To-Do List: Women Leadership Panel Next Week

(Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock)

What does it take for a woman to become the leader of a big Philly organization like the Mann Center for the Performing Arts or the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau? What secrets do Philadelphia’s successful women have for climbing the corporate ladder?

Four successful local businesswomen will share their stories at a January 21 breakfast event at the Union League of Philadelphia. Called “Driving Your Business: Women at the Wheel,” the event is hosted by accounting firm Citrin Cooperman and features four speakers:

• Catherine M. Cahill, President and CEO at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts
• JoAnne Epps, Dean of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law
• Julie Coker Graham, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Suzanne S. Mayes, Chair, Public & Project Finance Practice Group at the law firm Cozen O’Connor.

You can RSVP here.

“We wanted to provide a venue for women to discuss their careers and the skills and approach they used in achieving their success,” said Colleen Vallen, a partner at Citrin Cooperman and one of the moderators of the panel. “They’re all leaders in their field and have achieved success in their given fields.”

Cahill’s experience comes in the art world. Before becoming CEO of the Mann, she was the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. She’s also a visiting professor in Orchestral Studies at the Manhattan School of Music.

Epps and Mayes made their careers in law. Epps has taught at Temple’s Beasley School of Law for more than 30 years and has been the dean there since 2008. At law firm Cozen O’Connor, Mayes negotiates financing for municipal, nonprofit or private projects.

Graham worked with Hyatt hotels for 21 years and served as general manager at Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing before joining the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. On January 1, she became the organization’s president and CEO. She has also been named the chair of Mayor Jim Kenney’s transition team for preparation for the upcoming Democratic National Convention that will be hosted in Philadelphia.

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