Agenda - June 21, 2016

Rita Balian Allen is president of Rita B. Allen Associates, a career management firm specializing in executive coaching, management training, and leadership and career development. She is a lecturer at Boston-area universities, a sought-after speaker, and author of "Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself: The Three P's Marketing Technique as a Guide to Career Empowerment." Ms. Allen was voted one of the top 10 executive coaches by the Boston Women's Business Journal. Previously, she was vice president of marketing and search services at Gatti & Associates. She has also worked in human resources with C.R. Bard, BTU International and Unitrode.

Elizabeth Altman is an assistant professor of management in the Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell. Her research interests include managing innovation, platform businesses and ecosystems and organizational change. Ms. Altman is a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School. Previously, she spent 18 years at Motorola as vice president of business development and in other executive and leadership positions in industrial design, product development engineering, manufacturing, marketing and strategy.

Dr. Gina Barreca, author of "e;It's Not That I'm Bitter: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World"e; (St. Martin's Press), has appeared on 20/20, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, Dr. Phil, NPR and Oprah to discuss gender, power and politics with humor. Her earlier books include the bestselling "e;They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor,"e; and "e;Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League."e; Gina's latest book is a collection of essays titled, If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse

Deb Bercume is a leadership development consultant and talented speaker who provides tools for individuals and organizations to gain insight and formulate strategies for success. She provides coaching services to business executives to enhance their presence, communication and influence, as well as improve their strategic and critical thinking. She is a certified executive coach and an instructor for the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, and has been named Business Coach of the Year by the International Coach Federation of New England.

Lisa Brothers has more than 30 years of experience in the design, construction and management of roadway, site development, sustainable design and infrastructure projects. As president and chief executive officer of Nitsch Engineering, she is responsible for the firm's strategic direction and overall performance, and also serves as principal-in-charge for many design projects. An engineering alumna of UMass Lowell, she is a member of the university's Engineering/Industrial Advisory Board and the Center for Women and Work. She is active in many other professional groups and nonprofits, including the Environmental Business Council of New England and the Boston's Women's Workforce Council.

Deborah Chausse, executive director of House of Hope in Lowell, has more than 30 years' experience in services for the homeless. Under her leadership, House of Hope has nearly doubled the capacity of its emergency shelter program for families and added stronger family services programming, from housing placement to job training. She also oversaw the opening of The Hope Chest, a nonprofit resale store, and launched a sister nonprofit, House of Hope Housing, which provides 22 units of permanent, affordable housing to formerly homeless families. She is a past recipient of the Lowell Sun's Salute to Women award.

Emily Collins is a finance professional with more than 15 years of experience. She has served in key leadership roles at Boston Scientific, including controller for the Cork manufacturing facility and assistant controller for the California neuro-modulation sales division. Ms. Collins is known for her ability to drive results across finance and her continuous improvement mentality. Prior to joining Boston Scientific, she worked in the audit and assurance practice of KPMG, with a focus on large, publicly-held clients in the manufacturing and technology industries. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Janet Edmunson, president of JME Insight, gives presentations and workshops using research, practical experience and the concepts of positive psychology to create and inspire high-performing workplaces and individuals. She also provides keynotes, trainings and consulting services to leadership teams and professionals in health care, engineering, service and manufacturing. Ms. Edmunson's 30 years of leadership experience include being a director of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and a manager at Georgia-Pacific. She is the author of "Finding Meaning with Charles," which chronicles her and her husband Charles efforts to stay positive after he was diagnosed with atypical Parkinson's disease.

Roz Feldberg is a sociologist who taught at the University of Aberdeen and Boston University, where she helped start the Women's Studies program and conducted research on women clerical workers, women's experiences in paid work and comparable worth. She left academia in 1985 to become associate director of labor action for the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Since "retiring" in 2011, she has visited Vietnam to work with nurses and help develop a network for a Vietnamese version of "Our Bodies, Ourselves." She also made a documentary, "Playing on our Sentiments," about organizing a nurses' union at Hale Hospital in Haverhill.

