Women in Business, Jobs, Women Entrepreneurs, Women in the News: News On Women

Anne Shen Smith Made President and CEO of Southern California Gas Co.

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), appointed Anne Shen Smith President and Chief Executive Officer. Anne, who holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of California at Berkeley, is currently chief operating officer of SoCalGas. Read more in the prnwswire press release.

Suzanne Bruhn Made President and Chief Executive Officer of Promedior, and a Member of its Board of Directors

Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, appointed Suzanne L. Bruhn, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, and a Member of its Board of Directors. Suzanne, who holds a PhD in Chemistry from MIT and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Human Genetics at Harvard Medical School, had been Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Program Management for Shire’s Human Genetic Therapies division. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Eleven Biotherapeutics and CEO Abbie Celniker Raise $20 million in Series A financing

Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company whose CEO is Dr. Abbie Celniker, raised $20 million in Series A financing. While Abbie is not one of the founders of the company, she has 20 years of experience in building late-stage protein therapeutic discovery and development programs. Abbie, who holds a PhD in molecular biology, is a former global head of biologics at Novartis. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Mimi Healy Made Chief Executive Officer at LaserGen and a Member of their Board of Directors

LaserGen, Inc., focused on commercializing technologies for next-generation sequencing (NGS), appointed Mimi Healy, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer and a member of the LaserGen Board of Directors. Mimi previously served as CEO of Bacterial Barcodes. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Maria Sainz Made President and Chief Executive Officer at CardioKinetix

CardioKinetix Inc., a medical device company, appointed Maria Sainz President and Chief Executive Officer. Maria had been General Manager of Stryker Neurovascular. Maria also held senior roles at Guidant Corporation including President of the Cardiac Surgery business. Read more in the Business Wire press release

Kristin DeFife Made Director, Biologics Manufacturing at Althea Technologies

Althea Technologies, Inc., a provider of development and manufacturing services for biopharmaceutical products, appointed Kristin DeFife as Director, Biologics Manufacturing. Kristin, who holds a PhD in  Pathology a B.S. in Biological Sciences, had been VP of Operations at PacificGMP. Read more in the prnewswire press release. 

MIT Economist Amy Finkelstein Wins the John Bates Clark Medal

The American Economic Association awarded the John Bates Clark Medal to Amy Finkelstein, who teaches economics at MIT. The annual medal is awarded to an economist under 40 who has made a significant contribution. Amy has done studies on the health insurance markets and has focused on Medicare and Medicaid. Read more on mit.edu. (Photo: Ed Quinn)

14 Doctors Focus on Women at the "Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health"

At the opening of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health, Dr. Nieca Goldberg (pictured), Medical Director of the Center, reminded us that "Women are not Small Men!". Women have different symptoms, react differently to medication and suffer from different diseases, making this type of center (where women are treated as their own whole person) crucial for women's wellness. The NYU facility has 14 doctors with various specialties, including cardiology (this specialty is  important since heart disease is a serious killer of women), internal medicine, gynecology, dermatology, physical therapy and much more. The facility also offers women's imaging services like mammography and bone densitometry.

Women's health is an important issue and "National Women’s Health Week" is coming up May 13 - 19, 2012. This event by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health, is meant to bring together communities, businesses, health organizations, and others to promote women’s health and get women to make their health a top priority. Women have a tendency to put themselves last as they work to take care of the people who need them like children and elderly family members, often doing all this while holding down a full time job. "National Women's Health Week" encourages women to realize how important they are to the people they take care of, and to take the right steps to improve their own physical and mental health and lower their risks of certain diseases. Steps to take include regular checkups, preventive screenings, more exercise, and healthy eating, getting enough sleep and managing stress. They also recommend avoiding unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.

We all know that being active and eating right are important for living longer, healthier, and happier lives. So why don't we do it? The HHS Office on Women's Health offers the following suggestions to help us. "When it comes to eating healthy, set small, manageable goals for yourself. Challenge yourself to eat smaller portions or opt for water instead of a sugary drink. You could also strive to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables or choose low-fat or non-fat options."

It is facilities like the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health, and people like Dr. Nieca Goldberg, who care enough about us to make it easy to get the help we need to lead a healthy and happy life, that will solve the healthcare problems we face today.

Joanna Breen and her Team ready for Everyday Health!

Everyday Health, Inc., the new media health company, announced its Everyday Health Studios team which will oversee Everyday Health's weekly television series, its YouTube channel, and all the short and long form videos created for the Everyday Health portfolio. The digital and broadcast team is run by Joanna Breen (pictured), who is Vice President, Video and Television Programming. Joanna is a three-time Emmy® award winning television producer turned digital entrepreneur.  Her team includes Stephanie Sy as Senior Editor and Correspondent. Stephanie had been an ABC News Correspondent reporting for Good Morning America and Nightline.  Also on the team is veteran CBS health news journalist Pam Auerbach; Veronica Brooks who was most recently producing at iVillage; Julia Harrison, Zoe Stark, and Leslie Steinberg. Read more in the prnewswire press release.

Bioengineering Group, founded by CEO Wendi Goldsmith, Wins Award for its Engineering Work in New Orleans

Bioengineering Group, founded by CEO Wendi Goldsmith, was chosen by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) as a winner of their 2012 Honor Award in the Water Resources Category for its work on the New Orleans West Closure Complex Pump Station. Bioengineering Group's innovative designs and performance results illustrate the essential role of environmental engineers in sustaining a healthy planet. Read more about it in the company press release.

