Sara Catherine Ainsworth is a Counsel in the Dallas office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she advises clients on the intricacies of investment fund structuring, formation, fundraising, and operations. Her legal practice spans a diverse range of funds, including private equity, credit, hybrid, funds of funds, and co-investment funds. Sara’s practice is grounded in her extensive experience with fund formations, joint ventures, separately managed accounts, and investor representations, serving notable alternative investment managers and institutional investors.

She earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a co-founder and co-editor in chief of the Georgetown Law Technology Review, and received her B.S.F.S., cum laude, from Georgetown University.

Sara enjoys traveling and mastering the art of French cooking.

Julie is a Director at Kainos Capital with a focus on investor relations, marketing and fundraising. She is also a leader of the firm’s ESG initiatives and supports business development and deal sourcing efforts.

Prior to joining Kainos in 2017, she served as a member of the Consumer and Corporate Officers’ practices at Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive search and leadership advisory firm. Previously, Julie served as a management accountant at Oak Hill Advisors, a private investment firm, and she began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Assurance Practice servicing primarily banking and capital markets clients.

She received a B.S. in Business Administration at Washington and Lee University, as well as a Masters in Accountancy at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce. Julie is a member of Texas Wall Street Women where she serves on the Dallas Committee. Julie resides in Dallas with her husband, daughter and labrador retriever.

Kellie Bobo is a partner in both the Investment Management and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups in the Austin office of Haynes and Boone.

Kellie’s practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions, private equity investments, and corporate compliance and governance. Kellie also regularly advises investment funds, registered investment advisors, and commodity pool operators and traders with regards to RIA transactions, the formation, organization and operation of hedge funds, venture capital funds and private equity funds and their compliance with applicable federal and state laws. In addition, Kellie represents clients across a broad range of industries in various corporate and securities matters, including the preparation of securities filings with the SEC.

Mariko Boswell joined PIMCO in 2010 and focuses on institutional client service and business development as part of PIMCO’s public funds practice. In this role, she works with US public fund clients and prospects to better understand their investment objectives, deliver appropriate solutions and deepen partnerships.

Prior to joining PIMCO in 2010, she worked as an equity research associate on the energy team at Credit Suisse and as a senior associate covering utilities in the corporate finance group at Moody’s Investors Service.

Mariko holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business as well as an undergraduate degree from Yale University. In addition to her involvement with Texas Wall Street Women, she currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the YMCA of Austin.

Laurie Canepa began her career in Finance and Accounting in 1997, and transitioned into recruiting in Texas in 2006, earning notable accomplishments throughout her career. Her 18+ years of expertise within the Texas market and her network of top Finance and Accounting talent are key attributes Laurie brings to the Managing Director of Finance and Accounting Search role at StevenDouglas for the State of Texas. 

Laurie is known by clients and candidates alike for her dedication to excellence in the recruiting process, and her unique ability to connect with the people she works and supports. These qualities have made her a “Recruiting Professional of Choice” in the Texas market.

Laurie excels at placing positions from mid and senior-level F&A professionals to C-Suite roles in organizations ranging from non-profits to global, publicly-traded corporations. Prior to joining StevenDouglas, Laurie spent over 15 years as a Partner and Division Director for one of the top boutique Accounting and Finance Search firms in Texas. As the top producer there, she played a critical role in bringing the firm to its pinnacle, creating major growth opportunities and an array of successful placements. The first 10 years of Laurie’s career were spent gaining hands-on experience in the world of public accounting, as well as executing industry accounting as a Corporate Controller.

Laurie has been featured in Austin Woman Magazine and the Austin Business Journal, is an ABJ “bizwomen” member, a member of ACG, Texas Wall Street Women, the Texas Society of CPAs, a ProVisors Group Leader, and is an ongoing panelist for multiple organizations. She is active with non-profit organizations, such as United Way Women, the Job Seekers Network, and the Buccaneer Bridge Mentoring Program. Laurie earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Charleston Southern University, in South Carolina, with a minor in Spanish and has attended the Masters of Science in Taxation program at San Jose State University.

Susan Chen is a Managing Director responsible for UTIMCO’s investments in public equities across developed and emerging markets. She is a member of UTIMCO’s Investment Committee and Leadership Team, and chair of the Co-Investment Committee.

Prior to UTIMCO, Susan was a Managing Director at a $5 billion alternative investment firm affiliated with Highbridge Capital, where she was a portfolio manager and analyst for distressed debt, event-driven equity, private debt, and special asset investments. She started her career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch. Susan earned an MBA, JD, and AB in economics from Harvard. She serves on the Investment Committee for St. David’s Foundation.

Alicia is an audit manager in the financial services practice at Weaver where she began her career in 2016. She has 8 years of public accounting experience overseeing financial statement audits for investment management and hedge funds; private equity; broker-dealers; financial institutions; and manufacturing and distribution companies.

She is a certified public accountant and active member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA). She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor and Masters of Science in accounting from the University of North Texas.

