Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Chief Medical Editor
NBC News
Dr. Nancy Snyderman joined NBC News as the Chief Medical Editor in September 2006. She hosts “Dr. Nancy,” weekdays, 12-1 p.m. ET on MSNBC and reports regularly on “Today,” “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Dateline NBC,” MSNBC and MSNBC.com.
Dr. Snyderman has reported on wide-ranging medical topics affecting both men and women and has traveled the world extensively, reporting from many of the world's most troubled areas. She is on staff in the Department of the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining NBC News, Dr. Snyderman served as Vice President, Consumer Education for the health care corporation, Johnson & Johnson. There she led the independent educational initiative, Understanding Health, focusing on educating and informing the public about health and medicine. Before that, Dr. Snyderman served as the medical correspondent for ABC News for 17 years and was a contributor to “20/20,” “Primetime,” and “Good Morning America.” Prior to leaving ABC she was a frequent substitute co-host on “Good Morning America.”
Dr. Snyderman attended medical school at the University of Nebraska and continued with residencies in Pediatrics and Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. She joined the surgical staff at the University of Arkansas in 1983 and began her broadcasting career shortly after at KATV, the ABC affiliates in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dr. Snyderman's medical work has been widely published in peer review journals and she is the recipient of numerous research grants from the American Cancer Society, the Kellogg Foundation, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. She has received numerous awards for her broadcasting. She is the author of five books: Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat” Medical Myths That Can Kill You” Dr Nancy Snyderman’s Guide to Good Health for Women Over Forty, Necessary Journeys, and Girl in the Mirror: Mothers and Daughters in the Years of Adolescence.
Dr. Snyderman lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband, Doug, and is the mother of three children, Kate, Rachel and Charlie.
Jill Griffiths
VP, and Head of Thought Leadership, Clinical and Provider Relations
Aetna, Inc.
Jill Griffiths is vice president of Thought Leadership, Clinical and Provider Relations for Aetna, based in Hartford, CT. Jill is responsible for developing thought leadership campaigns to highlight Aetna’s clinical leadership, provider relations programs and activities, direct to consumer programs and other key strategic initiatives. She directs a staff of six communications professionals responsible for a majority of the media campaigns and results for Aetna’s leadership in consumerism, transparency, health benefits literacy, and clinical value.
Jill co-leads Aetna’s health literacy initiatives with the company’s chief medical officer, is co-chair of the health literacy task force for America’s Health Insurance Plans, and participates on the oral health literacy advisory group for the American Dental Association.
Previously, Jill was vice president of Business Communications, where she was responsible for public relations and employee communication for Aetna’s businesses. She has been assistant vice president and director of Health Public Relations for Aetna, where she handled media relations for the health business of Aetna, and directed the regional public relations managers. Jill joined U.S. Healthcare in January 1996 as director of public relations, after managing the U.S. Healthcare account for Foote, Cone & Belding and the Tierney Group, agencies based in Philadelphia, PA.
Jill holds a B.A. in English Literature with a minor concentration in Business Administration from Ursinus College and has completed continuing education courses in advertising and public relations at Villanova University.
Dr. Barry Sears
Chairman
MedWell Foods
Author, The Zone
Dr. Barry Sears is one of the leading authorities on the dietary control hormonal and inflammatory responses to treat chronic disease. His is the author of the 12 books on anti-inflammatory diets, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Zone. His books have sold more than five million copies and have been translated into 22 languages.
A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and MIT, Dr. Sears is the President of the non-profit Inflammation Research Foundation where he continues his clinical research on the hormonal and anti-inflammatory effects of diet. In particular, his research is focused on developing innovative dietary approaches in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and neurological disorders.
Because of his revolutionary research, Dr. Sears has been a guest on many national programs such as 20/20, Today, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, CNN, and MSNBC.
Johanna Skilling
EVP, Director of Strategic Planning
Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
Getting inside the mind of the person seeking better health or a greater sense of wellness is one of the most rewarding journeys a marketer can make: there’s nothing more intimate, more emotional, more aligned with our very sense of identity than the search for health and wellness.
Johanna Skilling has been on that journey for most of her career, as an advertising and marketing strategist, researcher, author and teacher, developing insights and integrated marketing strategies for products ranging from haircare to footcare, and everything in between.
As the Director of Strategic Planning at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, Johanna’s mission is to keep the connection between our brands and their consumers fresh, meaningful and mutually rewarding. Since joining SSW, Johanna has redefined Strategic Planning to offer not just unique, actionable insights, but channel and digital strategy, metrics and analysis, all in service of creating more powerful experiences and interactions with our consumers.
Johanna is the author of two popular books on women’s healthcare; she has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, among other venues. Johanna is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, teaching graduate-level and professional courses in marketing and branding.
Marti Barletta
Founder
The Trendsight Group
Marti Barletta helps organizations get smart about marketing to women. She is the author of the groundbreaking book, Marketing to Women and co-author with Tom Peters of Trends. Her book, PrimeTime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders (released in January 2007), breaks the story on the extraordinary, unprecedented opportunity represented by PrimeTime Women™ (women 50-70) and details why companies that don’t get it will get left in the dust. This is one consumer solution you could literally call “the silver bullet.”
