Clark University will welcome the Women’s Thought Leadership Panel, featuring accomplished female executives who will discuss “The Importance of Networking,” at noon on Thursday, March 21, in the Higgins Lounge at Dana Commons, 36 Maywood St. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

Esther Jones, associate provost and dean of the faculty, will moderate the panel of distinguished leaders from the business, hospitality, and health care industries. They will discuss the importance of networking and ways to establish a professional network and connect with others in the age of social media.

The panelists include:

• Oriola Koci, founder and owner of Altea’s Eatery and Livia’s Dish in Worcester. Born and raised in Tirana, Albania, Koci moved to the U.S. after high school and received a degree in business management from Assumption College. She pursued a career in human resources before returning to school to earn a master’s degree in professional communication from Clark in 2009.
• Cheryl Lapriore, senior vice president, chief of staff, and chief marketing officer for UMass Memorial Health Care Inc. (UMMHC) and president of UMass Memorial Health Ventures, the holding company for all of the UMMHC outside (non-hospital) business enterprises. She was recognized by the Worcester Business Journal as one of Central Massachusetts’ 2016 Power Players. Lapriore previously served as vice president of corporate relations at The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.; as president of The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation Inc.; and as vice president and chief of staff to the president of Allmerica Financial Life Insurance and Annuity Co. She received a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Bentley College and an MBA from Nichols College.
• Michelle Miller, M.A. ’11, director at The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE), who leads the organization’s operations in Central and Western Massachusetts that help female entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses. Prior to joining CWE as a program manager in 2016, she owned Coffeelands World Gifts Espresso Café, a social enterprise project of the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development that supports people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups and sells fair trade products from coffee regions around the world. Miller has managed economic development and rehabilitation programs in Massachusetts and in Colombia, Peru, and Nicaragua. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in International Development and Social Change from Clark.
• Karen Pelletier, vice president of operations and director of Education and Workforce Development at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, who manages 12 employees and 2,300 business members. She previously served as director of student affairs at the Colleges of Worcester Consortium and as associate director of student activities at Assumption College. Pelletier has a bachelor’s degree from Plymouth State University and a master’s degree from Sacred Heart University.

The event is sponsored by Clark’s School of Professional Studies and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.