Anne M. Janiak
Executive Director

Anne M. Janiak is a founder and Executive Director of the Women's Enterprise Development Center Inc., a nonprofit microenterprise development organization in White Plains, NY that helps women achieve economic self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship in Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley. Ms. Janiak has been involved with the organization since its formation in 1997 and has been instrumental in its growth and development, including its designation as a Women's Business Center by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2003. She has been active in women's issues, local government & public policy matters in Westchester County for more than 25 years and serves as part-time Executive Director of the Westchester Municipal Officials Association. She is a former Mayor of the Village of Scarsdale, a former chair of the Westchester County Women's Advisory Board and a former president of the Scarsdale chapter of the League of Women Voters. Ms. Janiak has many community and professional affiliations and is actively involved with both the state and national microenterprise development program associations. She has a BA in Secondary Education from the Pennsylvania State University and a MA in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College. She can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext. 12 or ajaniak@westchester.org.

Joy Rosenzweig
Associate Director

Joy Rosenzweig, WEDC's Associate Director, came to WEDC with an extensive background in program development, public relations and management. Prior to joining WEDC, she served as President of the League of Women Voters of Westchester (LWVW). She was Director of Community Relations for State Assemblyman Adam Bradley and is the owner of Blue Ink Communications, a communications firm focusing on nonprofit organizations. Ms. Rosenzweig is the VP of Finance for the Bryn Mawr Club of Westchester and a member of the LWVW Advisory Board.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College. Ms. Rosenzweig began her association with WEDC as a participant in the 15-Week Entrepreneurial Training Class. During that time she established her business and was hired by WEDC to write its e-newsletter. She joined WEDC full-time in November 2007, because she was impressed by its success in fulfilling its mission to help women become self sufficient through entrepreneurship. She can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext. 11 or jrosenzweig@westchester.org.

Kenya Ajose
Office Manager and Program Coordinator

Kenya Ajose, WEDC’s Office Manager/Program Coordinator, joined WEDC with a strong background in corporate management, client relations, project management and communications. Prior to joining WEDC, she was a client relations manager at Paramount Brands and a project manager at Caligor Medical Supply. In addition, Ms. Ajose serves on the Board of Directors for the IMANI Cultural Academy. She has a BA in Communications and an MBA in Human Resource Management from Iona College. She can be reached at 914-948-6098 ext 10 or kajose@westchester.org.

Persephone Zill
Senior Program Specialist & Business Counselor

Persephone Zill, WEDC's Business Counselor and Program Specialist, consulted for WEDC part-time from 2003-2006 and has now become a member of our staff. Prior to joining WEDC, Ms. Zill served as the Director of Training at the former American Woman's Economic Development Corporation (AWED) in New York City. She devoted more than ten years to coaching women entrepreneurs through her own coaching business in Westchester. In addition, she served as the Co-leader of the Westchester/Rockland International Coaching Federation (ICF) Chapter from 2003-2005. Ms. Zill earned a BA degree from Barnard College in American Studies and has an MBA in Management/Entrepreneurship from Baruch College of the City University of New York. Ms. Zill has an excellent background in program development and business counseling. Her skills and experience in entrepreneurship are a tremendous asset to our organization. Ms. Zill can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext. 13 or pzill@westchester.org.

Daina Ruback
Business Counselor & Program Specialist-Spanish

Daina Ruback, WEDC's Business Counselor and Program Specialist- Spanish, joined WEDC in 2011, with a strong background in entrepreneurial training and small business development.   Prior to joining WEDC, Ms. Ruback served as a business educator and advisor with the Peace Corps in northern Nicaragua.  Ms. Ruback earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2008 from Babson College where she spent a semester abroad studying Spanish in Granada, Spain, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with honors. Ms. Ruback can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext.14 or druback@westchester.org.

Adie Shore
Grants Manager

Adie Shore, WEDC's Grants Manager, joined WEDC in 2011.  Ms. Shore is the owner of Shore Grant Services, a grantwriting company she started while attending WEDC's 15-Week Entrepreneurial Training Program.  She has a strong background in project management and expertise in business, finance and marketing.  Prior to joining WEDC, Ms. Shore worked as a grant writer for the YWCA in White Plains, Secretary/Treasurer  for the League of Women Voters of New York, and President of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale.  She has a BS in Mathematics/Spanish from C.W. Post University, and MS in Operations Research at Polytechnic Institute of New York and and MBA in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.  Ms. Shore can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext.17 or ashore@westchester.org.

Lew Tischler
Loan Counselor- WEDC Microloan Program
(a collaborative between WEDC and the Business Outreach Center’s (BOC)  Network  with its BOC Capital Corp program)

Lew Tischler, WEDC's Loan Counselor, has been an instructor in WEDC's 15-Week Entrepreneurial Program for several years.  He accepted his current position in January 2011.  Mr. Tischler is an owner and CFO of Symbio Technologies, a leader in stateless desktop provisioning systems.  Known as a consultant, columnist, author, speaker, and educator, he also has experience as a banker, investment banker, and small business owner. He has been a regional credit and loan officer for a bank and a director of a nonprofit investment banking and economic development organization He also operated his own management consulting firm for 20 years through which he assisted thousands of businesses and individuals seeking to start businesses. Mr. Tischler earned a BS degree in Business Administration from The University at Albany – SUNY.  He can be reached at 914-420-6569 or ltischler@westchester.org.

Maria Guardado
Office Assistant

Maria Guardado, WEDC’s Office Assistant, came to our organization as an intern from the College of Westchester.  She joined WEDC’s staff in December 2009 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration- Project Management.  Ms. Guardado’s computer expertise, bi-lingual skills, initiative and warmth have made her a welcome addition to the WEDC family.  She can be reached at 914-948-6098 ext 15 or mguardado@westchester.org.