Women’s Leadership ConferenCe 2015

Keynote Address9:30 Am - 10:45 Am

morning WorKshop11:00 Am - 12:00 pm

Lunch12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

pAneL12:45 pm - 2:00 pm

Afternoon WorKshop2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

stretch BreAK!3:30 pm - 3:45 pm

netWorKing3:45 pm - 4:15 pm

reception4:15 pm

Tamara JacobsSpecial Events Forum

Building Your Financial IndependenceGina LiebhauserSpecial Events Forum

Lobby, Room 113

Communication That Makes a DifferenceColleen Connolly, Jane Kenny, Seema Kumar, Monique King-Viehland, Rebecca Perkins, Mildred S. ScottModerator: Sai BalakrishnanSpecial Events Forum

Women’s Rights in the WorkplacePatricia Lawrence Kolaras, Esq.Special Events Forum

Hillary BardwellRoom 113

Career Roundtable with SpeakersRoom 112 and 113

Christopher’sThe Heldrich Hotel New Brunswick, 10 Livingston Ave

febraury 27, 201533 Livingston ave.

step up and stand out!

Thank you for joining us for our 4th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference! We are excited to kick off Women’s History Month, starting in two days, with this year’s conference here at the Bloustein School. We welcome you all and hope you will enjoy the day ahead. Please browse the following pages to learn about the incredible women who have donated their time to support the conference and its mission. To see our speakers full bios make sure to go to our Facebook page: Facebook.com/RutgersWLC

mission statement

As current graduate students who will enter or reenter the work force, we seek to highlight our strengths and acquire new strategies that will propel us forward in our future endeavors. In addition, the objective of the Organizing Committee is to equip attendees with leadership skills as well as the ability to find balance in the various roles we will all play in society.

Keynote address, Tamara Jacobs Entrepreneur / Communications Strategist

tAmArA JAcoBs is the founder and president of Tamara Jacobs Communications, Inc., an internationally renowned strategic communications firm. An acknowledged expert in the field of high impact communications, Ms. Jacobs helps her clients “C ” their future and realize their potential through Coaching for performance, Conducting high impact workshops, Consulting on issues management, corporate reputation, product positioning and media pull-through, Coordinating agencies, internal/external stakeholders, and Creating memorable and targeted messaging. Tamara incorporates her unique background as an equity actress, network news professional, award winning journalist and successful senior executive with Johnson & Johnson into a transformational relationship with her clients. Her approach is de-

signed to shift the focus from “me to we” leadership, promote “rapport with a purpose,” and ultimately take her business partners from informing to inspiring and aligning.

With over 3,000 keynotes and workshops to her credit, Tamara’s theories on personal branding have been captured in her popular guide to executive presence, Be The Brand, her highly rated CD ROM, Effective Pre-sentation, The Power Of Organized Conversation, and her rule book for inclusive meetings, Enlist To Lead. Tamara’s articles on personal impact have been featured in the New York Times and such popular magazines as Fortune, Family Circle, Victoria Magazine, Woman’s Day and Woman’s World. She has also been a repeat guest on World News Tonight, MSNBC, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fox News and is a featured contributor to the Huffington Post. Her new book, Your Ultimate Success Plan, published by Career Press, is due out Spring, 2015.

Tamara’s successful partnerships have molded countless careers and promoted her high profile clients into senior leadership positions at marquee companies across industries and diverse sectors from pharmaceuti-cal to financial to retail powerhouses. A sampling includes: Bayer, BlackRock, BMS, Chase, Coty, Johnson & Johnson, Latham and Watkins, Liz Clairborne, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Revlon, and Roche.

WorKshop sessions

BuiLding your finAnciAL independence, 11:00 pm - 12:00 pm

ginA LieBhAuser

Equity equals independence. In a man’s world don’t manage your finances in the typical “woman’s way.” Statistics show that 45% of women grade their financial literacy a ‘C’ or below, while men assess their level as a ‘B’ or higher. Learn the fundamentals of funding your future. Join acknowledged expert, Gina Liebhauser, founding partner of Piemonte & Liebhauser, LLC and take the first steps towards

ginA LieBhAuser is a founding partner of Piemonte & Liebhauser, LLC (P&L). She founded the company with Richard Piemonte in 2004. Gina is a visionary business leader whose skill, attention to detail, follow-through and management abilities have helped make P&L one of the most accomplished and effective accounting & business management firms in the New York metropolitan area.

