DirectWomen Board Institute
Overview | 2008 Class Members | Faculty
OVERVIEW
The centerpiece of the DirectWomen initiative is the DirectWomen Board Institute, an annual two-day program providing a free orientation and update on key issues facing current and future directors. The goal is to position an elite group of exceptional senior women lawyers for service as directors of major U.S. corporations.
The 2008 DirectWomen Board Institute was held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York on February 21-22, 2008, with an opening reception on the evening of February 20. The Board Institute featured a faculty of some of the nation's leading experts on corporate governance, as well as experienced women directors, and addressed topics including the roles and responsibilities of the director and the board, leadership and strategy, the use of financial statements in strategic planning, assessment of company performance, today's legal and regulatory environments, directors' and officers' liability and other current issues. In addition, the Board Institute will afford participants the opportunity to network with distinguished women lawyers currently serving on U.S. corporate boards, as well as top representatives of executive search firms.
To be added to the mailing list to receive an application for the Class of 2009, click here.
2008 CLASS MEMBERS
Priscilla Almodovar 
President and Chief Executive Officer
New York State Housing Finance Agency/State of New York Mortgage Agency
New York, NY
Virginia L. Aronson 
Partner and Member of Management Committee
Sidley Austin LLP
Chicago, IL
Emily Berlin 
Senior Managing Director
Helm Holdings International, Inc.
Miami, FL
Sharon Y. Bowen 
Partner
Latham & Watkins, LLP
New York, NY
Shirley Hanna Buccieri 
Retired Former Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Menlo Park, CA
Rhea Kemble Dignam 
Principal
Ernst & Young
New York, NY
Lena Genello Goldberg 
Executive Vice President - Strategic Corporate Initiatives
FMR LLC/Fidelity Investments
Boston, MA
Carol Graebner 
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
H&R Block, Inc.
Kansas City, MO
Alyce C. Halchak 
Director - Corporate Department
Gibbons P.C.
Newark, NJ
Elizabeth Holtzman 
Counsel
Herrick, Feinstein LLP
New York, NY
Julie Jacobs 
Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
AOL LLC
Dulles, VA
Sheila M. McDevitt 
Retired Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer
TECO Energy, Inc
North Redington Beach, FL
Judith D. O'Neill 
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
New York, NY
Marla S. Persky 
Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation
Ridgefield, CT
Helen Pomerantz Pudlin 
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
Jennifer J. Raab 
President
Hunter College
New York, NY
Karen H. Rothenberg 
Dean and Marjorie Cook Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Baltimore, MD
Marianne D. Short 
Managing Partner
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Minneapolis, MN
Christine J. Spadafor 
Chief Executive Officer
St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Boulder City, NV
Alice Young 
Partner
Kaye Scholer LLP
New York, NY
FACULTY
OVERVIEW
The centerpiece of the DirectWomen initiative is the DirectWomen Board Institute, an annual two-day program providing a free orientation and update on key issues facing current and future directors. The goal is to position an elite group of exceptional senior women lawyers for service as directors of major U.S. corporations.
The 2008 DirectWomen Board Institute was held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York on February 21-22, 2008, with an opening reception on the evening of February 20. The Board Institute featured a faculty of some of the nation's leading experts on corporate governance, as well as experienced women directors, and addressed topics including the roles and responsibilities of the director and the board, leadership and strategy, the use of financial statements in strategic planning, assessment of company performance, today's legal and regulatory environments, directors' and officers' liability and other current issues. In addition, the Board Institute will afford participants the opportunity to network with distinguished women lawyers currently serving on U.S. corporate boards, as well as top representatives of executive search firms.
To be added to the mailing list to receive an application for the Class of 2009, click here.
2008 CLASS MEMBERS
Priscilla Almodovar President and Chief Executive Officer
New York State Housing Finance Agency/State of New York Mortgage Agency
New York, NY
Virginia L. Aronson Partner and Member of Management Committee
Sidley Austin LLP
Chicago, IL
Emily Berlin Senior Managing Director
Helm Holdings International, Inc.
