WLS Presenters 2008

(P6) Strategic Mentoring
Dianne Beaton is Marketing Director for Sandler Training in Bedford, NH, an affiliate of the Sandler Sales Institute, a national consulting firm specializing in business development strategies, sales and sales management.  Dianne has over 25 years of award winning marketing, mentoring and business management experience in the business area.  Most recently Dianne was the Marketing & Business Development Manager for Secondwind Water Systems, NH.  Dianne holds an AS in Business and Marketing from Hesser College.  She also obtained several professional designations from the National Association of Home Builders.

Welcome from Hostess
Annabel Beerel is Professor of Social Ethics at the Southern New Hampshire University where she holds the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Distinguished Chair in Ethics. She gained her Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Boston University; she has a Masters Degree in Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Massachusetts, and an M.B.A. from Cranfield University in England. Annabel was previously Vice President of a private college in California and Assistant Professor of Finance at the Simmons Graduate School of Management. She has also taught at the Boston University School of Management and in the Radcliffe Educational Programs, and more recently at Tufts University and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Over the past ten years, Annabel has conducted classes and seminars in Leadership and Ethics to a variety of audiences ranging from undergraduates to adult learners to senior executives. Her consulting organization, Five Cornerstone, focuses on leadership and ethics education as well as executive coaching. She has hosted many panels and facilitated a wide range of meetings especially for professionals aspiring to go the next step in their careers. One of her main interests is the study of world religions along with international travel. Annabel also has over twenty-five years of business experience in an international context. She is a Chartered Accountant who has held positions in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking. She has written five books on a variety of management subjects and her current project is on” Leadership and Change Management.”

(R3) Women as Social Change Agents
Sarah Chaisson Warner is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Athena Magazine for Girls. Sarah received her B.A. in political science from Barnard College, and her Master of Public Policy from Harvard University. An award-winning screenwriter, Sarah channeled her passion for the written word and women's issues to create a much-needed alternative to traditional teen magazines. She launched Athena Magazine for Girls online in November of 2007, and has readers from all over U.S. and abroad.  Sarah has ten years' experience working on women's and girls' issues in New Hampshire, New York City, and Washington D.C. She currently works for the NH Citizens Alliance.

(L6) Managing a Diverse Workforce
Cathy Champagne was born and raised in New Hampshire (one of 5 children), and started working at Jutras Signs in 1980.  While a freshman in High School she worked at the company part time after school.  During this time, Cathy worked closely with her father, Roland Paradis, who was the President and former owner of Jutras Signs.  This exposure was instrumental in her interest and desire to work in the sign industry.  Cathy has worked full time at Jutras Signs since 1985, and after graduating from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she decided to make the sign industry her full time career.  In 1998, after accumulating nearly 20 years of experience in the sign industry, she purchased the business and 20,000 square foot building.  In addition to her work at Jutras Signs, she has served on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army in Manchester as well as having served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Medical Center Associates.  She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Southern New Hampshire University as well as on the Board of Directors at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the MDC (Manchester Development Corporation) Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the World Sign Association headquartered in Denver, Co.  She lives in Goffstown, NH with her husband, Joe.

( L6) Managing a Diverse Workforce
Maryse Charbonneau is Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company.  As Senior HR Business Partner for the Swiss Re Products function groups, Maryse is responsible for coordinating all Human Resource activities between Zurich, Switzerland and the Americas.  Maryse has 30 years of Human Resource experience. Prior to Swiss Re she served as Director of HR at Saint Anselm College and Director of Employment and Employee Relations at AIG/New Hampshire Insurance Group.  Maryse has a Bachelor of Arts form Rivier College and a Masters in Community Psychology form Springfield College.  She currently serves as Vice President of Membership for the Society of Human Resources (SHRM) NH State Council.

(L4) Entrepreneurship Panel
Carmel Charron is the owner of Carmel Charron CPA, P.L.L.C., located in Goffstown, NH. Carmel has more than two decades of consulting and accounting experience.  Her practice includes individual, trust, partnership and corporate tax work.  Her focus is on the small business client, allowing her to provide customized assistance in a day-to-day operations, or specialized accounting software as needed.  Carmel is currently serving her second term as Treasurer of the Board of the Women’s Business Center.  Carmel is a graduate from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1992.

