2011 Women of Power & Influence Honorees 

Susan  Blount is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Prudential Financial, Inc., responsible for overseeing the company's Law Compliance and Business Ethics Department.  She is also a member of Prudential's Senior Management Committee.  Under her leadership, the Prudential Law Department has been recognized as an "Employer of Choice" by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, "Legal Department of the Year" by the New Jersey Law Journal, and "Corporate Law Department of the Year" by the NJ Hispanic Bar Association. She is active on issues related to higher education and is a member of the Board at Montclair State University and the New Jersey Commission for Higher Education.  She is also a Founder of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas, and serves on the Board of Trustees of NJ LEEP, a high school enrichment program in Newark, NJ.

Binta Niambi Brown, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, advises clients on corporate governance issues. Ms.Brown has advocated for human trafficking victims, represented immigrant women in connection with VAWA petitions, and worked on economic development initiatives assisting women in war-torn regions. The Barnard College Trustee is currently drafting a shadow report on the treatment of Cambodian women, in connection with CEDAW. A key fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, Ms. Brown also advised Ms.Clinton's campaign on national security and human rights. She also was tapped by Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on his transition team advising on transportation policy. Crain's New York Business named her as one of 40 rising stars under the age of 40 in 2011.

Melissa Cohn is an entrepreneur, business leader and industry pioneer.  As a 24-year old bank loan officer, she founded The Manhattan Mortgage Company and created an industry in the process. The firm she started from her kitchen table is now the largest mortgage brokerage in the country with $3 billion in business. A nationally recognized expert in the mortgage industry, Ms.Cohn serves as Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York and has been widely recognized as one of the top people in real estate and construction.  Melissa has received the Builder of the Year Award from Habitat for Humanity and has also been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Debra Coughlin, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Draftfcb, is an award-winning brand marketer best known as a principal architect of MasterCard's widely popular "Priceless" campaign. Her work in marketing and advertising for iconic brands like MasterCard, Colgate, Advil and Jell-O earned her accolades, Effies and Cannes Lions. Having joined Draftfcb as CMO, she leads the agency's Global Capabilities team and the development, evolution and promotion of new and existing Draftfcb proprietary tools and intellectual property. Identified early on by Ad Age as a "Woman to Watch," Ms.Coughlin is committed to mentoring women at work and was the first recipient of the Marie Mandry Award given by Young & Rubicam to recognize excellence in training and mentoring.
 

Sung-Hee Suh, a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, is a leading litigator whose practice focuses on securities enforcement, white-collar criminal defense, and internal investigations.  She also advises institutions on compliance programs to prevent and detect anti-money laundering and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.  In a profession where only 2.1% of law firm partners are women of color, Ms. Suh leads diversity initiatives as Chair of her firm's Diversity Committee.  Formerly, Ms. Suh was Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District in New York and was awarded the Stimson Medal by the New York City Bar Association for her outstanding contributions to that Office.