Anne M. Janiak
Chief Executive Officer
Anne M. Janiak is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Enterprise Development Center Inc., a nonprofit microbusiness 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, and 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 recently served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC). Ms. Janiak 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.
Persephone Zill
Women's Business Center Director
Persephone Zill, WEDC’s Women’s Business Center Director, brings a wealth of experience with entrepreneurial education and non-profit management. She was the Associate Director at Fordham University’s social innovation lab and a Senior VP at Feeding Westchester, developing strategic partnerships around solving hunger in Westchester County. Ms. Zill previously served as the Program Director for WEDC, training and counseling women entrepreneurs for nine years. She received a BA in American Studies from Barnard College and an MBA in Management/Entrepreneurship from Baruch College. Ms. Zill currently serves as a task force member for Westchester County’s Incubator Network. She can be contacted at (914) 948-6098, ext. 11.
Nikki A. Hahn
Director of Development
Nikki A. Hahn, WEDC's Director of Development, brings a wealth of development experience to the nonprofit sector. Ms. Hahn was previously with Volunteer New York! where she developed corporate social responsibility programming for local business leaders. In addition, she has served as President of the Junior League of Central Westchester and the Client and Partner Development Director of The Acceleration Project. Ms. Hahn is actively involved in many community initiatives and currently serves on the Westchester Children's Chorus Board of Directors as well as on the Cure JM Foundation's Board of Directors as the Development Director and President. She has a B.S. in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education with a minor in Psychology from New York University. She can be contacted at (914) 948-6098, ext. 20.
Veronica Bazan
Program Director Spanish
Veronica Bazan, WEDC’s Program Director for WEDC en Espanol, and Loan and M/WBE certification Counselor, joined WEDC in 2013. She has a background in small business, teaching, and micro lending. Prior to joining WEDC, Ms. Bazan worked as a bilingual analyst at Accion East and Online, a microfinance organization, where she helped small business owners prepare and procure loans. Ms. Bazan earned her BA in Business Administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. She also has a degree in education from the Instituto Superior de Formacion Docente in her home country of Argentina. Ms. Bazan can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext.14.
Terri Matthews-Cotton
Director of Finance
Terri Matthews-Cotton, WEDC’s Director of Finance, has significant experience managing accounting and sponsored funds at an ivy league University as well as at other well-known NYC non-profit organizations. Mrs. Matthews-Cotton’s former responsibilities included oversight of the full life-cycle of grants management (both pre and post award activities), and financial accounting processes including budgeting, cash projections and internal audits of activity, fiscal oversight of subcontractors along with the submission of external reports to funders. Mrs. Matthews-Cotton possesses a BS in Accounting and she is a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP). She can be contacted at (914) 948-6098, ext. 17.
Deily Barrios
Database Manager and Program Assistant
Deily Barrios, WEDC’s Database Manager and Program Assistant, joined WEDC in 2017. Deily is bilingual and assists the Westchester English and Spanish Program Directors. Prior to joining WEDC she worked at other nonprofits such as El Centro Hispano in White Plains, NY. She received her BA in Business Administration from Mercy College. She is currently pursuing an MBA at Mercy College with a concentration in Managerial Analytics. She can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ex.23
Paula Zorrilla
Program and Office Assistant
Paula Zorrilla, WEDC’s Office and Program Assistant, joined WEDC in 2019. Paula is bilingual and assists with the Westchester programs in English and Spanish. Prior to joining WEDC, Ms. Zorrilla worked in health care administration, marketing, customer service and sales in Latin America and the USA. Ms. Zorrilla received her BA in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad del Valle in Colombia. She also earned certifications in Finance and Evaluation of Projects from the Javeriana University in her home country of Colombia. Ms. Zorrilla can be contacted at 914-948-6098 ext. 15.
Mid-Hudson Office
Cynthia Marsh-Croll
Program Director Mid-Hudson
Cynthia Marsh-Croll is the Program Director Mid-Hudson of our Poughkeepsie location. Ms. Marsh-Croll has numerous programs that provide services to businesses in Orange, Sullivan, Dutchess, Ulster and Putnam counties. Ms. Marsh-Croll is the founder of Croll Productive Synergy which has provided operation business consulting and training for over a decade as well as Program Manager for a previous Entrepreneurial Assistance Program center. She has experience in a variety of industries and working with businesses of all sizes. As a result, Cynthia has significant experience training and counseling small business owners and entrepreneurs. Ms. Marsh-Croll has a BS in Management Science as well as a Lean Office Certification through the University of Michigan. Please call 845-363-6432 for more information regarding our MHV programs.
Brianna Castro
Program Assistant Mid-Hudson
Brianna Castro is the Program Assistant of our Poughkeepsie location. Brianna is bilingual and assists with coordinating and running the Spanish program recently launched in the Mid-Hudson. Prior to joining WEDC, Brianna worked as a Collections Specialist at Sun Community Federal Credit Union in Southern California working with credit reporting, levies, third party collection agencies, and insurance claims. Besides having experience with finance and insurance, she also utilizes aspects of her degree when working with our Spanish speaking clients. Brianna has an A.A in Behavioral Science through Imperial Valley College. She can be contacted at 845-363-6432.
The Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC), a 501(c)(3) corporation, has been empowering women entrepreneurs to build successful small businesses since 1997 in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley. This is accomplished by providing comprehensive, high quality business training programs, one-on-one business and loan counseling, networking opportunities, assistance with loan applications for microloans and crowd funding through Kiva Zip, and MWBE certification assistance in English and Spanish. WEDC’s overarching goal is to build a vibrant community of women business owners, comprised of start-up and established companies.
The Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC), a 501(c)(3) corporation, has been empowering women entrepreneurs to build successful small businesses since 1997 in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley. Our overarching goal is to build a vibrant community of women business owners, comprised of start-up and established companies.