Ellen Baron Made Managing Director at Healthios Capital Markets

Healthios Capital Markets, LLC. announced that Ellen S. Baron, Ph.D., has become a Managing Director of the firm. Ellen, who holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Georgetown University School of Medicine and a post-doctorate at the Public Health Research Institute in New York, is a former General Partner at Oxford Bioscience Partners and previously had spent 20 years at Schering-Plough Corporation in both Research and Development and Business Development. See prnewswire press release.

Marissa Mayer Joins Wal-Mart Stores Board of Directors.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) appointed Marissa A. Mayer to its Board of Directors. Marissa, who holds a bachelor’s degree in symbolic systems and a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University, is Vice President of Local and Maps for Google Inc. where she leads the product management and engineering efforts of Google’s local, mobile, and local-based products. See Business Wire press release.

Sapphire Energy President Cynthia Warner Sees Private Investment as Critical for Alternative Fuel Resources

Sapphire Energy, Inc., the algae-based green crude oil production company of which Cynthia J. Warner is President and Chairman, raised $144 million Series C investment funding. Cynthia, who holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology, had been Group Vice President, Global Refining for BP before joining Sapphire. At Sapphire, Cynthia is responsible for transitioning technology trials and research into commercial-scale crude oil operations. "The ongoing support from the private investment community speaks to how strongly they believe in the development of Green Crude as an alternative fuel resource, especially Sapphire Energy's ability to commercialize it," says Cynthia. "It is increasingly important to find domestically produced crude oil alternatives to improve the country's energy security, meet global energy demands, and provide jobs. Continued private investment is a critical step in achieving these goals." See more in the prnewswire press release.

Lumoback, co-founded by CEO Monisha Perkash, Raised $1.1 million in a seed funding.

Lumoback, a company co-founded by Monisha Perkash (who is also the company's CEO) whose mobile app helps users improve their posture, raised $1.1 million in a seed funding. Monisha is one of the founding team of Stanford graduates that were "part of Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors venture creation program called Runway". See more about the financing on mobilehealthnews.com.

OvaScience™, Co-Founded by CEO Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., Raised $37 million Series B financing.

OvaScience™, co-founded by Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., who is also the company's Chief Executive Officer, raised $37 million Series B financing. Michelle had previously been Senior Vice President and Head of the CEEDD (Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery) at GlaxoSmithKline. Read more in the company's announcement.

Susan Koski Made Chief Information Security Officer at Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp., the financial services company, appointed Susan Koski Chief Information Security Officer. Susan, who holds an MBA from Duquesne University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, had been Managing Director for Global IT Risk, Information Security and Vendor Assessments at BNY Mellon. See Business Wire press release.

Lisa N. Colleran, recently made CEO of Lifecell, Joins parent company’s Board of Directors.

Lisa N. Colleran, recently made CEO of Lifecell, the company working in regenerative medicine, will join its parent company’s Board of Directors. Before joining Lifecell, Lisa spent 20 years at Baxter Healthcare Corporation in various roles in sales, marketing, and business development. See Business Wire press release.

Stephanie H. Astrow, Ph.D., Made Vice President for Research and Development at Response Genetics

Response Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:RGDX), involved in the development and commercialization of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, appointed Stephanie H. Astrow, Ph.D., Vice President for Research and Development. Stephanie had been Scientific Director for Oncology at Quest Diagnostics. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Science Exchange CEO Elizabeth Iorns Named the "2012 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Emerging Postdoctoral Entrepreneur".

Elizabeth Iorns, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Science Exchange, has been named the 2012 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Emerging Postdoctoral Entrepreneur. Her company, the Science Exchange, is a "community marketplace for scientists to list, discover, and access scientific services from institutions around the world. (They) connect research scientists looking to outsource experiments with scientific service providers who have the capacity to conduct the experiments." Elizabeth is a breast cancer scientist and holds a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Institute of Cancer Research in London. This is the third year of the award program by the Kauffman Foundation to encourage the entrepreneurial efforts of researchers and scientists.

Cherry Murray, Mary Boyce and T. Kyle Vanderlick Are Women in Science Making History!

Recapping Women's History Month, I have now featured social media, corporate America, philanthropy, mobile technology, and role models in entertainment. Educating and mentoring women in these and other areas is both our history and our future, particularly educating women in science and engineering - the "STEM" subjects. There are women making history in these subjects across the country. Cherry Murray (pictured above), a former Senior Vice President for Physical Science and Wireless Research at Bell Labs who holds a PhD in Physics from MIT, is now Dean of Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Mary Boyce (pictured right), Who holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, is the Department Head of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. T. Kyle Vanderlick, who holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Minnesota, is the Dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Yale. Kristina Johnson, who earned her PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford, had been the Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke, then served as Provost at Johns Hopkins University, and was the Under Secretary of Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy. All these women and many more demonstrate the talent available and the need to encourage young women to study any of the above sciences. The Dare2bDigital Conference is one of many annual conferences that focus young women on engineering, encouraging them to study the sciences in college. But we all can do more in this regard and continue the conference to everyday discussions at schools all across the country to get more girls interested in math and science! This is how we can change history.

Harvard Professor Joanna Aizenberg looks to nature and its history to create the materials of the future. Fascinating to listen to her: