Breakout Sessions | HBA

Breakout Sessions

The 2022 HBA Annual Conference offers 12 breakout sessions for you to ask thought-provoking questions, explore complex issues, and dare to become more self-aware. Activate your personal strategy for advancement in collaborative, topic-focused working sessions.

All sessions will also be available to view on-demand for 30 days post-conference via the conference App.

This year's breakout sessions will be focused on three areas:

Inspired Leadership

Focusing on the skills, knowledge, and actions needed to lead in the new era

Bold Practices

Featuring big actions making a lasting effect

Impact

Discovering how and where to leave your mark

Inspired Leadership Breakout Sessions


"I want to inspire women to support your team, company, and business especially when the going gets tough.
When things get hard, dig deep, lead with heart, and elevate your team.
Be a role model for staying calm, working harder, and getting the best out of everyone around you.”
Beth Seidenberg, 2022 HBA Woman of the Year

Entrepreneurial Leadership
Recent experiences and today’s realities create numerous challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders who operate within the business of healthcare. This session will feature executives of companies within the industry who have had success with start-up companies, serial companies, and other entrepreneurial pursuits. They will reflect on the highs and lows of their career journeys, take a deep dive into the circumstances and actions that have propelled them in their businesses, and provide insights into the skills and capabilities necessary for new era leadership that is relevant for entrepreneurs and leaders, in general.

  • Moderator: Amy Flynn, Founder and CEO, CatMa Consulting
  • Panelists:
    • Deepa Dahal, Partner, DKI Health, and HBA Pacific Regional President, Marketing and Communications
    • Rahul Dhanda, CEO, Stealth Biotech
    • Squire Servance, Founder and Managing Partner, Syridex Bio

Expanding Leadership Capabilities within the Healthcare Ecosystem
In alignment with the vision of the HBA which includes the goal of advancing women into positions of influence and decision-making to improve health equity outcomes, this session will feature champions of health equity initiatives who will challenge attendees to expand their awareness and understanding of the skills and capabilities involved in developing initiatives that target the root causes of inequitable healthcare outcomes. They will discuss the significance of inclusive leadership where it matters most, global- and cross-cultural collaborations across many different industries associated with health equity, and systems and processes that eliminate blind spots to ensure inclusion and accountability.

  • Moderator: Margaret Anne Ingram, Director of Marketing, Analytical Wizards
  • Panelists:
    • Greg Lewis, Managing Partner/President, Calcium
    • Priya Mammen, Senior Medical Director, Office of Clinical Integrity, Walgreens
    • Mary Stutts, Chief Global Health Equity and Inclusion Officer, Real Chemistry

How Millennials Are Driving Change in Approaches to Leadership
Millennials are often labeled with negative stereotypes such as entitlement, laziness, etc. Yet, as Millennials advance to leadership positions, they are incorporating their motivational drivers and lived experiences into the ways in which they lead like never before. A panel of Millennial leaders will engage in candid discussions about their career journeys including how they navigated the labels that showed up as roadblocks along the way. They will also share their experiences of leading up, down, and sideways, their approaches to innovation and communication, and their insights on the skills and capabilities needed to lead in a multi-generational workplace.

  • Moderator: Haley Boardman, Sr. Analyst, Commercial Development, West Pharmaceutical Services
  • Panelists:
    • Shelina Ramnarine, PhD, Director, Our Race to Health Equity Community Engagements, Johnson & Johnson
    • Katie Reuther, PhD, Executive Director and Practice Associate Professor in Bioengineering, Penn Health-Tech, University of Pennsylvania
    • Elizabeth Storti, Chief People Officer, PathAI

Human-Centered Response to the Great Resignation
Companies worldwide are still reeling from the aftermath of two years of disruption in the workplace that left in its wake a significant number of employees—especially women—who resigned from their positions for various reasons including necessity, a preference for more flexible work arrangements, prioritizing personal lives and interests, and/or a desire for more benefits to support care giving. In addition to taking time to conduct searches and attract new employees, executives are also taking time to explore how to ensure their leaders foster inclusion, belonging, and holistic well-being in the workplace. A panel of executives will share what they learned from the past two years, how their companies are putting their employees’ humanity at the center of their approaches to attract and retain talented employees, and the adjustments they have made in how they lead.