Alicia enjoys spending time traveling with her husband, taking her pup on walks, and gardening.

Anuka Dhakal attended the University of Texas at Dallas where she earned both a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Finance. She has more than six years of experience in the financial services industry, with a focus on investor relations, capital raising, and stakeholder management across private and public equity. As a capital raise associate at the Green Cities Company, she has expanded investor networks and enhanced communication strategies. Previously, she was with Santander US, working with the executive management team on the quarterly earnings reporting process.

In her free time, Anuka enjoys exploring different cities, rewatching her favorite movies, and trying out new recipes.

Carla is the Controller at Civicap Partners where she is responsible for the finance, accounting, and reporting functions. She ensures the reliability, timeliness, and accuracy of all financial reporting. Carla also has broad responsibility for investor reporting and compliance. She is responsible for capital administration, construction draws, and cash management. Additionally, Carla assists with office administration, investor communication, and investor inquiries.

Before Civicap, Carla served as Accounting Manager at McNair Interests, leading a team in handling financial statements for over 50 entities and implementing new accounting systems. She also worked as a Senior Investment Accountant at TIAA Endowment & Philanthropic Services, managing financial statements and supporting the operations team.

Carla began her career as an auditor at Deloitte Houston. She is a licensed Texas CPA with a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Accounting from Texas State University

Saaniya Grover is a Senior majoring in finance at The University of Texas at Dallas, graduating in May 2021. She is an Incoming Associate Developing Financial Advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Saaniya has previously worked at North Inc., a sales and consulting firm, as well as D.R. Saur Financial as a private wealth intern serving 400 clients during her time there. She has also worked in Venture Capital as an associate investing $50,000 in technology startups in the DFW area. Her last internship was with Merrill Lynch as an Analyst in the private wealth management department.

In her time at UT Dallas she was an executive officer for the Financial Leadership Association, a member of the Professional Program in Finance, and a placeholder in the Securities and Analysis Competition.

Shule Han is a Senior Manager in the asset management tax practice and has over 12 years of experience in the Financial Services industry.  She has extensive experience in the private equity and hedge fund industry providing tax compliance services in conjunction with client specific investment strategies, researching and creating effective solutions. 

Shule has worked with various private equity, hedge fund and family offices to ensure tax efficient structuring.  She has managed numerous client engagements relating to Tax Compliance, State and Local tax planning, International tax compliance and Management Company Tax Provisions.

Shule also has extensive experience in the Oil and Gas industry and a wide range of entity structures.

Shule received her Masters of Science in Accounting from the May School of Business at Texas A&M University.  She currently serves as the networking Committee for Texas Wall Street Women.  She is also active in For the Love of the Lake every Saturday for monthly Shoreline Spruce Up at White Rock Lake Park and local animal shelter.

Valerie Marquez, serves as a Senior Client Service Associate at Tolleson Wealth Management. She works on the Client Advisory Team to provide operational and administrative support to clients of substantial wealth. Valerie also coordinates information requests for client investment accounts and other business activities in addition to providing concierge services and other account assistance.

Prior to joining Tolleson Wealth Management in 2017, Valerie worked at JPMorgan Chase as a Private Client Banker and worked alongside financial advisors to assist with client planning. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, Valerie worked in various private banking roles since starting her career in 2012.

Valerie graduated from the University of California-San Diego with a degree in Political Science. She enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, and adventures with her German Shepherd named Draco.

Ms. McCarthy joined Crestline Summit in 2024 and assists in the hiring of portfolio managers across all strategies in the hedge fund products and the buildout of their teams. Before joining Summit, she worked at Carlson Capital on the Investor Relations team and at PIMCO and JP Morgan on the Global Wealth Management teams. 

Ms. McCarthy earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Southern Methodist University.

Teresa McClendon-Thomas is a Senior Vice President at PNC Institutional Asset Management in Houston.

Olga Millrood is a Fund Administration professional with 17+ years of experience driving strategic and operational excellence in Venture Capital and Alternative Investment Funds.  Currently, Olga is a manager at SS&C GlobalOp, providing administration and accounting support for a portfolio of hedge funds, private equity, and real estate investments.  

Prior to joining SS&C, Olga worked at one of the largest investment companies in Moscow, Russia overseeing Venture Capital and Alternative investments for high-net-worth individuals and public entities. With a unique combination of a background in finance and law, and customer-focused experience serving high-profile organizations in a regulated industry, Olga brings unparalleled professional skills, expertise, and leadership to resolve a wide spectrum of executive challenges.

Olga earned her Master’s degrees in Economics and Law at Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow.

Wanda has over 20 years of experience in the hedge fund industry specifically in accounting and business administration. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Phillips Trading Group, Inc., Michael Marcus’ commodity futures and foreign exchange trading firm, and the Chief Financial Officer of Austin Capital Management, a fund-of-funds firm.

Wanda obtained her education at St. Edwards University, is a founding member and Vice President of Texas Wall Street Women, serves on the board of Texas Alternative Investment Association, is a member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals.