Chai Feldblum has served on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2010. Before that, she was legislative counsel at the ACLU and a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where she founded the Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, which represented clients including Catholic Charities USA, the National Disability Rights Network and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. She played a leading role in drafting and negotiating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ADA Amendments Act, and also helped draft the Employment Nondiscrimination Act prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Tara Healey is the architect and director of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's Mind the Moment program, which adapts the principles of mindfulness meditation to a corporate environment with a focus on stress management, mindful communication, mindful leadership and emotional intelligence. Ms. Healey trains and manages the growing number of instructors qualified to teach the program and oversees the e-resources at HarvardPilgrim.org/mindfulness. A professional health educator and long-time practitioner of mindfulness meditation, she has more than 20 years' experience in organizational development.

Beth Humberd is an assistant professor of management in the Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell, where she teaches organizational behavior. She is also a research associate of the university's Center for Women and Work. Her research on gender and diversity in organizations, leadership and identity development and relational dynamics at work has been featured in academic journals and popular news and financial publications including Time, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Before her academic career, Ms. Humberd worked in corporate finance and human resources at Boston Scientific and in the consulting practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jenn Kantmann, as vice president of human resources for the Precision Devices Group of Knowles, is responsible for 1,500 employees globally across two operating companies. She has a generalist human resources background with 24 years of experience in both union and non-union manufacturing settings in both the electronics and automotive industries. She is also a certified Behavior and Values Analyst and a 2010 graduate of the International Negotiation and Management Executive Management Program.

Saravon Khun-Leng, who arrived in Lowell in 1981 as a refugee from Cambodia, is now director of community relations for the Lowell Police Department, responsible for assessing community needs and responding to them proactively. She also organizes events, forums and workshops and serves on the boards of many community organizations. Her previous roles at the police department include director of victim services and community liaison. After graduating from UMass Lowell, she worked as a congressional aide to U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan, helping constituents with immigration matters and serving as Meehan's minority outreach advisor.

Kristina Lengyel, vice president of global professional services at Kronos, oversees more than 800 professionals worldwide and is responsible for driving the strategy to deliver exceptional services to the company's growing customer base. Previously, she was Kronos' vice president of engineering, responsible for more than 300 engineers, as well as the company's data collection business, workforce management, software engineering and product management. Before that, she was senior vice president of global technical services at Open Solutions and held key executive positions as Concerto Software (now Aspect) and INSCI.

Evelyn Murphy is founder and president of The WAGE Project, a nationwide, grassroots organization dedicated to eliminating the gender wage gap, and author of "Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What to Do About It." An economist, she served as Massachusetts secretary of environmental affairs and secretary of economic affairs before being elected lieutenant governor in 1986, becoming the first woman in state history to hold constitutional office. She serves on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including the advisory board of UMass Lowell's Center for Women and Work.

Taniya Nayak is one of the nation's foremost interior designers. She became a household name as a design expert on HGTV and the Food Network. Taniya owns a successful, Boston-based interior design firm, Taniya Nayak Design LLC., where she adds a fresh, clean look to both commercial and residential spaces.

Edith Onderick-Harvey, president of Factor In Talent, is a consultant and advisor for executives, teams and organizations undergoing high growth and significant change. Her clients include Akamai, Constant Contact, Harvard Business and Medical schools, MIT's Sloan School of Management, ImmunoGen, Philips Healthcare, RBS Citizens and other Fortune 500 and growth companies. She is the author of "Getting Real: Strategies for Leadership in Today's Innovation-Hungry, Time-Strapped, Multi-Tasking World of Work," and has contributed to articles for Fast Company, The New York Times, Human Resource Executive, U.S. Business Review and CNN.com. She is a frequent speaker on leadership, talent and change.

Chief Deborah Pendergast, director, New Hampshire Division of Fire Standards, Training and Emergency Medical Services

Deborah Pendergast is director of the New Hampshire Division of Fire Standards, Training and EMS and chief of the state's fire academy. She has more than 24 years of experience as a firefighter, including deputy chief in Laconia, N.H. She is also president and co-founder of the New Hampshire United Fire Service Women and vice president of the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire Pipes and Drums, where she has played bagpipes for 12 years. A graduate of the National Fire Academy, she has extensive training in safety, crisis intervention and behavioral health. She is currently pursuing a master's of Public Administration.

