Join the WashU community for a virtual conversation with female founders and leaders in organizations that serve women, co-hosted by the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the WashU Alumni Association. These alumnae and their companies are changing the way we live and work for the better. Event moderator Mitzi Krockover, AB ’81, is a physician, leader in women’s health, and health care consultant. She is joined by three fantastic alumni panelists, Dwana Franklin-Davis, MS ’09, CEO of Reboot Representation; Chele Marmet, BS ’68, conceptualized and pioneered the profession of lactation consulting; and Holly Rockweiler, BS ’07, MS ’07, CEO and co-founder of Madorra.
About Our Moderator
Mitzi Krockover, MD, is a partner at SSB Solutions, a health care management consulting firm. She is also a managing director of Golden Seeds, an angel investment organization dedicated to funding early-stage companies led by women. Most recently, Krockover founded Woman Centered, LLC, and launched the “Beyond the Paper Gown” podcast, both of which aim to inform, inspire, and engage women so that they can achieve optimal health. She serves on the boards of the Institute for Mental Health Research and the Black Women’s Health Imperative. At WashU, Krockover is a member of the Institute for Public Health National Council and the Phoenix Regional Cabinet.
About Our Panelists
Dwana Franklin-Davis, MS ’09, CEO of Reboot Representation
Dwana Franklin-Davis is the CEO of the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition. She leads the coalition’s pooled philanthropic investments, which enable Black, Latina, and Native American women to earn computing degrees and lessens the diversity gap in tech. A lifelong technologist with a passion for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tech sector, Franklin-Davis joined Reboot Representation in 2019 after working in IT, software engineering, and leadership positions for Mastercard, May Department Store Companies, and IBM. Based in New York City, she holds a bachelor’s in management from Purdue University and a master’s in information management from WashU.
In 1977, Chele Marmet conceptualized a new allied health professional, the lactation consultant, and the field of lactation consulting. In 1979, Chele and cofounder opened the Lactation Institute and Breastfeeding Clinic in Los Angeles, CA, designed to be the role model for the profession she envisioned. Chele served as president of the Lactation Institute and clinic director through all the years. It was through the Lactation Institute, starting in 1979, that they began educating people as lactation consultants, and in 1985 began offering both bachelors and masters degrees via the Lactation Institute. Marmet has received numerous awards and sat on numerous boards. Today, there are currently more than 33,000 International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) in over 125 countries. Chele received her MA from Pacific Oaks College in 1987.
Holly Rockweiler is co-founder and CEO of Madorra, a women's health company dedicated to changing the treatment paradigm for vaginal dryness. She co-founded Madorra as a spin-out of the Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellowship. Prior to completing the fellowship program, she worked as a senior research scientist at Boston Scientific, where she developed therapies to enable more efficient care for patients living with heart failure. Her work has led to 16 pending and issued patents. Rockweiler earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from WashU.
About the Skandalaris Center
The Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship is the home of WashU Entrepreneurship. Serving startups at all stages, they have the opportunities and resources to support entrepreneurs from idea to launch and beyond. We encourage individuals, startups, ventures, and teams to connect with us for help along their entrepreneurial journey.”
Complimentary, registration is required.
NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email after completing registration. If you do not receive one, please email alumninetworks@wustl.edu.
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