Women in Bio: Pivotal Changes

From the event site:

A panel of senior-level women will discuss the “Pivotal Changes” women must master at the early, middle and senior levels of their careers. The strategies needed to advance from one level to the next involve a paradigm shift in thinking. The speakers will guide us in understanding the “Pivotal Changes”, leveraging their professional experiences to help all of us make the most of our career. Panel members are Lyn Christensen, Gerry Hansen, and Deanna Kosaraju. Moderating the panel will be Christine Fera, Lighthouse Capital Partners.

While we are learning to master a changing paradigm shift in thinking, we will also be helping other women achieve independence by donating business attire! We will be collecting interview appropriate suits, clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories in partnership with Dress for Success, an international not-for-profit that provides disadvantaged women with the clothing and counseling necessary to launch a career (www.dressforsuccess.org/). Please refer to guidelines for donated items, as there are restrictions. For those that donate, Dress for Success will be sponsoring a raffle for a piece of stunning Lia Sophia jewelry!

Biographies of our Speakers:
Deanna Kosaraju is the Founder and CEO of Global Tech Women. Deanna has worked with hundreds of companies, large and small, around the globe such as IBM, Microsoft, Intel, State Farm Insurance and Google in their mission to increase diversity leading to productivity, innovation and profitability in the corporate and academic sectors while creating career satisfaction for their employees. She has a degree in accounting from Cal State University Fullerton, a degree in Gender and Women’s Studies summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley and Women Leaders of the World Program at Santa Clara University. Deanna was awarded the Women of Influence Award by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2010.

Gerry Hansen, Hansen Coaching and Consulting, is a former executive with the Charles Schwab Corporation where she worked in various roles for seven years. Her last position there was Chief of Staff for Financial Products and Services. Prior to that, she held the titles of CEO, COO and CFO of Schwab’s International Operations and Corporate Controller. Prior to her career at Schwab, Gerry spent seven years with a venture capital company that provided secured lending to start-up companies in the high-tech and biotech industries. Gerry managed Investment Analysis & Business Planning and the Workouts & Turnaround division for this venture firm, located in the Silicon Valley.

Lyn Christenson, Linkages Group, is a leadership coach working with executives and technology/life science professionals in career transition. Her coaching practice focuses on leaders and future leaders in Bay Area companies and nonprofits. She is a frequent speaker and instructor on transition coaching and branding for organizations including American Women in Science, The City of Palo Alto, SV2 (Silicon Valley Social Ventures) and Right Management. Lyn was a senior communications executive in the Bay Area life sciences industry for more than 20 years, building strong brands and creating messaging platforms to influence key stakeholders. She directed communications for companies ranging from multinationals to startups, including Applied Biosystems, Codexis and Syntex. As Vice President, Corporate Communications for Applied Biosystems, she managed global communications for mapping the human genome. In addition, Lyn has worked for over a decade with boards and leadership teams of nonprofits, providing leadership coaching, collaborative meeting design and facilitation and consulting. She serves on the board of SV2. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Christine Fera, Director of Contract Originations at Lighthouse Capital Partners, has extensive experience in the venture financing industry. Her specialty is in contracts and compliance and for more than 20 years she has been working with life science and technology startup companies. She has also worked operationally in startup companies. At Lighthouse Capital Partners, she manages the documentation process for the company’s investments and handles fund SEC compliance matters. She began her venture capital career at Technology Funding Inc, and has also worked for Silicon Valley Bank and Comdisco Ventures. She enjoys working with these early stage companies and watching them mature into successful businesses.

Information and registration here.