Keynote Speaker – Suzanne Provanzana, S.E., P.E., LEED AP
With over 25 years of structural engineering experience, Suzanne Provanzana is the U.S. Discipline Lead and a Principal at Buro Happold, a global multidisciplinary engineering consultancy focused on the built environment. Ms. Provanzana is a licensed Structural Engineer and Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois and is a LEED Accredited Professional. A dedicated practitioner, she is currently managing several large-scale projects across the globe. Throughout her career, Suzanne has engineered and managed numerous structurally complex projects – from sports and entertainment venues and commercial and residential developments to prestigious higher education institutions and transportation projects. An expert in concrete and steel structural solutions, Suzanne marries her deep technical expertise with her adept project management skills to deliver successful client outcomes.
Outside of work, Ms. Provanzana is the secretary of the Chicago Chapter of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and serves on the Sustainable Design Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAoI). She spent a decade of her career volunteering with the ACE Mentor Program, a program designed to encourage inner city high school students to pursue careers in architecture, construction, and engineering. She has been published in several national and international industry media outlets, including the American Bar Association, Modern Steel Construction and Structure. Ms. Provanzana is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (BSCE ’98) and Cornell University (MEng Civil ’99). She lives with her family in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Workshop Leader – Catherine Gao, MD, MS
Dr. Catherine Gao is a physician-scientist who uses machine learning to better understand patient trajectories in the intensive care unit.
Career Panelist – Jennifer Kopach
As CEO and SVP Marketing Communications for Science Olympiad, the nation’s largest K-12 team STEM competition, Jenny oversees operations and manages partnerships with leading businesses, government agencies, scientific associations and higher education institutions. Career highlights over the past 19 years in national leadership include growing the Science Olympiad Urban Schools Initiative, starting the Science Olympiad Alumni Network, and developing all-new digital Ways to Play.
Jenny is a member of the Science Olympiad Executive Board, Illinois Governor’s P-20 Council College and Career Readiness Committee, MxD Workforce Development Committee, NBC Chicago Community Action Board, Economic Club of Chicago Tech Membership Committee and Executives’ Club of Chicago Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Task Force, and serves as Precinct Committeewoman for York Township and Illinois State Chair for Million Women Mentors, a national movement aimed at connecting more girls with female leaders in STEM. She worked with President Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy on six White House Science Fairs and oversees international relations with the Japan Science and Technology Agency on the Science Olympiad Global Ambassador Team program.
Science Olympiad was founded in 1984 as a national nonprofit by Jenny’s parents, Dr. Gerard and Sharon Putz, and Jack Cairns of Delaware. When Dr. Putz passed away suddenly in 2019, Jenny took the wheel of the organization, steering it through the oncoming pandemic. To honor the legacy of the founders and their dreams of supporting scientific research, alumni scholarships, a diverse STEM teaching workforce and strong state chapters, the Science Olympiad USA Foundation was founded in 2020. Jenny serves as the President and CEO of the Science Olympiad USA Foundation.
Through these positions and with a deep commitment to service, Jenny strives to connect the dots between K-12, higher education and industry, creating workforce development programs, securing grants for high-need communities, and providing opportunities for students who need help lighting a career pathway. She has written about bridging STEM skills and gender gaps for Fortune 500 companies and MENTOR and has spoken about the power of effective mentoring programs at five Million Women Mentors Summits in Washington, DC.
Career Panelist – Lisa Gilbert, MS
As a latent print examiner, Lisa is always thinking of innovative and meaningful ways to reach out to youth and engage them in science. Providing educational, science programs for more than 14 years, Lisa’s public outreach extends to all types of venues and opportunities for students; which includes colleges, schools, museums, career fairs, and after-school programs. Knowing that students need positive role models to help foster their own interest in science, Lisa knows that she can play a unique role in making science exciting and accessible to youth, especially in the field of forensic science. It is rare to find a professional scientist who is not only generous with her time but also creative in teaching students at all age levels with developmentally appropriate techniques and hands-on science methods.
For the past twenty years, Lisa has been working as a latent print examiner with the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Center in Chicago. Prior to that, she worked as a forensic drug chemist for ten years. In keeping with the strong ties to education, most recently Lisa has taken a larger role in the Forensic Science Program at Loyola University.
Lisa Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Masters of Science degree in analytical chemistry from Governors State College. She holds memberships to the International Association for Identification and the American Academy of Forensic Science. Lisa was also featured in the “Inspiring Minds: African Americans in Science and Technology” exhibit at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, MI.
Career Panelist – Heather Walsh, PhD
Heather Walsh is currently the Executive Director, Head of New Business Opportunities of the Rx+ Business Accelerator at Astellas. She leads the ideation and incubation activities, collaborating closely with colleagues across the company and with their VC partners and other external collaborators, as they build new businesses for Astellas. Prior to this role, she was the Executive Director of the MedTech Accelerator program at mHUB where she was responsible for sourcing and evaluation, as well as program execution.
Heather joined Baxter in July 2017 as part of the central innovation team. She led technical assessment teams for due diligence of new opportunities for mergers and acquisitions and venture investment. Following that initial role, Heather was appointed the Director of External Innovation where she led Baxter’s efforts to increase open innovation partnerships across universities, incubators/accelerators, medical centers, and other partners. She supported strategically aligned transformational innovation for all the global business units and for technology platforms. She then served as a Director for Medical Operations responsible for the day-to-day operations of the medical affairs and clinical development function including grants programs, clinical contracting, and CRO management.
Prior to joining Baxter, Heather was the Assistant Director and Head of Business Development in the Technology Commercialization and Licensing group at the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago. She spent nine years developing, protecting, and licensing University-owned intellectual property. In addition to her technology portfolio, Heather supported the efforts of the commercialization team by identifying and managing high-value contacts, coordinating the university’s marketing strategy for the opportunity pipeline, representing the team at multiple partnering meetings, and launching a program to cultivate relationships with venture capital groups. She piloted and grew a proof-of-concept fund and launched several internship programs to leverage the talents of students and postdocs exploring alternative careers. Heather completed a PhD in Neurobiology, Pharmacology & Cell Physiology from UChicago.