Bold Practices Breakout Sessions


“I have seen the way that our big…and not-so-big…actions can make a difference.
We need to come together if we are going to meaningfully address these more challenging issues ...”
Chris Boerner, 2022 HBA Honorable Mentor

HBCU and HSI Collaborations and Initiatives in the Business of Healthcare
Whether aiming to grow the talent pipeline of underrepresented groups in healthcare and the life sciences, to create opportunities for ensuring diversity in clinical research, or to increase opportunities for cross cultural professional development, many companies are developing partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). A panel of executives will discuss the collaborations and initiatives at their companies, how they are building mutually beneficial and trusting relationships with these institutions, and the impact of their efforts to date.  

  • Moderator: Brandy Alfred,Global Healthcare Innovation and Partnerships, Salesforce
  • Panelists:
    • Wendy Short Bartie, SVP and Chief of Staff to the CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb
    • Dr. Mary Foster, Morgan State University
    • Larrishia Stanley, Director, Early Talent and University Relations, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
    • Tanya Towns, Operations HR Senior Manager, DI&B, Amgen

Gender Parity Collaborative: Bold Leadership, Bold Practices
The Gender Parity Collaborative is an award-winning consortium of healthcare and life-sciences companies dedicated to accelerating gender parity and diversity. Together, Collaborative members commit to taking an active role in focusing on identifying systemic and environmental barriers to advancement for women and ultimately finding solutions and defining strategies for progress. Critical to this work is the commitment to accountability through the measurement and reporting of performance. The goal is to spur change internally and inspire other companies to work towards more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. This session will spotlight a panel of executives from member companies who are actively engaged in this new era of leadership as individual companies and are also amplifying the impact through collaborating with one another for systemic change.

  • Moderator: Nikki Jones, Chief People and DE&I Officer, HBA
  • Panelists:
    • Thalia Mingo, Bristol Myers Squibb
    • Nada Obeid, Executive Director - Head of Regional Market Access, Amgen
    • Gabriela Rojas, Global Strategic Capabilities, US Hospital Medtech, Johnson & Johnson
    • 1 More Panelist TBA

Lessons Learned: Innovative Practices in the Life Sciences
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” – Proverb
COVID hit, and the world literally shut down. Professionals in the life sciences industry had to figure out how to respond to this global crisis amidst all the challenges that emerged. They put innovative practices in place in an unprecedented time to deliver vaccines and treatments. They developed and distributed personal protective equipment to healthcare workers. They developed reliable testing and screening measures, and much more. Most importantly, they figured out processes for navigating similar challenges in the future. A panel of life sciences professionals will share how the lessons they learned over the past two years are shaping their practices moving forward as they continue to deal with long-haul COVID, monkey pox, and other viruses that may emerge in the future.  

  • Moderator: YuQian Liu, PharmD, Senior Director, Specialty Clinical Solutions, Magellan Rx Management
  • Panelists:
    • Rajvir Madan, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Arcutis Biotherapeutics
    • 2 Panelists TBA

Collaborations for Digital Innovation in Healthcare
In this session, panelists will share how their companies are engaged in bold collaborations for digital innovation within the healthcare ecosystem. In addition to sharing what these practices are, they will also provide insights into the significance of ensuring that these practices are not only innovative but also effectively integrated with traditional care at the right moment, reducing redundancy and confusion to patients, clinicians, and decision makers. They will also share insights on how effective collaborations involve drawing from different professional expertise within companies, in addition to external stakeholders, such as clinicians, healthcare organization managers, developers of digital solutions, experts in user experience, and policy makers, among others. 

