The new board members represent a broad range of skills and experiences brought together from every corner of Connecticut.
STAMFORD, Conn. — The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) proudly announces the appointment of six new members to its Board of Directors. Judith Corprew, Pamela Days-Luketich, Heather Dominguez Rahilly, Karen Goyette, Rachel Khana, and Michell Piché join the 24-member Board charged with advancing WBDC’s mission to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education programs that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut.
“We are so grateful to these business and community leaders for sharing their time and expertise to join WBDC in supporting women entrepreneurs and small businesses across Connecticut,” said WBDC Founder and CEO Fran Pastore. “Our newest board members come from different parts of the state and bring a colorful tapestry of backgrounds, experiences, and fresh perspectives. They will strengthen and amplify our impact on the women-owned business community.”
Judith Corprew (photo)
President and CEO, New Haven Bank
Judith Corprew is a community-banking executive with more than 40 years experience in credit, risk management, lending, compliance, cybersecurity oversight, and corporate governance. Well regarded for her financial literacy model and development of community partnership programs, she spearheaded a bank consortium fund to meet the needs of underbanked families by providing emergency funds and banking services bridging economic gaps, supported housing downpayment and closing cost assistance programs, as well as provided grant dollars and underwriting review of grant funds to Connecticut women business owners.
Judith is currently the President of the Board of the Connecticut State Housatonic Community College Foundation and is an active member of the Connecticut Bankers Association, Black Women on Boards, and The Links, Inc. She is a recipient of “The President’s Award” (1990 from The BankMart, Bridgeport, CT) and “Positive Impact Award” in 2024 from Color a Positive Thought Organization, located in Bridgeport.
Pamela Days-Luketich (photo)
Vice President & Community Development Team Lead | Liberty Bank
Pamela Days-Luketich serves as Vice President and Community Development Team Lead at Liberty Bank, where she is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and programs that advance affordable housing, small business growth, and community development initiatives across Connecticut. She has been recognized for her ability to design impactful education programs that support low- to moderate-income individuals and families. Before joining Liberty Bank, she held a long-standing leadership role at Chelsea Groton Bank, where she specialized in community engagement and program development.
Pamela has extensive experience in community outreach and financial inclusion and a deep commitment to civic engagement. She serves on several nonprofit and community boards, helping to guide mission-driven work that strengthens local neighborhoods and expands access to economic opportunity. In addition to her professional work, Pamela is an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Connecticut State University, where she teaches courses in economics and financial literacy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Assumption College and an MBA from the University of New Haven. Pamela resides in Mystic, Connecticut.
Heather Dominguez Rahilly (photo)
Partner & Co-Chair, Private Equity and M&A | Wiggin and Dana LLP
Heather Dominguez Rahilly co-leads Wiggin and Dana’s private equity and merger/acquisition practices and serves on the firm’s executive committee. Her focus is in mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital investments and financing across a number of sectors. Heather is also a member of wiggin(x), a division of Wiggin and Dana, where she represents venture capital investors, early and late-stage companies, as well as many women-owned companies and founders, with the unique aspects of their businesses.
Heather is a first-generation Cuban-American and the first in her family to attend law school. She is frequently tapped as a speaker to national and international audiences on topics related to corporate and business law. She serves on the board of the Association for Corporate Growth’s Women Connect Group in South Florida and Connecticut chapters. Heather is also an active contributor to WBDC, the Women in M&A Section of the American Bar Association, and the Women’s Association of Venture and Equity (WAVE). Heather is also the Nominating and Governance chair on the Board of Directors of Aspetuck Valley Country Club. Heather also enjoys travel, golf, reading, and skiing, and lives with her husband and two sons in Weston.
Karen Goyette (photo)
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer | Hartford HealthCare
Karen Goyette, as EVP, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, leads Hartford HealthCare’s strategy development, system alignment, and partnership integration — focusing on strategic, business, and facility planning, ambulatory facility and institute development, as well as the assessment and activation of strategic partnerships for the system. As a member of HHC’s CEO cabinet, she leads the system’s strategic and master facility planning process for institutes, networks, and regions; identifies and develops new service locations; and oversees the facility planning and regulatory approval process. Additionally, she leads business development activities for Hartford HealthCare and assists in evaluating the performance of current programs and partnerships. Karen developed and implemented Hartford HealthCare’s first system-wide strategic plan and completed the first system-wide balanced scorecard delineating annual system goals and priorities.
A Connecticut native, Karen earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut and holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She was named New England’s “Strategist of the Year” in 2021 by the New England Society of Healthcare Strategy and received the Hartford Business Journal’s “C-Suite Awards” for 2022.
Rachel Khanna (photo)
Entrepreneur; Former Connecticut State Representative
Rachel Khanna brings a diverse skill set to the WBDC Board, with experience in corporate, elected, and entrepreneurial roles. She is a former state representative, representing Connecticut’s 149th district from 2023 to 2025 and serving on the Appropriations Committee, Government Administration & Elections Committee, and Transportation Committee. Previously, she worked in marketing and market research for Morgan Stanley Asset Management and Europmonitor International, respectively.
Rachel is also an entrepreneur. In 2007, she launched an organic meal delivery service serving Greenwich and Stamford. She has published two cookbooks: Live Eat Cook Healthy and Think East Cook Sustainably. Rachel has served on the boards of Kids in Crisis and The Greenwich Audubon Center, as well as Veerni, a non-profit organization in India providing secondary education to young women from vulnerable communities. She is a community advocate, entrepreneur, triathlete, and the parent of four daughters.
Marlene Piché (photo)
Executive Vice President | Union Savings Bank
Marlene Piché is a dynamic and strategic banking executive with over thirty years of leadership experience in financial services, specializing in retail and business banking, customer experience, and organizational development. Currently EVP at Union Savings Bank, she leads a broad portfolio that includes branch operations, a customer call center, business banking, treasury services, and customer engagement across a 25-branch network in western Connecticut.
Throughout her career, Marlene has been a dedicated partner and advocate for both business and consumer customers, helping them achieve their financial goals and thrive. She is also deeply committed to community service and has held leadership roles on several nonprofit boards, including past Chair of the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut, board member of the ECSU Foundation, and committee member for Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust. Marlene holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Organizational Management from Eastern Connecticut State University.
About the Women’s Business Development Council
The Women’s Business Development Council’s (WBDC) 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. WBDC educates, motivates, and empowers women to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency. Since 1997, WBDC has educated and trained over 21,700 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns—helping women to launch, sustain, and scale over 16,250 businesses, create and maintain more than 40,350 jobs in Connecticut, and access over $86 million in capital. Since 2020, WBDC has provided more than $19 million in grants to help fuel growth in small businesses throughout Connecticut. Visit ctwbdc.org for more information.
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