Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Six-time Olympic winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee will join this year's Soaring Together Women's Summit for a fireside chat. The summit will feature a weekend of events for women who are part of the Lehigh community.

Six-Time Olympic Winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee to Join Lehigh Women’s Summit

The decorated athlete will sit down for a fire-side chat with Lehigh’s Deputy Director of Athletics Sue Troyan as part of the two-day summit on April 28-29.

Lehigh continues to celebrate 50 years of undergraduate co-education with a two-day Soaring Together Women’s Summit April 28-29 that features a fireside chat with one of the most decorated athletes of all time—Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

The summit, hosted by Lehigh’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations, will offer alumnae and other women within the university community a weekend of events and networking. Breakout sessions, led by Lehigh alumnae, will focus on leadership, career advancement and personal development.

“The alumnae of Lehigh have always been extraordinarily successful, no matter when they were here on campus, no matter what they studied, no matter what they chose to do post-graduation,” said Jennifer Cunningham, assistant vice president of alumni relations. “What we’re doing with Soaring Together is bringing extraordinary women together because we believe the sum can be even greater than its parts."

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jackie Joyner-Kersee will be the featured speaker at this year's Soaring Together Women's Summit.

The summit opens Friday, April 28, with dinner at the Hotel Bethlehem. On Saturday, April 29, at 10 a.m., Joyner-Kersee—named the greatest female athlete of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated for Women and honored as World Athlete of the Year on three occasions by Track & Field—will join Lehigh’s Deputy Director of Athletics Sue Troyan for a 90-minute conversation on “Leadership: How to Lead with Courage, Integrity and Accountability.”

As one of the most decorated female athletes of all-time, Joyner-Kersee dominated the track and field circuit for 16 years and won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympic Games during her illustrious career. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, she won the silver medal in the heptathlon. Four years later, at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, Jackie struck gold in both her signature events—the heptathlon (world record) and long jump. She followed that up at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain by winning gold in the heptathlon and bronze in the long jump.

Breakout sessions will follow the keynote event. The sessions will include:

–“Leading in a Male Dominant Environment,” led by Sandra Denton ’83, vice president, Channels and Alliances, Pipefy Inc.; Karen LaRochelle ’88, chief business officer and board director; Kerri Neary ’05, Country Manager USA, X-Elio; and former Lehigh Trustee Jill Triani ’94 '24P '26P.

– “Creating a Culture of Success for Women,” led by Brenda Harvey ’87, general manager, IBM Asia Pacific, IBM Corp.; Chris Seymour ’89 ’21P ’25P, senior director, Global CMC, Pfizer Inc.; and Dr. Patricia Stephenson ’78 ’08P, retired medical officer, Cigna Healthcare.

Employee Well-Being: Why it Should Take Center Stage,” led by Raven Gaddy ’15, administrative officer, U.S. Department of Justice; Ginelle Julien-Jackson ’94, vice president, Global Services Service Excellence and Experience, Johnson & Johnson; and Suneeta Prasad ’90G, former managing director, GE and GE Capital.

–“How to Stop Doing Work that Doesn't Advance Your Career,”led by Amy Sobotkin Gare ’97, managing partner, Gare Law LLC; and Nishika Vidanage-Lulejian ’07, public health professional, Centers for Disease Control.

– “Addressing Imposter Syndrome: How to Market Yourself,” led by Alissa Marushak ‘02, Executive Director, Individual and Family Plans Product, Aetna, a CVS Health Company; and Ellen Stone ’87, executive vice president, Cable Marketing, NBC Universal.

Sustainability in the Workplace,” led by Jennifer Gentile Long ’93, CEO and founder, AEquitas; and Jessica Scott ’15, associate partner, Global Sustainable Supply Chain executive, IBM Corp.

Registration is here for the fireside chat and breakout sessions.

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