(P3) Technically Savvy - How Technology Can Open up New Jobs for Women
J. Stephanie Collins is currently a professor of Computer and Information Technology at Southern New Hampshire University.  She also consults for a variety of information technology projects.  She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin, and has extensive experience in industry and academia.  She has participated in information design and implementation projects for government agencies at the state and federal level.  She has also worked with clients in industries as varied as document management and aerospace.  She has taught at the university level for more than twenty years, and has published research in scholarly journals.  

(L5) Non profit Leadership
Robin Comstock has served as the president and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC), New Hampshire’s largest business advocacy organization. She has established the state’s first ever college consortium, now known as the Manchester Area College Consortium as well as a regional economic development collaboration that has unified approximately one-dozen area economic development Directors, and members of the private sector. Prior to her present position, Robin was the former President and CEO of both Portsmouth and Dover Chambers of Commerce.

(L1) Getting a position on a Corporate Board
Sally Crawford currently serves as a member of the Strategic Advisory Group at Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care Division in Tarrytown, NY. From 1985-1997, Sally was Chief Operating Officer of Healthsource, Inc., a publicly traded NYSE managed care company located in New Hampshire.  Ms. Crawford chairs the Compensation Committee at Hologic, Inc., a publicly traded company headquartered in Bedford, MA that develops, manufactures and markets products for medical diagnostic applications primarily focused on women’s health.

(R3) Women as Social Change Agents
In 2003, Dana Dakin headed to Ghana with a list of bootstrapped names to "adopt" a village. On the initial trip she was taken to Pokuase within the outside northern perimeter of the capital Accra, where she pitched the concept of microlending to small groups of women. She engendered enough interest to return in six months with funding that came from the sale of her second car. Today, WomensTrust in the village of Pokuase is thriving with more than 650 clients in the loan program and repayment rates consistently above 85 percent. Additional funding is directed toward such pressing needs as scholarships for girls, adult literacy, and a pilot initiative to shore up local healthcare. Her organization has become a viable community-based partnership approach to long-term social change. Dana's career began on Wall Street with a research project at the NYSE that led to negotiated commissions. In 1971, she joined what became Callan Associates, a top pension consulting firm. She formed Dakin Partners in 1976, the first firm to creatively package institutional investment organizations. She has worked on some of the great launches in the business and authored a summary of the essentials of investment marketing in Five for the Road. She also co-produced the eight-part PBS series "Beyond Wall Street: The Art of Investing" with a companion book published by John Wiley. Educated at Scripps College, Dana graduated with a B.A. in 1964 and a concentration in international relations. A member of the college's Board of Trustees for nine years, she piloted the endowment's asset allocation while on the Investment Committee. Other board commitments over the years include Alumnae Resources in San Francisco, NH Writers' Project, and the Women's Fund of New Hampshire.

(R7) Cashier to Executive
Jeannette Davila is the Senior Vice President and State Director for Citizens Bank in the New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont business development and relationship management team.  Jeannette provides general banking, cash management, financing, and investment services to towns, cities, and other governmental entities throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. She is registered with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) as a Principal and is affiliated with the Government Finance Officers Associations, the Treasury Management Association of New England and the Association of Finance Professionals.  Jeannette received her Bachelor of Arts Degree and an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire and also graduated from the Royal Bank of Scotland Harvard University Executive Leadership Program.

(L1) Getting a Position on a Corporate Board
Darlene Deptula-Hicks currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of iCAD, Inc., (Nasdaq: ICAD)  a publicly traded medical device company providing industry leading Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) solutions for the early identification of cancer.  iCAD is entrusted with the task of early identification of breast cancer by over two thousand women’s healthcare centers worldwide.  Previous to iCAD, Inc., Ms. Deptula-Hicks served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of ONI Medical Systems, Inc., a venture capital-backed designer and manufacturer of high-field diagnostic imaging systems for orthopedic applications. Previous to ONI Medical Systems, Inc., Ms. Deptula-Hicks was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Implant Sciences Corporation, (Amex:IMX) an early stage publicly traded medical device company that had its initial public offering in June of 1999. Ms. Deptula-Hicks led the pre-IPO and post-IPO activities for the company.  Ms. Deptula-Hicks has also held various senior financial and accounting positions at Abiomed, Incorporated; GCA Corporation; Edwards High Vacuum International and Puritan Bennett Corporation.   She received her B.S. degree in Accounting from New Hampshire College and her MBA degree from Rivier College and brings extensive experience in finance, corporate governance and operations with over twenty five years experience in financial management positions in the high technology and life science sectors.

