Bob Graham Center for Public Service

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows joined with the Bob Graham Center for Public Service to host the 2024 Joan S. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum on March 21, 2024 at 6 pm in the Pugh Hall Ocora.

Watch the event recording at this link.

Panelists were:

Ellen Connelly Taaffe, Women’s Leadership Director at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, has a distinguished career spanning Fortune 500 companies and independent board directorships. Now a professor at Northwestern, she shares her expertise through writing, speaking engagements, and her popular book, The Mirrored Door.

Mary Kate Flynn, UF Health Operations Manager, has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives like Florida’s first mobile stroke treatment unit. With a background in project coordination and executive support, she brings strategic vision to her role, actively contributing to her community through board memberships and volunteering.

Reina Saco, City of Gainesville Commissioner, earned her J.D. from UF Law in 2017, and began her legal career as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Florida Legal Services, Inc. She was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission in 2020. In addition to her seat on the City Commission, she currently serves on the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

Trysh Travis, Ph.D., Associate Dean at UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a cultural and literary historian, focusing on the gendered history of medicine. With a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University, she focuses on the culture of addiction and recovery. She has authored The Language of the Heart: Twelve-Step Recovery from Alcoholics Anonymous to Oprah Winfrey and co-edited Rethinking Therapeutic Culture.

The program was moderated by UF student and Graham Center fellow Amelia Packham