Marti founded her consulting think tank, The TrendSight Group (www.TrendSight.com), to help companies grow their business and pull ahead of the competition by boosting their marketing, sales, recruiting and retention effectiveness with women. The recognized international authority on marketing to women, Barletta’s dynamic style and passion for her topic make her a popular speaker at corporations and conferences. Combining gender expertise, marketing experience and a lively sense of humor, she delivers eye-opening insights and practical “how to” pointers that audiences find enlightening, entertaining and easy to apply.
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Mary Dean
President & CCO
KickSkirt, Inc.
Mary is a passionate marketer with over twenty years experience helping Fortune 500 brands connect with women. Formerly VP/Creative Director at Publicis USA, she is the author of the original Curves campaign and has led their advertising for the past five years.
A firm believer that great marketing should motivate as well as resonate, Mary’s work gets results. Her 2004 campaign for Curves was so successful that it exceeded all measurement metric goals by at least 200 percent. Levis’ found their phones overwhelmed following a print campaign she created for their Jeans for Women brand. Her knack for bringing smart strategies to life has earned her an array of national and international awards, from AWNYs and a Gold Effie to Addys and a Clio. And Curves found her copy so effective that the company actually trademarked lines she wrote.
Mary has always had a special touch with campaigns targeting women, a talent which has benefited Levis Jeans for Women, Celestial Seasonings Teas, Clorox, and Proctor & Gamble, among others. Her impressive career includes positions at Chiat/Day, Foote Cone & Belding, and Leo Burnett.
Mary recently founded KickSkirt, Inc., a marketing-to-women consultancy that’s as dedicated to superb campaign execution as it is to insightful market research. Her partners at KickSkirt are accomplished planners, brand directors and creative directors – all of whom have over 20 years of executive-level experience developing campaigns for the likes of Nike Women, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods Market, Kohler and The Gap.
Described by one happy client as having “the soul of a writer and the mind of a planner,” Mary is a popular and inspiring speaker who gives her audience information they can use. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two kids, one dog and a bird that repeats words it shouldn’t.
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Pepper Miller
President
Hunter-Miller Group
Pepper Miller founded The Hunter-Miller Group (HMG), a consumer research, trend analysis and marketing strategy company, in 1985 and, since then, has been using qualitative and quantitative studies to help Fortune 500 companies understand how to effectively and positively market their products and messages to the African-American market. Some corporate healthcare clients include: Astra Zeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer and Wyeth.
Pepper and co-author Herb Kemp launched the landmark African-American cultural marketing book, What’s Black About It? Insights to Increase Your Share of a Changing African-American Market in October 2005.
Additionally, Pepper served as a research consultant for the largest study about African Americans to date; the Black America Today segmentation study – commissioned by Radio One and conducted by Yankelovich. The study was launched June 2008.
In 2006, Pepper tied for first place for best speaker at the 2006 M2W® - Marketing to Women Conference and in 2007 received the Target Market News MAAX Award for 2007 Research Executive of the Year.
Pepper also established the Ruth C. Hunter Market Research Scholarship Fund to increase awareness about market research among Black Americans and to encourage them to consider market research as a career option.
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Dori Molitor
President & CEO
WomanWise
Dori Molitor founded WatersMolitor in 1988 with a unique vision to create Brand Enthusiasm and drive purchase. Eleven years ago, Dori realized that her passion and strengths had succeeded in breaking new ground in what decidedly became her agency’s specialization – WomanWise, Marketing Brands to Women. Today, her founding vision has grown WomanWise into an internationally recognized consultancy and agency that fundamentally changes the way women feel about their brands.
Her agency’s unprecedented client results have earned WomanWise nine “Best in the World” honors including eight Globes Awards from the Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide.
A veteran consumer goods marketer, Dori began her career at General Mills working across the Big G and Betty Crocker brand portfolios. Today, her agency’s diverse client experience includes Dunkin’ Donuts, Land O’Lakes, Hasbro, Lifetouch Portraits, Pillsbury, UnitedHealthcare, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and many other leading brands.
Dori’s passion for women’s issues took root in 1976, when she worked for the United States Congress as a Legislative Assistant on women’s issues. Today she’s a sought-out thought leader for her vision on creating Brand Enthusiasm™ with women consumers. Dori has been a featured speaker for many women’s publications and organizations including Working Woman Magazine, National Association of Women Business Owners, American Marketing Association and others. She was a speaker at the first M2W Conference in 2005 with a sell-out crowd from around the world. She has consulted with top executives ranging from Mary Kay Cosmetics to WomenVenture, one of Oprah’s “Angel Network” winners. Dori’s expert opinion is regularly quoted in national media including features in The New York Times, USA Today and Supermarket News to name a few.
In 2003, Dori was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide as the International Executive Vice President for North America. In 2006 she was appointed to the Board of Directors for WomenVenture.
Dori graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management - Summa Cum Laude. She lives in Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka with her husband Todd, daughter Alexandra and son Andrew.
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Mary Lou Quinlan
Founder, CEO
Just Ask A Woman
Mary Lou Quinlan is the founder/CEO of Just Ask a Woman, strategic marketing consultancy to over 90 blue chip brands since 1999. Her 30 year career spans roles as ad director for Avon, CEO of a major NY advertising agency, as well as CBS Early Show correspondent, MORE magazine columnist and keynote speaker. She’s the author of Just Ask a Woman, Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy. Her next book, What She’s Not Telling You, launches in November.