(R6) Green is the new Black: Today's environmental realities
Lisa Drake is a licensed professional engineer, and has had environmental engineering & consulting positions in Massachusetts and Michigan.  She has BS and MS degrees from Tufts University in Civil & Environmental Engineering. Currently she is Stonyfield Farm’s Natural Resources Senior Manager, where she helps the company live its mission to minimize its environmental impacts and to be a model environmental steward.

(P7) Entrepreneurship and the Arts
Victoria Elbroch works in various printmaking mediums, including hand-colored line etching, aquatint, solar plate etching, and four plate water-colored monotype.  Victoria has won numerous awards for her prints.  Since arriving in New England, she has become a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, and past member of the League’s Standards Committee.  

Facilitated Networking Discussion
Anne Fitzgerald is an organizational development consultant, leadership coach and professional facilitator. Her expertise is in women's leadership and building partnerships for purpose. Her consultancy, ~Spirit at Work Global~, based in Waltham, MA engages her nationally and on projects with women in Kenya, Iraq, and India.

(L2) Speaking to Power
Mary C. Gentile, Ph.D. has over 20 years of experience in leadership development and management education, as an independent consultant, as a writer, and as a faculty member and manager at Harvard Business School. She works with corporate, non-profit and academic institutions on program and curriculum development, issue definition and strategy design on values-based leadership, diversity and social impact management, and has published many books, articles and best-selling curricular materials. 

(R7) Cashier to Executive
Debbie Giggey began as a part time cashier at Wal-Mart in 1994.  Since October 2005, Debbie has been the Regional Compliance Sr. Manager in the Operations Compliance Division of the store’s chain in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York & Massachusetts. In her position, Debbie must respond to critical compliance issues directly with regulatory agencies and home office compliance departments. She has developed & piloted long term projects to monitor and help regulate items such as Massachusetts Item Pricing and Massachusetts Waste Oil programs.

(R2) Sustainable Investing
Dr. Julie Fox Gorte, (PhD in Resource Economics, Michigan State University) is the Senior Vice President for Sustainable Investing at Pax World Management Corp.   She oversees environmental, social, and governance-related research on prospective and current investments as well as Pax’s shareholder advocacy and work on public policy advocacy.  Previously, Dr. Gorte was Chief Social Investment Strategist for the Calvert Group; Sr. Policy Analyst for Northeast-Midwest Institute; and a Program Manager for the Environmental Protection Agency.

(L5) Non profit Leadership
Mary Ellen Jackson (Masters Degree in Organizational Management from New England College) serves as Executive Director of the New Hampshire Center for Non Profits. Previously, Mary Ellen served as Executive Director for Familystrength, a statewide nonprofit providing a range of behavioral health home-based services for children and families and before this position directed The HUB Family Resource Center of Strafford County which provides a variety of  family support programs.

(R3) Women as Social Change Agents
Marianne Jones, Executive Director the Women’s Fund of New Hampshire, has more than fifteen years of leadership experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management, including expertise in grantmaking, fundraising, and long-range, strategic planning. Ms. Jones brings expertise from positions she has held in New Hampshire as well as in the Seattle and Boston areas. Ms. Jones has also held management positions in corporate philanthropy, national foundation networks, and has helped establish new initiatives in fundraising, such as Giving Circles, Venture   Philanthropy, and media relations.

(R1) Advancing Society by Advancing Women
Wadzanai Katsande has been a consultant and team leader in program and financial management for the last 10 years working with multi-disciplinary teams in various parts of the world.  She has an in-depth knowledge of donor requirements for project/program administration and accountability having worked with the following donors: USAID, DFID, UN organizations, World Bank and European Commission. She has experience in the management of multi-sectoral projects including health, sanitation, agriculture, small-scale rural enterprise development, food security, and education; and experience in financial management and analysis for Rural Development Projects.

