SMI Completes First Cohort of Advancing Women Leaders Program and Celebrates 9 Executive Leaders
Kingston, MA (December 5, 2023): SMI®, a non-profit, community of healthcare supply chain organizations, congratulated its first cohort of Mentees for completing their ground-breaking leadership program called Advancing Women Leaders (AWL). This 12-month program brings together a Mentor, Sponsor, and Mentee pairing from SMI member organizations for the advancement of women into senior level executive roles. SMI celebrated the first cohort of 9 Mentees at the SMI Fall 2023 Forum in Nashville. See the list of mentees and learn more about this program here.
SMI’s Advancing Women Leaders (AWL) program intends to close the gender gap in Senior Executive Positions by guiding aspiring women to leverage their networks, work alongside a Sponsor and Mentor in unison, thus creating a more diverse healthcare supply chain. SMI members nominate a mentee, an emerging leader from their organization, and as their Sponsor, advocate for the Mentee within their organization. Mentees are paired with a Mentor – a senior healthcare supply chain leader from SMI’s membership – who provides guidance for career advancement.
SMI has partnered with the McGuckin Group, a talent-innovation firm, to develop this first of its kind program, which includes one-on-one mentoring, networking, peer-to-peer learning, workshops, and self-assessment tools.
Mentee Kelly Hammons, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience from Concordance Healthcare Solutions said, “the education, networking and mentoring through SMI’s AWL program has been invaluable in helping expand my network and further my career aspirations.”
Mentee Sarah Charai, Executive Director, Supply Chain Operations from Cleveland Clinic said,
“SMI’s AWL program has allowed me to advance my career into a new opportunity with Cleveland Clinic…” she explained, “it has been wonderful to connect with other women leaders as we all navigate the ever-changing healthcare industry.”
SMI launched Cohort 2 for the Advancing Women Leaders program in October. Sixteen mentees were announced at the SMI Fall Forum and will now embark on this 12-month program along with their Mentor and Sponsor. See the list of Cohort 2 Mentees.
To learn more about SMI, its programs, and its community of members, visit: www.smisupplychain.com
Pictured (left to right) Jolene Peterson, Senior Director of Health Systems, Baxter; Anne Nelson, Director of Contract, Strategy & Pricing, Johnson & Johnson; Rachael Raynes, Network Director of Supply Chain Contracting, The University of Vermont Health Network; Sarah Charai, Executive Director of Supply Chain Operations, Cleveland Clinic; Elise MacCarroll-Wright, Vice President of System Ancillary & Support Services, Advent Health; Sophia Flores, Director of Manufacturing Operations, QuVa Pharma; Kelly Hammons, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Concordance Healthcare Solutions; and Amanda Morgan, Senior Vice President, Medline.
– ### –
ABOUT SMI
SMI provides a nexus for healthcare providers, suppliers, and distributors to network and collaborate on innovations that drive meaningful improvements in supply chain agility, efficiency, and resilience. We provide a unique, non-commercial community where members forge long-term relationships as they work together to improve patient care. For more information about SMI, including a complete list of members, visit: www.smisupplychain.com.