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Marcee Nelson
President & Founder
PinkTank
Marcee Nelson is the President and Founder of Pink Tank, a division GSW Worldwide. Pink Tank specializes in influencing the female influencers of health care. From insight mining through creative execution, Pink Tank has created a path to help healthcare brands find the female voice that resonates more deeply with women professionals, patients, caregivers and consumers.
Marcee brings more than 20 years of consumer advertising experience at major Chicago agencies, J.Walter Thompson and DDB Needham. She has worked on a diverse group of consumer brands, including Kraft Foods and General Mills. Marcee has extensive experience in building brands and creating marketing efforts to and about women.
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Stephanie Ouyoumjian
SVP, Director of Strategy
Publicis USA
Stephanie Ouyoumjian has been asking “why?” for as long as she can remember. Her fascination with understanding why people do what they do led her to acquiring degrees in both Anthropology and Women’s Studies. Stephanie believes that successful brands are ones that have defined the psychology of a culture and the key motivators for specific segments, and then leveraged this knowledge to create powerful and compelling positioning platforms. She also knows that awareness and affinity alone are often not enough to get women to buy. They need holistic emotional engagement.
Stephanie has spent her career helping brands figure out that perfect equation that will turn consumer attitudes into action. She’s guided strategic planning and research for brands including Motel 6, Home Depot and the US Air Force, resulting in their highest brand awareness, affinity and conversion measures ever. She developed a first-of-its-kind predictive ROI model by correlating what people say with what they actually do. She studied the life stages and lifestyles of consumers to create strategies that propelled brand awareness and purchasing for MasterCard, Nokia, Pepsi, Papa John’s Pizza, Subaru, Chick-fil-A and Merck. Also, in her current role as Director of Strategic Planning at Publicis, where they not only market to moms, but have built a center of excellence for how to best market to the new main street, otherwise known as Middle America, She currently works on brands like Curves, Nestle and GlaxoSmithKline.Even when she’s away from the office, she’s managing two very important female brands – Madeleine and Morgan, her daughters. Stephanie is proud of her Armenian last name, but says you can call her Stephanie O.
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Dr. Janet Taylor
Contributor
The Today Show
Dr. Janet Taylor finds the practice of community mental health extremely rewarding. She is a highly sought after healthcare consultant, has a private practice in New York City and is the former Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at Harlem Hospital affiliated Columbia University.
Additionally, Dr. Taylor developed an interest in Life Coaching while living in Vancouver, British Columbia, became a Certified Professional Coach and formed her company, Mind Projects Inc., which specializes in Corporate Stress Management and Performance and Health Enhancement.
She is a frequently invited speaker on the subjects of minority women and mental health, stress management, techno-stress and work-life balance, and is a frequent contributor to CBS’ “The Early Show,” and NBC’s “The Today Show”. Dr. Taylor is also a contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine, Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals’ Speaker Network and Family Circle magazine’s “Ask Dr. Janet”.
Dr. Taylor attended the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky for Undergraduate and Medical School. An internship in Internal Medicine at the Miriam Hospital-Brown University followed. Her psychiatric residency was completed at New York Medical College -Westchester Medical Center. She received a Master’s of Public Health in Health Promotion/Disease Prevention from Columbia University. She was a recipient of the 2008 Woman in Medicine Award (National Medical Association- Council of Women’s Concerns).
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Leslie SchraderSVP, Director, Consumer Health & Wellness Practice
Ketchum
Leslie Schrader has more than 14 years of public relations agency experience characterized by hands-on leadership of multiple award-winning consumer health campaigns. She converted an interest in consumer health and wellness into a dedicated health specialty practice and established a noteworthy client roster of pharma, OTC and household-name brands. In 2008, Leslie played in integral role in Ketchum's launch of Well-Connected, a specialty offering that draws from the agency’s expertise and influencer relationships in the food and nutrition, healthcare, and brand marketing spaces to help companies develop compelling high-impact health and wellness campaigns that drive behavior change among consumers.
Leslie oversees programming on behalf of Aetna, The Clorox Company, Kellogg and Kraft, and provides client counsel to consumer health and wellness teams across the Ketchum network. Her experience also includes having led public relations campaigns for some of America’s most recognizable over-the-counter brands. Leslie’s ability to actualize some her clients’ biggest concepts makes her an invaluable asset to the teams and to the advancement of her clients’ business objectives.
Leslie has particular expertise in maximizing traditional and nontraditional communications channels to target consumer segments, building brand preference and influencing brand choice. Outside of traditional media outlets, she has helped clients reach their target audiences by identifying and developing influencer relations, such as the development of coalitions, advisory boards and spokespersons, and utilizing interactive digital media, such as viral video and blogs. Leslie has proven success in leveraging the power of strategic partnerships and grassroots action to help her clients achieve their consumer health and wellness goals. Her experience with integrated planning, including advertising, consumer promotions and interactive, makes her a valued partner in executing cohesive campaigns.
Leslie received her Master of Arts in Public Communications from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in English, with minors in Political Science and Women’s Studies, from Gettysburg College. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD, with her husband and two young daughters.