(P7) Entrepreneurship and the Arts
Cathy LaForge (Moderator) is the Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations for Southern New Hampshire University.  She holds a BA in Literature/Creative Writing from Columbia University.  Cathy has worked in fundraising for over twenty years.  She began her career in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera Association and the Churchill School for Learning Disabilities.  After moving to New Hampshire Ms. LaForge worked in fundraising for Strawbery Banke Museum and the Manchester Historic Association before coming to Southern New Hampshire University seven years ago.  She lives with her artist husband in Deerfield, New Hampshire, loves to travel, read and write, and collects art glass and ceramics.

(P1) Negotiation Styles for Success
Sara Laschever, M.A. Boston University, is a writer with a longstanding interest in the life and career obstacles faced by women today.  Her first book, Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation—and Positive Strategies for Change, co-authored with Linda Babcock, explored a recently recognized phenomenon: that women are much less likely than men to use negotiation to improve their circumstances. Women Don’t Ask looks at the causes of this reluctance on the part of women and examines the high price women pay in both lost wages and delayed career advancement.  Ms. Laschever’s new book, Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want, also with Linda Babcock, published in March 2008 offers a four-phase action plan to help women overcome their fear of negotiating, polish their skills, maximize their bargaining power, and learn to negotiate in ways that work best for women.

(P2) The Courage to Conflict: Transforming Conflict into Opportunity (morning - limited to 25 participants)
(P5) The Courage to Conflict: Transforming Conflict into Opportunity (afternoon - limited to 25 participants)
Dr. Tammy Lenski (EdD, University of VT) is the Principal of Lenski Strategic LLC.  Formerly, Dr. Lenski served as core faculty in the Mediation & Applied Conflict Studies Graduate Program, Woodbury College, Montpelier, VT Instructor, Negotiation & Mediation, 2000-2007 and also in the Doctoral Program in Higher Education Leadership at the University of MA at Boston, MA. Dr. Lenski is on the Board of Directors of the New England Association for Conflict Resolution.

(R4) The Finance World of Women
Lucinda Linde is a partner of Walnut Venture Associates.  Ms. Linde invests in early IT companies. Lucinde has invested in Nellymoser, Incipient, KESI, Strong Numbers (now in Intuit's "It's Deductible" product), HubX (acquired by SynXis), Visualization Technologies. (acquired by GE Medical Systems), Softrax (profitable). Lucinda co-authored an angel investor study, with Ken Morse (MIT Entrepreneurship Center) and Professor Howard Stevenson at HBS.

(P7) Entrepreneurship and the Arts
Kristina Logan is recognized internationally for her glass beads.  She lives and works primarily in New Hampshire and sometimes Provence , France where she met her husband.  She was one of only four artists selected for exhibition in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery Invitational : Four Discoveries in Craft, 2002.  “Logan’s beads exist in their own right as art...“, writes Kenneth Trapp, Curator-in-Charge at the Renwick Gallery.

(R2) Sustainable Investing
Maureen Mahoney is the Lead Social Research Analyst at Pax World Funds where researches and evaluates the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies for inclusion in Pax World's portfolios. She is also involved with promoting sustainable business practices at portfolio companies, manages Pax World's proxy voting, and is leading the shareholder activism for the Pax World Women's Equity Fund.  Ms. Mahoney is also a board member of NH Businesses for Social Responsibility.

(L5) Non profit Leadership
Chris McMahon, Masters of Health Administration, UNH, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Easter Seals New Hampshire/New York/Vermont/Maine/Rhode Island/Massachusetts.  Ms. McMahon has been employed by Easter Seals since 1986. In 2002, she was awarded the Lou Lowenkron Award for innovation in program development and delivery by National Easter Seals. She was recently honored with a 2006 Outstanding Women in Business Award by New Hampshire Business Review and by Riverbend Community Mental Health Center as their 2006 Rainbow Award recipient in recognition of her many contributions to children’s mental health services.

