CHICAGO ( MARCH 20, 2019 ) — Girls 4 Science welcomes a new season with an evening supporting the budding young minds of future leaders in STEM. The nationally recognized non-profit organization, dedicated to exposing girls in Chicagoland to quality science, technology, engineering and math ( STEM ) programs, will host a Spring Fundraiser at 1871, 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212 on Tuesday, April 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The evening will feature a panel of prominent Chicago female leaders in STEM hosted by Ilene Gordon, former CEO of Ingredion, with Suzzette Jaskowiak, Divisional Vice President of Pharmacy, Healthcare and Customer Engagement Technology at Walgreens; Patricia Natke, President and Design Principal of UrbanWorks; and Kari Steele, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago. The panel will discuss the history of each woman in STEM, touching on leadership and accomplishments within their perspective fields. Gayle Jones, Director of Patient Access of Horizon Pharma, will be honored with the Girls 4 Science 2019 Female STEM Award. Throughout the event, a showcase highlighting work from Girls 4 Science students pursuing STEM education will be on display.
The event is sponsored by longtime supporter, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation and Horizon Pharma.
Tickets are $75 per person, which include dinner. All proceeds will support Girls 4 Science initiatives including scholarships, weekly STEM sessions hosted throughout the Chicagoland area, field trips, science camps and more.
To purchase tickets on the Girls 4 Science website, visit www.girls4science.org/eventsnews.html .
About Girls 4 Science
Established in 2009 by Executive Director Jackie Lomax, Girls 4 Science is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing girls in Chicago ages 10-18 years old to opportunities in STEM. Its mission is to focus on developing skills and self-esteem, all while helping young girls build relationships to overcome barriers that may prevent them from achieving greater success in STEM careers. It is Chicago's only all-girls science initiative to provide instructors in a state-of-the-art laboratory. Free hands-on enrichment programs are offered during six-week Saturday Science Academies at Malcolm X City College, Olive Harvey City College and St. Francis University in Joliet, in addition to field trips, mentorships and scholarships to 12th graders. Presently, Girls 4 Science is making science a reality for over 3,300 young women in the city of Chicago. For additional information, visit www.girls4science.org or call ( 773 ) 401-6685.
About Ilene Gordon
Ilene Gordon is retired chairman, president and CEO of Ingredion Incorporated, presiding director of International Paper and a director of Lockheed Martin. Ingredion, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading global producer of nature-based ingredient solutions for food, beverage, brewing and industrial customers. Gordon worked for Ingredion from 2009 through 2018, joining from Rio Tinto Alcan where, as president and CEO of Alcan Packaging, she led a $6.5 billion global packaging business. Over her 10-year tenure with Alcan and Pechiney she held various leadership positions and spent 17 years in executive roles at the Packaging Corporation of America. Gordon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) and a Master of Science degree in management from MIT's Sloan School of Management. She was the first female director of five different public companies, is listed among Forbes Global Game Changers and was one of Fortune's Most Power Women for five consecutive years on the U.S. list and two years on the global list. Gordon has received numerous awards including the Executive Leader Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Civic Federation Lyman J. Gage Award for outstanding civic contribution and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Daniel H. Burnham Award for Distinguished Leadership.
About Suzzette Jaskowiak
Suzzette Jaskowiak serves as Divisional Vice President of Pharmacy, Healthcare and Customer Engagement Technology for Walgreens. Leading both operations and application development Retail Pharmacy, Specialty Pharmacy, Healthcare Clinics and Technical Field Services, Jaskowiak has more than 25 years of experience across application development, infrastructure and operations. She has a broad spectrum of experience in consulting, technology and the creation and management of lines of business for organizations as diverse as Accenture, ABN AMRO and Forsythe and is committed to encouraging girls to participate in STEM through organizations like Girls Who Code, Lumity, Girls on the Run and her local school districts.
About Patricia Natke
Patricia Saldaña Natke, the President and Design Principal of UrbanWorks, is responsible for the visionary design direction of the firm, which has won more than 40 planning and architecture design awards. Prior to founding UrbanWorks, Pat worked in design positions for several award-winning architectural firms, and was even named one of "Five 2014 Emerging Designers" in Crain's Chicago, listed in "50 Designers Shaping Chicago" by NewCity in 2014, and named "2015 Outstanding Woman" by Chicago's largest Spanish newsmedia La Raza. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at many universities, including the University of Illinois at Chicago Graduate School of Architecture. Her design work is currently on exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington DC.
About Kari Steele
President Kari K. Steele was elected in November 2012 as a Commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago ( MWRD ), re-elected in 2018 for a second term and elected President of the Board of Commissioners in January 2019. She currently serves as Chairman and Vice Chairman for several committees. President Steele was a 2014 Chicago Defender Woman of Excellence Honoree, 2014 Edgar Fellow, 2016 Graduate of the Metropolitan Leadership Institute and a recipient of the University of Illinois at Chicago's Freshwater Lab water award ( 2017 ). She is an environmentalist, community leader and chemist with more than 11 years of experience and a Pre-med degree in Chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana. She has worked at both the Jardine Water Purification Plant as a water chemist and the MWRD as a water sampler and lab technician. This background makes President Steele uniquely qualified to discuss and analyze proposed operational changes and operational efficiencies.
—From a press release