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Amber Benson
VP, Strategy
imc2 health and wellness
Amber Benson brings over ten years of varied and progressive experience in strategy development, interactive marketing and corporate communications to her role as Vice President, Strategy at imc2 Health and Wellness. Amber is a recognized industry speaker and thought leader focusing on the information-seeking behavior of healthcare consumers and the use of social media technologies in the healthcare industry. Her white paper, “Is Social Media Right for Your Healthcare Brand?” was recently endorsed by Forrester analyst and Groundswell author, Josh Bernoff as influential. She regularly tweets about social media in regulated industries @pharmachameleon.
Amber has a proven track record in delivering integrated interactive programs for both consumers and healthcare professionals that leverage user insights to drive brand engagement and business results. She has broad experience across a range of therapeutic areas including CNS, cardiovascular health, oncology, dermatology and consumer healthcare. Amber has provided digital strategy for some of healthcare’s best-known Rx and OTC brands including Chantix, Cymbalta and alli.
Gretchen Goffe-Wagner
SVP, Consulting Practice
Pink Tank
Finding the key that changes consumer's perspective on a brand from “Why?” to “Why Not?” is a passion for Gretchen Goffe-Wagner. She developed Pink Tank’s proprietary insight philosophy and techniques which uncover deeper insights and test hypotheses. Once she’s found that tipping point, she brings the consumer’s perspective to inspired campaigns that transform products women buy into brands women join.
Gretchen’s 20 years experience includes senior positions on the agency and client side, leading product development and marketing strategy for product lines, repositioning brands and developing launch campaigns.
She has led projects in many OTC and Rx women’s health categories including nutritional supplements, skin care, breast cancer prevention, hot flash, incontinence, personal lubricants, HPV, and osteoporosis.
Jill Fazakerly
Marketing Director
Methodist Healthcare
Jill Fazakerly believes marketers and brain surgeons have far more in common than meets the eye, and her work proves it. Her team introduced neurosurgical webcasting to the Mid-South in 2004, and Methodist was among the nation’s first hospitals to advertise these events to consumers. In 2008, her team introduced the Virtual Brain Tumor Board website, the world’s only online physician brain tumor collaboration. Designed to elevate the practice of neuro-oncology, VBTB met the criteria of “demonstrating extraordinary contribution to cancer control,” garnering an invitation to the prestigious LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit to be held in Dublin, Ireland this summer. While there, her team will utilize social media to share their experiences with followers everywhere.
Since 1996 Jill has directed the team that provides strategic marketing guidance to Methodist Healthcare of Memphis, one of the largest hospital groups in the country. In 2004, she spearheaded an unlikely collaboration between marketers and neurosurgeons to devise industry-leading Web strategies that produce winning results. Superior outcomes are something both marketers and neurosurgeons can readily agree on!
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Mary Pietrowski
Director of Consumer and E-Marketing
Hologic, Inc.
Mary Pietrowski is life sciences marketing executive with a special interest in women’s health. Currently, Mary is the Director of Consumer and E-Marketing for Hologic, Inc.
Before joining the Hologic corporate marketing team, Mary was the Director of Marketing for MammoSite 5-Day Targeted Radiation Therapy, a five day partial breast irradiation treatment option for early-stage breast cancers. In this role, Mary launched “Voices of MammoSite,” an innovative direct-to-consumer marketing program. “Voices of MammoSite” was awarded the DTC 2008 Advertising Award for Best Medical Device campaign and was a finalist for the MITX Awards for Best Use of Social Media and for the MM&M Awards for Best Integration Program for Small Companies.
Prior to gaining responsibility for MammoSite, Mary served as Director of Marketing for NovaSure, an endometrial ablation treatment procedure for women with menorrhagia. In this role, Mary launched a major direct-to-consumer campaign, which included the Cytyc-sponsored educational website, www.aboutheavyperiods.com. This campaign has received several honors, including: the 2006 Insight Award for Consumer Advocacy; the AWNY Award for Best Online Campaign; the bronze DTC 2007 Advertising Award; and MANNY Awards Finalist, Best Professional Campaign.
Mary was named a 2008 Top DTC Marketer of the year by DTC Perspectives. She holds an MBA from Babson College.
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Patricia Goldman
Vice President & CMO
March of Dimes
Patty Goldman is Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at the March of Dimes. Her responsibilities include all areas of marketing the organization and building and marketing e-business projects. She focuses on exploring how technology can better enable the Foundation to streamline processes, more effectively deliver health messages, and market to a broader audience. She has spent the last 6 years enabling new ways to both fundraise online and raise awareness of the organization through traditional and online media.
Prior to her tenure at the March of Dimes, Patty was Co-Founder and President of e4media, a Web development company that specialized in content management and e-commerce deployment. She was also the head of production for FoxNews.com, where she helped to create and manage a site that provided up-to-the-minute news to millions of customers. She also has worked in the entertainment business, for both Disney and Warner Brothers.
She holds a BA with Honors in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, and a master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Southern California.