(R7) Cashier to Executive
Dianne Mercier (moderator) is a Senior Vice President and Commercial Lending Group Manager for Ocean Bank.  She has 22 years of banking experience in New Hampshire.  She currently serves on the boards of Elliot Hospital and The Manchester Chamber of Commerce Foundation and is past Chair of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. She is an alumnus of Southern New Hampshire University and resides in Manchester with her husband and two children.

(L1) Getting a Position on a Corporate Board
The Economic Status of Women in NH Report (Lunch Discussion) 
Katie Merrow,  MBA, Southern New Hampshire University is Executive Director of the NH Women’s Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research organization dedicated to informing policies and decision-making affecting women in New Hampshire.  Before joining the Institute, Merrow was Senior Researcher at the NH Center for Public Policy Studies. Merrow worked extensively in state government throughout New England, including providing fiscal and policy analysis for the Rhode Island Division for Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

(P7) Entrepreneurship and the Arts
Maureen Mills (MFA University of Nebraska) is currently chair of the ceramics department at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Maureen’s ceramic work has been exhibited nationally and she has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Artist Advancement Grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation- Piscataqua Region in 2004. She is a former board member and current juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and is also on the Board of Directors of the Studio Potter.

(R1) Advancing Society by Advancing Women
Angelica Adekemi Ndieli practiced as a solicitor and advocate in Nigeria for 12 years before boldly making a career move into social justice advocacy 7 years ago. Since then, Kemi has brought her advocacy skill to bear on the defending the voiceless and the poorest of the poor in the society. Kemi had the privilege of being selected to participate in a continent-wide African Leadership Programme organized by the British Council for young professionals from over 30 countries in Africa. They came together to challenge their thinking about leadership, collaboration and engagement for the progress of Africa. This experience has inspired her to use a wide variety of skills, tools and techniques to bring about a difference in diverse spheres of endeavor.

(L1) Getting a position on a Corporate Board
Ms. Bonnie Newman, formerly the Interim President of the University of New Hampshire and Executive Dean at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Bonnie Newman’s career spans the public, private, nonprofit and academic sectors. In the public sector Ms. Newman served in the Reagan and Bush administrations. From 1989 until 1991 she served as Assistant to the President for Management and Administration. President Ronald Reagan nominated Ms. Newman to the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Earlier, she served as Associate Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House and Chief of Staff for New Hampshire Congressman Judd Gregg.

Welcome from Hostess
Mary Papoutsy, together with her husband, businessman and philanthropist Christos Papoutsy, has established a number of charitable ventures, including the successful John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire, the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics at Southern New Hampshire University, the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Foundation for the Revitalization of Vatoussa, Lesvos (Greece), and a not-for-profit news and information service for Greek communities in the U.S. and abroad, Hellenic Communication Service.  Mrs. Papoutsy completed her degrees at the University of Southern Maine and at Rutgers University where she earned an MA in both Greek and Latin, culminating in numerous awards and professional presentations at meetings for Classicists at St. Andrews in Scotland, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and for the Foreign Language Association of Maine. She received an appointment to the New Hampshire Humanities Council, was named a trustee of The Greek Institute of Boston, and founded the Hellenic Historical and Genealogical Association, a member affiliate of the National Genealogical Society.

(R8) Wellness for the 21st Century
Denise Purington is Vice President/CIO at Elliot Health System in Manchester, NH.  She has taken her knowledge and experience as an Orthopedic Nurse, as well as her interest in using technology, to provide safe, high quality healthcare and to lead the development of Information Technology at Elliot Health System.  Denise provides direction and oversight for the development of information technology and telecommunication services for the entire Health System to include: development and implementation of a fully integrated Electronic Health Record for the entire Health System, sales and implementation of the Electronic Health Record to the community based private practitioners, development and implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system and development of the main campus data center and an offsite data center for business continuity. Denise has been with the Elliot for 28 years serving in many capacities including Director of Orthopedics, Manager of Home Health Services, and Director of Clinical Information Systems.  She is a graduate of UNH where she received her BS in Nursing.

