Women of the Future: Awards and Panel Discussion
#WESTawards

Our exposure to great role models and sponsors can substantially influence how our careers grow and develop. Please join us for an evening to honor three inspirational established women leaders who have made their mark, and to recognize and celebrate outstanding women from the next generation. Be inspired, network, and support the career advancement of women in science and technology!

Awardees

Anne Heatherington – Vice President, Head of Quantitative Clinical Sciences at Pfizer 

Amy Schulman – CEO of Lyndra, Inc and Arsia Therapeutics

Anita Santos – Vice President at Tyco Securities

Up and Coming Awardees 

_{Kristy Dunchak, Director of Product Management at Tyco Security Products}

_{Ellie McGuire, Head of Business Development at Lyndra Inc}

_{Cynthia J. (CJ) Musante, Associate Research Fellow, Head of CVMET Systems Modelling Group of Pfizer Ltd}

Deborah Palestrant, PhD, Senior Director, Business Development and Strategy at Editas Medicine

Learn more about the awardees below. 

Download the event invitation here

June 16, 2016
6:00 - 9:00 PM

Evening’s Schedule

6:00-6:45  Registration, Networking, Appetizers, Wine
6:45-7:00  Welcome, Acknowledgement of Sponsors, Overview of the Evening
7:00-7:30  Award Presentation    
7:30-8:15  Panel Discussion
8:15-8:45  Networking

Location:
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Cost:
$55 for Members, $75 for non-members

Member package - $140 for admission and an annual membership

We have ticket packages available: 

$700 for 10 tickets and one sponsorship table tent
$1,000 for 15 tickets and two sponsorship table tents
$1,300 for 20 tickets and three sponsorship table tents

Cancellation Policy:
All programs are non-refundable.

To Register

Registration for this event closed 6/15/2016 as we reached the maximum amount of registrations allowed by our venue.

Become a sponsor and contribute to a great cause.  For more information, email [email protected], or call 617-682-3703.   

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors

Diamond Level Sponsor

Silver Level Sponsor

Bronze Level Sponsor

Friend Level Sponsor

Kristy Dunchak

Kristy Dunchak, Director of Product Management at Tyco Security Products, has over 15 years of experience creating and driving marketing strategies and product development. She currently manages Integration Solutions and Programs for Tyco Security Products which includes Proximex Surveillint PSIM solution, victor video management system, The Connected Partner Program and The Cyber Protection Program. Employing her marketing and product development expertise, she has introduced and managed more than 20 global products into the market for Tyco Security Products, Tyco Fire Protection Products and General Electric. Prior to focusing her career in marketing, she was a Product Engineer for Delphi Corporation and Chrysler Corporation.

She earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Youngstown State University and a MBA from Stephen M. Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan.

Ellie McGuire

McGuire studied neuroscience prior to attending Tuck School of Management Business Bridge Program. McGuire has worked in business development, operations, and strategy in multiple companies founded by Dr. Robert Langer including Arsia Therapeutics, SQZ Biotech, and Lyndra Inc. She is currently Head of Business Development at Lyndra, Inc. 

Cynthia J. (“CJ”) Musante

Cynthia J. (“CJ”) Musante is an Associate Research Fellow and Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) Lab Head in Pfizer’s Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases (CVMET) Research Unit in Cambridge, MA. CJ received her BA in Mathematics from Westfield State College (1993) and her PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University (1998). She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship as part of a collaborative agreement between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2000).  Dr. Musante has over sixteen years of experience in mathematical modeling and simulation applied to drug discovery and development, previously with the biotechnology company, Entelos Inc., and currently with Pfizer. Her lab is responsible for providing systems modeling support for CVMET programs in diabetes, obesity, NAFLD/NASH, cardiovascular and cardio-renal diseases, from exploratory research through clinical development. She is a member of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics and the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP). She served as the first Chair of ISoP’s Special Interest Group on QSP (2014-2015) and continues to serve as a member of their leadership team. CJ also serves as Chair of the Pfizer Systems Modeling & Simulation Network and Co-Chair of the Pfizer QSP Committee.

Deborah Palestrant

Deborah Palestrant is currently Senior Director of Business Development and Strategy at Editas Medicine.  Prior to joining Editas, Deborah was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures, where she was involved in the formation and development of start-up companies including Blueprint Medicines and Editas.  Deborah also served as a member of their partner development team, where she helped build and maintain strong relationships with pharma and biotech industry partners.  Before joining Third Rock Ventures, Deborah was a structural biologist at the Novartis Insitutes for Biomedical Research focusing on drug discovery and structure-based drug design. Deborah was a  Damon-Runyon Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellow at the Scripps Resaerch Institute and earned her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University and her MBA from Northeastern University.  

Anita Santos

Anita Santos is currently serving as Vice President of Marketing, Tyco Security Products, a global billion dollar business unit, where she is in charge of all product management and marketing strategy for Video Security, Access Control, Location Based Security and Intrusion Security. She leads a global team of marketing professionals worldwide responsible for product pricing, new product development, business strategy, and marketing communications.

Prior to joining Tyco, she worked for ten years at Thermo Fisher Scientific where she held director-level positions in services, marketing, R&D and business development for several businesses. She previously worked for three years as marketing manager and senior marketing manager at Entegris Corporation. She began her career at Millipore Corporation, where for eight years she held a variety of product management and marketing roles of increasing responsibility.

In addition to her Vice President role, Anita is passionate about supporting startup organizations. She is an SEC accredited angel investor. She is an advisory member of Astia Angels and a Pipeline Fellow. 

Anita earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Merrimack College in Andover, MA, and a Masters in Business Administration from Suffolk University in Boston, MA.