  • Moderator: Amy Wedeking Shannon, Founder, CaliberOne Solutions, LLC
  • Panelists:
    • Rachel George, Global Lead, Health System Advisory and Innovation, Salesforce
    • Rashmi Gupta, Senior Director of Sales – Strategic Pharma and Life Sciences, Microsoft
    • Katy Wack, Clinical and Regulatory Strategist, Precision Medicine and Diagnostics Innovator, PathAI
    • Yue Wang Webster, Associate VP, Eli Lilly

Impact Breakout Sessions


“My experience is, if you work to make a difference, with passion and purpose, opportunities will come your way.
When I see an opportunity, either for volunteering or professionally, I think “does it align to my life purpose?
Will my skills be a fit? Can I make an impact?”
Wendy White, 2022 HBA STAR

Been There…Done That…What’s Next?: How to Find Meaning and Purpose in the Latter Stages of Your Career
Over the years, you have racked up experiences and accolades in your field. You have made strategic career moves that helped you advance in your career. You formed employee resource groups to advocate for women and underrepresented populations, served as mentor or sponsor to emerging leaders, and participated in volunteer activities. Within the HBA, you have volunteered at the chapter, regional, and global levels. You have assisted with the planning of conferences, educational programs, and networking events. When you have done all there seemingly is to do, how can you find meaning and purpose? During this impact session, you and other attendees will explore the value you bring to your workplaces and the HBA and brainstorm how you can harness this value to engage in meaningful activities that contribute to personal and professional fulfillment.  

Leveraging Transferable Skills to Transition Occupations within the Business of Healthcare
How does one go from being a clinical researcher to a marketing professional to a global lead for DE&I in the healthcare industry? These types of “career leaps” happen all the time—just take a glance the myriad LinkedIn profiles of the people in your network. If you have ever wondered how you might transform your career, this impact session will help you develop strategies for leveraging transferable skills for different positions within the industry. With the assistance of career coaches and insights of professionals who have made career leaps, you will collaborate in small groups to brainstorm how your skills might translate to a new path.

  • Moderator: Stefan Werdegar, Senior Search Consultant, Taylor Strategy Partners
  • Panelists:
    • Mary Pat Lancelotta, SVP, Corporate Affairs and Communications, Adaptive Biotechnologies
    • 2 more panelists TBA

Navigating the Workforce as a Millennial Leader
Are you a Millennial that suffers from feelings and/or perceptions of inadequacy? This impact session will challenge Millennial leaders to explore the value they bring to their companies, develop strategies for moving past roadblocks and others’ assumptions that get in the way of career goals, and overcome imposter syndrome with positive self-talk and affirmations. Guided by the insights of career coaches and millennial executives, attendees will break into small groups that allow for sharing experiences and brainstorming strategies for leveraging their skills and capabilities to achieve their career goals.  

  • Moderator: Bea von Seckendorff, Pfizer
  • Panelists:
    • Ndidi Rickert, Associate Director, Quality Culture Excellence, Ultragenyx
    • Brittany Pearson Rivoli, Senior Manager, Integrated Media Planning, Real Chemistry
    • 2 More Panelists TBA

Voices United for Health Equity: Let’s Close the Gap!
The root causes of health inequity involve systemic issues embedded in the cultures and processes of institutions and countries around the world. It can seem daunting to navigate all the related issues. However, we can come together to explore solutions and ways to affect change in our own spheres of influence. This impact session will encourage dialogue across the various industries within the healthcare ecosystem – including healthcare organizations, payors, tech companies, and hospital systems, among others. You will leave feeling affirmed that you have something valuable to contribute to the cause of health equity and have a set of action plans or solutions to put in motion right away.

  • Moderator: Vinessa Pearson, BI&A Director Strategy & Operations, Bristol Myers Squibb
  • Panelists:
    • Wendy Short Bartie, SVP and Chief of Staff to the CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb
    • Irene Dankwa-Mullan, Chief Health Equity Officer, Merative
    • Bharti Rai, SVP and GM Health Insights Products and Solutions, CVS

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