Bio coming soon!

Teri Day is the founder of Lovely Days, a Fractional COO and Founder Partner practice serving established business owners ready to stabilize operations and step back from doing everything themselves.

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With 30 years in commercial real estate — rising from file clerk to Director, SVP, and Chief of Staff — Teri managed P&Ls in an industry where the cost of operational failure shows up directly in the numbers. She's built, led, and stabilized high-performing teams through crisis, growth, and everything in between, managing multimillion-dollar portfolios across six asset types in her final years in corporate.

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Today she brings that same operational rigor to founders leading businesses of 10–50 employees, helping them build the systems, structure, and leadership clarity that let a company run without depending entirely on its founder. Her work spans operational audits, fractional COO engagements, and leadership coaching.

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Teri holds a Bachelor of Science from CSU Sacramento (1996) and has held her CA Dept. of Real Estate Sales Person License for over 25 years. Born and raised in Berkeley, she now lives in Walnut Creek with her teenage son — a serious basketball player at Las Lomas High School — and their dog, Oreo.

Chelsea Murray Faraclas is the founder of Bring Creativity Home, a Bay
Area home design and organization business that helps busy families and
older adults transform overwhelmed spaces into calm, functional, and
beautiful homes. She combines thoughtful organization, creative design,
and empathy to develop practical solutions tailored to how each client
lives, whether they are redesigning a room, managing clutter, preparing
for a move, or navigating a new season of life.

With an art background and 17 years of experience collaborating with
leading museum professionals in informal education and exhibit design,
Chelsea brings a unique ability to see both the big picture and the
meaningful details that shape an experience. She believes that a
thoughtfully designed home can reduce stress, restore clarity, and
create more room for creativity, connection, and joy.

Through her #Help100People initiative and local community partnerships,
Chelsea is committed to making professional design and organization feel
approachable and achievable. She lives in the East Bay at the base of
Mount Diablo with her husband and two sons and brings warmth, curiosity,
and creative problem-solving to every client and community she serves.

Kamala Lovie is the founder of PetsCanGo and RescuesRSuper, two online
publications that promote pet-friendly living and animal rescue through
educational content and Team Marketing. Inspired by her background in
team sports, she believes complementary businesses and organizations can
achieve more by working together toward shared goals while serving a
common audience. Drawing on her background as a documentary producer and
journalist, Kamala enjoys interviewing people who are passionate about
what they do, researching real-world experiences, and helping
organizations better position themselves to serve their communities.

Kamala is a Bay Area native, sports fan, and media maven. Her
experiences in volleyball, crew, and triathlons inspire her
collaborative approach to marketing. She is a devoted 49ers and Warriors
fan who enjoys streaming thriller series, working out outdoors,
experimenting with healthier versions of favorite treats, and pursuing
lifelong fitness. A lifelong learner, she enjoys educating others and is
excited to be a member of the Mount Diablo Business Women community.

Diane joined MDBW in 2015, looking for connections with businesswomen “closer to

home” in the East Bay. She spent 25 years commuting to Foster City, where she worked

at Visa. While at Visa, she held leadership positions in Marketing, Product Management,

and Fintech Innovation—the latter role resulting in multiple patents where Diane is an

inventor. Diane also worked at advertising agencies in Chicago and Los Angeles, on

accounts where she got to attend McDonald’s Hamburger U., receive a “whale kiss”

from Sea World’s famous Shamu, and select the cookies used in a TV commercial for

Nestle’s Morsels.

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Diane is currently indulging her love of writing. She creates articles for MDBW’s emails

and monthly newsletters, and supports several nonprofits with their grant-writing and

website content needs. She is on the Advisory Board of Yours Humanly, an education

nonprofit, where one of her recent grants enabled funding of a 2-year early literacy

project in ten Title 1 schools.

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Diane and her husband enjoy hiking, backpacking, and brainstorming about new

fintech creations. They maintain hope that their 30-something daughter will move from

New York back to the Bay Area!

Mary Schulze has been a realtor since 2002. She holds GRI and SRES designations, and finishing her CRS designation. She is a “green realtor” specializing in finding homes that meet the green standards for safe living. Mary is a graduate of California State at Hayward, with a BS in Health Science and Marketing. She has worked as a nurse, owned her own business, Bay Area’s Best, an advertising firm in Contra Costa.  During that time, Mary founded Mt. Diablo Business Women. She also served on the Lafayette Chamber Board of Directors for two terms, and the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce for three terms. Currently, she is participating in the Assistance League of Sierra Foothills, and acting Welcome Chair to the community where she lives. She is married, grandmother to three grandsons, loves music, plays the piano, enjoys cooking, and playing with her giant Schnoodle, Maxx.