W.net brimming with good news

October 2010 was a banner month for Women Networking in Electronic Transactions (W.net). The organization – which is dedicated to fostering women's leadership in the payments industry through education, networking and mentoring – revealed the winners of its third annual DIVA Awards. It also brought in a new executive director and celebrated the national recognition of one of its co-founders.

The winners

Winners of W.net's DIVA Awards were fêted during the organization's Career & Leadership Summit held Oct. 14 to 15, 2010, in La Jolla, Calif., directly following the Western States Acquirers Association's annual meeting. The winners follow:

• MasterCard Worldwide, a W.net "gold-level" sponsor, won the Diversity Champion Award for its devotion to expanding opportunities for women via its Internal Women's Initiative and Women's Executives group. Also, a number of MasterCard employees joined the Local Interest Networking Circle (LINC) New York Leadership Committee and threw their support behind launching a LINC in St. Louis as well.
• The Strongest LINC Award went to LINC New York, which launched in March 2010 and had already hosted three events by October. LINC New York also increased local W.net membership by 300 percent since its inception.
• The Spirit Award was presented to Kathleen Houseman, Vice President of Sales, Remote Deposit Capture, for TASQ Technology Inc. Committed to W.net since the formation of LINC Atlanta, Houseman has been an instrumental LINC leader in other regions, too. She has also inspired many of her TASQ colleagues to join W.net.

New leadership

W.net welcomed seasoned nonprofit marketing and outreach executive Ellen J. Galant as its new Executive Director and bid a grateful farewell to outgoing Executive Director Michele Jerome.

"Ellen Galant's background is a perfect fit to propel W.net forward in this growing industry," said Joan Mitchell, W.net President and Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Moneris Solutions. "Her background working with C-suite executives will assist the organization in reaching out to our membership and the business community more effectively." Mitchell praised Jerome for focusing "the organization's resources on a growth path."

On Targan

Mitchell also gave kudos to W.net co-founder Holli Targan for being included for the second consecutive year in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. Targan, a partner in the law firm Jaffe Raitt Heuer Weiss, PC, chairs the firm's Finance Law Group and specializes in payments industry matters such as credit and debit card processing, stored value and merchant cash advance.

Targan is also the President of the Electronic Transactions Association and past President of W.net. "Congratulations to Holli Targan for her being honored by her peers as a best lawyer in this complex industry," Mitchell said. "She is one of the visionaries behind the creation of W.net and continues to be a driving force."

W.net was founded in 2005 by Targan, Mary Gerdts, Linda Perry and Diane (Vogt) Faro. The organization includes members from all walks of the payments industry, from newbies to seasoned chief executives.

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