Press Release

Enron Whistleblower, National Journalist Dissected “Crisis In Corporate Ethics” April 26 at National Women's Leadership Conference
Simmons School of Management Hosted Premier National Event at Boston’s World Trade Center

BOSTON (April 26, 2003)—The nation’s best-known female whistleblower squared off with one of the most respected female broadcast journalists on Sat., April 26 before an audience of 2,000 women during a provocative analysis of the crisis in corporate ethics, at the Simmons School of Management (SOM) women’s leadership conference in Boston.

Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins--the current Time magazine “Person of the Year”--and Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of PBS’s “Washington Week in Review” and moderator of “News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” gave their perspectives on the current loss of public trust in corporate America, as one of several forums at the 24th annual SOM Leadership Conference. The conference, “Dare to Dream,” was from 8 a.m.-6:45 p.m. in Boston’s World Trade Center.

The world’s premier leadership conference for women also featured other women nationally known for their risk-taking, including Anita Hill, the lawyer who nearly derailed Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court nomination and brought workplace sexual harassment to the forefront of national discussion; Candice Bergen, outspoken actress/photojournalist and now television journalist; media icon Barbara Walters, a pioneer for women in broadcast journalism ; and scientist Jane Goodall, who laid the groundwork for future primate studies when she became one of the first women scientists to venture into the wilds of Africa.

Watkins, former Enron Corp. vice president, gained national attention after she warned Enron chairman Kenneth Lay in an Aug. 2001 internal memo of the company’s “elaborate accounting hoax,” shortly before the accounting schemes and insider deals became public and the company collapsed, leading to the biggest bankruptcy in American history. Her Congressional testimony is largely credited with passage of new federal legislation that affords some protection to employees who raise internal alarms. Her book “Power Failure” is scheduled for spring publication.

Throughout the day there will be sessions led by nationally known female social activists, technology gurus, entrepreneurs, media figures and business experts. Designed to address the challenges facing today’s professional women, conference topics include negotiation skills, stress management, financial planning, work-life balance, business communications, and entrepreneurship.

Among the workshops will be “The Female Advantage—Truth or Friction,” with panelists Anita Hill, Donna Brazile, Phoebe Eng and moderator Sally Helgesen; “How to Say What You Mean and Speak Powerfully,” with nationally acclaimed communications expert Phyllis Mindell; “Negotiations for Women Who are in Less Powerful Positions,” with Phyllis Kritek, author of the landmark book Negotiating at an Uneven Table; and “The Emotional Component in Attitudes toward Money,” with renowned money manager Suze Orman.

Conference organizer Joyce Kolligian said the day is designed for women “ to meet and be empowered by other women who have taken risks and made it to the top with courage and conviction.”

“These are women who have been out there with their shirt sleeves rolled up,” she said. “The stories they share are always enormously empowering and motivating to other women.”

Conference corporate sponsors include Hewlett- Packard Company, JPMorgan, Brown & Company, Johnson & Johnson, American Express Financial Services, Inc., Goodwin Procter LLP, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, FleetBoston Financial, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Pfizer, Catalina Marketing, State Street Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

All conference proceeds will support scholarships to the Simmons School of Management, which offers the only MBA program in the world designed specifically for women.

Advance ticket sales before March 3 are $445; after March 3, $650. For further information, or to register online, go to www.simmons.edu/leadership or call 617-521-3858 (inside MA), or 1-800-208-4476 (outside MA).

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