Kara Ellinger
Director, Consumer Marketing and Business Development
UnitedHealthcare
Kara Ellinger has spent the past 20 years helping companies in the health care, biotechnology, information technology and online education industries get to know their customers and develop marketing programs and products that meet their unique needs. In her current role as Director of Consumer Marketing and Business Development for UnitedHealthcare, Kara has championed a number of initiatives to help improve consumer’s engagement with their health. Her most recent consumer engagement effort focused on women as the “Chief Health Officer.” The result was a unique new program – Source4Women – that recognizes the important role that women of all ages play in managing health care for the entire family.
Kara is personally passionate about empowering women to take charge of their health and the health of their families. During wee hours of the morning and on weekends Kara can be found embracing her own health and wellness at “boot camp” workouts, yoga or on the ski slopes. She holds an MBA and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kara lives in Minnetrista, Minnesota with her husband and two busy boys ages 8 and 5.
Vicki Amalfitano
Vice President, Marketing and Planning
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Vicki Amalfitano has been a strategic marketing leader in complex health care systems for more than 20 years. Her interests and vocation are building brand and business in academic health sciences centers to strengthen their ability to advance science and medicine.
For the past decade, Vicki has been the vice president for marketing and planning at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, one of the teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School. There, she initiated the marketing and planning function. She is responsible for marketing initiatives for the 777-bed Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the 1,200 member physician organization, community hospital, joint cancer center with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and numerous ambulatory satellites and clinical affiliations throughout eastern Massachusetts.
Before her position at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she had a similar role at Albany Medical Center in upstate New York, where she was vice president for marketing and planning for a 650-bed tertiary hospital, large physician practice plan and medical college.
Vicki has consulted on health care, academic medical centers, strategic planning, marketing and staff training for hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, educational organizations and government agencies. She also sits on several not-for-profit boards in Boston.
In addition, she teaches graduate marketing courses for the MBA program at the Babson FW Olin Graduate School of Business and for the health policy and management program at the Harvard School of Public Health. Vicki is also a frequent guest lecturer in business and health administration programs in many colleges in the Boston area and is a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences on marketing and strategy. She holds master’s degrees in business administration and social work administration.
Laurie Berger
Vice President/Editor-in-Chief
Lifescript.com
Laurie Berger, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, directs editorial strategy and daily programming for Lifescript.com, the #1 website for women’s health. Since joining the company in 2006, Laurie has been a driving force behind the growth of Lifescript.com as a leading online women’s health brand. She conceived and executed a site redesign in 2008 that positioned Lifescript as the go-to source for practical, female-friendly content on diet and fitness, weight loss, anti-aging, relationships, family health and other healthy living topics for women. During Laurie’s tenure, Lifescript.com has become a top destination for women’s health, currently reaching 4 million monthly unique users and 12 million newsletter subscribers daily. The site now ranks #10 in commercial health sites (comScore) and #3 most popular health and wellbeing site on the Hitwise index.
Laurie has more than 15 years experience overseeing content and daily programming for online and print media. Previously, she was Editor-in-Chief of Consumer Reports Travel Letter and Managing Editor of Entertainment Tonight Online (www.etonline.com). Laurie also launched and was Editor-in-Chief of Better Homes & Gardens.com's online travel guide. Her byline has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, CondéNet's Concierge.com, USA Today, Boston Herald, Reader's Digest and Ladies Home Journal.com. Laurie has a Master's degree in journalism and film from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Susan E. Moss
Vice President of Communications
Kindred Healthcare
Susan Moss is Vice President of Communications for Kindred Healthcare, one of the largest providers of healthcare services in the United States. Kindred is a New York Stock Exchange listed company with revenues in excess of $4 billion. In 2009, Kindred was named by Fortune magazine as the Most Admired company in the category of “Health Care: Medical Facilities.”
Kindred is a diversified healthcare services company with over 50,000 employees and three operating divisions with facilities in 41 states. The Hospital Division is the largest operator of long-term acute care hospitals with 82 facilities. The Health Services Division is the largest publicly held nursing center operator in the United States with 222 skilled nursing centers. Kindred’s Rehab business, called Peoplefirst, provides rehabilitation therapy for both Kindred and non-Kindred facilities.
In her role with Kindred, Susan oversees a department responsible for both internal and external communications, including investor relations, internet representation, business strategies and advertising. The 18-person department that she oversees functions as an in-house communications and marketing group. One of her greatest accomplishments was guiding the company through a successful name change in 2000.
Prior to joining the company in 1996, Susan founded Kentucky's third largest public relations and marketing business specializing in consumer public relations. She has been in communications and marketing for more than 20 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with a teaching certificate in speech, drama and music.
Susan serves on the board of Kentucky Country Day, the Community Foundation Board, the Board of the Waterfront Development Corporation, the Board of Adoption Bridges of Kentucky, and on the Honorary Council of the Kentucky Opera Board.
Marjorie Schulman, M.D.
Senior Medical Director
Aetna
Dr. Marjorie Schulman, a Senior Medical Director with Aetna since 1999, supports National Accounts and Middle Market customers and is Aetna’s liaison to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A graduate of Harvard University and NYU School of Medicine Dr. Schulman trained in pediatrics and neonatology at The New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center. She is board-certified in Pediatrics and Neonatology. Dr. Schulman practiced neonatology at Albert Einstein Northern Division in Philadelphia and subsequently at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center where she directed the High-Risk Infant Transport Service and the Program to Prepare Nurse-Practitioners in Newborn Intensive Care. In 1990, Dr. Schulman became the director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. She started a combined nurse-practitioner-physician assistant program in the NICU. Dr. Schulman is Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1995, she joined APM-CSC Healthcare as a senior physician consultant in Northern Ohio, Birmingham, Alabama, and Houston. Prior to joining Aetna, she served as medical director with GENESIS Healthplan and Oxford. She has published in numerous professional journals, and speaks widely on issues of managed care and health benefits.
