Please note, this event has been cancelled due to unexpected circumstances. We will update our post once the event has been rescheduled.
On March 12, Gunster's Women's Leadership Forum will host On the Field & In the Office at the TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The event is a panel discussion on women in leadership with lessons learned from the sports industry.
Join Gunster's Women's Leadership Forum at the On the Field & In the Office reception and program on March 12 at the TIAA Bank Field. The event will offer a panel discussion on women in leadership with lessons learned from the sports industry. The main topics include:
- Leadership and diversity issues that arise in the sports industry and how those lessons can translate to corporate environments
- Key characteristics to successfully create corporate environments that foster diverse leadership and advancement opportunities
- Timely topics regarding equality on the field and in the workplace
- The impact of Title IX beyond the athletic field
If you are interested in attending, please contact us here.
The panelists include:
Donna Orender
Orender Unlimited | Ceo
Donna Orender is a highly respected corporate business leader having led growth and innovation in several high-profile companies. She has been recognized as one of the top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports and one of Newsweeks 100 most Influential people in the business of sports. She was recruited to lead the WNBA and served 6 years as the President/Commissioner of the league. Prior to the WNBA, Donna spent 17 years at the PGA TOUR where she was one of 3 senior executives serving in the Office of the Commissioner.
Megha Parekh
Jacksonville Jaguars | Senior VP and Chief Legal Officer
Megha Parekh is the Senior VP and chief legal officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In this capacity, she worked on Shad Khan’s acquisition of Fulham Football Club, the public-private funded improvements to TIAA Bank Field and the extension of TIAA Bank’s stadium naming rights, among other significant legal matters. She previously worked in an international law firm known for its sports law group and worked on private acquisitions, financings and securities offerings for teams including the Jaguars, the Astros and the Browns. Megha was named in 2012 and 2013 to Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 Sports List and for the Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in 2018. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. While in school, she was a sports writer for The Harvard Crimson and served as an intern for baseball's Boston Red Sox.
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, J.D.
Champion Women: Advocacy for Girls and Women in Sports | CEO
Nancy is one of the most effective change agents in women’s equality, particularly in areas of gender equality in education including sports participation, sexual harassment, and employment, among other issues. She is an accomplished attorney, a published author, a professor, and the founder and CEO of Champion Women. She capped eight years as a world class swimmer at the 1984 Olympics, where she won three Gold medals and one Silver medal.
The event will be moderated by Gunster shareholder Lauren Purdy. Lauren is a trial and appellate lawyer who represents national and multinational clients in business disputes and professional liability matters in state and federal courts. She has experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations and recently argued before Florida's Supreme Court. She joined Gunster after completing two separate clerkships for Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and Judge Joel Dubina of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Lauren was an eight-time NCAA Division II All-American in Women’s Swimming, a four-year Academic All-American, and her university’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. Lauren shares her love of sports through her involvement in the JaxSports Council. She is also involved in Leadership Florida, the Women’s Giving Alliance, and the Jacksonville Federal Bar Association, among other organizations.