Adriana is a Senior Manager with Forvis Mazars. She has eight years of public accounting experience overseeing financial statement audits. She has focused experience working with asset management (private equity funds/hedge funds) and private equity-backed companies. 

Adriana is a certified public accountant and a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Adriana is fluent in Spanish.

In her free time, Adriana enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and German Shepherd.

Hiral Shah is a Director for Grant Thornton’s Advisory Services in Dallas focusing on business valuations.  Hiral assists clients with business enterprise valuations, common and preferred stock valuations, mergers and acquisition analysis, and intangible asset valuations.

Hiral’s clients range from multinational corporations to start-up companies. She advises clients for financial and tax reporting, litigation support and strategic planning purposes. Prior to joining Grant Thornton in 2016, Hiral worked as a Senior Manager with Duff & Phelps, a global valuation consulting firm.  Prior to her time with Duff & Phelps, she has worked with Healthcare Appraisers, a boutique healthcare consulting firm and prior to that with CBIZ Valuation Group, a national independent valuation firm.  Hiral is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from University of Texas, Arlington and a Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Science from University of Mumbai.

Morgan attended the University of Alabama where she earned both a Master of Accountancy and Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration. She began her career in the audit investment funds practice at Weaver and has more than 5 years of experience in public accounting. Currently, she serves as an audit supervisor for financial services clients of the firm including financial institutions, venture capital funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and broker dealers.

Morgan is a certified public accountant and a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. She enjoys watching college football to cheer on the Crimson Tide, baking and spending time with her family.

As General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Heather Traeger is responsible for all legal services and compliance for the sixth largest public pension fund in the United States, including those related to the retirement system’s pension plan and two health care programs. She serves as General Counsel for the headquarters located in Austin, Texas and the subsidiary located in London.

Ms. Traeger’s legal practice includes a strong regulatory background, with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. She served as Senior Counsel to Commissioner Roel Campos at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Counsel to Commissioner Isaac Hunt, and Senior Counsel in the Division of Market Regulation (now Trading and Markets).

Prior to joining TRS, Ms. Traeger was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, in Washington, D.C., in the Financial Services Practice and served as an Associate Counsel at the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Currently, she serves on the ILPA Legal Advisory Committee, the Board of the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni and as the 2025 Chair-Elect on the Board of the National Society of Compliance Professionals. She previously served as Chair on the FINRA National Adjudicatory Council and as a member of the GIPS USPIC. Ms. Traeger is a member of the Texas and District of Columbia bars.

Pree Wakharkar, CPA, has more than 12 years of public accounting experience. Her focus on accounting ranges a wide variety of clients including manufacturing, technology, investment companies such as registered investment advisors (RIA’s), business development companies (BDC’s), closed-end/ open-ended funds (private equity/ hedge funds), banks and non-banking financial institutions, among others. Pree has served the financial services sector and has assisted with a variety of fund audits including broker-dealers, hedge funds and private equity funds. She has performed various statutory audits for public entities in the finance, banking, insurance, brokering industries and more, as well as 401k benefit plan audits and reviewing other audit aspects, such as risk assessment, analytics and substantive testing. She is also experienced in managing large and complex engagements that could run anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 hours. 

Pree is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas as well as a member of Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA), Texas Wall Street Women (TXWSW), Kayo Conference Series – The Corner, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting from the University of Mumbai, India. Pree is a designated Chartered Accountant (CA) from India and meets Texas State Board of Accountancy’s requirements for continuing professional education. 

Currently, Pree is continuing her professional education by concentrating in provision of internal audits and consulting services in accordance with Standards for Consulting Services issued by the AICPA Management Consulting Services Executive Committee, SOX audits in accordance with Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 and FDIC audits in accordance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) regulation. Entities served by Pree include banks and other entities in the financial services industry.

Jazz Walker is a senior tax associate in the Wealth and Asset Management (WAM) group at Ernst & Young, LLP. Currently she is involved with the EY Dallas Black Professionals Network as a board member, and sits on the board of National Association of Black Accountants DFW as the secretary. She loves teaching and mentoring and gives back through the Junior Achievement Program and the Big Brother Big Sister Program.

Jazz attended Clark Atlanta University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting as well as a Master of Science in Accounting. While in college she learned the importance of giving back and taking on challenges with an “I’ll find a way or make one” approach.

Jazz is the oldest of 7 siblings and grew up a military dependent which she feels helped contribute to her open-mindedness and her love for travel.

Jessica works in business development at Orchard Global Investment Management. Before joining Orchard Global, Jessica held senior business development roles at Brigade Capital Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). She has served as an investment committee member for the Texas Exes. She also spent several years in the energy sector working for Simmons and Company International, now a part of Piper Jaffray.

Prior to receiving her MBA from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas, Jessica worked in the treasury department of CEMEX (Cementos Mexicanos) at their corporate headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico.  She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Jessica lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two children, one dog, and one cat.