Lynn Sokler
Chief, Marketing and Communication Strategy Branch
National Center for Health Marketing
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lynn Sokler is chief of the Marketing and Communication Strategy Branch, National Center for Health Marketing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She provides leadership to CDC on audience insights, health communication strategy and program implementation, health literacy improvement, risk communication and evaluation of programs. She spent her career translating audience attitudes and behaviors into cohesive communication plans with creative program tactics that get intended results. She has brought creative strategies to health communication programs for more than 30 chronic and infectious diseases and health risk issues for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and state health agencies.
Before coming to CDC, Lynn’s prior communication activities included Managing Director of Health Communication, American Institutes for Research, Regional Vice President, Prospect Associates, Vice President, Corporate Communication, Magellan Health Services and Senior Vice President, MS&L Worldwide.
Lynn has been named one of the top 50 Health Agency PR Pros in the Nation by PR Week magazine and is the only professional to gain this distinction outside New York and Washington, DC. She has earned an array of 35 national awards including Effie, Addy, Silver Anvil and Health Improvement awards. She began her career as a news reporter before making the “switch” to the other facets of communication.
She is co-author of two books: Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication and a recently published book on personal communication styles entitled Buying Styles: Simple Lessons in Selling the Way Your Customers Buys.
Jim Nedohon
VP Business Development & Administration
WomenHeart
Jim Nedohon has enjoyed a career of more than 11 years in corporate development in both business and nonprofit sectors. In 2008, he joined WomenHeart as Vice President of Development and Administration. As the leading voice for the 41 million American women living with or at risk of heart disease, WomenHeart is the only national, patient-centered organization dedicated to promoting women’s heart health through advocacy, community education and patient support.
Prior to joining WomenHeart, Jim spent 19 years with MCI, serving in various capacities which included sales, marketing, market research, finance, customer analysis and information systems. During his tenure he was also the senior director of partner marketing and new business development which accounted for $1.8 billion in annual sales.
Jim is responsible for the development strategy for the WomenHeart organization, including solicitation plans for corporations, foundations and individuals. In addition, Jim fosters a Corporate Advisory Committee strategy to increase recruitment, retention and deepen engagement of the committee members. Jim is also responsible for the organization’s infrastructure, leveraging its human resource and technology assets while improving efficiencies and providing scalable practices for future growth. Jim works in partnership with and provides strategic guidance to the CEO and Board of Directors in supporting and growing this $2.5 million organization.
Jim’s partner engagement experience has included American Airlines, Avon, CIGNA, General Mills , National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Procter & Gamble, Toys for Tots Foundation, United Airlines and the USO.
Jim graduated from Georgetown University and resides in McLean, VA.
Peter Pitts
President
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest
Partner/Director, Global Healthcare
Porter Novelli
Peter Pitts is President of public policy institute, the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and Partner/Director of Global Healthcare at Porter Novelli. From 2002-2004 Peter was the FDA’s Associate Commissioner for External Relations, serving as senior communications and policy adviser to the Commissioner. He supervised the FDA's Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Ombudsman, Office of Special Health Issues, Office of Executive Secretariat, and Advisory Committee Oversight and Management. He served on the agency’s obesity working group and counterfeit drug taskforce and is a Special Government Employee (SGE) consultant to the FDA’s Risk Communications Advisory Committee.
His comments and commentaries on health care policy issues regularly appear in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Health Affairs, The Boston Globe, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times, The San Francisco Examiner, Investor’s Business Daily, The Baltimore Sun, The Economist, Nature Biotechnology, The Journal of Life Sciences the BBC World Service, Fox News, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, among others. He also writes for the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest at drugwonks.com.
His book, Become Strategic or Die, is widely recognized as a cutting edge study of how leadership, in order to be successful over the long term, must be combined with strategic vision and ethical practice. He is the editor of Coincidence or Crisis, a discussion of global prescription medicine counterfeiting and Physician Disempowerment: A Transatlantic Malaise.
He has served as an adjunct professor at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Butler University. A graduate of McGill University, he is married to Jane Mogel, and has two sons.
Jennifer Kaminski
SVP, Group Creative Director
Draftfcb Chicago
Jennifer Kaminski is an innovator and creative leader with numerous international awards for design and advertising. With 15+ years of experience working for a wide variety of clients and industries, from healthcare to luxury goods, Jennifer is currently the SVP, Group Creative Director for Draftfcb Chicago’s Consumer Health team.
With her diverse background, Jennifer knows not only how to develop insightful strategies and create breakthrough campaigns but also how to understand and grow her clients’ business on a national and global scale. She looks beyond current trends to see the next big thing. For example, in 2003 she identified a need for clothing and accessories designed specifically for female cyclists, and in 2004 she launched her own line of sportswear for women.
A graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design, as well as the elite Omnicom Advanced Management Program at Babson University, Jennifer approaches design from a visionary perspective, constantly pushing the envelope to create more modern, more relevant and more essential work for her clients. She has repeatedly taken her experience leading woman-centric luxury goods campaigns and applied it in new and innovative ways to other industries.
Throughout her career, she’s worked for top global clients such as Abbott, American Express, Burberry, Centocor, Jaguar, Johnson & Johnson, LG Electronics, Lilly, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, MTV, Pfizer, Revlon, Schering-Plough and SONY.
Tina Sharkey
Chairman and Global President
BabyCenter LLC
Tina Sharkey, Chairman and Global President of BabyCenter LLC, is a pioneer in the development of leading consumer media brands and new media applications that bring value to consumers’ lives. Tina has more than 20 years of experience in the evolution of new media, ranging from the introduction of HDTV in 1986 to the forefront of Web 2.0 today. She has been featured as a Top Leader in Technology by Businessweek, Fast Company, USA Today and Advertising Age and currently serves on the boards of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Ad-tech. Joining in January 2007, Tina now leads BabyCenter LLC the Web’s #1 global interactive parenting brand, reaching 78% of new and expecting moms online in the United States, and reaching 16 million parents monthly across 19 markets worldwide. Recognized by Advertising Age’s 2008 Digital A-List, BabyCenter is the established leader in providing mom insights and innovative interactive marketing solutions to the world’s leading brands.
Prior to joining BabyCenter, Tina worked at America Online, Inc., where she led AOL’s social networking initiatives, including the AIM (Instant Messenger) and Social Media groups. Tina also led AOL’s network programming and directed the transformation of AOL.com into an open online destination. Before AOL, she served as Group President of Sesame Workshop's Online Services and prior as co-founder and chief community architect of iVillage.com. Prior to iVillage, Tina collaborated with Barry Diller on a new home shopping channel, Q2, a division of QVC, helped launch the Adobe Acrobat and New York 1 brands, and has managed corporate brand strategies for Time Warner, QVC and Sony.
Tina is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a founding board member of Baby Buggy, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping New York City's families in need. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two sons.
Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill, R.N.
Executive Director
HealthyWomen
Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill, R.N., brings a unique combination of sharp business expertise and, as a practicing registered nurse, medical knowledge to her role as executive director of HealthyWomen, a non-profit organization providing women with in-depth, objective, physician-approved information on a broad range of women's health issues.
Beth has worked in the healthcare industry for nearly 20 years, helping to define and drive public education programs on a broad range of women’s health issues. These programs have run the gamut from heart health and cancers to migraines and oral hygiene. Her management and marketing expertise is particularly critical as NWHRC moves to expand its outreach to millions of women across the country through updated technology, wider program distribution and new public education and awareness efforts.
Beth is responsible for setting the strategic direction of HealthyWomen and building alliances with corporations, health care professionals and consumer groups. She also serves as the organization's chief spokesperson, regularly speaking at corporate, non-profit, community and media events.
Fara Warner
Author
The Power of The Purse
Fara Warner is the author of “The Power of the Purse: How Smart Businesses Are Adapting to the World’s Most Important Consumers—Women.” She has written about marketing, advertising, and consumer trends for more than 18 years for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes and other national publications.
While at Fast Company as a senior writer, she wrote “Nike’s Women’s Movement,” an in-depth cover story of how Nike transformed the way it sells to, designs for, and communicates to women. The article became the basis for her successful business book on women’s consumer and economic power.
She currently is a contributing writer to Fast Company and frequent contributor to Forbes and Portfolio.com. Warner is the 2007-2008 Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Michigan’s Department of Communication Studies. She teaches classes on consumer trends, press freedom and global media. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and is a former Knight-Wallace Fellow in Journalism at the University of Michigan.
Grad Conn
Senior Director
Microsoft Health Solutions Group
Founder
HealthVault
Grad Conn is one of the founders of HealthVault, and he managed the launch of the HealthVault software + services platform to the healthcare industry in October 2007. Microsoft HealthVault is a platform that puts people in control of their health data by helping them collect, store, and share health information with family members and healthcare providers. As well, the HealthVault platform supports a wide variety of third-party applications and devices that help citizens manage their health and wellness.
Since 2008 Grad has been focused on the global roll-out of HealthVault, as well as several key accounts in the U.S. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2006, Grad spent nine years in product management at Procter & Gamble Inc., and 12 years as an entrepreneur in the search and loyalty industries. Positions include CEO of OpenCola Inc. (named by Fortune as “…one of the 25 coolest technology companies of 2001”); and most recently CMO of Points.com where he built and launched the industry leading Points.com loyalty point exchange.
Robert N. Jarboe
Executive Director
Practice Greenhealth
As Executive Director of Practice Greenhealth since February, 2009, Bob Jarboe has lead the healthcare industry’s leading not-for-profit membership organization through a period of substantial growth and increasing influence in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment. Members of Practice Greenhealth include hospitals, healthcare systems, clinics, healthcare professionals, businesses, and other stakeholders committed to sustainable eco-friendly practices.
Bob served for 20 years as President and CEO of the nonprofit Western Idaho Training Company, which he founded in 1974 to provide rehabilitation vocational programs and which expanded to include residential programs, developmental programs, educational offerings, assessment, transportation and counseling as well as several small business satellites.
