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| In this section: About the Alumna Award Criteria Past recipients |
2004 Aluman Award Recipient: Jane Sadowsky
Jane Sadowsky (WG' 89) received the 2004 "Kathleen E. McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award" for outstanding personal and professional achievements. A Managing Director at Citigroup, Jane has had a brilliant career as a banker, but more importantly has been a wonderful role model for all Wharton women. Since the beginning of her career, Jane has mentored numerous women, providing much needed advice in a male-dominated industry. The awards committee commented that Jane "embraces life, has a wonderful sense of humor and is an inspiration". Stephanie Mann (WG' 04) describes her as being "truly committed to her clients, the bank overall, her team, her family, her friends and her hobbies." Jane exemplifies how women can be successful in their careers without sacrificing family.
Ms. Sadowsky is a Managing Director and the Co-Head of Citigroup's (f/k/a Salomon Smith Barney) North America Power Group. She has been an investment banker since earning her MBA from Wharton in 1989. Her clients include several leading independent power producers, several of the non-regulated subsidiaries and spin-offs of regulated utilities, merchant traders and regulated utilities. In her role, Ms. Sadowsky works with her clients on both advisory and capital raising opportunities.
Prior to joining Salomon Smith Barney in July 2000, Ms. Sadowsky spent 11 years as an investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Prior to focusing full time on the power industry, she had extensive experience in both in and out of court corporate restructurings and bankruptcies and advised companies such as Wang Computers, Orion Pictures, Trump Organization and TWA.
In addition to receiving her MBA at Wharton, Ms. Sadowsky earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in New York City and spends many weekends in Columbia County, New York.
2003 Aluman Award Recipient: Beth Cohen
Beth Cohen received the 2003 "Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award" for outstanding personal and professional achievements. Beth, a 1991 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, is the 7th recipient of the award presented each year by the Wharton Women in Business (WWIB) student-run organization. The award was presented during a luncheon at the annual Wharton Women in Business Conference on October 31, 2003 at the Park Hyatt in Philadelphia.
Beth holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a JD from Rutgers University where she was an Editor of Law Review, and a BA magna cum laude from Brandeis University. She is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Israel.
Beth is a business development, marketing and legal executive with broad experience in both domestic and international markets. She has developed and negotiated key business relationships for large and small companies, including acquisitions, technology transfer arrangements and strategic alliances. She has also led diverse strategic and marketing initiatives in technology, publishing, information services and real estate.
Most recently, Beth was Of Counsel at Towers Perrin, a global human resources consulting firm. From 2000 to 2003, Beth was Vice President of Strategic Business Development and General Counsel of RentPort, Inc., an early stage, venture-backed technology company based in Denver. Beth helped take RentPort from start up to profitability in less than 3 years. Prior to RentPort, she was a principal in TenX Capital Partners, a private equity firm. As a Managing Director of Franklin Electronic Publishers from 1991 to 1995, Beth co-led the Company's entry into the European market and substantially increased Franklin's presence in the U.S. She was a member of the international legal department of Tadiran Ltd., Israel's largest electronics company, and served as Chief Outside Counsel to Tadiran’s largest U.S. subsidiary. Beth has also practiced corporate law with a prominent Philadelphia law firm.
Beth is committed to the advance of women in business, and is the founder of the Wharton Women’s Network and a founding member of the Wharton Women’s Task Force. She has launched and/or participated in a number of other initiatives on behalf of business and professional women. Beth is also the mother of five children.
Joli Cooper, President and CEO of Cooper Nelson & Associates, received the 2002 "Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award" for outstanding personal and professional achievements. Cooper, a 1988 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, is the 6th recipient of the award presented each year by the Wharton Women in Business (WWIB) student-run organization. The award was presented during a luncheon at the annual Wharton Women in Business Conference on November 1, 2002 at the Park Hyatt in Philadelphia.