Debbie Phillips has more than 30 years of experience in work/life consulting and dependent care. As president of WFD Consulting, she is responsible for driving innovation in global work/life, women's advancement, flexibility and diversity solutions for WFD's clients and their employees worldwide. She was responsible for the strategic direction for the American Business Collaboration from 1992 to 2010, a group of 21 companies dedicated to creating and implementing child care, elder care and other work/life solutions to improve employees' ability to balance their work and personal responsibilities.

Catherine Popper is a highly respected business leader with over 25 years of experience as a corporate executive and consultant. Ms. Popper has served in key roles within Fidelity Investments and as a management consultant. Her expertise spans supply chain and procurement, management and human resource consulting, sales and client relations, line management and human resource management. Ms. Popper has created an impact over the course of her career by successfully delivering high performance results and driving business transformations.

Susan Reed is chief probation officer at Ayer District Court, where she was instrumental in starting a special drug court in 2001. One of the first drug courts to operate in Middlesex County, Ayer's drug court program has helped dozens of drug- and alcohol-addicted people graduate and go on to live sober, productive lives. Ms. Reed, who previously worked as a probation officer at the Milford and Ayer District Courts, earned her undergraduate and master's degrees in criminal justice at UMass Lowell. She is a member of the New England Association of Drug Courts and the National Association of Drug Courts.

Hollie Schmidt is vice president of scientific operations for Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis, an award-winning patient advocacy organization that works with researchers, clinicians and patients to advance research toward a cure. A Mass High Tech "Women to Watch" awardee, she has served on the national board of the MIT Enterprise Forum, the Lemelson-MIT Cure-It screening panel and the institutional review board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She previously held executive management and senior staff positions at Empirix, Teradyne and United Technologies, and co-founded multiple high-tech product- and service-based companies.

Kim Segal is a Certified Financial Planner with a passion for developing long-term relationships with clients. Her extensive experience includes stints at Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab, where she served as a vice president, financial planner and financial consultant and was a key contributor in designing its Equity Compensation Consultation. She has also been a frequent presenter at Charles Schwab company seminars. She is a recurring guest on local and regional radio shows and is frequently quoted in news articles.

Richard Spada is senior global manager of diversity and inclusion for Global Pharma at Novartis Pharmaceutical, where he works with and supports individuals and teams around the globe. He has created leadership and management development programs and diversity and inclusion strategies in different divisions, including the women's mentoring and integrated leadership team for the vaccine business. He recently authored internal publications for LGBT employees and disabled workers and their managers. A certified professional and executive coach, he previously worked for Chiron Pharmaceuticals and Kaiser Permanente, and as an independent consultant.

Jennifer Springer is the general counsel and director of field operations for SEIU Local 888, a union representing more than 8,000 public service workers in Massachusetts, and executive vice president at large of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Ms. Springer, who has more than 15 years of experience working for and representing unionized workers, is active in political campaigns and serves on Boston's Women's Workforce Council, where she works to close the gender wage gap and remove both visible and invisible barriers for working women.

Katherine (Katie) Trujillo is a senior configuration analyst at Integrated Defense Systems, Raytheon. As a program lead across multiple contracts, Ms. Trujillo manages engineers and analysts and is a key liaison between the design team and program office. Prior to joining Raytheon, Ms. Trujillo was the volunteer service coordinator at United Way of Greater New Bedford, facilitating events that paired hundreds of local students and employees with neighboring nonprofit organizations. She is an alumna of the Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell.

Molly Tschang has 25 years of business experience helping executives be more effective at Cisco, U.S. Filter, Deloitte and IBM. In integrating 80 acquisitions globally, from 10-person start-ups to 2,000-person divisions, acquired for $20 million to $7 billion, she has coached executives to sustain excellence during significant transitions, operating as both management and consultant in diverse contexts.