SWS Vice President Named to Participate in 2024’s Leading Women Defined Rising Leaders' Summit

Devin Burks-Beaford, Vice President at Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (SWS), has been named as one of the participants invited to the prestigious 2024 Leading Women Defined Rising Leaders’ Summit.  

The summit brings together 25 aspiring professional African American women from across the nation, each between ages 25 and 35, who are excelling early in their careers across a broad range of industries in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.  

Since its 2010 founding, the LWD leadership and mentorship events have included women in power across the world’s top industries, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, Issa Rae, Venus Williams, Misty Copeland, and Queen Latifah.  

“It is a true honor to have been selected among some of the most inspiring and powerful rising leaders in the nation,” Burks-Beaford said. “The Leading Women Defined Rising Leaders Summit not only allowed us to create a lasting connection but also hear from trailblazing women in various industries. I’m confident this opportunity, focused on fostering career success and leadership, in addition to the outstanding mentorship and team at Siebert Williams Shank, will help me excel in my career.” 

Over six months in 2024, each participant will be connected to a mentor to help empower and elevate how they can continue to lead and make a greater impact in their corner of the world. The annual LWD Summit was launched by former Black Entertainment Television (BET) CEO Debra Lee.  

"I started LWD after leaving the BET Hip Hop Awards show in 2009. I was on the plane with other Black women execs, and we all began talking about the industry and how it was mostly male-dominated," Lee explained to EBONY in a recent March 2023 interview. "The idea came to create a space where we as women could come together in an intimate space to just be in the company of like-minded women. That was in November, and our first LWD launched in March 2010." 

 As Vice President of Marketing, Burks-Beaford leads Siebert Williams Shank’s brand equity through marketing strategies. She is a graduate of Georgetown University with a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and holds a Bachelors in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Dually headquartered in New York, NY and Oakland, CA, SWS is an independent non-bank financial services firm that offers investment banking, sales and trading, research, and advisory services. SWS counts 74 Fortune 100 companies among its clients.