Houston City Head
Sheel Patel
Education
- Nichole Ake*
- Farah Petit
- Amy J. Sbrusch
Networking
- Lidiya Deane
- Brittney Duffy
- Leana Garipova*
- Lisa Garrett
- Marisela Luviano
- Victoria Ridgway
Philanthropy
- Rushana Cypert
- Denise Davis*
- Lisa Fierro
- Jahaira Lazo
- Katy Shurin*
Houston City Head
Sheel Patel
Sheel has over 20 years in various finance leadership roles. Most recently, she was the Vice President for Finance at Houston Endowment. Prior to Houston Endowment, she was the chief financial officer for TIAA’s endowment management business, Covariance Capital Management, which partnered with nonprofits as their outsourced chief investment office. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she spent almost eleven years and advanced to senior manager. She is a CPA with a master’s in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Kent State University.
Education
Nichole Ake, CAMS
SVP, BBVA Compass
Chairman Education Committee, Houston
Nichole Ake is the SVP, SR Mgr BSA/AML for BBVA Compass. She is the 2018 President of the BBVA Houston Volunteer Chapter. She is actively involved in BBVA’s LeaderLink initiative and a founding executive of Women in Leadership at BBVA. She has been recognized by BBVA’s Top Talent Program.
Previously, she was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of an investment adviser/broker dealer firm that focused on alternative investments, fund to funds, due diligence on hedge funds and traditional wealth management. She started her career at Lehman Brothers in Boston and eventually moved to Texas.
She has over 20 years of financial services experience in operations, trading and compliance with startup firms as well as large international firms.
She’s been a speaker, panelist and moderator at Thomson Reuters, HFBOA, DSTA, and STA on operational risk management, industry and regulatory focused initiatives. She holds a BS in Finance from Boston College, an MBA from Southern Methodist University and completed the three year Securities Industry Institute program through Wharton/SIFMA as well as other notable management certificates from University of Texas, University of Dallas and University of North Carolina executive programs.
Nichole is a past-President of the Dallas Security Traders Association (DSTA) and served as Co-Chair of the national Securities Traders Association (STA) Compliance Committee. She currently is the chair of the Houston TXWSW Education Committee and serves on the Board. She actively volunteers as a mentor for BBVA employees as well as Boston College students.
Farah Petit
Principal
Uranus4 Solutions, LLC
Farah is a finance business leader and consultant with 17+ years of experience at Fortune 500 institutions like Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Her expertise extends across a wide range of industries, asset classes, and capital positions. In her current role as the Principal of Uranus4 Solutions, Farah is the corporate finance strategist leveraging years of business development, origination/sales, structuring, and underwriting capital solutions in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Previously, Farah was a Director of Origination in the energy group and a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of a major international bank in Houston. Before transitioning into that client coverage and sale role, Farah oversaw the Execution and Risk Management of LAC O&G transactions as Co-Head of Execution since the inception of the portfolio in 2010.
Farah is an active community volunteer with a strong interest in sustainability issues, education, and economic empowerment. In addition to her involvement with Texas Wall Street Women, she is a finance volunteer instructor with the Women’s Resources and a mentor for high school girls with the Partnership for the Advancement & Immersion of Refugees (PAIR).
Ms. Petit holds a B.S. in Business and Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA from Rice University.
Amy Sbrusch
Tax Manager, Weinstein Spira
Amy Sbrusch is a highly skilled tax manager with a 19 year history of excellent service at quality companies. Specializing in real estate and family tax and estate practice, Amy thrives on helping her clients navigate complex taxation decisions as well as and plan for the future.
“Helping families understand their options and opportunities is very fulfilling,” says Amy. “I walk away each day knowing I helped others face big decisions and make educated choices.”
She also shares her experience with her colleagues at the firm and others who are interested in pursuing a career in accounting; Amy is involved in Weinstein Spira’s recruiting and coaching programs, where she offers direct answers to those who want to continue their education and improve their own performance.
Amy joined Weinstein Spira in 2008. She previously worked at Arthur Andersen, LLP, as well as Johnson Baur Carrillo, LLP. When she is not assisting others in charting their financial future, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, entertaining, cooking, and watching Houston sports teams.
Networking
Lidiya Deane
Senior Vice President
Stout
Lidiya Deane is a Senior Vice President in the Houston Valuation Advisory group with Stout. She has extensive experience in business valuation disputes, transaction support services, corporate transactions, financial reporting, shareholder and succession planning, and trust and estate. She has substantial experience providing valuation services for fairness opinions, estate and gift taxation, board of directors advisory services, shareholder and corporate transaction disputes, and divorce litigation. Her client base ranges private equity funds, hedge funds, private and public clients, law firms, accountants, and financial institutions. She earned an M.B.A (Finance Concentration) from University of Houston and B.B.A (Finance and Banking) from Sam Houston State University.
Brittney Duffy
Senior Manager, Deloitte Tax LLP
Brittney Duffy is a Senior Manager in the Houston office of Deloitte Tax LLP with twelve years of experience within the financial services and structured finance sectors. Her client base is composed primarily of asset managers, hedge funds, and private equity firms, while serving as a financial instrument specialist to many other industries. She has extensive experience with tax issues regarding financial products, and she regularly consults with issuers of and investors in debt instruments, derivatives, commodities, and other complex financial instruments.
She earned a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters of Accountancy from Baylor University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Leana Garipova*
Associate, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Chairman Networking Committee, Houston
Leana Garipova is an attorney in the Global Energy and Transactions practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Ms. Garipova’s practice focuses on public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate and securities matters. Ms. Garipova earned her B.A. from Kazan Federal University in Russia. Ms. Garipova earned her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center. While in law school, Ms. Garipova served as managing editor of The Georgetown Law Journal.
Lisa Garrett
Associate, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Lisa Garrett is an associate in the Global Energy and Transactions practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. She earned her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. During law school, Lisa served as an article and notes editor of the Texas Environmental Law Journal and an associate editor of Texas Law Review. Following graduation, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Thomas D. Waterman of the Supreme Court of Iowa.
Marisela Luviano
Senior Audit Manager, Melton & Melton, LLP
Marisela Luviano, CPA is a Senior Audit Manager with Melton & Melton, LLP, a local CPA firm, where she provides audit services to investment companies (including investment advisors, hedge funds, and broker-dealers) as well as other industries in the Houston area. Prior to joining Melton & Melton, LLP, Marisela began her career in Dallas in January 2007 with Rothstein Kass. She earned her CPA in Texas in February 2009. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Professional Women, Texas Wall Street Women, and the Texas Hedge Fund Association. She has held various board positions in the ALPFA Houston Professional Chapter from October 2011 through October 2014. Marisela graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston—Downtown in December 2006 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting and a minor in Finance.
Victoria Ridgway
Head of Client Services, Champion Advisors LLC
Victoria Ridgway is the head of Client Services at Champion Advisors LLC. Since joining in early 2015, Victoria is responsible for all client communications and account administration. Prior to Champion, her career has included positions focused on development and community, from grant-writing for the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston to launching a multiespacio. Victoria attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History. Victoria is an active member in her community, enjoys a British murder mystery, and always makes her pie crust from scratch.