8 a.m.
Registration and Networking
9 a.m.
Opening Session
Matt Folk
President and CEO // Purdue for Life Foundation
Patrick Wolfe
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity // Purdue University
Jacqueline M. Gatson
Assistant Vice President of Advancement for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging // Purdue for Life Foundation
9:30 a.m.
Amplifying Alumni Engagement and Giving
Jillian Henry
Vice President of Engagement // Purdue for Life Foundation
Himani Shah
Chief Development Officer for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging // Purdue for Life Foundation
10:30 a.m.
Amplifying Faculty and Research
Jenny Hansen
Director of Foundation Relations // Purdue for Life Foundation
Andrew Weintraut
Executive Director of Foundation Relations // Purdue for Life Foundation
11 a.m.
Amplifying Supplier Diversity
Brandon Gatson
Supplier Diversity Manager // Purdue University
11:15 a.m.
Lunch and Networking Fair
1 P.M.
Fireside Chat: Amplifying Indiana
Karrah Herring
Chief Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity Officer // State of Indiana
2:30 p.m.
Amplifying Inclusive Storytelling
Travis Brown
Founder and CEO // Mojo Up Marketing and Media
Deon Levingston
Regional Vice President // Radio One
Robert Shegog
President and CEO // Recorder Media Group
Leon Williamson
Senior Vice President of Sales // iHeartMedia Indianapolis
3:30 P.M.
Industry Panel: Amplifying Industry Partnerships
Yiesha Beamon
Founder and Owner // The Y Effect
Cicely Hart
Vice President of Region Support // Duke Energy – Midwest
Tonya Sisco
Executive Director of Corporate Responsibility for Racial Equity // Cummins
4:30 p.m.
Closing Session
Jacqueline M. Gatson
Assistant Vice President of Advancement for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging // Purdue for Life Foundation
5–6 p.m.
Networking Mixer
Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.
A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.
Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.
In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.