Prior to founding P&L, Gina was a Senior Account Manager with Provident Financial Management, a division of American Express Tax and Business Services, one of the largest providers of business management services in the country. Gina is responsible for Piemonte and Liebhauser’s full service tax dept. Gina and her team, have expertise in negotiating with the IRS, handling IRS audits, responding to various state government inquiries as well as managing the CWA process for foreign entertainers who perform in the U.S. Gina’s goal

Women’s rights in the WorKpLAce, 2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

pAtriciA LAWrence KoLArAs, esq.

Often times, as we decide to engage in an employment relationship, we do not think about the rights we have to the material or ideas that we come up with. We do understand that our employers expect us to benefit them somehow - we do understand that our employers likely look to us to be brilliant and to be creative in our thinking - and if we think carefully, we understand that our efforts are solely for our employer’s economic gain. However, what we may not realize is that our ideas are derived from our own intellect, and what we create can be intellectual property belonging exclusively to us. Although our employers pay us a salary, in the absence of granting permission, our employers do not have an automatic right to use or own what we create for their sole benefit. Join in to find out if your work-product gives rise to protectable property and what steps you can take to maintain control.

pAtriciA LAWrence KoLArAs is the President and Founder of The PLK Law Group, P.C. and Professor at Seton Hall University School of Law teaching Intellectual Property.

The PLK Law Group, established 2005, is A Different Kind of Intellectual Property Firm, specializing in corporate branding, legal protection and creative solutions, providing a one-stop-shop to enhance brand readiness. Kolaras focuses on intellectual property, including trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, trade secrets, trademark dilution and domain name disputes.

In addition, Kolaras is an expert on other aspects of business law, particularly in the areas of entertainment and sports law, business and corporate law as well as contract law including drafting, negotiating and otherwise transacting and enforcing

contracts. Kolaras honed these skills over 10 years while working for a major record label, Sony BMG Enter-tainment Corporate, Business & Legal Affairs.

Kolaras is the recipient of several leadership awards, has authored published articles, and is an advocate for understanding the inherent connection between IP and branding. Kolaras has appeared on several television and radio programs including MSNBS’s Your Business, NBC’s “The Today Show”, “Miami’s Own Your Power” radio show and others. She has delievered keynotes and participated as panelist of various executive women organizations such as Women’s Executive Network (WEXNET) and the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO), and is also a member of New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT).

is to make sure clients are in compliance, while maximizing their tax benefits. In the International arena Gina and the P&L team are well versed in foreign tax credits, tax treaties, and US Residency Certifications.

Gina is a dynamic advocate for proactive tax planning and projecting, helping clients prepare for the unavoidable while insuring their maximum tax benefit. Gina is believes in ‘smart’ planning for retirement and helps clients understand that saving money for the “golden years” translates into a long-term tax and life benefit.

Gina graduated from Sacred Heart University in 1995 with a BS in Accounting. In 2010 and 2011, Gina received an All-star award from the American Cancer Society for her fundraising efforts. Gina is a member of the St. Rose of Lima Parish Council, is Treasurer of the East Hanover, PTA, and serves on the Religious Education Leadership team at St. Rose of Lima Church.

paneL disCussion, 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm

communicAtion thAt mAKes A differencemoderAtor: sAi BALAKrishnAn

This year’s panel focuses on facilitating effective communication in the workplace. Our panel of professionals will discuss what it takes to successfully navigate workplace difficulties by describing moments when they had to advocate for themselves.

coLLeen connoLLy, P.E., P.T.O.E is an associate of Malick & Scherer, P.C. Ms. Connolly oversees the firm’s Traffic and Roadway Engineering Group and manages multiple transportation related design projects throughout New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. She has over 20 years of diverse experience in traffic engineering, roadway engineering, and project management. Ms. Connolly started her career at Greenman-Pedersen Inc. as an engineer in their Traffic/Roadway Department. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, and is also a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer. She is an active member of WTS - Advancing Women in Transportation, currently serving on the NJ Programs Committee. She has served on the board of directors for the East Penn Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers for the past 4 years and is currently the section’s President.

