NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Women In Bio (WIB), an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship of women in the life sciences, today announced that it is accepting applications for its 2017 Boardroom Ready Program to WIB members. To apply, candidates must submit the Boardroom Ready Application, a current biography, and CV to: boardroomready@womeninbio.org. Applications must be received by March 15, 2017.
“In 2016, the Boardroom Ready program was incredibly powerful,” said Dawn Hocevar, Women In Bio’s National President. “Women In Bio is absolutely thrilled to be offering another certification training course in 2017 to further enrich gender representation at the board level.”
In May 2016, WIB launched its inaugural executive-level board certification training program designed to prepare women in the Life Sciences to become members of Boards of Directors. Boardroom Ready is exposing women to the duties, responsibilities and commitments of serving on both public and private boards. As part of the program value proposition, graduates also have access to multiple events and a network designed to facilitate board appointments. From the first graduating class in October 2016, there have already been four board placements, including:
- Cynthia Smith to Nivalis Therapeutics’ board of directors;
- Faith Charles to Agilvax Inc.’s board of directors;
- Terri Matkovits to BioSurplus’ board of directors; and
- Marianne De Backer to EcoHealth Alliance’s board of directors.
Women In Bio, along with LifeSci Advisors, a founding and ongoing partner of the program, Biogen, Acorda, MassBio and other supporters are actively engaging their networks to find companies looking for exceptionally qualified biotech executives to serve on their board.
Hocevar adds, “With only 10% of women in board roles, the life sciences gap is one of the widest of any industry. It is clear that we need a robust and diverse leadership pipeline in order to sustain growth and success well into the future.”
"LifeSci Advisors is proud to continue our support of Women In Bio's Boardroom Ready after a very successful inaugural program last year,” said Michael Rice, Founding Partner of LifeSci Advisors. “We look forward to helping current and future graduates take the next step in their careers by helping them find placements on life sciences boards, and believe WIB’s work is integral to improving gender diversity in our industry as a whole."
The 2017 course will again be held at George Washington University and the curriculum will cover topics including financial literacy and strategy, corporate governance, investor relations, and crisis management. Throughout the program and following completion, WIB and its sponsors will host events around the country to facilitate the matching of program graduates, who are accomplished executives and advisors in the life sciences industry, to companies seeking new board members.
For more information about the program and instructions for applying, please visit http://www.womeninbio.org/executives/board-ready.
Women In Bio (www.womeninbio.org) is an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship of women in the life sciences. Each local chapter hosts numerous events throughout the year, that vary from networking events to career development, to professional education, to executive level-focused events. In addition to events, WIB hosts a mentorship program which offers women the chance to mentor or be mentored, a Young Women In Bio program, which offers events and encouragement to middle-school aged girls, webinars, and the support of a large national organization with 13 chapters and growing. As a volunteer organization, WIB offers leadership opportunities at every stage of your career, and a chance to expand your network in a supportive and professional environment.
LifeSci Advisors, LLC (www.lifesciadvisors.com) is a unique investor relations consultancy founded to provide companies in the life sciences a comprehensive solution to investor communications and outreach. With local presence in New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Geneva and Tel-Aviv, the firm provides the highest quality service for its clients through its deep sector specialization. Our roster of Ph.D.s enables us to better understand our clients' R&D, regulatory, and commercial strategy, and our team of financial services, investor relations, and public relations specialists help our clients effectively communicate their strategies to the marketplace. This combination of life sciences, financial services, and investor relations expertise allows us to provide a valuable and unique service offering to our clients.