(L1) Getting a Position on a Corporate Board
Ellen B. Richstone has 30 years of experience including Directorships on multiple companies including: Public (APC-S&P 500 Company -until its sale for $6 Billion in cash), Private (Blue-Shift Technologies-funded by Atlas, North Bridge and Intel Capital; Entrepreneurial Resources Group as Non-Executive Chairman) and non-profit boards. As such she is currently Chair of two Audit Committees, and is currently on two compensation committees.  In addition, she is an experienced SEC Financial expert.  In addition, Ms. Richstone has been the President and CEO of the Entrepreneurial Resources Group (ERG) as well as a Chief Financial Officer for Companies ranging in size from $100 Million up to $2.5 Billion in Revenue.  She has extensive experience in International (Asia and Europe), M&A (over 35 acquisitions) and Governance.  Ellen graduated from Scripps College in Claremont California where she was Student Body President.  She holds two graduate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (International Affairs and International Business Law). In addition, she completed the APC degree at New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration in Finance and attended the Executive Development program at Cornell University’s Business School.

(R1) Advancing Society by Advancing Women
Catherine Rielly (Moderator) is an Associate Professor and Chair of the International Academic programs, School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University.  Catherine has conducted research, training, and technical assistance on gender, public policy, economics, democratization and governance, refugees  and HIV/AIDS for the Harvard Institute for International Development, UNIFEM, UNFPA, UNDP, the Asian Development Bank, USAID, Women for Women Coalition, and the governments of Mali, Zambia, and Uganda, and the Kennedy School of Government. At Abt Associates, she built an international governance practice focusing on Executive Office capacity and decentralization, funded by the World Bank, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, and USAID. Catherine assisted Offices of the President, Prime Minister and Cabinet in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and worked in over 20 countries, including: Mali, Zambia, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Madagascar, Rwanda, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Philippines, Botswana, Canada, Australia, France, Great Britain, West Bank/Gaza. Her research focuses on the economic empowerment of women to counter HIV/AIDS.

(R4) The Finance World of Women
Rachel Rochat is an Associate at Next Street Financial, a merchant bank founded to serve high-performing, high-potential inner city small businesses and entrepreneurs.  Rachel’s primary focus is on financial and strategic due diligence analysis, underwriting, and deal structuring.  Previously, Rachel worked 5+ years as a strategy consultant focusing on growth strategies related to mergers & acquisitions and private equity.  She has a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a dual M.A./M.B.A. degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Wharton School.
                                                                                                                                         

(R4) The Finance World of Women
(R5) Opportunities in Science and Technology
Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz, MBA is a senior management executive with expertise in solving emerging market and small company challenges. She has in-depth knowledge of the innovation and creative process and acts as catalyst for successful transitions with exceptional and practical answers to a company's needs and is able to expedite the process from the R&D mode to the commercialization stage and to the next growth stage. She emphasizes the importance of capital and time efficiencies. Her multi-industry experiences include life sciences, healthcare, software, medical devices, media, internet and non-profits. She currently works as CFO and C-Level Consultant both US and European based start-ups. Ms. Scheiber-Kurtz is active in the business community including the Simmons School of Management where she is on the Dean’s Business Advisory Council and President of the Entrepreneurship Program Advisory Board. She is a business coach and advisor for the Center for Women & Enterprise Venture 101 program, a business plan reviewer for Nutter, McClennan & Fish; the Mass Technology Transfer Center; and Simmons College. She is an advisor for MentoNet of Europe/US; the MIT Enterprise Forum; and SwissNex Boston. Ms. Scheiber-Kurtz is a frequent guest speaker and panelist. She received an MBA from Simmons School of Management, Boston, MA and a BS from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.

(P3) Technology Savvy – How Technology Can Open up New Jobs for Women
Alane K. Shanks, Ed.D. is the Vice President of Administration and Finance for Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA. As the senior administrative officer of the College, the Business Office Comptroller and the Directors of Human Resources, Facilities, and Budgets and Financial Operations all report to her directly representing those areas on the President’s Cabinet.  Dr. Shanks has worked at RCC for just over two years.  For the twenty-one years prior, she worked at Harvard Medical School (HMS), in positions of escalating financial, curricular and administrative responsibility. She created and implemented policies and procedures allowing fair distribution of resources across all aspects of the educational enterprise while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changes in the curriculum and improving service delivery to teaching faculty, students and staff. She continues to pursue research in this area, currently running a Connecticut Health Foundation funded study examining the recruitment, retention and promotion of faculty of color at Yale School of Public Health.

