Forum to spotlight female business leaders

For the first time, women who are members of the board of advisors for the University of Louisville College of Business will come together at the college to discuss topics surrounding female business leadership.

The Women in Leadership Forum will feature the seven women answering questions as part of a panel discussion April 17 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the PNC Horn Auditorium in the College of Business. The event is free and open to the public.

Allison Moen, president of the UofL student chapter of the National Association of Women MBAs, helped organize the event after she attended the national association’s conference last fall.

“I left the conference inspired, motivated and wanting more,” she said. “Upon my return to Louisville, I began to think of how we could replicate the experience to share it with the entire student body.”

Allison said the Louisville business leaders were enthusiastic about the discussion from the very beginning.

“Their response was tremendously moving and reflective of their commitment to their community and to the University of Louisville College of Business. They were supportive and committed to the event from our first correspondence with them. As the responses came in, that is when I fully recognized that we were onto something extraordinary and important,” she said.

The 49-member board of advisors, many of whom are alumni, includes business leaders, entrepreneurs, visionaries, philanthropists and community activists who generously give their time and talent to support the college’s plans, programs and mission.

The forum participants are:

• Dana Bowers, founder, Venminder and iPay Technologies
• Divya Cantor, MD, regional vice president, senior clinical officer, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky
• Margaret Handmaker, retired director of Louisville’s Innovation Delivery Team, Louisville Metro Government
• Nikki Jackson, regional executive and senior vice president, Louisville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• Diane Medley, managing partner and co-founder, MCM LLP, and chair of the UofL Foundation
• Camilla Schroeder, president, Advance Ready Mix Concrete
• Debbie Scoppechio, chairman and CEO, Scoppechio

The women will discuss subjects such as their best and worst decisions, barriers to female leadership and challenges for the next generation.

College of Business associate professors Beth Davis-Sramek (marketing) and Kristen Lucas (management) will moderate the discussion.