February 11, 2000

Approximately 200 MGH women recently attended the first in a series of events geared toward women in management positions at the hospital. The Feb. 8 kickoff event featured best-selling author and renowned educator Jill Ker Conway, PhD.

Conway spoke about her climb up the academic ladder, first as one of the few women faculty members at the University of Toronto and later as the first woman president of Smith College in Northhampton, Mass. She also has served as director of several major American and Australian companies, including Merrill Lynch, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike and Lend Lease Corporation.

Left, Jill Ker Conway, PhD

Conway is the author of The Road from Coorain, True North, Written by Herself: Volumes I and II and When Memory Speaks — Reflections on Autobiography. Joining Conway were three professional women — Mara Aspinall, president of Genzyme Pharmaceuticals; Molly O'Neill, director of Specialty Care Development for Partners HealthCare; and Kate Walsh, vice president for Medical Services and the MGH Cancer Center. The panel shared their personal and professional experiences and answered questions from the audience. With panel moderator Ann Prestipino, vice president for Surgical and Anesthesia Services and the MGH Cardiac Program, the group discussed such topics as balancing work and family life, professional development and networking and mentoring opportunities for women.

The event was sponsored by the Women in Management Committee, which was established by four vice presidents at the hospital — Walsh; Prestipino; Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse; and Jane Holtz, vice president for Neurosciences and Pediatric Services — along with hospital trustees Jane Claflin and Judy Friend. The committee was created to better understand and support the needs of women managers in the health care environment.

"We hope for this to be the first in a series of events and activities designed to help support the development of women managers in the organization as well as to assist them with many of the special issues that they confront on a daily basis," said Debra Doroni, administrative director for MGH Surgery and chair of the event planning committee.

In foreground from left, Jill Ker Conway, Kate Walsh,
Jane Claflin and Ann Prestipino