Women on the Rise honors women leading the way for the next generation with their outstanding contributions to the business community.
This year’s award recognizes six rising business leaders in industries that range from biotechnology to construction to engineering and coworking. These women have only just begun to make their mark on the Capital Region.
The full stories of this year’s Women on the Rise and Women Who Mean Business will be part of the Oct. 7 issue of the Albany Business Review. An event to recognize the honorees will take place on the same day at 11 a.m.
This year’s Women on the Rise honorees are:
Ashley Castle, director of legal business operations, GlobalFoundries
Ashley Castle has responsibility for operationalizing the legal department’s mission, value proposition and key objectives. She also focuses on finance and budget management, board governance and corporate compliance, ESG, legal technology and communications.
Castle is a board member of the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce.
Kelsey Carr, senior civil engineer, LaBella Associates
Kelsey Carr has worked on vital redevelopment projects in the downtowns and neighborhoods of Albany, Schenectady and Troy. She has also served as the site civil engineer for redevelopment of numerous historic factory sites and the creation of important pedestrian connections to the riverfront in Troy.
She is a board member of Concerned for the Hungry and is chair of the Capital Region Chamber Women’s Business Council.
Barbara Decker, architectural designer, C.T. Male Associates
Barbara Decker spent six years at Case Window and Door with responsibilities including drafting, energy modeling, research and development of new systems, and eventually managing the shop alongside her future business partners. When Case co-founder Russ Brooks retired, Decker and others started Sash and Frame, a manufacturer of high-end windows in Green Island. She is now moving to the engineering firm C.T. Male Associates, starting Aug. 15, where she will be an architectural designer.
Alexis Mitchell, talent acquisition leader, Latham Group Inc.
Alexis Mitchell is talent acquisition leader at Latham Group, the publicly traded swimming pool manufacturer headquartered in Latham, New York. With 15 years of human resources and payroll experience, Mitchell directs talent acquisition, including candidate sourcing, interviews and negotiations.
Angelique Powell is director of community animation at The Blake Annex, a 25,000-square-foot shared office and coworking space for nonprofits in downtown Albany. More than 20 organization and 100-plus members make use of the Blake, which is backed by the United Way of the Greater Capital Region. Powell has led the sales operation to attract members and provided support to dozens of organizations for events and meetings, all while leading a team of community managers.
Powell is also a stage actor who’s performed in many productions around the region.
Catherine Toniatti is president of Applied BioPhysics, a maker of tools for cell research and drug discovery that’s based in the Rensselaer Technology Park. Toniatti was hired directly after graduation in 2007 as a technician. She worked her way up to vice president of sales, and in January of this year she became president of the company.
Toniatti is also a competitor in national strongwoman competitions.