Women’s Leadership Panel to Feature Penn State Alumnae Discussing Success and Challenges

Penn State’s College of Liberal Arts will host its fifth annual Penn State Women: Leaders of Today and Tomorrow panel at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium.

Six Penn State alumnae are scheduled to participate in the panel presentation and following Q&A session. A networking reception will round out the night.

The event’s theme focuses on empowering young women to aspire to leadership roles. Speakers will discuss successes in their respective fields, as well as the challenges they faced along the way.

The panel discussion is open to all community members

Students who sign up early will have the opportunity to meet with an alumna one-on-one the following morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the Bank of America Career Services Center. During these meetings, students will be able to share their career goals and receive interview and resume tips from the women.

The following alumnae will be participating in this year’s event:

• Liz Bower (history, class of ’97) — Bower is a partner in the Litigation Department and co-chair of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice Group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Washington, D.C.
• Frances Burden (crime, law, and justice, class of ’09) — Burden is principal and co-founder of Ad Hoc Analytics in Washington, D.C.
• Patricia Butler (general arts and sciences, class of ’83) — Butler is CEO and co-founder of ArtistWorks in Napa, California.
• Sandy Hillman (arts and letters, class of ’63) — Hillman is president of her own communications firm, Sandy Hillman Communications, in Baltimore, Maryland. She will be hosting this year’s panel presentation.
• KerriLaine Prunella (international politics, class of ’01) — Prunella is a specialist leader in Deloitte’s Human Capital Practice in Washington, D.C.
• Cindy Southworth (health and human development, class of ’93) — Southworth is executive vice president and interim CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence in Washington, D.C.