Women of Ascend Roundtable

Know Before You Go:

• Admission is complimentary but ticket RSVP is required.
• Light refreshments will be provided (cookies, and chips).
• After the event, attendees are invited to head to a nearby restaurant/bar/dessert place for socials and a chance to talk to panelists/attendees to continue conversations.
• Event is open to all (members and non-members).
• Guests must pre-register for the event (walk-ins are not permitted).
• Ticket sales will end once ticket limit is reached. Limited seats available.
• Registration information will be shared with Ascend GW.

Our esteemed panel includes the following leaders:

Karla Jimenez

Partner, Marcum LLP

Karla Jimenez is a partner in the Firm’s managed accounting services practice, primarily serving the nonprofi t industry. Leveraging over 18 years of public accounting experience, she assists clients with fi nancial analysis, reporting, forecasting, and budgeting. Karla also provides consulting services, including assessments, developing chart of accounts, internal controls, and reporting tools. Finally, she implements new accounting systems for clients and monitors results to comply with internal and external reporting requirements.

Before joining the Firm, Karla worked as a Senior Audit Associate with SyCip Gorres Velayo & Company, a member practice of Ernest & Young Global. Karla is a CPA licensed in Virginia and the District of Columbia. She graduated cum laude from the University of San Jose-Recoletos in the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.

Rachel Hong

Associate Director, Protiviti

Rachel Hong is the Associate Director of Business Performance Improvement for Finance & Performance Management at Protiviti, a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Prior to Protiviti, Rachel began her career at EY within Audit & Assurance Services and has nearly 20 years of experience in controllership, FP&A and consulting in various industries. Her practice at Protiviti is in finance, accounting and systems solution consulting services, leading many SAP implementations and initiatives for her clients. She co-founded the local chapter of Pan-Asian American Employee Network Group in the Metro DC office at Protiviti and is also an active member of the firm’s national ProMind network to promote mental health and iGroww network in support of women in the workplace. She is passionate about mentorship and development, empowering today and tomorrow’s generation of leaders. Rachel received her Bachelor's in Accounting at Villa Julie College and resides in Maryland with her husband and two children.

Meena Agarwal

Associate Director, Guidehouse

Meena is an Associate Director in Guidehouse’s Public Sector practice.  Meena has over 13 years of professional experience.  She has a proven ability leading high performing teams that specialize in business strategy, program management, and organizational transformation. She is a licensed attorney and received her JD from University of Maryland School of Law. She was the Director of Contributions for the Division of Unemployment Insurance at the Maryland Department of Labor. Meena supported business transformation for the multimillion-dollar IT software implementations, including migrations of legacy mainframe systems into web-based, cloud solutions in a multistate (Maryland, West Virginia) perspective. She served and led UI Programs not only throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but also through other economic downturns, including the longest federal government shutdown in 2018 and 2019.

Bhavini Amin

Strategist and Board Member for Startups

Bhavini Amin is a senior financial services executive with 25+ years of experience driving strategy, growth, and operations across fintech, banking,

investment management, and lending organizations. Throughout her career, Bhavini has held leadership roles in business operations, business development, sales, marketing, client experience, digital transformation, product development, data, analytics, and insights. She is a dynamic leader capable of navigating multifaceted roles and overcoming complex challenges. In her most recent role as Vice President, Chief Marketing and Revenue Operations Officer at CoreLogic—following its acquisition of Roostify, a fintech B2B SaaS company—Bhavini played a pivotal role in leading marketing and communications, revenue operations, sales strategy, sales engineering, business development and data analytics. Her contributions significantly propelled the organization's rapid growth and operational maturity, ultimately positioning it for growth and acquisition.

Bhavini has also held senior positions at Fortune 500 companies, including Freddie Mac, T. Rowe Price, Bank of America, Vanguard, Northwestern Mutual, and Merrill Lynch. Bhavini holds an MBA in management and marketing from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in finance and international business from the University of South Carolina. Bhavini is also an adjunct instructor at her alma mater, Johns Hopkins University teaching courses in the graduate business programs.