Highlighting the women’s health industry and innovation in New York.
Women’s health is a new focal point for investors. More research and more investment dollars are going into solving healthcare challenges that are specific to women such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer, fertility, pregnancy, birthing, and menopause. Some healthcare issues disproportionately affect women like infant care, but others such as heart disease (which is the leading cause of death of among women) have not had solutions developed which meaningfully consider gender as a factor.
Paired with broader industry trends in digital health, like monitoring and tracking, UAS use in providing medical care, and AI use in diagnostics paired with electronic health records, there is significant innovation impacting women’s health, and increasingly, interest in investment in the sector.
Pitches from companies that create better access, care and outcomes for women’s health Conversations with business owners and CEOs building women’s health businesses Discussions with industry experts and investors in women’s health
Agenda & Speakers
10:30AM
Invitation only: CEO Roundtable
12PM
Women’s Health Startup Showcase
1PM
Hosted Networking
2PM
CEO + Investor Partnership
Andrea Ippolito
CEO and Founder of SimpliFed
Andrea Ippolito currently serves as the CEO and Founder of SimpliFed. Prior to joining Cornell, Andrea served as the Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Innovators Network within the VA Center for Innovation and served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow based out of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and General Services Administration. She was the Co-Founder of an innovative application that improves access to care called Smart Scheduling (acquired by athenahealth in 2016). She also previously served as the Co-Director of MIT Hacking Medicine, as an Innovation Specialist at the Brigham Innovation Hub and Product Innovation Manager at athenahealth. Ms. Ippolito completed her MS in Engineering & Management at MIT and engineering degrees at Cornell.
With more than 14 years of experience at the intersection of learning and technology, Meghan exists to inspire others to turn wonder into action and adopt the “always-on” learning mentality that founders need to thrive in today’s dynamic and unpredictable markets. Her work at two startups (TenMarks & Conceptua Math) led to two acquisitions (one by Amazon), and she’s currently building a new product within IDEO aimed to launch in early 2022. Her favorite quote is “leap and the net will appear’ (John Burroughs).
Lindsay is a Partner at Thompson Hine LLP where she advises entrepreneurs, investors and fund managers on venture capital and startup matters & fund formation, M&A, corporate finance, federal and state compliance, and corporate organization and governance matters. Prior to joining Thompson Hine, Lindsay served as a partner and chief legal counsel at a Midwest-focused venture capital firm. Lindsay teaches “Venture Capital and Dealmaking” at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she also frequently guest lectures on contract drafting and preferred securities issuances.
Executive Director of the Central New York Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC)
Kathi is Executive Director of the Central New York Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC). CNYBAC, a NYS Certified Business Incubator operated by SUNY Upstate Medical University, licenses wet labs to accepted startup companies commercializing biotech technology. Kathi also coordinates an annual Empire State Development grant supported Medical Device Innovation Challenge (MDIC), now in its 5th year as well as the Concept to Commercialization Virtual Series. Kathi mentors many early stage biotech innovation teams and serves as a Board Member for both MedTech and the Business Incubator Association of New York State (BIANYS).
Director of the Bioventure eLab at Weill Cornell Medicine
Jahan Ali is the Director of the Bioventure eLab at Weill Cornell Medicine. Jahan is a leader with experience in venture capital, technology commercialization, startup accelerators, and in biotech business development. Jahan works with early-stage bioscience companies in NYC to help them create value. Formerly, she was a Senior Vice President at the Partnership Fund, a private economic development fund founded by Henry Kravis, where she managed the fund’s investments in the health care sector. Jahan was successful in receiving $5M from NYS to provide seed-stage investments to biotech companies. Jahan also led the BioAccelerate program and co-led the New York Digital Health Accelerator, an innovative program that provided funding and mentorship to early-stage companies and connected them to potential customers to enable pilots at these organizations. Jahan also worked in business development at Mojave Therapeutics and has worked with numerous startup companies.. Jahan has a Ph.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, and did a post-doc in the Steinman laboratory at Rockefeller. She is an advisor to AmplifyHer Ventures and Springboard Enterprises.
Jordan Taylor Sloan is the Entrepreneurship Navigator for Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). Jordan works with entrepreneurs and businesses to efficiently partake in the NYSTAR network of innovation partners and oversees the development of initiatives to leverage gaps in the ecosystems.
Jordan has worked at the State and Local levels of economic development throughout her career, leading the Small Business Center at the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and working as a Project Manager for the State of Tennessee’s Business and Enterprise Resource Office. As a former entrepreneur, Jordan worked with brands, small businesses, and NGOs on incorporating circular economy applications into operations and how to best market those distinctions.
Jordan completed her Masters in Management at the Harvard Extension School where she graduated with honors for her work on the applications of the circular economy to spur private sector innovation and restorative economic development policy. Her research was published in the Harvard Circular Economy Symposium and her capstone was awarded the Semi Finalist prize at the Harvard University President’s Innovation Challenge.
Managing Director, New York Ventures at Empire State Development
Jennifer is Managing Director of New York Ventures at Empire State Development, a $100 million investment fund allocated toward direct equity investments into promising Seed and Series A start-ups and their diverse founding teams across New York State. Prior to joining Empire State Development, Jennifer spent 18 years with Cayuga Venture Fund where she invested in and supported entrepreneurs in technology-based start-ups. Jennifer has served on the boards of GiveGab, Pom, True Gault and Venuebook. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Tompkins Financial Corporation and the National Venture Capital Association.
