Press Release

Eileen Simon Elected Chair of Legal Momentum's Board of Directors; Meena Elliott Re-elected First Vice Chair

August 20, 2020 - Legal Momentum, the nation’s first and oldest legal defense and education fund for women and girls, has named a new Chair of the Board. Eileen Simon, a senior leader with Mastercard and a distinguished recipient of Legal Momentum’s Aiming High award in 2015 has assumed leadership of the Legal Momentum Board. Meena Elliott, an executive in San Francisco, was re-elected First Vice Chair.

Ms. Simon is a payments executive with more than twenty years of legal and business experience in the industry. In her current role as General Auditor, she provides independent and objective assurance on the design and effectiveness of Mastercard risk management, internal controls and governance processes. Previous roles at Mastercard include General Counsel, Global Businesses; Chief Franchise Integrity Officer; Chief Franchise Development Officer, and; Group Executive, Senior Associate General Counsel. Ms. Simon holds a B.A. summa cum laude in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.S. summa cum laude in Economics from The Wharton School, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Elected to the Legal Momentum Board in August 2015, Ms. Simon served as Board Secretary from 2017 to June 2020 and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee from 2016 to June 2020. “I am honored to be named Chair of the Board of Legal Momentum. I have had the privilege of working with the organization for the past five years, and know that defending women’s rights has never been more important than it is now. I look forward to continuing to work with Elaine Wood in her new capacity and am indebted to her for her leadership.”

Ms. Elliott is a multi-faceted executive partnering with leadership teams to help global companies in multiple industries, including technology and media. She is a trusted advisor on corporate governance, risk assessment, compliance and compensation issues, legal and HR matters. Currently, she serves as an Advisory Board member to Entefy, Inc. and Golden Poppy, Inc. and is on the Investment Committee for Purple Arch Ventures. Previously, Ms. Elliott was SVP, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, Corporate Secretary at Aviat Network, Inc. Ms. Elliott holds a B.A. from Northwestern University, an M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis – Olin Business School, and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She is a 2016 Legal Momentum Women of Achievement award recipient and was elected to the Board of Directors in March 2017. She currently serves as Chair of the Development Committee. “I am honored to continue serving Legal Momentum. More than ever, the work we do is critical to ensuring equal opportunities for all women and girls in education, the workplace and the courts.”

Legal Momentum is deeply grateful to G. Elaine Wood, a vice president in the Risk, Investigations and Analytics Practice at Charles River Associates, based in New York, for her dedicated service as Chair of Legal Momentum’s Board from July 2014 to June 2020. We are especially pleased that she has stepped into her new role as General Counsel. “In my two decades of involvement with Legal Momentum, I have seen the key role that Legal Momentum plays in fighting for women’s rights. I am honored to have led the Board in support of this important work and thrilled to continue serving in my new capacity as General Counsel under the leadership of Eileen Simon.” We thank Beth L. Kaufman for serving as General Counsel from 2016 to June 2020.

Legal Momentum’s President and CEO Carol Moody said, “Understanding the importance of succession planning in Board governance, we started the process of transitioning the Chair over a year ago. We are so pleased to have Eileen assume the role of the Chair and to have Meena continue as First Vice Chair. We have a strong Chair, a dedicated staff, and a committed and talented Board focused on securing both economic and physical security for women and girls.”