Leaders from WHYY, Dow Corning, Ballard Spahr to Speak at Leadership Program in Aston

Panel will discuss importance of organizational change at Neumann University’s Center for Leadership

ASTON, PA – Neumann University’s upcoming leadership program will feature N. Cornell Boggs, III, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Dow Corning; Virginia Essandoh, Chief Diversity Officer at Ballard Spahr; and Kyra McGrath, Chief Operating Officer at WHYY. These leaders will discuss changing business models in the wake the global economic crisis in 2008. This new effort to adapt quickly, increase organizational efficiencies and anticipate change is known business circles as the “New Normal.”

The program, entitled “Constant Change & the New Normal,” will be held on Thursday, May 22 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the campus of Neumann University in Aston, PA. Speakers will discuss the need to help an organization through the change process, the importance of change, the ethics of change, and how to ease the fear of change. This program is made possible through a generous donation from BAYADA Home Health Care and the Haverford Trust Company.

“In order to survive, all businesses and organizations must understand how to make effective changes,” said Jonathan Peri, Esq., Director of the Center for Leadership and General Counsel at Neumann University.  “In today’s climate, rapid change is not only expected – it is essential. Organizations need to be prepared to adapt and find new ways to achieve success with increasingly limited resources.  Each of our speakers brings a unique perspective on how different corporate structures and industries have responded to the new realities of the post-recession economy.”

The featured panelists for the program are:

N. Cornell Boggs, III, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Dow Corning, is responsible for leading the company in global Legal, Corporate Security, and Government Relations roles. Prior to coming Dow Corning in 2012, Mr. Boggs worked as chief responsibility and ethics officer for MillerCoors, LLC, as chief legal officer and group vice president of Public Affairs for Coors Brewing Company, as vice president and general counsel for Tyco Plastics and Adhesives, and in the corporate legal departments of Monsanto Company, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., and Intel Corporation. Before joining the corporate world, Cornell worked as a judicial clerk for the Court of Appeals of Indiana, and was appointed to the Attorney General’s Honor Program where he was a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Boggs is a graduate of Valparaiso University and the Valparaiso University School of Law.

Virginia Essandoh, Chief Diversity Officer, Ballard Spahr, is responsible for overseeing, implementing and providing strategic leadership to the company. She also provides strategic guidance and tactical support to the Ballard Women affinity group. Before joining Ballard Spahr, Ms. Essandoh was a senior consultant at Altman Weil, Inc., where she assisted in the development and implementation of diversity and gender initiatives at private law firms and in corporate legal departments. Ms. Essandoh serves on the Board of Trustees for the Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and is Vice President of its Executive Committee. She is also a board member of the Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse. In October of 2013, Ms. Essandoh received the National Diversity Council’s Most Powerful and Influential Women of Pennsylvania Award. Ms. Essandoh received her B.A. in Political Science, cum laude from Wilberforce University, and her J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.

Kyra McGrath, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, WHYY, Inc., is responsible for the operation of all of WHYY’s distribution platforms and production of all content, including news, information, arts and culture programming, as well as the nationally-distributed Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She also manages engineering, legal and government relations for the organization, and serves as Assistant Secretary for the WHYY Board of Directors. Previously, Ms. McGrath served as the President of the Forum of Executive Women, which is a network of the region’s top 350 women executives. She also worked as Founding Chair of the Mass Mutual Women’s Advisory Board for the Delaware Valley, and a Founding Member of the Advisory Board for Penn State Great Valley. She is the former Chair of the Board of Philadelphia Division of the Salvation Army, and currently serves in the Planning Committee for the Army’s Kroc Community Center. Ms. McGrath earned her bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Designed for existing and developing community, business and non-profit leaders, the Neumann University Center for Leadership introduces individuals to different types of management, effective leadership styles, and best practices.

Accountants and attorneys who attend this program will earn three CLE or CPE credits. Accountants will be able to earn up to one ethics credit and two other credits. Attorneys will be able to earn up to one ethics credit and two substantive credits per course. For more information, including full speaker bios and online registration, visit www.neumann.edu/cclde. The cost of the program is $59, which covers course related materials and credits.  “Constant Change and the ‘New Normal’” will be held in the Schmidt Multi-purpose room in Neumann University’s Living and Learning Center. This program has been sponsored by a generous donation from BAYADA Home Health Care and the Haverford Trust Company.  

The program is the final program a series of five programs that the Neumann Center for Leadership offered during the spring 2014 semester.

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