Fiftyfaces Focus - Inspiring Women in Tech, Medicine and Beyond Liana Slater & Aoifinn Devitt

Keren Leshem is Chief Executive Officer at OCON Therapeutics, which develops innovative and safe intra-uterine medical solutions inspired by women’s bodies and anatomy, She is also a board director at Aspivix, and was recently awarded Best Women’s HealthTech CEO 2023 in the Global CEO Excellence Awards.  She holds a number of other Board Roles and in 2022 was a Tech Pioneer at the World Economic Forum and is a Mentor within the 8400 Health Network. Our conversation dives right in to the state of women's health research and the innovative methods of intra-uterine delivery that OCON is developing that can treat a range of conditions in a non-invasive and efficient way. We speak about the challenge of attracting funding, particularly at this juncture given OCON's location and the perseverance and advocacy that has to continue throughout this process. We describe the treatments and therapies in detail and ask what some of the barriers are to attracting more attention for women's health. There is more detail on OCON on the website: https://oconmed.com/This episode is a collaboration between The Fiftyfaces Podcast at fiftyfaceshub.com and The Mindshare Podcast at www.monumentalme.com/podcast.

Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes is a top NYC Oncologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is the creator and host of the award-winning monthly podcast Cancer Straight Talk from MSKCC where she leans in and tackles the subject of cancer head on, in English and Spanish.A noted clinical investigator, Diane served previously as President of MSK’s Medical Staff.  She currently serves as Vice Chair in the Department of Medicine. During the COVID crisis in NYC, she served as Chief of Clinical Care as part of the Hospital Incident Command System. As a researcher, she focuses on developing treatments of gastrointestinal (GI) tumors.  She is a member of the National Cancer Institute Taskforce and a member of the National Cancer Care Network Guidelines.  She is the recipient of several honors, including the Paul Sherlock Teaching Award, Castle Connolly Top Doctors, and the American Cancer Society Mother of the Year Award.  In addition, Diane maintains a high-volume GI Oncology clinic.You can find her podcast Cancer Straight Talk at https://www.mskcc.org/cancerstraighttalk.This episode is a collaboration between The Fiftyfaces Podcast at fiftyfaceshub.com and The Mindshare Podcast at www.monumentalme.com/podcast.

Jessica Karr is the founder and managing director of Coyote Ventures, an investment firm that focuses on backing founders who are solving problems that disproportionately affect overlooked populations with a foundation in women’s health.  She is also a limited partner of Portfolia FemTech II Fund, designed for women who want to back entrepreneurial companies for returns and impact, among other advisory roles.Our discussion starts with her early career and what led her into venture and an interest in healthcare in particular.  We speak about the mentors that inspired her at this stage of her career and what led to her decision to launch Coyote Ventures. We turn then to the the fundraising experience and the level of attention given to women's health and the innovations in same.  Unfortunately these areas are often overlooked and underfunded.  She then describes the support that has come from across the industry and how innovative methods of drawing support - such as allocating a percentage of real estate deals to Coyote Ventures has been such an unique way to raise visibility for these issues and the Fund in particular. There is more information about Coyote Ventures on https://www.coyote.ventures/This episode is a collaboration between The Fiftyfaces Podcast at fiftyfaceshub.com and The Mindshare Podcast at www.monumentalme.com/podcast.

Dr. Tara Bishop is passionate about improving health and healthcare. In her twenty-year careeras a physician executive, Tara has on-the-ground experience in delivery system improvement,health policy, payer operations, product development, value-based care, and start-ups.  She isthe founder and managing director of Black Opal Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests incompanies that are transforming healthcare through technology. Tara served as the Chief Medical Officer at Bind, a health insurance start-up that is at the forefront of disruptinghealthcare. She was a leader in the early development of the Bind product and helped grow thecompany 10x in revenue in 3 years.  Prior to joining Bind, Tara was the Medical Director andSenior Expert at McKinsey & Co. She designed new payment models for numerous clients. Shewas an associate professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy at Cornell Medical School whereshe did cutting-edge research on health policy, innovative technologies, and health services.She directed quality improvement at Cornell and cared for patients as a primary care doctor. Dr.Bishop has published almost 50 peer-reviewed research articles which have been cited by theNY Times, WSJ, and others.  Tara serves on the boards of Optellum and led investments inIntellihealth, Empatica, and Conceivable Life Sciences. Tara is also an Associate Professor ofPopulation Health Sciences (Courtesy) at Weill Cornell Medical School and was named aWoman of Influence in Venture Capital by Private Equity International in 2022. She holds a BSin Chemical Engineering from MIT and an MD degree from Weill Cornell Medical School.This episode is a collaboration between The Fiftyfaces Podcast at fiftyfaceshub.com and The Mindshare Podcast at www.monumentalme.com/podcast.

Inspiring people advancing women’s healthThis podcast series builds on our successful global Women-in-Tech healthcare series, as well as our capsule collections focused on maternal mortality and changemakers in medicine and science. With a focus on profiling inspiring healthcare professionals, investors, tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and capital providers, we examine the trends, the themes and opportunities within the healthcare segment. We drill down on the under invested area of women’s health, ask why this under-investment persists and examine innovations and community initiatives to raise awareness, build solidarity, and create impact. The podcast series includes an initial four podcasts and is co-hosted by Liana Slater and Aoifinn Devitt. It relates to the missions of Fiftyfaces Productions and Monumental Me as follows:At Fiftyfaces Productions we believe that you can’t be what you can’t see and that you won’t see, what you don’t support and amplify. In 2024 we are committed to ensuring progress towards the following UN SDGs:SDG 3 Good Health and WellbeingSDG 4 Quality EducationSDG 5 Gender EqualitySDG 8 Decent Work and Economic GrowthSDG 9 Industry Innovation and InfrastructureSDG 10 Reduced InequalitiesSDG 13 Climate ActionThe Fiftyfaces Productions maternal mortality series is part of our mission to spread awareness of women’s health issues and to further SDGs 3, 4, 5 and 10. The 3 part series tackles first the problem, then suggests solutions and finally looks around the world for how other countries have tackled this problem and some of the innovations that we are seeing in technology and AI that can address some of the shortfalls.The Mindshare Podcast is an award-winning production from Monumental Me that supports the organization’s dedication to highlighting thought leaders’ insights for personal and professional wellness. We share industry and topic expertise and uncover personal experiences to identify real tools to help you thrive in life and in your career.Monumental Me's mission is to support you through your growth journey by providing you with the resources and tools you need to ensure you reach your full potential for both personal and professional wellness. We believe everyone has something monumental to offer.

Madeleine Dassule is Partner & Co-Head, Technology at Wellington Management.  She previously was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the area of equity trading technology.  She holds a number of Board roles including being a member of the Board of Finos and Boston City Singers. Our conversation starts with her upbringing in France, and her path to study math at Columbia College. We discuss the French approach to education - the concept of "peut mieux faire" - can do better/can try harder, and how this influenced her to push herself, but also hold out standards for the industry. We move then to her career trajectory and the unexpected twists and turns that led to such a fulfilling position at Wellington.  We talk about what is on her mind as tech leader today - the importance of scale, of using technology as a way to enable people to flourish.  We talk about the importance of cybersecurity, of continuous improvement and of growing a tech stack that is fit for purpose.Madeleine has always placed a high priority on career development and mentorship, and we pose the fundamental question as to whether the wisdom that we internalized - as a certain generation - is necessarily the wisdom that we wish to pass to future generations.  She reveals the lessons that frank and honest feedback has taught her, and suggests how we should all give and receive feedback ourselves.