The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors. Trish Havey, chief human resources officer, Libertas Funding; Travis Parman, chief communications officer, Philip Morris International, U.S.; and Marissa M. Weidner, executive vice president, chief corporate responsibility officer at Webster Bank.
Havey oversees all HR-related functions for Libertas Funding, a private, direct funding partner for small to medium-sized businesses. She has spent most of her career in financial services, first as a fixed-income portfolio manager at Citibank Global Asset Management, then as chief administrative officer at Libertas Capital Partners, and as director of human resources for Knight Capital’s fixed-income group. In 2013, she founded an executive and career coaching practice and now continues that on a volunteer basis fulfilling her personal commitment to help others reach their full career potential. She joined Libertas in 2019 and cites the team’s shared drive for excellence, its entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to customer service and teamwork as the keys to the company’s success. She holds an MBA in finance from New York University Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Suffolk University in Boston.
Parman joined Philip Morris International in 2023 to help bring its mission to end cigarettes to the U.S. by leveraging a smoke-free portfolio in the interest of public health. He has dedicated much of his career to supporting mission-driven and purpose-led strategies for major international corporations. He currently serves as chief communications officer and previously held the same position at AppHarvest and Nissan Motor Corp. He also has held leadership roles in communications with Groupe Renault, Ally Bank, and General Motors. Parman was a founding executive sponsor of Nissan’s LGBTQ+ affinity group where he helped the company move from 30 to 100 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index in under two years. He holds an M.S. in communications management from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from the University of Tennessee and has been recognized by PR Week’s “40 Under 40” list.
Weidner currently serves as Webster Bank’s executive vice president, chief corporate responsibility officer, where she oversees and executes a $6.5 billion Community Investment Strategy. Her responsibilities include oversight of all community-facing activities across the company, including Supplier Diversity; Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and fair and responsible banking, community investment, engagement and philanthropy; government relations and public affairs; and environmental, social and governance efforts. She is responsible for the oversight of Webster’s Business Resource Groups’ focus on community partnerships, volunteerism, charitable giving, and oversight of enterprise marketing and corporate communications.
The Women’s Business Development Council’s mission is to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut. Since 1997, WBDC has educated and trained more than 19,300 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns — helping women to launch, sustain and scale over 14,500 businesses, create and maintain nearly 32,500 jobs in Connecticut, and access nearly $73.5 million in capital. Since 2020, WBDC has provided more than $10 million in grants to help fuel growth in small businesses throughout Connecticut.