A seasoned nonprofit executive, Bob has a wealth of experience that includes significant advocacy experiences as well as the creation, building and management of organizations on local, state and national levels.
Bob holds a Masters Degree from the University of San Francisco.
Kate Caldwell
SVP, Group Strategic Planning Director
Draftfcb
Kate Caldwell is a marketing/advertising strategist skilled in brand development, integrated marketing communications, strategic planning and marketing research. During her 25+year career, Kate has worked with a wide range of industries, leading strategic planning and marketing research efforts for a diverse list of clients.
For the past several years, Kate has worked with Draftfcb/ Chicago Consumer Health on the Johnson and Johnson, Abbott, Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline, and Kaiser Permanente accounts. She has been instrumental in helping teams understand today’s healthcare consumer, and the way in which they interact with professionals, manage their own care and make health decisions.
Jake Flaitz
Director - Benefits & Human Capital
Paychex, Inc.
Jake Flaitz, Director of Benefits & Human Capital, joined Paychex in January 2006.
At Paychex, Jake is responsible for managing the corporate benefits programs, and directing the analysis and recommendations for improving human capital utilization across the organization focusing on total rewards (including unique benefit applications).
Before joining Paychex, Jake was Director, National Accounts Sales & Retention at Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield and was a Principal & Senior Consultant with Mercer Human Resource Consulting. He has worked with employers on health and welfare programs since 1992. Prior to that time, he spent the first decade of his career working in hospital administration for both profit and not-for-profit health care systems.
Mariana Iglesias
Senior Public Affairs and International Consultant
Mayo Clinic
A native of Brazil, Mariana Iglesias brings to the Mayo Clinic international experience in healthcare, travel, hospitality, telecommunications and financial marketing throughout Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Her client experience includes work with Johnson & Johnson, Frontier Airlines, REMAX, Qwest Telecommunications, INVESCO Funds and McDonald’s. At Mayo Clinic she is involved in developing and implementing marketing initiatives in five international markets and communicating with thousands of patients from over 150 countries. Previously, she was an Account Manager for Ten United, a national advertising agency in Florida, and supervised marketing efforts for the St. Petersburg Times, TSI Telecommunication Services Inc and Taylor Woodrow, a leading developer in the UK and US markets. She has also held positions at Solis Advertising and TMP Worldwide in Denver, and was a co-anchor for a daily morning show at Aratu TV in Brazil. Her background in international marketing, language skills and cultural insights has given her a unique perspective towards the ever-changing multicultural business environment. She received her BA from the Catholic University in Brazil and an MBA from the University of Tampa Graduate School of Business.
Roxanne Bernstein
Director of Marketing, Kraft Refreshment Beverages
Kraft Foods Inc
As Director of Marketing, Roxanne Bernstein is responsible for the marketing and overall business management of a portfolio of brands, including Crystal Light™, Kool-Aid™, Country Time™, and Tang™. She was appointed to this position in September 2009.
Before returning to Kraft in August 2008, Roxanne held the position of Senior Brand Manager, Kids Ready to Eat Cereal Brands at the Kellogg Company. There she turned around venerable brands such as Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks, setting them on a course for strong, sustainable growth. She revived the Frosted Flakes “Earn Your Stripes” through the first ever Kids’ Youth Achievement Award presented at the ESPYs and kicked off an integrated SuperBowl advertising campaign that engaged consumers in renovating playing fields across America. Prior to this role, Roxanne led innovation efforts for a portfolio of Adult Health and Wellness brands such as Kellogg’s™ Special K®, Kellogg’s™ Frosted Mini-Wheats®, Kellogg’s™ Smart Start®, and Kellogg’s™ All-Bran®.
Roxanne joined Kraft in 2001 where she progressed through a number of marketing and new product development positions across brands such as Kool-Aid, Capri Sun, and Altoids.
Roxanne earned her Bachelor’s from The United States Military Academy (West Point) and her Master’s in Business Administration from Colorado State University.
Mary O'Connell
Director of Global Digital Marketing and Public Relations
The Clorox Company
Mary O'Connell is director of Global Digital Marketing and Public Relations for The Clorox Company. Before joining Clorox, Mary was a television news producer, writer and field producer. She began her career working for the wire services. She was an assistant press secretary to former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne. Her first job was selling hot dogs at Comiskey Park. Mary has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern. Her work has won numerous honors, including two Clios, Gold, Silver and Bronze Sabres, Anvils and Effies.
Allison May Rosen
Chandler Chicco Companies, DC
Allison May Rosen has worked in Washington, DC for nearly 20 years, in federal and state agencies and for national associations, gaining insight she now brings to a range of health care organizations. Allison provides strategic counsel, including public affairs, coalition management and editorial services, for groups working to build support for an issue, influence public opinion or launch a brand.
With the nation’s capital as the background, Allison’s planning, issue-framing, messaging and training skills support a broad range of campaigns including those focused on obesity, social determinants of health, not-for-profit health care, and childhood asthma.
Previously, Allison worked for the Association for Competitive Technology, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Texas Governor Ann Richards. Allison has been a lecturer for the George Washington University Department of Health Policy and regularly speaks to groups on communications and the media. She received her B.S. from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
