An astrophysicist, global catalyst, and a member of the team that made history by sequencing the first human genome

On March 4, we celebrate global changemakers in innovation: women at the forefront of discoveries, innovation, and movements that will shape the future of our world.

Join us for a glimpse into our global future as we explore revelations in the cosmos, the next big trends in global social impact, and how these women are using innovation for the betterment of our world.

Featuring:

Priyamvada Natarajan, Astrophysicist and Professor at Yale University

• Priyamvada Natarajan is an astrophysicist and Professor at Yale. She has made seminal contributions to our current understanding of the formation and growth of black holes and of the nature of dark matter by mapping it using gravitational lensing. Recipient of many awards & honors, Priya is also the current chair of the Division of Astrophysics of The American Physical Society. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas that Reveal the Cosmos. Deeply invested in the public dissemination of science, Priya serves on the Board of NOVA ScienceNow and is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books.

Diana Ayton-Shenker, Global Catalyst Senior Fellow at The New School; President & CEO of Global Momenta

• Diana Ayton-Shenker is an award-winning social entrepreneur who connects and convenes key partnerships, resources and capital for global social impact. Named one of “25 Leading Women Changing the World” (Good Business New York), Diana is Global Catalyst Senior Fellow at The New School, and founding CEO of Global Momenta. She was the Inaugural Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence (Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania), Senior Fellow in Venture Philanthropy (Bard College), and was featured among 31 Inspiring Women in Nonprofit Management (UNC). As Fast Forward Fund founder, Diana was honored by President Bill Clinton, and selected as Social Venture Network (SVN) Social Innovation Award Finalist. She held senior positions with Mercy Corps, Human Rights Watch, and P.E.N., and taught at The New School, Bard College, the American University of Paris, and Hunter College of the CUNY, where she directed the first undergraduate program of Human Rights in the U.S. She has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, and many international gatherings. She is the author of the recent book, A New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices, & Pathways of the International Community (2018, Rowman & Littlefield).

Moderator | Yu-Hui Rogers, Senior Director, Research Strategy, Asia, The Jackson Laboratory

• Yu-Hui currently serves as the Senior Director, Research Strategy, Asia at the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) responsible for developing and managing JAX’s precision medicine research collaborations and efforts in Asia. She was the Site Director for the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX-GM) for six years responsible for establishing and overseeing the overall administration and operation of JAX-GM. Prior to joining the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) in July of 2012, she was the Vice President of Core Technology Development and Services at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). At JCVI, Yu-Hui played a key role in the management and execution of large scale genomics and metagenomic sequencing projects and programs, including the Human genome sequencing project, and the NIH Roadmap Human Microbiome Project (HMP). Before joining the Venter Institute, she was the Manager of Sequencing Research and Development at Celera Genomics and was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Celera high-throughput sequencing pipeline that allowed the human genome sequence to be completed in 14 months. She is the recipient of the Connecticut Technology Council 2015 Woman of Innovation Award in the Large Business Innovation and Leadership category. She was also named one of the Best and Brightest EMBs for the class of 2017 by Poets and Quants upon her graduation from Yale School of Management.

5:00pm | Reception

6:00pm | Event followed by Opportunity for Audience Q&A

Presented By:

Sponsored By:

Chris Healy, Executive Director, Connecticut Catholic Conference