Miami, FL
Sharon Y. Bowen Partner
Latham & Watkins, LLP
New York, NY
Shirley Hanna Buccieri Retired Former Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Menlo Park, CA
Rhea Kemble Dignam Principal
Ernst & Young
New York, NY
Lena Genello Goldberg Executive Vice President - Strategic Corporate Initiatives
FMR LLC/Fidelity Investments
Boston, MA
Carol Graebner Executive Vice President and General Counsel
H&R Block, Inc.
Kansas City, MO
Alyce C. Halchak Director - Corporate Department
Gibbons P.C.
Newark, NJ
Elizabeth Holtzman Counsel
Herrick, Feinstein LLP
New York, NY
Julie Jacobs Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
AOL LLC
Dulles, VA
Sheila M. McDevitt Retired Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer
TECO Energy, Inc
North Redington Beach, FL
Judith D. O'Neill Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
New York, NY
Marla S. Persky Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation
Ridgefield, CT
Helen Pomerantz Pudlin Senior Vice President and General Counsel
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
Jennifer J. Raab President
Hunter College
New York, NY
Karen H. Rothenberg Dean and Marjorie Cook Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Baltimore, MD
Marianne D. Short Managing Partner
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Minneapolis, MN
Christine J. Spadafor Chief Executive Officer
St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Boulder City, NV
Alice Young Partner
Kaye Scholer LLP
New York, NY
FACULTY
Alan L. Beller
Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, LLP
New York, NY
New York, NY
Sarah E. Beshar
Davis Polk & Wardwell
New York
New York
Betsy Bruening
The Prout Group
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, OH
John C. Coffee, Jr.
Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law
Columbia University School of Law
New York, NY
Columbia University School of Law
New York, NY
Julie H. Daum
SpencerStuart
New York, NY
New York, NY
Margaret M. Foran
Senior Vice President - Corporate Governance
Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Pfizer Inc., New York, NY
Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Pfizer Inc., New York, NY
Ronald J. Gilson
Charles J. Meyers Professor of Law and Business
Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA
and
Marc and Eva Stern
Professor of Law and Business
Columbia University School of Law
New York, NY
Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA
and
Marc and Eva Stern
Professor of Law and Business
Columbia University School of Law
New York, NY
Denise Grant
Russell Reynolds Associates
Holly J. Gregory
Partner (Corporate Governance)
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
New York, NY
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
New York, NY
Lee Hanson
Partner
Heidrick & Struggles
San Francisco, CA
Heidrick & Struggles
San Francisco, CA
Justice Randy J. Holland
Delaware Supreme Court
Wilmington, DE
Wilmington, DE
Diana M. Hudson
Andrews Kurth
Houston, TX
Houston, TX
Mary Ann Jorgenson
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
Columbus, OH
and
Partner, Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP
Cleveland, OH
Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
Columbus, OH
and
Partner, Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP
Cleveland, OH
Rebecca A. Kirk
Vice President
The Analysis Group
Boston, MA
The Analysis Group
Boston, MA
Ellen J. Odoner
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
New York, NY
New York, NY
Aulana Peters
Retired Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Los Angeles, CA
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Los Angeles, CA
Hillary A. Sale
F. Arnold Daum Professor of Corporate Finance and Law
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, IA
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, IA
Nancy L. Sanborn
Davis Polk & Wardwell
New York, NY
New York, NY
Deborah M. Soon
Vice President, Executive Leadership Initiatives
Catalyst, Inc.
New York, NY
Catalyst, Inc.
New York, NY
Hon. Myron T. Steele
Chief Justice
Delaware Supreme Court
Wilmington, DE
Delaware Supreme Court
Wilmington, DE
Carol J. Ward
Vice President and Corporate Secretary
Kraft Foods Inc.
Northfield, IL
Kraft Foods Inc.
Northfield, IL
John C. Wilcox
Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Governance
TIAA-CREF
New York, NY
TIAA-CREF
New York, NY
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