BUFFALO, NY - Members of the Canisius University community make up 17 percent of Business First’s Power 125 Women list for 2018. The list highlights the most influential women in the eight counties of Western New York. Business First compiled these rankings and defined “power” by the level of influence a woman has at her company, in her city or county and the length of her career. Only women who live full-time in Western New York were considered.
Of the 125 named, three Canisius alumnae are in the Top 10. Below is a complete listing of those members of the Canisius community who were honored:
Canisius alumnae:
#4 ‒ Rhonda Frederick MPA ᾽03, president and CEO, People Inc.
#5 – Kimberly Minkel ᾽96, executive director, NFTA
#8 – Allegra Jaros ’93, MBA ᾽96, president, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo; vice president, Kaleida Health
#11 – Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker ᾽82, president and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
#23 – Susan O’Sullivan ᾽04, vice president, advanced solutions, Cisco Business Unit, Ingram Micro U.S.
#44 – Laura Zaepfel ᾽86, vice president of corporate relations, Uniland Development Co.
#47 – Norma Nowak ᾽79, PhD, executive director, NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; founder and chief scientific officer, Empire Genomics LLC
#48 - Nancy Ware ᾽78, president and CEO, EduKids Inc.
#50 – Mary Roberts ᾽77, executive director, Martin House Restoration Corp.
#55 Mary Jean Jakubowski, MS ᾽73, director, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
#57 – Jill Syracuse ᾽83, executive vice president and chief engagement and servicing officer, Independent Health
#84 ‒ Linda Dobmeier ’83, chair, Buffalo State College Council; vice president, Dobmeier Janitorial Supplies Inc.
#103 – Kathleen Grisanti ᾽82, president and medical director, Pediatric and Adolescent Urgent Care of Western New York
#104 – Nora Eberl ᾽92, co-owner and CFO, Eberl Iron Works Inc.
#105 – Anne Gioia ’71, HON ’97, co-founder and trustee, Roswell Park Foundation
#106 ‒ Margaret McCarthy MS ’87, PhD, vice president for academic affairs, Canisius University
#108 – Nadine Marrero ᾽99, director of planning, city of Buffalo
#111 ‒ Katherine Ragusa MS ᾽06, CEO, The Advantage Co.
Canisius honorary degree recipients:
#22 – JoAnn Falletta HON ’00, music director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
#36 – Denise Roche HON ’92, chair, NFTA board of commissioners; retired president, D’Youville College
#63 ‒ Mindy Rich HON ’15, vice chair, Rich Products Corporation; president, Rich Entertainment Group
#95 ‒ Lana Benatovich HON ᾽99, president, National Federation for Just Communities of WNY
Canisius University is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
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