(R5) Opportunities in Science and Technology
Amy Shevlin is vice president of human resources for the Electronics & Integrated Solutions (E&IS) operating group of BAE Systems.  E&IS, with headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire, is a major defense electronics business with more than 17,000 employees in 16 U.S. states, the United Kingdom, and Israel.  Prior to her current position, Shevlin was vice president of human resources for the company’s Network Systems business, where she supported the human resources needs of 4,500 employees at numerous sites across the U.S. and overseas. She also served as director of human resources for BAE Systems’ Information Warfare business. In addition, Amy managed the company’s human resources leadership development program from 2001 to 2005. Amy received a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire, and a master’s degree in administrative studies and organizational policy from Boston University.

(P4) Critical Financial Planning for Baby Boomers
Darlene Simard is a certified Financial Planner for Citizens Investment Services. A lifelong resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, Darlene specializes in financial planning for individuals and small business owners.  Her mission is to thoroughly understand peoples’ unique financial circumstances and feelings about money.  Darlene has 10 years experience in the financial services industry.  She has furthered her education by obtaining the professional designation of Certified Financial Planner.  In her spare time, Darlene enjoys playing softball, skiing, hiking and running.  She is Kiwanis Club of Manchester NH, Past President 2002.  Darlene was recognized as 2002 Woman of the Year by the American Business Women’s Association and competed nationally as the 2003 NH Careerist winner.  She has also featured in leading industry publications such as MSNmoney.com, CNNmoney and Financial Planning magazine. She has a Bachelor of Arts and an MBA from New Hampshire College (now known as Southern New Hampshire University).  Darlene is President of the Financial Planning Association of Northern New England and Board of Directors since 2002.

(L4) Entrepreneurship Panel
Sari Ann Strasburg, Attorney and CPA, is the owner of the law firm STRASBURG LAW P.L.L.C. in Bedford, NH where she practices in the areas of business and operations, contracts and transactions, US and international taxation, and intellectual property. Attorney Strasburg is in her 25th year of providing services to the business community. She received the 2007 Business Excellence Award for Excellence in Law.

(R8) Wellness for the 21st Century
Heather Staples serves as an independent consultant for the NH Citizens Health Initiative and to health care and technology industries, and is an adjunct faculty member for the New England College Graduate School.  She has over 20 years experience in health care, more than 10 of which has centered on the design and implementation of employee benefits programs and corresponding medical cost analytics.  Heather holds a Masters in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University, teaches Strategic Planning and serves as a thesis advisor for New England College for the Masters Degree Strategic Capstone.

(R5) Opportunities in Science and Technology
Dr. Susan Sullivan joined ImmunoGen in July 2006 with over twenty years of experience in Biotechnology.  As the Director of the Alliance Management Department, she oversees the strategic partnerships with a number of companies developing targeted immunotherapies using ImmunoGen’s cell- killing, payload technology. Prior to joining ImmunoGen, Susan was a co-founder and Vice President of Amaranth Bio, Inc. a company focused on adult progenitor cells.

(L4) Entrepreneurship Panel
Sue Sylvester is the Principal Owner and General Manager of Resource Laboratories (RL) in Portsmouth, NH.   RL is an environmental laboratory serving the analytical testing needs of government, industry, environmental consultants and private well owners.   After 25 years of working in the laboratory in capacities from technician to director, Sue purchased RL in November, 2000.  The business has just launched a new division, Absolute Air Quality, to address the growing concerns regarding indoor air quality.

