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BETHANY, W.Va. – Bethany College will hold multiple events March 24 and 25 for its Third Annual Ann Wilkin Trombadore Women and Leadership Weekend. These invitation-only events feature nationally recognized speakers and prominent Bethany alumnae, and give current female students the opportunity to network and further their leadership aspirations.

The Women’s Leaders Recognition Dinner will kick off the weekend on Friday, March 24, with keynote speaker Heather Sokolow, Vice President of Production Management for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel.

Sokolow is a 14-year veteran of the entertainment industry, with global experience across all aspects of television production. Prior to joining Discovery Communications, Sokolow worked in the United States and 25 other countries as a consultant to create, build and manage pre- and post-production television teams.  She has worked on such popular programs as “America’s Next Top Model,” “Making the Band,” and “Destination Truth.”

The Pittsburgh native is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Producers Guild of America. Sokolow earned her Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television from San Francisco State University and her Masters of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Producing from the University of Miami.

Saturday’s activities will begin with a Reverse Career Fair, which will feature more than 25 Bethany alumnae paired with students based on academic and career interests. This prominent alumnae group — which includes female leaders from the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention (CDC), Microsoft Global Cybersecurity, Volkswagen Group of American, among others — will provide career advice and counseling to students.

Following the Reverse Career Fair, Marie DeParis ’83, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for SNY and a member of the Bethany Board of Trustees, will moderate the Women and Leadership panel.  The theme for this year’s panel is Teamwork and Leadership:  How to Develop the Hard and Soft Skills that Make Good Collaborators and Great Leaders.

Three Bethany alumnae will serve as panel members for a discussion and Q&A session. Panel members include:

Carolyn MacDonald ’79 – Secretary Treasurer and an elected member of the Board of Directors of Standard Air & Lite Corporation, a wholesale distributor in the Pittsburgh area.

Beth Mejia ’85 – Founding Partner of Eyelevel Educational Consulting, a boutique consulting firm specializing in providing market insight for educational technology, publishing and services companies.

Leslie Steele ’96 – Director of Oncology, Radiology and Neuroscience Infusion at Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth.

The Ann Wilkin Trombadore Women and Leadership Weekend will conclude with a networking reception for students and alumnae.

The weekend is named in honor and memory of Ann Wilkin Trombadore, one of Bethany’s distinguished alumni and a lifelong passionate mentor of women.  Mrs. Trombadore was a native of Wheeling and raised in Wellsburg, West Virginia. She graduated magna cum laude from Bethany with a degree in economics in 1951, and received her law degree from the University of Michigan in 1954. She was an active member of the Bethany College Board of Trustees for more than two decades and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater award in 1996. She was made an Emeritus Life Trustee following the 1998-99 academic year.

The educational weekend has been made possible by the leadership and generosity of Bethany College Trustee and alumna Scarlett Foster ’79, retired Corporate Officer and Vice President of Investor Relations at Monsanto Company.

About Bethany College

Bethany College is located on a picturesque and historic 1,300-acre campus in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Founded in 1840, Bethany is the state’s oldest private college.