Gwen is a Partner at IndieBio NY, advising and investing in companies at all stages of growth. Even before officially joining SOSV, Gwen was an active investor in IndieBio companies, including Tinctorium Bio/Huue, Lupa Bio/Intrinsic Medicine, and SyntheX. Gwen was a Venture Partner at Fusion Fund, an early stage fund in Palo Alto focused on AI/ML, robotics and medical devices, and a Director at Studio X, a machine learning venture studio based in Austin. Gwen spent 3 years with Singularity University Ventures, an impact-focused accelerator, and helped launch their first batch of startups in the Nordic campus. Prior to venture, Gwen spent 18 years on Wall Street investing in public equities, started her career at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and promoted to portfolio manager at a $300 million innovation-themed hedge fund.
Gwen is bilingual in computer science programming languages and wet lab research protocols. On the computer science side, she received her bachelor’s degree in math/economics with a minor in computer science electrical engineering. One of her four business school MBA concentrations was econometrics/statistical learning. She has completed all sixteen machine learning certification courses offered by DeepLearning.ai. On the wet lab biology side, Gwen spent 2 years at UCSF researching immunotherapy (CAR-T) for glioblastomas, and was second author on two publications. She spent summers researching x-ray protein crystallography, nitric oxide as an oncology therapeutic, and image recognition of breast cancer histology.
Gwen is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Yale University School of Medicine.
Maneesha is Partner and Co-Founder at FemHealth Ventures, a women’s health-focused venture capital firm. She has been investing in healthcare for over 20 years both as a venture capitalist and as an investor at hedge funds. She has held healthcare-focused investment roles at JPMorgan Partners, Kingdon Capital, and Highline Capital. Maneesha has invested $1 B+ in a multitude of public and private healthcare companies within therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health.
She earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, a B.S.E. from The Wharton School, and a B.A.S. from Penn Engineering. Her undergraduate work was in the dual-degree Management & Technology Program (“M&T”) at the University of Pennsylvania from which she graduated summa cum laude.
Maneesha serves as a Board Member for the M&T Executive Board at the University of Pennsylvania and on the Board of Directors for HealthyWomen.org, a leading health information source for millions of women. She is also on the Board of Directors of BioAesthetics Corporation. Maneesha is a Senior Advisor for ExSight Ventures and a Judge for startup competitions, including Harvard Business School VC Day.
Minolee Vora is an Associate at Rethink Impact, the largest, US-based impact venture capital firm with a gender lens that invests in female leaders using technology to solve the world’s biggest problems. In that capacity, she has worked on multiple healthcare investments including companies tackling mental health, caregiving and FemTech. Prior to Rethink Impact, she worked at Citigroup as an investment banking analyst in the healthcare sector. At Citi, she focused on life sciences equity capital raises along with mergers and acquisitions. Minolee received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business and a minor in Molecular Toxicology at the University of California Berkeley.
Buffy Alegria is a Managing Partner of SteelSky Ventures LLC, an early-stage venture fund that invests in and supports women’s healthcare solutions. She is passionate about redefining the venture capital model, elevating female entrepreneurs and investors, as well as continuing work to advance healthcare and medicine, specifically for women and children. Buffy is a member in the SeaChange Fund, Portfolia’s Femtech Fund, Pipeline Angels, and Sage Growth Capital, all of which are female managed funds. Additionally, she has personally invested in 5 female-led health care companies.
Buffy currently serves as Vice Chair on the Virginia Mason Memorial Board. She founded an initiative and is passionately working to transform how Women’s and Children’s Health Services are delivered within the Virginia Mason Memorial community. Buffy also serves as a board member for the Washington State Hospital Association and for Signal Health, a clinically integrated health care network. She earned an MST (Master of Management in Science and Technology) from Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology in Oregon (now part of OHSU), as well as a BS in Psychology & Biology from Pacific University in Oregon. She lives in Washington state with her husband and three daughters.
Breastfeeding is hard. Making decisions about infant formula and breast pumps is overwhelming. Navigating anecdotes vs. evidence-based approaches is confusing. Whether during pregnancy or the first months of your baby’s life, we’re here to answer your questions. At SimpliFed, you’ll meet with a highly skilled and trained lactation consultant to provide answers quickly through a secure, online, video-based connection.
Intelon Optics Inc. is a medical device company focusing on the development and commercialization of the Brillouin Optical Scanner System (BOSS™), a technology that enables next-generation point-by-point biomechanical imaging of eye structures, extending from the cornea to the posterior part of the globe.
Tandem Community is a digital health platform building accessible postpartum depression and anxiety mental health solutions with culturally curated tools and community for women of color
Aurie exists to support our users’ independence through the development of elevated medical products, so they can live their lives more fully on their own terms.
Rubitection’s skin health and care management system improves assessment, detection, and care management of dermatological and vascular conditions. Mission: Rubitection’s mission is to be the global standard system for skin health monitoring and care management for wounds and chronic skin conditions.
Ovaterra™ is the next generation of reproductive and sexual health. Professional-grade nutraceuticals and personalized cellular reproductive health platform developed by top IVF scientists. Born out of research. Delivered with compassion.
Jill Nelson – Owner – Natural Beauty Breast Prosthesis, LLC
Natural Beauty Breast Prosthesis, LLC
Natural Beauty Breast Prosthesis proudly manufactures an all-natural fiber, organic, toxic-free external breast form for women who have had mastectomies.
Stacy Blain – CEO & Co-Founder – Concarlo Holdings LLC
Concarlo Holdings LLC
Founded in July 2016 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Concarlo is a precision-medicine oncology company focused on diagnosing and treating cancer with an innovative approach to targeting a unique cellular pathway – p27Kip1.
BUPeriod, Public Benefit Corporation, is a lifestyle brand for women who are underserved and underrepresented in the menstrual health and Fem-Tech Industry.
Advanced Fetal Monitoring LLC was established in August 2020 to perform further research and development of the medical device co-invented, in collaboration at Syracuse University in 2013, by its Founder, Kimberly Flomerfelt-Puc.