Named in memory of the late Kathleen McDonald, a Wharton alumna and founder of the Graduate Women in Business Network, the award recognizes distinguished Wharton alumnae who have demonstrated professional success and who serve as role models for women in business. Candidates for the award are nominated by the Wharton community. A WWIB electing committee reviews the nominees and selects the winner based on professional excellence, career success, community involvement, advocacy of women's issues and personal pursuits. Over thirty nominees were considered for this year's award.
"Joli Cooper's business and community leadership, coupled with her balance of career, family, and personal interests, are truly outstanding and an inspiration to us all," said Dulany Dent, then co-alumnae liaison for the Wharton Women in Business. "She is extremely deserving of this award and it has been our pleasure in selecting her."
"I am extremely honored to have been selected for this prestigious award," said Cooper. "I especially appreciate the work that the Wharton Women in Business is doing to encourage supportive environments for women in business and to create networking opportunities between current students and alumnae."
Cooper received the distinguished alumni award on the same day that she announced her transition from Corporate America to start a marketing consulting practice. Most recently, Cooper held the position of senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Vitality Foodservice, Inc. in Tampa. She previously served as president and chief operating officer of Pasco Brands, Inc., the retail division of parent-company Vitality Beverages, Inc., where she transformed the financial performance and corporate culture for both the retail and foodservice divisions. She had also been vice president of marketing with Pasco Brands (formerly Lykes Consumer Brands, Inc.).
Before joining Pasco Brands, Cooper was as a director of marketing and sales at Tropicana Products/Joseph E. Seagram, where she held a number of positions in Bradenton, Florida, as well as assignments in the United Kingdom and South America during her five-year tenure with the company. Prior to that, she worked in various marketing roles for Nestle USA in Glendale, California. She also has experience with the former Bankers Trust Company of New York (acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999) and Aetna Life & Casualty Insurance Company of Philadelphia.
Cooper earned her undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and completed her MBA from The Wharton School. She and her husband, Anthony Nelson, reside in Tampa with their three children, Ashley, Alana, and Anthony.
2001 Aluman Award Recipient: Anne-Marie Corner
Wharton Women in Business is privileged to award the 2001 Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award to Anne-Marie Corner.
Upon graduating from theWharton Business School, Anne-Marie Corner founded Biosyn, Inc., biotechnology company in Philadelphia, focused on developing novel targeted-delivery pharmaceutical products for the prevention and treatment of infectious disease. For eleven years Ms. Corner has overseen all corporate functional areas including finance, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, and business development. As President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of the Board of Directors, Ms. Corner has progressed two of Biosyn’s major AIDS-related drugs from discovery through to human clinical trials. Included among these is SAVVYÒ, a vaginal microbicide designed for women to prevent the transmission of HIV / AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases including chlamydia and gonorrhea. The other leading product, ORAMEDÒ, is an oral rinse for treatment of one of the most common infections associated with AIDS.
Thus far, Ms. Corner has also raised over $30 million in financing for Biosyn in the form of equity investments, grants, and contracts. Anne-Marie Corner’s accomplishments in business were recently acknowledged by her selection as Entrepreneur of the Year for the Life Sciences category in the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program. Previously Ms. Corner received the “Woman of Distinction” award from the Philadelphia Business Journal, “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” given by the Committee of 200, an international organization of the world’s preeminent businesswomen, “50 Best Businesswomen in Pennsylvania” in 1997, included in the Honor Roll of Businesswomen in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Business Journal, “Woman to Watch” and “Company to Watch” by Business Philadelphia Magazine, and has been profiled in a series of articles by the Wall Street Journal on entrepreneurship.
Anne-Marie Corner has also been committed to the growth of other women led businesses as co-founder, past President, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Investment Network (WIN). WIN’s mission is fourfold - to educate entrepreneurs on financing their businesses, to provide a forum for networking, to mentor other female entrepreneurs and to expand their access to capital. Ms. Corner was an invited speaker to the Women’s Economic Summit in Washington, D.C. in 1998, where she led a two-day session on finance for the entrepreneur and also spoke to the Summit about WIN as a model for other organizations on a national level. Ms. Corner is also a vocal advocate for small businesses in the health care arena, and regularly testifies on issues that help small entrepreneurial companies access government funding.
