Malli Gero to keynote Jan. 19 WBOA breakfast

Date: 1/3/2012

HOLYOKE — During its breakfast networking meeting on Jan. 19 from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m., the Women Business Owners Alliance of the Pioneer Valley (WBOA) will present keynote speaker Malli Gero, executive director of 2020 Women on Boards — a national campaign to increase the number of women on corporate boards to 20 percent or more by the year 2020.

The event will take place at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, 1866 Northampton St.

The presentation will include information on the latest research: the number of women directors who serve on corporate boards in the Fortune 1000 (F1000).

“While several organizations provide this information about Fortune 500 companies, we believe that studying the F1000 provides a better picture about the business community,” said Gero, who is principal of Gero Communications, a marketing communications firm. “We will also discuss why this issue should be of interest to corporate stakeholders and give the audience practical ideas of how they can help to influence corporate decision makers.”

Gero has served as an account executive for public relations agencies in New York and Boston. She is chairman of the board of More Than Words, an innovative social enterprise, and is past chair and president of the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation in Brookline, Mass. She has also served on the boards of the Brookline Educational Foundation, Ruggles Street Mission Hill Day Care Center, a division of Associated Day Care Services of Greater Boston, and Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline.

The WBOA invites all interested community and business members to attend this breakfast meeting. The cost to attend is $15 for WBOA members and $20 for non-members. RSVP by Jan. 15.

To register online, go to www.wboa.org or by calling 827-4182.