Head Above Water: Our Economy Can’t Afford to Lose Her

For millions of women across the country, the effort is constant — working, caregiving, contributing — yet financial stability remains just out of reach.

Head Above Water is a powerful new animated short film that brings to life the cumulative pressures many women carry beneath the surface: rising food costs, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and everyday expenses that continue to outpace income.

Grounded in data from United For ALICE — the national research initiative tracking households who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — the film reveals a critical economic truth: many working households above the poverty line still cannot afford the basics in their communities.

These women are employees.
They are caregivers.
They are community anchors.

And our economy depends on them.

Join Working for Women and Luminary for the premiere of Head Above Water and a live conversation that moves beyond individual hardship toward a deeper understanding of the structural forces shaping today’s workforce, and the solutions already taking root.

Panelists

• Nuri Montilla-Rivas, Strategic Partnerships Executive, Community and Learning Providers Solutions, Career Circle

• Leidy Johanna Ortiz Arias, Program Participant, Working for Women

• Stephanie Berman, Global Chief Creative Officer, The Bloc

• Beth Bengtson, Founder & CEO, Working for Women

• Moderated by Lisha Bell, Founder, Sisters with Ventures

Together, they will explore the widening gap between effort and stability, what it means for employers and families, and what meaningful cross-sector solutions look like in practice.

The Morning Includes

• Screening of Head Above Water

• Moderated panel discussion

• Audience Q&A

• Networking reception

This is a conversation about visibility, shared responsibility, and economic sustainability — and about ensuring more women, families, and workplaces can truly stay above water.

As an attendee of this specific event, if you would like to stay and work for the day from the Luminary space, you are welcome to!

Meet the Speakers:

Moderator: Lisha Bell is a fintech innovator, investor, and advocate for women’s economic power. Over the past two decades, she has helped shape the infrastructure behind how people move money in the digital economy while working to ensure those systems create opportunity for everyone.

Lisha began her career building early digital banking products, including online banking, bill pay, and digital wallets. In 2011, she launched one of the first NFC contactless mobile wallets, a precursor to today’s tap-to-pay experiences such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. At PayPal, she later spearheaded the launch of Venmo’s commerce platform. Today, she works at PayPal Ventures, where she leads the Economic Opportunity Fund, a $100 million investment vehicle investing in diverse emerging fund managers.

After two decades in technology, Lisha has focused her work on connecting people, building inclusive systems, and expanding economic access. She invests in products and leaders that serve community needs, elevate culture and humanity, and help close the capital gap for historically overlooked founders and investors.

Lisha holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and MBAs from UC Berkeley and Columbia Business School. She has been featured in Forbes, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Cheddar TV, and Black Enterprise, and has been recognized as a Power 100 Allocator, an Iconic Woman of the Bay Area, and an Outstanding Alumna honoree.

Panelist: Nuri Montilla-Rivas leads strategic partnerships that connect job seekers with upskilling resources and personalized job advocacy. Focused on building inclusive, skilled workforces, she collaborates with nonprofits, workforce boards, and training providers to help community partners scale their impact, bridge talent to opportunities, and achieve measurable hiring outcomes.

Panelist: Stephanie Berman fosters environments where change-making creativity can thrive. She is recognized as an exceptional mentor and strong collaborator, galvanizing teams to deliver both brilliant work and business results.

In 2023, Stephanie returned to The Bloc to lead the network as global chief creative officer. Prior to this, she held chief creative officer roles at Hill Holliday Health and McCann Health New York, where she led her team to Agency of the Year wins at Clio Health, The Creative Floor, London International Awards, and The One Show.

For the last 2 decades she has focused exclusively on health and wellness, where she loves to partner with clients who believe in great work and its tremendous potential to do good.

Panelist: Leidy Ortiz is a strategist and project manager with 15+ years of experience leading initiatives across technology, education, and community development. Her work focuses on turning complexity into clarity and helping people and organizations move ideas into action. Leidy has participated in Working for Women’s programming since 2024.

Panelist: Beth Bengtson, is a "badass" changemaker on a mission to reshape how business participates in our society. As the founder and CEO of Working for Women, she helps companies turn good intentions into meaningful action, directing resources to organizations that uplift women into the workforce and to better economic outcomes.

With a career spanning finance, marketing, corporate social responsibility, and entrepreneurship, Beth believes in the power of business as a force for good. Whether she's speaking on stage, leading strategy sessions, or sparking lively discussions, she brings fresh ideas, practical insights, and a dash of humor to every interaction.

I understand my attendance signifies that photographic or video recordings of me may be displayed electronically or in print via Luminary's website, social media or shared with event partners for their promotional use. For questions or to opt out of photographic and video displays please email events@weareluminary.com