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 the lead for the Partnerships and Memberships Teams of NEW, Laurie is responsible for the corporate partnership, mission engagement, and organizational transformation in the corporations we serve, while supporting NEW members’ personal, professional and business goals.  Laurie comes to NEW with over 20 years of executive experience working with organizations focused on underserved communities, with women’s Equity and Equality organizations being a passion.  Most recently, Laurie worked at S.H.E. Globl. Prior to that, she was instrumental at AnitaB.org, as VP of Partner Engagement and Success, growing partnerships, sponsorships, and developing strategy.  During her tenure, Laurie’s commitment and leadership skills contributed to the exponential growth of both the well-known Grace Hopper Celebration and AnitaB.org. Laurie has served on the board of The Almaden Valley Women’s Club and the San Jose Earthquakes Foundation. Laurie graduated with a BA in Communications from the University of Iowa and is also a Certified Diversity Executive. She and her husband live in San Jose, CA where her three sons also live.

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.