The Women@SLS Conference recently took place on June 24, exploring the growth and changes that the industry has seen over the past year while still acknowledging the opportunities for improvement. Though virtual, this event was able to once again bring together an esteemed group of presenters and speakers to discuss the biggest challenges that women and minorities are continuing to face in the industry today.
Southeast Life Sciences shared some of the conference highlights on their blog, including the opening keynote from Deanne Kasim, Executive Director of Health Policy for Change Healthcare, that mentioned the key differences between “mentorship” and “championship” and how to bridge this gap. This year’s event also featured panel discussions on hot topics such as what early-stage companies should know as they begin sourcing their first customers and how to expand the representation of women in the boardroom.
For women looking to join an industry board, Southeast Life Sciences included some of the speakers’ advice on their website:
“Tara Kochis-Stach, Slone Partners President, shared that networking is critical to find these kinds of [board] opportunities. Being bold about what you want to do and reaching out to the people that can help you get there will create opportunities for yourself. However, making sure you’re joining the right board for you is just as crucial.
“Don’t pick whatever board offers you a position just because you want to be on a board,” stated Valerie Darling, CEO & Chief Business Officer of Life Science Management Consultants. “It needs to match with your lifestyle and current job in terms of time commitment.””
The virtual conference ended in a closing keynote from Regina Hampton, MD, FACS, Medical Director of Breast Center at Doctors Community Hospital, and Nikki Jensen, Vice President at Essentially Women, on the evolution of care and opportunities for improvement in breast cancer.
You can read all of the highlights from the Women@SLS Conference on the Southeast Life Sciences website, or get the full experience by heading over to the SE Life Sciences’ YouTube channel to watch the presentation recordings.