Our Team

Sarah Alter — named president and CEO of NEW in June 2017 — has wide-ranging experience in the retail, financial services and technology markets. As vice president of Discover Financial Services, Sarah led the product strategy for all credit card features, benefits and services.
As vice president for digital sales and marketing at Quill.com, she helped transform the business, increasing its digital sales. In her last job — chief marketing officer for General Growth Properties — Sarah developed and executed marketing strategies for 200 shopping mall properties and their top retailers. 
Sarah has served on a number of non-profit boards and is an accomplished fundraiser. She is an organizer of Chicago’s annual JDRF Gala, which has raised millions of dollars for Type 1 diabetes. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and has a Harvard MBA.

As vice president, regions, community and marketing, Julie Basile is responsible for NEW’s regional growth and support initiatives and advocacy. Julie has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, including roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Diageo and Kellogg Company. Before joining NEW, she was an active NEW member and volunteer leader for NEW Atlanta, NEW Chicago and NEW Minneapolis. Julie lives in Chicago with her husband and twin boys.

As vice president of strategic value, Karianne Gomez leads the development of NEW’s overarching strategic value platform and core initiatives, including research and insights, learning programs, and solutions for corporate partners, NEW regions and members. Prior to joining NEW, Karianne focused on growth strategy and transformation across a number of companies and industries, including Pampered Chef and HAVI Global Solutions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from University of Buffalo, a master of engineering management degree from Northwestern University and a master of business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Karianne serves on the board of the Chicago chapter of Compass Pro Bono. She, her husband Joe and two daughters live in Chicago.

Carol Jones leads the finance and administration team, which manages the finances of NEW, facilitating its sustainability and ensuring that the books/records are appropriately managed and reported. Her team also develops the long-range financial plan and directs the annual budget and planning process. They provide contract management oversight and review appropriate levels of control, efficiency and effectiveness. Carol previously was at IRI as the financial lead for the retail organization. She also worked closely with the head of finance, planning and analysis at United Airlines in their capital planning group. She received her MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business and her bachelor of science degree in accounting from DePaul University. Carol enjoys volunteering in the community and traveling with family and friends.

Christen Ng is responsible for overseeing NEW’s technology infrastructure, digital platforms and analytics strategy. Prior to joining NEW, she specialized in building technology solutions and resources that leveraged data-driven insights to impact nonprofit organizations in healthcare, workforce development and arts education public policy. Christen holds an international MBA from Webster University and a bachelor’s degree in information systems from DePaul University. She has served on the board of the United Nations Association of Chicago, as a mentor with MIT’s Solve initiative and on the Business Advisory Council for Bright Endeavors.