In recognition of her dedication to AIDS prevention and treatment, Ms. Corner has been an invited speaker at the White House Conference on AIDS, has testified several times before the President’s Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS on the status of AIDS prevention drug development, and has met with previous Vice President Al Gore in a private meeting with leaders in the pharmaceutical industry to identify means of expediting AIDS drug development. She is a Member of the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Microbicide Development, an international organization focused on the development of microbicides to prevent STD transmission. Presently, Anne-Marie Corner is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Eastern Technology Council.
In balance with her successful career and community involvement, Ms. Corner is married with two daughters, ages eight and six.
2000 Aluman Award Recipient: Connie Duckworth
Wharton Women in Business is privileged to award the 2000 Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award to Connie Duckworth.
Connie Duckworth, Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs in the Sales and Trading group. Ms. Duckworth was the company’s first female Sales and Trading partner. She is dedicated to promoting women and minorities at the firm and spends time helping inner-city youth. She is the mother of four, on the Board of the Committee of 2000, various academic boards, and serves as a supporter of female entrepreneurs.
Ms. Duckworth earned her MBA from Wharton in 1979.
1999 Aluman Award Recipient: Paula H.J. Cholmondeley
Wharton Women in Business is privileged to award the 1999 Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award to Paula H.J. Cholmondeley, Independent Strategy Consultant.
Ms. Cholmondeley completed her Wharton MBA in 1971.
1997 Aluman Award Recipient: Beth Kaplan
Wharton Women in Business was privileged to award the 1997 Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award to Ms. Beth Kaplan, Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Rite Aid Corporation. Wharton Women in Business recognizes Ms. Kaplan as a role model for Wharton women by creating a supportive environment for women in business, achieving professional excellence, and demonstrating a commitment to balance career, community involvement, and other personal pursuits.
As Executive Vice President in charge of Marketing for the Rite Aid Corporation, Ms. Kaplan holds all marketing, merchandising, pricing, and store design responsibilities for the nation's largest drugstore chain. Prior to Rite Aid, Ms. Kaplan worked as a marketing executive for 16 years at Procter & Gamble. Ms. Kaplan joined the Rite Aid Corporation in 1996 to enhance Rite Aid's brand equity, further develop category management initiatives, and spearhead customer friendly merchandising.
Ms. Kaplan has contributed greatly to both the business world and the community at large. Ms. Kaplan is active in her Maryland community and involved in a variety of civil and corporate service activities. She sits on the boards of Sinai Hospital and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Kaplan also participates in the Economic Planning Commission for the state of Maryland, the Strategic Planning Committee of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the Children's Museum. She has two children, Henry and Seth, with her husband Bruce Sholk.
Ms. Kaplan attended both the Wharton undergraduate and graduate programs, graduating with a BS in Economics in 1980 and an MBA degree in 1981. She continues to contribute to the Wharton community by serving on the Wharton School Undergraduate Executive Board and on the Trustees Council of Penn Women.
1996 Aluman Award Recipient: Slivy Edmonds Cotton
Wharton Women in Business was privileged to award the 1996 Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award to Ms. Slivy Edmonds Cotton, the Senior Managing director for The Edmonds Group, a newly formed private investment and merchant baking firm. The Edmonds Group has been formed to acquire controlling or leading equity positions in middles-market companies and to invest in turn-arounds, restructurings or other special situations. It is the successor firm to Walnut Capital Corporation, a highly successful merchant banking firm.
Ms. Cotton has always sought to be an active contributor to the communities in which she resides; her participation in numerous community and business organizations reflects these goals. Slivy Edmonds Cotton holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College of New York City and an MBA degree from the Wharton School, Class of 1979. With this Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award, Wharton Women In Business recognizes Ms. Cotton's outstanding ability to serve as a role model for Wharton Women, her professional success, her potential for continued career development, and her commitment to balancing career, community involvement, and other personal pursuits.