Destined to become a homemaker in a traditional Orthodox home, Laya changed the trajectory of her life by choosing her own path…

…to become a successful entrepreneur and thought leader. After initially studying at Yeshiva University to become a Hebrew School teacher, she used her experience working as a part-time administrative aide at a software company to climb the industry’s ranks and become MasterCharge’s only one of the first women programmers at that time. Laya went on to found two successful data processing companies serving Fortune 500 clients, and was identified by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of Philadelphia’s Top 25 Women Business Owners. She is credited with founding the first club for women (and business club table) at the Union League of Philadelphia.