Rockstar Breakfast and Networking
#WESTorg

Are you looking for an opportunity to network with senior women leaders? If so, this is THE event for you. Enjoy a light breakfast accompanied by lots of conversation with Sheila Rowan, Katie Stebbins, and Mariana Nacht. Registration is for WEST MEMBERS ONLY and will be limited to a maximum of 25 participants to ensure an intimate experience.

Learn more about the Rockstars

Professor Sheila Rowan, Chief Scientific Advisor, Scottish Government
In 2016, Professor Rowan was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland. She provides a scientific perspective on Scottish Government policy and acts as an advocate for the benefits of science to society. Professor Rowan's research is targeted at developing optical materials for use in gravitational wave detectors. Her recent work has been a crucial part of the Advanced LIGO upgrades, carried out between 2010 and 2015, that contributed to one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of this century: the first detection of gravitational waves announced in February 2016. This work resulted in a share of the 2016 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for her and the members of her team in Glasgow. She was awarded the 2016 Hoyle Medal and Prize of the UK Institute of Physics, the President's Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and with the LIGO team shared in the 2017 Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society, amongst other international awards.

Katie Stebbins, Vice President for Economic Development, University of Massachusetts
Katie Stebbins is the vice president for economic development for the University of Massachusetts, a five-campus, 75,000-student public research university system. She serves as a liaison to the business community, establishing and growing research and workforce development partnerships to benefit the university and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As a member of President Marty Meehan’s senior leadership team, she represents UMass, the state’s second-largest employer and an institution responsible for $6.2 billion in annual economic impact, on boards and working groups focused on business collaboration and increasing the state’s competitiveness in key sectors. Katie also oversees the Office of Technology and Commercial Ventures, and the UMass Donahue Institute. Katie was previously Assistant Secretary for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she co-chaired Governor Baker’s Digital Health Council and led state investment efforts in health-tech, robotics, advanced manufacturing and cyber security. Katie played a leadership role in establishing and managing M2I2 (Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative), Governor Baker’s nearly $100 million commitment to five Manufacturing USA Institutes. A 20-year veteran of public service and economic development, Katie has launched three of her own companies. She is also a shameless champion for mid-size cities, roller derby and women in leadership. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Mariana Nacht, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Leap Oncology
Mariana has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology. Most recently, she was VP Cancer Biology at KDAc Therapeutics. Prior to KDAc, she was VP and Head of Biology at Padlock Therapeutics, which was acquired by BMS in 2016. She was one of the first employees at Avila Therapeutics, a biotech dedicated to discovering and developing irreversible small molecule inhibitors of kinases for oncology. During the first 5 years, three drug candidates were discovered, and two were advanced to clinical trials (the BTK inhibitor CC-292, and the mutant selective EGFR inhibitor CO-1686, partnered with Clovis Oncology). After the acquisition of Avila by Celgene in 2012, Mariana continued to lead biology research at Celgene Avilomics Research before joining Padlock as an early member of the executive team. Mariana started her biotech career at Genzyme, where she worked for ten years, focusing on various aspects of human oncology including the study of proteins that promote or prevent tumor angiogenesis and growth. Mariana received her B.S. in Biology from Tufts University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She continued her training as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Tyler Jacks at MIT before continuing her career in industry.

Date and Time:
April 5, 2018
8:00 - 9:00 AM

Location:
British Consulate-General, Boston, 1 Broadway Street, 7th Floor, Cambridge MA

Thank you to the British Consulate for providing breakfast.