(P8) Critical Financial Planning for Young Professionals
Susan Werner Thoresen is Vice President and financial advisor of Morgan Stanley.  She works with individuals, families and organizations to grow, protect and transfer wealth.  She has written article on retirement planning, taught a course on social responsibility and investing and given workshops on women’s and LGBT issues.  Previously, she co-founded and was a principal of The Thoresen Group, a planning and development consulting firm.  She also hosted two cable TV programs for 11 years, served on the Portsmouth School Board for 8 years and was a delegate to the NH Constitutional Convention. .  Ms. Thoresen has over 30 years of volunteer experience serving on boards such as the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Portsmouth YWCA and LWV, Strawbery Banke, Inc., Wentworth-Coolidge Commission, Smith Club of NH and her church Endowment.  She is a Founder and Treasurer of the Women’s Fund of NH, serves on the Smith College Alumnae Association Nominating Committee and lives in Portsmouth.  She is a graduate of Smith College and has a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

(L4) Entrepreneurship Panel
Julie Vogt is the President and CEO of Integrisys Communications Group, Inc. of Greenland, NH.  Julie’s company specializes in the IT physical layer which provides voice, data, video and broadband implementation.  As CEO, her responsibilities include all business and financial management of the firm.  The firm currently has 28 employees, and revenue of $3.2 million.  Prior to her current position, Julie owned and operated MoneyMatters, Inc, a bookkeeping and business management firm and was a Senior Savings Officer a Canada Trust Bank.  Julie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix and a master’s of business administration from Babson College.

(L3) Preparing Yourself for Leadership
Dr. Patricia H. Werhane is the Wicklander Chair of Business Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and Executive Director of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics at DePaul University with a joint appointment as the Peter and Adeline Ruffin Professor of Business Ethics and Senior Fellow at of the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics in the Darden School at the University of Virginia.  Professor Werhane has published numerous articles and is the author or editor of over twenty books including Ethical Issues in Business (with T. Donaldson, eighth edition), Persons, Rights and Corporations, Adam Smith and His Legacy for Modern Capitalism, Organization Ethics for Health Care, and Moral Imagination and Managerial Decision-Making with Oxford University Press, and Employment and Employee Rights (with Tara J. Radin and Norman Bowie) with Blackwell’s. Her latest book, co-authored with Lisa Gundry, Margaret Posig, Laurel Ofstein and Elizabeth Powell is Women in Business: the Changing Face of Leadership.

(R7) Cashier to Executive
Dawn Wivell is the Director of the New Hampshire Office of International Commerce and of the New Hampshire International Trade Resource Center.   She is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring all state international trade related programs, strategies and activities.  Ms. Wivell is also responsible for the management of the State’s International Trade Resource Center, which opened in December of 1992. Prior to joining the Department of Resources and Economic Development, Ms. Wivell was the Sales Administrator for the Special Markets Division of Towle Manufacturing Company in Newburyport, MA. Dawn attended California State University and Franklin Pierce College.  She is fluent in Italian and competent in Spanish.

(R4) The Finance World of Women
Diane Wolff, Managing Director High Technology, AccountAbility Outsourcing, Inc., is a successful entrepreneur and senior financial executive with a proven track record of increasing both top and bottom line growth in both domestic & international companies across multiple industries.  She has created infrastructures for emerging ventures that have enabled them to create and handle explosive growth and she has restructured mature companies to allow them to operate efficiently as streamlined, low cost operations.

 

(R5) Opportunities in Science and Technology
Jacqueline Wolfrum is a Senior Scientist in the Manufacturing Technical Services group at Genzyme Biosurgery’s Cambridge, Massachusetts cell therapy manufacturing facility.  In her 12 years at Genzyme, she has been involved in technical support of Genzyme’s cell therapy products, Carticel and Epicel.  This includes development and validation of a variety of cell-based assays for Quality Control raw material and product testing, development and validation of process improvements, design and execution of custom studies required to support FDA filings, and trouble-shooting for manufacturing operations.  She has also been involved with Genzyme joint ventures in the role of due diligence, project leader, and technical development.  In her previous position as an Engineer at W. R. Grace, she worked on development of a cell-based artificial pancreas device for the treatment of diabetes.  Dr. Wolfrum received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an S.B. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

(L5) Non profit Leadership
Monica Zulauf is the executive director of the YWCA of Manchester.  Ms. Zulauf has worked in the non profit sector for almost 30 years in that time she has worked for both small and large organizations. She has extensive background in program design and service delivery. She is the President of the Somersworth Rotary and serves on several state wide boards.