Conference Volunteers
VALERIE I PLANTE
Valerie Plante is a Certified Mentor at SCORE Seacoast and ‘23 and ‘24 Womens Conference Chair, and DEI Chapter Champion. She leverages over an extensive career in sales and training to guide clients in starting and growing their small businesses. Valerie helps those new in business refine their ideas, craft their business plans, set objectives, and develop effective sales and marketing strategies. Valerie enjoys interviewing business owners to feature them for SUCCESS STORIES for the SCORE website and has led a monthly Women’s Forum for over 2 years. Valerie is a Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor with 30 years of experience, specializing in health and fitness training for individuals and groups.
KISKA ALEXANDROPOULOS
Kiska serves as the Office Administrator for SCORE Seacoast chapter in Portsmouth, where she provides vital administrative support in areas such as marketing, finance, and scheduling. Her role is essential in ensuring that SCORE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small businesses plan, launch, manage, and grow, runs smoothly. With a deep commitment to empowering entrepreneurs, Kiska works alongside SCORE volunteers—experts in business management—who offer guidance on topics like cash flow management, starting a business, purchasing a franchise, and selling a business. In addition to her work with SCORE, Kiska is a Certified Health Coach and enjoys helping individuals improve their well-being by focusing on holistic health practices and personal wellness goals. well-being by focusing on holistic health practices and personal wellness goals.
KAREN AHERN
Karen Ahern is a seasoned business mentor with nearly three years of experience at SCORE, where she provides valuable guidance to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Karen has helped many new businesses, most notably in the areas of fitness, healthcare, and personal coaching, areas for which she has a personal affinity. Karen’s areas of expertise include brand strategy, marketing, market research, and
market analytics. Her career has spanned nearly forty years in the consumer goods, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries. She is an expert in building effective marketing strategies based on a solid understanding of market and competitive trends. Karen’s expertise in business analysis, coupled with her passion for mentoring, makes her a trusted advisor for those seeking to grow their businesses.
KEMETIA FOLEY
Kemetia Foley is a storyteller, stand-up comic, writer, and trainer. She is fierce, funny, and phenomenal – energetically delivering outstanding professional development courses since 2007. Kemetia has presented more than 200 training sessions and has traveled internationally. She currently serves as Assistant Office Administrator at SCORE Mentors Seacoast and also instructs at WorkReady NH while providing consulting and training services for Marcham Publishing.
LORI MARTIN
Lori Martin is a senior leader with extensive expertise in Global Credit and Collections, Order to Cash Operations, and Global Shared Services. She has a proven ability to drive financial performance across global organizations by leading business transformations, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and optimizing processes. With a background in the high-tech and services industries, Lori excels in restructuring underperforming teams and organizations, coaching for superior results, and implementing ERP systems. Her innovative problem-solving, negotiation skills, and collaborative style have earned her a reputation as a leader of change and a trusted partner in achieving operational excellence.
ADRIANA TORRES
Originally from Cuba, Adriana Torres is a neurodivergent Volunteer and Entrepreneur who finds diverse ways to be a bridge between access and resources. Adriana started her relationship with SCORE as a client, and now she is very active connected to the Pulse of the Community and finding better ways to serve its needs. She is a Process Coach at her own Coaching Business, The Process Reinvention, LLC, helping individuals and organizations eliminate waste and save more of their valuable resources while learning powerful tools to bring more Joy in what they do, . Adriana is also a Medical Spanish Interpreter Translator, and an Interpreter Translator for the Nashua School District and the DEI Chapter Champion for SCORE Granite Region.
Lauren Silverman
A molecular biologist by training, retired from her position as a Managing Director with the Novartis Venture Fund in Cambridge, MA where she sourced and closed novel investments in life science companies and served on the Board of Directors of multiple portfolio companies. Prior to her career as a venture capitalist, Lauren spent a portion of her career in licensing and business development, first at OSI Pharmaceuticals (now Takeda) and later at Pfizer. Early in her career Dr. Silverman served as a Director of Strategic Alliances and Head of Cell Biology after having been a founding scientist of Cadus Pharmaceuticals.
DAWN HAMDI
Dawn Hamdi is an accomplished leader with extensive experience in education and professional development. Since May 2018, she has served as the Director of WorkReadyNH at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, NH, helping individuals develop critical workforce skills. Previously, Dawn spent nearly eight years as the Chapter Coordinator for SCORE Mentors, where she facilitated workshops and helped the Seacoast Chapter rank among the top five of 330 chapters nationally. Her background includes roles as an Admissions Associate at Phillips Exeter Academy and a Professional Development Trainer and Human Resources Recruiter at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), where she played a key role in growing the company significantly.
MAUREEN BILODEAU
Maureen Bilodeau, has an extensive career spanning over 30 years in business consulting, leadership, and custom software development. Since 2009, she has been a Senior Partner at Braveboat Harbor Group, providing expert guidance to businesses in the Kittery area and beyond. Prior to this, Maureen held key positions in prominent firms, including her role as Associate Partner and Program Manager at IBM Global Business Services, where she worked from 2003 to 2009. Before that, she spent 14 years at American Management Systems (AMS), eventually rising to Vice President, overseeing custom software development initiatives. Earlier in her career,
she was an Assistant Professor of Management at Merrimack College, contributing to academic research and educating future business leaders.
