Companies and organizations that have diverse Boards perform better and women contribute to that successful paradigm. Join us for the first in a series of events encouraging more women on Boards. Learn why women make a difference on Boards, how you can bring value to a Board, what to expect and how to leverage your expertise, experience and networks to choose a Board that’s right for you

Moderator: Joyce Averna, Vice President, J.P. Morgan Private Bank- Joyce’s financial and wealth management career spans over 25 years, including work in New York and Los Angeles.  She leads J.P. Morgan’s Endowment & Foundation practice in Orange County, assisting non-profits and high net worth families in fulfilling their mission. Together with her team, they advise on all areas of investing, education, board governance, and thought leadership.  Joyce has served on a number of non-profits boards, and currently sits on the board of WISE, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the financial education of women and girls.

Speakers:

• Susan Parks, President & CEO, United Way, Orange County- As President and CEO of Orange County United Way, Susan B. Parks leads the nonprofit organization toward improving lives and strengthening the Orange County community. She embraces the United Way mission to fight for the education, health, housing and financial stability of every person in Orange County. She is a leading community advocate for change, igniting passion for philanthropy and inspiring social responsibility.
• Katie Syzman, Corporate Vice President, Critical Care, Edwards Lifesciences- Katie Szyman has been corporate vice president at Edwards Lifesciences since 2015 and is currently responsible for the company’s global critical care and vascular business. Katie co-leads the Edwards Network of Women an employee resource group with over 2,000 members. Prior to joining Edwards, Szyman held a variety of roles with increasing levels of responsibility for more than 20 years at Medtronic. She served as president of Medtronic’s global diabetes business for five years, overseeing research, development, operations, and sales and marketing. She also served as senior vice president of corporate strategy and business development, VP and general manager of endovascular, and VP of finance for the vascular business. Szyman currently serves on the board of Inari Medical and Endotronix. She previously served on the boards of Tornier, Inspire Medical Systems and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI). She graduated from the University of St. Thomas and earned her master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
• Brett Wall, Executive Vice President & President Neuroscience Portfolio, Medtronic- Brett Wall, President, Neurovascular, is responsible for the development, manufacturing and global marketing of the full range of Neurovascular products including liquid embolics, embolization coils, flow diversion, thrombectomy catheters and occlusion balloons. Under Brett’s direction, Covidien’s Neurovascular business has achieved nearly $450M in net sales and market leadership in the United States (U.S.). Brett has nearly 25 years of medical device experience. As an officer of ev3, Inc., a publically traded company that was acquired by Covidien in 2010, he served as Vice President, International, for both the Peripheral Vascular and Neurovascular divisions. Brett joined ev3 as part of the MicroTherapeutics acquisition in 2005. He’s held various global positions, including his roles as Senior Director of MicroTherapeutics and Director of Cardiovascular Marketing, Asia Pacific for Boston Scientific. Brett has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

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