Ohio Wesleyan to Host ‘Leading the Way: Women in Business’ Panel Discussion
DELAWARE, Ohio – With their Ohio Wesleyan University diplomas firmly in hand, these three women went on to become leaders in the business world in the private aviation, information technology, and healthcare industries.
They will discuss their challenges and successes during the university’s first “Leading the Way: Women in Business” panel discussion at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The event is free and open to the public.
“Leading the Way” during the panel discussion will be Colleen Nissl, OWU Class of 1972; Sonnetta Sturkey, OWU Class of 1983; and Kara Trott, OWU Class of 1983. Each panelist will speak for 15 minutes and then respond to questions and comments from the audience and panel moderators.
About The Panelists
Colleen K. Nissl ’72
Colleen K. Nissl is the senior vice president and global general counsel of NetJets Inc. She has been a member of NetJets’ executive management team since she joined the Columbus-based company in 2011. A Berkshire Hathaway company, NetJets is the worldwide leader in private aviation with the largest and most diverse private jet fleet in the world. Nissl is responsible for the NetJets’ worldwide legal team and real estate, spanning operations in the United States, Europe, and China. Before joining NetJets, she served as associate general counsel for Momentive (formerly Borden Inc.), a global leader in specialty chemical production. Previously, she served on the board of the Latin American Agricultural Development Bank, worked as senior counsel for Battelle Memorial Institute, and served as chief counsel in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. At Ohio Wesleyan, Nissl majored in history. Learn more at www.netjets.com.
Sonnetta Sturkey ’83
Sonnetta Sturkey is the chief executive officer and president of Campbell Hairston LLC. She has 28 years of high-level management and operations experience in the public and private sectors. In the public sector, she served as chief operations officer for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, where she oversaw information technology, human resources, legal, contracting, and public relations. During her tenure, the department employed nearly 4,000 people and had a $22 billion budget. In the private sector, Sturkey has worked in the banking industry in both operations and management. Her current employer, Columbus, Ohio-based Campbell Hairston, is a minority-owned consulting company with a combined 50 years of expertise in leadership and operations. The company assists clients with staff augmentation, human resources consulting, information technology (IT) consulting, and training support in these areas. At Ohio Wesleyan, she majored in zoology. Learn more at campbellhairston.com.
Kara Trott ’83
Kara Trott is the founder and chief executive officer of Quantum Health Inc. By leading a two-year study applying consumer behavior strategies to track patients and providers throughout the healthcare process, Trott brought to life the Quantum Health program. Columbus-based Quantum Health is an award-winning consumer navigation and care coordination company serving the healthcare needs of self-funded, public- and private-sector employers across the United States. It has a proven history of making client benefits plans more efficient while maintaining industry-leading satisfaction rates and claims savings. It helps patients, families, and physicians work together to ensure proper care, eliminating redundant, delayed, and questionable care. Previously, Trott worked as a corporate attorney with the law firm Bricker & Eckler, as well as a strategic marketing consultant and project manager at RPA, an international consulting firm. At Ohio Wesleyan, she majored in politics and philosophy. Learn more at quantum-health.com.
Ohio Wesleyan’s “Leading the Way” panel discussion is co-presented by the university’s Bigelow-Reed House and President’s Club. The event is being sponsored by OWU’s Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship.
The Bigelow-Reed House, dedicated in 2011, is named after William F. Bigelow, OWU Class of 1905, and John Reed, Honorary OWU Class of 2004. The house, located on Williams Drive, combines learning and living opportunities for students interested in the business world. It includes an apartment for visiting lecturers, allowing the students to network and interact with the accomplished professionals.
The President’s Club, created more than 20 years ago, includes students interviewed and selected to assist the university with important events and initiatives. Students are chosen based on academics, involvement, leadership, service, and character/integrity. They serve as role models who personify Ohio Wesleyan’s liberal arts ideals, and they benefit from unique opportunities for leadership development and networking.
The Woltemade Center, established in 1985, works to enhance teaching, learning, research, and community service at Ohio Wesleyan, with its primary focus on the Department of Economics and the fields of economics, finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, accounting, and international business. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Economics at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-economics/ and more about the Woltemade Center at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-economics/the-woltemade-center/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.