Newswise — New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) will launch the Women’s Corporate Council, a newly formed group of female leaders whose goal it is to empower and inspire others within the NYIT community and beyond, at a special event on the NYIT-New York City campus on March 14.

At the core of this initiative are NYIT female trustee Catherine A. Allen, founder and CEO of The Santa Fe Group and others, and Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., NYIT vice president for Strategic Communications & External Affairs. Joining them for the group’s inaugural panel on Thursday, March 14 at 4 p.m. at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway are Shamla Naidoo, vice president, IT Risk and chief information security officer at IBM, former CIA operative Valerie Plame, and NYIT President Henry C. “Hank” Foley, Ph.D.  Catherine Allen will moderate.

“The Women’s Corporate Council seeks to enhance NYIT’s reputation as a diverse community of doers, makers, and innovators who reinvent the future. Its primary goal is to empower and inspire women at NYIT and beyond through resources and networks in support of targeted initiatives that advance research, career opportunities, and corporate partnerships,” Anid explained.

“As a member of the Board of Trustees of NYIT, I am delighted to be part of this new initiative to support women in the NYIT community. We hope to bring role models, new research, new intern and employment opportunities and a new network of women executives and professionals to NYIT,” Allen said. 

Initial areas of focus include addressing mentoring and career development opportunities; work/life balance; network development; research on gender studies; and discussions on how to address cross-cultural and unconscious bias and bridging the gender gap.

Seating is limited and registration is required to attend the inaugural panel. Details and registration information: nyit.edu/wcc

About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in more than 50 fields of study, including computer science, data, and cybersecurity; biology and biomedical studies; architecture and design; engineering; health professions and medicine; IT and digital technologies; management; communications and marketing; education and counseling; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education, NYIT welcomes more than 9,000 students worldwide. The university has campuses in New York City (Manhattan) and Long Island (Old Westbury), New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world.

NYIT embraces its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, give all qualified students access to opportunity, and support research and scholarship that benefit the larger world. More than 100,000 NYIT alumni comprise an engaged network of doers, makers, and innovators prepared to change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future.