The Catalytic Collective
Our Story
Meet Our Founder
Sonya Weigle brings over 25 years of transformational leadership experience to The Catalytic Collective. As a seasoned Biotech and Pharmaceutical Executive, Sonya has developed and delivered world-class HR solutions, led complex M&A integrations, and built meaningful relationships with investors and boards throughout her distinguished career.
Her professional journey spans multiple roles and sectors – from global consulting at Mercer to early-stage biotech at Marinus Pharmaceuticals serving as the Chief People and Investor Relations Officer. For 21 years, she was the founding principal of SWC Management Consulting, a human capital strategy practice focused on M&A integration in life sciences. Sonya was also the host of a global radio show called, “Beyond Financials – The People Side of Mergers & Acquisitions”.
A recognized business leader, Sonya has been honored as a “Woman on the Move” by the Philadelphia Tribune and American Arthritis Foundation, received the Leadership Award from the MS Society, and was named among Philadelphia’s Top 40 Business People Under 40 by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Most recently, Sonya was recognized as a “Woman of Distinction” by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Sonya currently serves as a Corporate Board Director for AMS AI, an AI healthcare company, Pennsylvania Options for Wellness, a medical marijuana company and Gold Jacket, LLC, a managed services firm. Her commitment to community leadership is reflected in her extensive past and present non-profit board service, including The Nelson Foundation, The Philadelphia Film Society, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, City Team Ministries, and The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Sonya holds a BS from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS from Carnegie Mellon University.
The Catalyst for Change – Life’s Next Horizon
The Catalytic Collective was born from Sonya’s personal journey of transformation. Twenty years ago, she created “Networking Mommy,” a community that helped women leverage their professional skills while raising their families. This early venture reflected her own experience navigating global consulting while starting a family. This was the moment when she knew her travel-heavy lifestyle needed to change.
The vision for The Catalytic Collective emerged during a pivotal moment in Sonya’s life. While watching her youngest daughter explore future possibilities during her sophomore year of college, Sonya experienced a profound realization. Despite being at a very different life stage, she too had a whole journey ahead of her – -one she could intentionally design. With three decades of professional expertise as her foundation, Sonya recognized she had the wisdom, networks, and capabilities to create a meaningful next chapter that aligned with her personal aspirations.
Over the following 18 months, Sonya embarked on a journey of preparation, focusing first on her health, spiritual development, and personal relationships. Through this process, she developed a step-by-step approach to life transition that she felt called to share with other accomplished women.
This personal transformation coincided with Sonya contemplating her professional future beyond her corporate role at Marinus Pharmaceuticals. Having reinvented herself multiple times throughout her career – moving from global consulting to corporate leadership to entrepreneurship – she understood firsthand the challenges and opportunities that come with significant life transitions.
Throughout her career, Sonya observed a pattern among accomplished women executives: despite their remarkable success, many reached a point where they questioned what came next. Some faced empty nests after years of balancing high-powered careers with family responsibilities. Others found themselves ready for new challenges after reaching the pinnacle of their professional fields. Many felt isolated in their decision-making, lacking peers who truly understood their position.
The Need for Collective Wisdom
Sonya recognized that these women – herself included – had developed extraordinary skills, networks, and insights throughout their careers. The challenge wasn’t a lack of capability but rather finding the right context and community to channel these assets into personally meaningful ventures.
What these women needed wasn’t more professional networking or another leadership development program. They needed a carefully curated community of peers who understood their journey without explanation – a safe space to explore new possibilities without judgment, access to vetted resources tailored to their needs, and structured support for navigating this significant life transition.
The Catalytic Collective represents the natural evolution of Sonya’s commitment to helping women leverage their skills during life transitions. What began as supporting working mothers has matured into empowering accomplished executive women to design meaningful next chapters that honor both their professional expertise and personal aspirations.
Our Core Values
The Catalytic Collective’s values reflect both Sonya’s personal transformation journey and her vision for empowering accomplished women. These principles guide every aspect of our community, from membership selection to program development, ensuring an experience that honors both professional excellence and personal authenticity.
Authentic Excellence
We embrace both professional accomplishment and personal authenticity, creating space for genuine connection among accomplished women.
Purposeful Transformation
We believe in intentional change guided by wisdom, supporting each woman’s unique journey toward her next chapter.
Curated Connection
We thoughtfully bring together exceptional women who can truly understand, support, and inspire one another through shared experience.
Holistic Perspective
We honor the whole person – addressing professional, physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of transition and growth.
Meaningful Impact
We empower women to channel their expertise into ventures that create lasting significance, both personally and in the broader community.
Respectful Engagement
We value each member’s time, expertise, and journey, creating experiences that deliver clear value and meaningful outcomes.
The Advisory Board
The Inner Circle
Aurora Archer
San Antonio, Texas
Aurora Archer is the Founder + CEO of The Opt-In, a culture strategy firm. She serves on the board for The Considered and The Latina Foundation. Previously, she held leadership roles at AstraZeneca and HP.
Suzette Arostegui
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Suzette Arostegui is Founder of Simple Quality Systems LLC. She has also worked at Novartis, Gyroscope Therapeutics, UPenn, and GSK, with extensive experience in quality systems and regulatory compliance.
Yolanda Lozano
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Yolanda Lozano is the Co-Founder & COO of Computer Science Alliance and a Professor at Gogebic Community College. She has also held leadership positions at CSTA. Previously, she worked at Citrix, Trilogy, and Internet Securities, Inc.
Kate Hermans
Wayne, Pennsylvania
Kate Hermans is Board Chair at Clue by Biowink and Board Member at Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures (MADV). Previously, she held leadership positions at Ambrx, 83bar, Radius Health, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Pfizer. She is an experienced strategic advisor and business builder.
Leslie Knotts
Greater Philadelphia, US
Fern Lazar
New York, New York
Fern Lazar is Global Health Practice Lead at FINN Partners, previously Managing Partner. She was CEO and President of LAZAR, a Finn Partners Company. Earlier, she held EVP roles at Edelman and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.
Kelly Lorah
Moorestown, New Jersey
Francesca Molinari
Greater Philadelphia, US