Exploring the Evolving Roles of Women in Manufacturing — A Panel Discussion

This event will be streamed live on YouTube HERE: youtu.be/PZFFJEk98G4

This event was organized in collaboration with the Massachusetts Chapter of Women in Manufacturing, the only national trade association dedicated to providing year-round support to women who have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry. At present, more than 3,000 individual members representing nearly 1,000 manufacturing companies have joined our growing ranks of industry professionals. WiM encompasses manufacturers of all types and welcomes individuals from every job function – from production to the C-Suite.

Join us for an open-format panel discussion about the experience for women working in a variety of manufacturing roles today.

Learn how the manufacturing world has changed for women over the past several decades, and where trends suggest we may be headed — technologically and culturally. The group will share their career paths and what drives them, compare and contrast startups with legacy/"enterprise" firms, consider where entry and growth opportunities may be most promising no, address how to get better informed and connected, and more.

An accomplished and diverse panel has been assembled. They are:

Sarah Donovan

Sarah Donovan is the CEO and President of I. G. Marston Co., Inc. (IGM) located in Holbrook, MA. IGM, is a sixth generation, family-owned manufacturing company producing non-metallic washers, gaskets and other sealing components. Sarah started at IGM as the ISO Management Rep, then became Vice President, and in 2010 became the company’s first female President. Sarah earned her degree in Accounting from Bentley University and held several different positions in the finance field before joining the family business. In addition to her day-to-day operations responsibilities, she is also Treasurer on the Board of Directors. Sarah is also a member of the board for the WIM Massachusetts Chapter.

Miriam Lansky is Manager of Continuous Improvement at Olympus Scientific Solutions America in Waltham, MA. Ms. Lansky received a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has been working in manufacturing for almost 30 years. She started her career with Corning Inc as an Equipment Engineer. Through the course of her career she has worked in various different operations related jobs including Process Development Engineer, Facilities Manager, Project Manager, and Manufacturing Engineer before transitioning to Manufacturing management. In her current role as Continuous Improvement Manager she oversees the CI program at 5 facilities.

Marianna McCormick is Vice President of Business Development, Boston Region, Mass Development. MassDevelopment is the state's economic development and finance agency. It works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. Marianna's background includes working with manufacturers, developers, municipalities and nonprofits. She spent her early years working in pre-press in the graphic arts industry, where she also sold and supported automation systems in printing.

Bonnie Perkins, Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement Engineer for Raytheon's Integrated Defense System's (IDS) Global Supply Chain located in Andover, MA. Prior to her work in Raytheon’s Supply Chain, she worked inside the Modernization & Innovations group under Operations. Before working in the Defense Industry, Bonnie worked in Consumer Products, specifically in the food Industry with 19 years for the H.J. Heinz Company located in Pittsburgh, PA supporting the North American Supply Chain’s Business Transformation leading Continuous Improvement initiatives and the Heinz Global Performance Systems implementation.

Our Moderator: Cristina Gutierrez

Cristina Gutierrez is a Project Engineer for Middlesex Glass. Inc in Tewksbury MA. A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Management, with a concentration in Manufacturing Processes.

In her current role as Communications Officer for the Massachusetts Chapter of WIM, she helps plan and coordinate events throughout the state aimed at providing year-round support to women with a career in the manufacturing industry. A Connecticut native, she is a proud “Nutmegger” and is consistently looking for ways to promote the amazing manufacturing ecosystem located here in New England."

The Mill Talks at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation are free and open to the public and are made possible by the generous support of the Lowell Institute.

Registration for this Mill Talk is NOT required. It will be streamed live on YouTube.