DirectWomen Selects 20 Highly Experienced Women Lawyers for 2016 Board Institute

    NEW YORK, NY, February 11, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- NEW YORK --DirectWomen, an organization formed to position women lawyers to serve on boards of public companies, is pleased to announce the members of its 2016 DirectWomen Board Institute. The Board Institute will be held October 19-21, 2016 in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The 2016 DirectWomen class is comprised of General Counsel of Fortune 500 companies, partners at top law firms, and other senior executives and advisors. These women lawyers represent a wide range of business knowledge and experience in their industries, which include financial, media, energy, pharmaceuticals, materials, and technology.

Nearly 150 women have participated in the Board Institute over the past eight years. We are very proud of the fact that 22% of the program's alumnae now serve as directors of major public companies, including: Visa, Inc.; Dollarama Inc., Valero Energy Corp., Compuware Corporation, AK Steel, Fluor Corporation, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.; Biogen Idec, Boyd Gaming Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Company, Unilife Corporation, and others.

Board Institute participants are identified through a rigorous national search and selection process that involves a written application, reference letters, and a committee selection panel. At the Board Institute, 2016 class members will hear from and have the opportunity to interact with an extraordinary faculty of leading CEOs, directors of large public companies, and top representatives of executive search firms. The Institute is co-chaired by Professor Hillary A. Sale, Walter D. Coles Professor of Law and Professor of Management at Washington University in St. Louis, and Professor Lisa M. Fairfax, Leroy Sorenson Merrifield Research Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School.

"The DirectWomen Board Institute provides a great opportunity for women attorneys to focus their analytical and problem-solving skills on positioning themselves for service as Directors. The 2016 Class continues to make the case that women attorneys possess the judgment and business expertise needed for effective board service," said Mary Ann Jorgenson, Selection Committee Chair and Past Chair of DirectWomen.

Members of the 2016 DirectWomen Board Institute include:
Marcia Backus
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Occidental Petroleum Corporation Houston, Texas
Jana Cohen Barbe
Global Vice Chair, Dentons Chicago, Illinois
Roya Behnia
Retired Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Pall Corporation New York, New York
Laurel G. Bellows
Founding Principal, The Bellows Law Group, P.C. Past President, American Bar Association Chicago, Illinois
Maureen Brundage
Former Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Ethics Officer, The Chubb Corporation
Warren, New Jersey
Tracey Edwards
Retired Principal, Deloitte LLP Cupertino, California
Suzanne Rich Folsom
General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Senior Vice President - Government Affairs, United States Steel
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cynthia Gibson
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Business & Legal Affairs, Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Ashley C. Gould
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Governance, Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. Novato, California
Anirma Gupta
General Counsel, Tanium Inc. Emeryville, California
Karen King
Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer, Silver Lake Menlo Park, California
Susan Lindberg
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Eni US Operating Co. Inc. Houston, Texas
Lorraine McGowen
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Resident in New York, New York
Janet L. Miller
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, University Hospitals Health System, Inc. Cleveland, Ohio
Aleksandra (Aleks) Miziolek
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. Novi, Michigan
Carla Newell
Advisor to Emerging Companies and Funds Piedmont, California
Sloane Perras
Chief Legal Officer, The Krystal Company & On The Border, Mexican Grill & Cantina Atlanta, Georgia
Catherine Sazdanoff
Director and Member of Audit Committee, Meridian Bioscience, Inc. CEO and President, Sazdanoff Consulting
Chicago, Illinois
Marguerite Woung-Chapman
General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Senior Vice President of Land Administration/CAD, EP Energy Corporation
Houston, Texas
Mallun Yen
EVP, Corporate Development, Products, Business & Regulatory, RPX Corporation San Francisco, California

About DirectWomen
The mission of DirectWomen is to increase the representation of women lawyers on public company boards. DirectWomen identifies, develops, and supports a growing group of accomplished women attorneys who provide the experience, independence and diversity required for good corporate governance. Partners of the program include Catalyst, the leading nonprofit membership organization expanding opportunities for women and business, and the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession.
http://www.DirectWomen.org

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