'Get on Board!'

INSIDE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' PANEL DISCUSSION
Thursday, April 7, 2011
 
5:30pm-9:00pm
  

  

Description:

If you would like to serve on a board, are already on a board, or work with a board, join us for Get on Board! The panelists are directors of both for-profit and nonprofit organization boards, and will address issues relating to service as directors, including the combinations of skills and experiences that boards are seeking, how to best position yourself for a for-profit or nonprofit board candidacy, resources available to help you identify and take advantage of both paid and volunteer board opportunities, what it’s like to serve as a director on a board, and issues particular to women on boards. 

Moderator:

Ilene Fischer is the Executive Director of WEST. Ilene joins WEST from Enagility LLC, a performance and consulting firm focusing on organizational change, where she served as Managing Director. Previously, she served as Managing Director for consulting services, Tom Peters Company; Partner accountable for organizational learning at PA Consulting Group; Associate Partner, Innovation Associates (IA), founded by Peter Senge; Quality Manager, Honeywell; chemical engineer, Raytheon. Fischer has a B.S. in Chemistry and has completed graduate studies in business at Harvard University.  She published an article on culture change published in Business 2.0 and she was a contributor to The Fifth Discipline Field Book, Peter Senge. Fischer has been a mentor for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Boston Program in 2008 and 2010; Chairperson for HBA’s Executive Women’s Series in 2010 and is a Board member for HBA’s Women Executive Series in 2011.  Her pioneering efforts on behalf of women include establishing one of the first battered women’s shelters in the US, leading the Boston Chapter of Wealth (Women Executives Advancing Life Sciences, Technology and Healthcare) and serving as president of the National Organization for Women, Northeastern Pennsylvania chapter.

Speakers:

Bob Fischer is an Agile software development trainer, Agile coach, facilitator and change agent, with specialized expertise in the cultural change required to deploy Agile at an enterprise level.   His work is shaped by a core belief that a trained, empowered and engaged workforce provides an organization with a strong competitive advantage.  Bob has been with BigVisible since May 2008. Prior to joining BigVisible, Bob was a Vice President at Fidelity Investments, which included responsibility for the deployment of Agile to over 400 people, including both coaching at the team and program level as well as working with functional groups not directly involved in Agile such as Finance, HR, and Process Ownership.    The cultural change included getting agreement between the Business Unit President, CIO, CFO, and the head of Product Development on a common strategy for deploying Agile.  Bob has 28 years of experience managing support, training and development at Fidelity, Sun Microsystems, BBN, and several start-ups. He is currently enrolled in Leadership for Change, a graduate program at the Boston College Carroll School of Management. Bob also serves as a Board Member for Harbor Homes and Affiliates, a $14 million social service non-profit addressing a wide range of client needs.
 

Leslie Meyer-Leon is President of IP Legal Strategies Group P.C., which she founded in 2000 to develop her client-centered and interdisciplinary approach to using intellectual property portfolio strategies for overcoming business obstacles.  She brings two decades of transactional, dispute negotiation, and patent and trademark expertise to a practice devoted to biotechnology, particularly in the areas of biologics, cellular biology, and diagnostic methods and devices. Leslie has devoted substantial thought, energy, and time to serving the Boston Patent Law Association (BPLA), initially as Chair of the Patent Law Committee before being nominated to the Board of Governors (2000-2003), then as an officer (Secretary 2003-2004, Treasurer 2004-2005, Vice President 2005-2006, President-Elect 2006-2007, and President 2007-2008), before winding down as the Immediate Past-President, 2008-2009, and assuming her present position as Co-Chair of the BPLA’s Biotechnology Committee.  The BPLA is a non-profit, volunteer-run association of intellectual property professionals providing a community forum for the interchange of ideas and information concerning patent, trademark, and copyright laws. Through a volunteer Board of Governors and its various committees, the BPLA organizes and hosts educational seminars, mentoring activities, and networking and social events; sponsors its members in pro bono activities, and coordinates activities for law students, including an annual writing competition and an annual moot court; and submits comments on pending rules and legislation, and briefs as amicus curiae, on pertinent issues affecting the profession. Leslie is a graduate of Boston College Law School, Smith College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her Ph. D. research in Molecular and Cellular Biology dealt with DNA-binding proteins and site-specific recombination.  She has served as a contributing patent advisor to the journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery since 2001. 
 

Susan C. Hammond, Principal and Founder of scHammond Advisors, consults with CEOs of small to mid-size companies and nonprofit organizations on the formation and facilitation of advisory boards, ways to enhance organizational financial intelligence, and governance; www.schammond.com.  She is the author of the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.  Susan has been an active advisory board member and facilitator since the early 1990’s. Currently, she serves on advisory boards of The ToolBox, Bentley University’s Women’s Leadership Institute and Micro-Finance Initiative. Susan has also served as a contract CFO/COO and strategic advisor to technology companies, professional service firms, and nonprofit organizations. While serving as contract CFO for Fuller Craft Museum, she worked closely with the Director to re-energize the board, recruit new members, and improve governance practices. Susan is a co-founder and former board member of the South Shore Women’s Business Network and the Center for Women & Enterprise.  In 2006 she received the President’s Call to Service Award which recognizes individuals with 4,000 hours or more of lifetime community service. She holds a CPA certificate from the State of Massachusetts, received a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Northeastern University and a MS in Taxation from Bentley University. 


Alexandra Glucksmann is currently Senior Vice President of Research and Business Operations at Cerulean Pharma, which she joined at its founding. Cerulean Pharma is developing a proprietary nanopharmaceutical technology.  Prior to joining Cerulean, she spent 13 years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals which she joined in 1993 as one of its first scientists. At Millennium, she held a series of positions with increasing responsibility, ultimately becoming Vice President of all platform technology groups before moving into a senior role in strategic program management and operations. In this role, she worked closely with the CEO and led company-wide process improvement initiatives and participated in business development and M&A efforts.  During her tenure at Millennium, Alexandra was critical to helping Millennium evolve from a genomics research-focused organization to a fully integrated pharmaceuticals company with products on the market.  Her division played an integral role in the numerous Millennium-large pharma collaborations, which generated over $1.8 billion in funding for the company. She serves on the Board of Directors of Taconic Farms and is the Chair of the Board of Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology. She is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Partners Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine. Alexandra was a post-doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a Ph.D. with honors from the University of Chicago.

Cost:

Advance Registration (by 9pm, Tuesday, April 5)

$50 for WEST Members, $70 for non-WEST members

At the Door: $10 additional.  Student Scholarship Information
Refreshments are included
.

REGISTER


Event Location:
Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research Auditorium

250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139

DIRECTIONS

 

Agenda:
5:30-6 pm Registration
6-7 pm Refreshments and Networking

7-8:45 Panel Discussion

8:45-9:00 Q&A 

Preregistration ends Tuesday April 5 at 9pm.
REGISTER NOW!


Sponsors:

  

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