JAne Kenny is a founder and the Managing Partner for The Whitman Strategy Group, LLC, an all women firm specializing in environmental and energy issues. She serves on the Board of Directors for New Jersey Resources, and two NJ based not-for-profit organizations: NJ Future and The Sustainable State Institute. Jane’s experience includes high-level management positions in the private sector and in several complex and diverse government agencies. As Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), she oversaw the federal agency’s work in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Prior to leading Region 2 EPA, Jane was a member of Gov-ernor Christie Whitman’s cabinet as her first Chief of Policy and Planning and then as the Commissioner for the Department of Community Affairs. She served in the private sector as Vice President for Corporate and Community Affairs for an international financial services company, and worked in Governor Tom Kean’s ad-ministration as his Cabinet Secretary.

monique King-ViehLAnd is Director of Housing & Economic Development with the City of Trenton. She has more than fifteen years of experience in community, economic and housing development. In 2012, she was recognized as #44 in the NJBIZ “Power 50” in Real Estate. She has a Master’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor Degree from Smith College. She currently resides in the City of Trenton with her husband, Brian, her son, Sekou and her daughter, Zora.

seemA KumAr is Vice President of Innovation, Global Health and Policy Communication at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), with a portfolio of responsibilities to create engagement platforms for Johnson & Johnson globally, aimed at building trust, collaboration and advocacy for Johnson & Johnson in the areas of innovation and R&D, medical safety and ethics, policy, and global health. She also serves on the the J&J R&D Mgmt Committee and the J&J Innovation Center Leadership council. Prior to joining J&J, Seema was Chief Communications Officer at the MIT Center for Genome Research. She played a leadership role in enhancing worldwide public awareness and understanding of the Human Genome Project, the effort to map and sequence the blueprint for a human being. She was with the team at the White House when the Human Genome sequence was first announced. She also worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and at Johns Hopkins.

reBeccA perKins is President and CEO of The Perkins Partnership, a public policy consulting firm that focuses on advocacy, stakeholder engagement, strategic communications and nonprofit organizations, with special expertise in healthcare and life sciences. Under her leadership, the firm has undertaken national public health education campaigns, formed and led statewide coalitions, and created and implemented communications strategies. Prior to establishing the firm, Ms. Perkins served as Senior Vice President at the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, where she led communications, legislative, and philanthropic initiatives focused on healthcare. She also served as Special Assistant to the President of the University of Medicine & Dentistry for External Affairs, where she promoted private/academic research relationships and represented the University to the life sciences community. Ms. Perkins served in the administration of New Jersey Governor James McGreevey as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Prosperity New Jersey, where she led policy and mission initiatives.

miLdred s. scott is the Sheriff of Middlesex County. She is the first female Sheriff for the county of Middlesex and the first African American Sheriff in the state of New Jersey. In 1968, she started off as one of the first females to graduate from the county Police Academy to then be sworn in as Sheriff’s Officer, working her way up through the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant and Chief Warrant Officer until she was made Chief Sheriff Officer in 1991, the first female to serve as the highest law enforcement officer in Middlesex County. Mildred was elected as Piscataway’s Councilwoman At-Large in 1996 serving through 2008. Prior to her election, she was a member of the Piscat-away Planning Board and a member of the Piscataway Zoning Board. Mildred ran for and was elected as Middlesex County Freeholder for 2008 through 2010. Under Sheriff Scott, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office underwent its first accreditation process, receiving the prestigious New Jersey Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Accreditation.

moderAtor sAi BALAKrishnAn teaches graduate courses at the Edward J. Bloustein School of City Planning and Public Policy. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University. Her research interests focus on property rights and land markets, urban informality, theories of justice, and institutions for managing rapid urbanization in India. She was most recently a postdoctoral research scholar at the Center on Global Legal Transformation, Columbia Law School.

Brianna KeysMPP 2016

M. McKinley MertzMCRP 2015

Kaitlin NortheyGSE, PhD Candidate

Yi LuMPP 2015

Ruchi ShrivastavaMCRP 2015

Becky KellemanMPP 2015

fLoor pLan

The committee would like to offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to Hillary Bardwell, the Assistant Director of Career Services and Alumni Relations at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Without her help and guidance this conference would not be the amazing event we are able to present to you today.

Special thanks to Amy Cobb and Karyn Olsen for their continued support throughout the planning proccess.

We would also like to thank Elijah’s Promise for working with us and catering the conference.

2015 Committee

Thanks to our supporters:

First Floor Plan

ENTRANCE

EVENT FORUMROOM 113

ROOM 112RESTROOMS

LOBBY

REGISTRATION