Leadership and Women of the Future Awards and Panel Discussion
#WESTawards

Our exposure to great role models and sponsors can substantially influence how our careers grow and develop. Please join us for an evening to honor inspirational established women leaders who have made their mark. Hear these established leaders describe the secrets to their own success, and learn more about the attributes that they are seeing exemplified in outstanding women from the next generation. Be inspired, network, get good tips, and celebrate the career advancement of all levels women in STEM!

Leadership Awardees

Heather Bell, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Digital and Analytics, Sanofi
Jocelyn Carter, Hospitalist, Mass General Hospital
Sarah Grimwood, Senior Director, Head of Portfolio, Strategy & Operations, Rare Disease Research Unit, Pfizer
Marian Nakada, Vice President, Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC

Up and Coming Awardees

Maya Nitzberg, Partnerships and Engagement Manager, The Possible Project
Annelise Ryan, Graduating Senior, Tufts University School of Medicine
Elena Spencer, Director, Chief of Staff, Inflammation & Immunology Research, Pfizer
Amy Zwanziger, Head Digital Catalyst, Sanofi

Awardee Bios are below

Download invitation

Date and Time:
June 12, 2018
6:00 - 8:30 PM

Evening’s Schedule
6:00-6:25 Registration, Networking, Appetizers, Wine
6:25-6:35 Move from the Lobby to the 2nd Auditorium
6:35-6:45 Welcome, Acknowledgement of Sponsors, Overview of the Evening
6:45-7:30 Award Presentation
7:30-8:30 Panel Discussion

Location:
Sanofi, 50 Binney Street, Cambridge MA

Cost:
$20 for Members, $50 for non-members, $450 for 10 tickets

Given our mission is to promote women's development in STEM we would like to offer a one-time free spot in our workshops to those in transition between jobs. Please contact [email protected] if you qualify.

Cancellation Policy:
All programs are non-refundable.

To Register

Become a sponsor and contribute to a great cause. For more information, email Jaime at [email protected] or call (857) 600-2598.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!

Gold Level Sponsor

Silver Level Sponsor

Awardee Bios

Heather Bell is currently Senior Vice-President and Global Head of Digital and Analytics at Sanofi. Dr. Bell was brought up in Montreal in Canada, and studied at Harvard University graduating summa cum laude in History and Science at the age of 20. She worked at McKinsey & Company in their Toronto and London offices, becoming a partner. At McKinsey she provided advice to international companies, research councils, charities and the public sector and led sizeable teams working on various projects mostly focused on healthcare. She was Director of International Strategy at the University of Oxford and was a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. She worked in the UK and US for AstraZeneca from 2011-2014, mostly as their Vice-President for Corporate Strategy.

Jocelyn Carter, MD, is a Chicago native clinically prepared in internal medicine and leadership/ preventive medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, New Hampshire) and received a Masters in Public Health from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (Lebanon, New Hampshire). She was delighted to join the Academic Hospitalist Service at Massachusetts General Hospital in June 2011. Her clinical duties include attending and teaching as an internist on the Academic Hospitalist Service as well as the Ellison Team 1 and Bigelow Services. Jocelyn is committed to teaching, clinical service and clinical research as it relates to process and systems based improvement. The focus of her non-clinical work is centered on creating value by re-designing healthcare microsystems and she is currently involved with State Action on Avoidable Readmissions (STAAR) project to prevent readmissions as a part of a national initiative commissioned by the Institute Healthcare Improvement and the Commonwealth Fund. Jocelyn is also the recipient of the Mass General 2012 Clinician Teacher Development Award, a four year mentored grant focused on preventing hospital readmissions.

Sarah Grimwood is the Head of Portfolio, Strategy & Operations, and Chief of Staff, for the Rare Disease Research Unit, Pfizer Inc. Sarah has > 25 years of Neuroscience drug discovery experience from Merck and Pfizer. She obtained her PhD in Pharmacology in the UK from the University of Hertfordshire, and has published > 60 peer-reviewed articles. Sarah has led multi-disciplinary laboratories and numerous cross-functional teams, including portfolio project teams from Exploratory to Phase 1 stages. She has also served on a National Institute of Health Drug Discovery for Aging, Neuropsychiatric and Neurologic Disorders, Small Business Review Panel. In 2015 Sarah was recognized as a Healthcare Business Women’s Association (HBA) Rising Star, for her leadership and significant scientific and business impact across Pfizer. Sarah has a passion for mentoring and developing colleagues and leads the Pfizer Kendall Square Women's Leadership Network. Sarah is also a keen gardener and bee-keeper. She is currently the Chair of the Pollinator Health Advisory Committee for the Town of Concord, MA, and is the proud mother of 3 daughters.

Marian Nakada is Vice President of Venture Investments at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venture group. She is based in Boston and makes pharmaceutical investments in areas of strategic interest to Johnson & Johnson. Marian started her career at the lab bench at Janssen R&D, and she transitioned to business development before her current role in corporate venture. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Harvard College and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania. Marian serves on the boards of several JJDC portfolio companies, as well as non-profits such as InnerCity Weightlifting, Inc., and The New England Venture Capital Association, for which she tirelessly elevates minorities and women in the investment community as the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee co-chairperson. In her spare time, she does hospice volunteering, is an active champion for the Possible Project, a student after school entrepreneurship program, connecting local women in healthcare to the organization through Project Fabulous.

Maya Nitzberg has always been passionate about working with youth and helping to close the opportunity gap. Her love for social innovation and entrepreneurship has led Maya to becoming a community builder and a social change agent. She has served in various roles in her work with underserved populations in the Greater Boston area. She currently works as the Manager of Partnerships and Engagement for The Possible Project in Cambridge. In her role, she is helping to build mentorship programs and create opportunities with company partners for Possible Project students to thrive in tomorrow's economy. Maya is an adviser on the Mayor of Somerville's Innovation and Opportunity Committee, which aims to advance Somerville’s local innovation economy and support budding entrepreneurs. Her role on the committee is to establish and maintain partnerships with innovation-focused companies, local non-profits, academic institutions, and residents. Maya graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a major in Psychology. While attending university, she acted as a youth leader representing the United States at the 2008 annual Global Conference for Youth Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (YES, Inc.) in Alexandria, Egypt. Aside from her commitment to advancing education, economic mobility, and advocating for equality and diversity, Maya is an avid photographer, outdoor enthusiast, world traveler, and currently working on mastering her cooking skills.

Elena Spencer is Chief of Staff for the Inflammation & Immunology Research Unit at Pfizer in Cambridge, MA. A biologist by training, Elena has spent most of her career leading from the lab bench in a variety of positions within the biopharmaceutical industry. For the past two years Elena has worked in R&D strategy and operations where she enjoys facilitating connections between the research and business divisions. Outside of her day job, Elena likes to play violin and participates in a variety of community music initiatives. Notably, she serves as Vice President on the board of Symphony Pro Musica (Hudson, MA) and is co-founder of the Kendall Square Orchestra (Cambridge, MA), a new ensemble with the goal of connecting science and technology professionals to inspire, collaborate and innovate through music, while supporting community causes related to healthcare and STEM education. Elena received her B.S. and M.S. In Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and is currently pursuing and M.B.A. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She lives in Hudson, MA with her two awesome kids.