What do a landscaper, a banker, and a recycler all have in common? They are all successful business leaders who have overcome gender stereotypes en route to success. Linda Bowden, Valerie Montecalvo, and Karen Siciliano will discuss their experiences at Monmouth University’s upcoming women’s forum, The Unpaved Road to Success: How New Jersey Business Leaders Forged Their Path.
The panel discussion, sponsored by the Leon Hess Business School, is slated for Thursday, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. in Wilson Auditorium.
Bowden, New Jersey regional president of PNC Bank, has been named among the “25 Women to Watch” by U.S. Banker magazine and was recognized as one of the “Best 50 Women in Business” by NJBiz. Prior to joining PNC in 2009, she was the managing director of Wachovia Wealth Management. Bowden began her career as a teacher in Wyckoff, N.J. and authored two children’s math books. She serves on the board of the Drumthwacket Foundation, Newark Celebration 350, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the William Paterson University Foundation as well as the executive committees of the Adler Aphasia Center in Maywood, N.J., the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Choose New Jersey. She is also a Fairleigh Dickinson University PINNACLE recipient, the highest honor awarded to alumni.
Montecalvo is owner and CEO of Bayshore Recycling Corporation (BRC), a nationally-recognized and award-winning facility in Woodbridge. A New Jersey native, Montecalvo leads the most diverse and multifaceted operation of its kind on the East Coast. BRC’s Eco-Complex and Energy Campus has been coined the “Mega-Mall for Recycling” by former NJDEP Commissioner, Lisa Jackson, who was a former USEPA administrator under President Barack Obama. She has been an invited speaker, panelist, and moderator for numerous symposiums and events for the “Going Green” campaign across New Jersey-including the CIANJ Women of Influence Series and the NJ Governor’s Conference for Women. She is a dedicated environmentalist and trustee of The New Jersey Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
Siciliano is president of Siciliano Landscape Company in Red Bank, which is a full-service landscape architecture firm in addition to providing maintenance and installation. She had been working in finance for 18 years, serving as vice president of JP Morgan and Chase Manhattan Bank in Mortgage Backed Securities, and then the 9/11 attacks changed her world. Several months later she left Wall Street to take over her family’s 80-year old landscape business. Since then, the business has quadrupled in size and has generously donated their services to local businesses. Siciliano also serves as an executive officer on the board of trustees for the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation, as a board of director for the Count Basie Theatre Foundation and a member of the advisory board for Investors Bank. A proven leader early on, she was also named the first female in Purdue University’s history ever elected president of the 35,000-member student body.
Peter S. Reinhart, director of Monmouth University’s Kislak Real Estate Institute, will facilitate the panel discussion.
This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.