The inaugural Alys Smith Symposium on Women Professionals will feature the president of the West Virginia Gas and Oil Association, Maribeth Anderson. Anderson is a 1992 graduate of Marshall University and leads one of the most prominent groups in the state.
The inaugural symposium of female leaders of industry will take place Tuesday, Nov. 15, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Shawkey Dining Room of the Memorial Student Center. A panel discussion, by women that are leading the way in industries like investment, marketing, management and entrepreneurship throughout the region and state, will follow Anderson’s keynote address.
“Pam Nibert at the Marshall Foundation has been so helpful in working with me to include prominent alumna Maribeth Anderson, who, in turn, was gracious in her willingness to help launch this event. Everyone will certainly benefit from hearing about the experiences not only of Anderson, but of all the panelists,” said Dr. Hilary Brewster, the director of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program at Marshall, which is a co-sponsor of the event.
Elected as the first female president of the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia in September, Anderson has worked her way from news director at WSAZ to the current director of government relations at Antero Resources.
The symposia series is named in honor of Alys Smith, a practicing attorney and the wife of Marshall University President Brad D. Smith. The couple co-founded the Wing 2 Wing Foundation, which aims to distribute entrepreneurial opportunity to students in geographic areas that don’t have access to the same professional opportunities as others in different regions.
“I made a point to reach out to Alys when she and President Smith first moved here, hoping to get her involved in some way with women’s studies,” Brewster said.. “This new, biannual event series felt like the perfect mix of Marshall and community involvement. Alys has been exceptionally generous of her time, and we are excited for this first symposium to feature women in the business world, since that seemed like the perfect fit.”
For more information on the inaugural Alys Smith Symposium on Women Professionals, contact Brewster by e-mail at brewsterh@marshall.edu.