College of Medicine
Commission for Women
On This Page
Supporting women in Hershey, Pa.
Penn State Commission for Women in Hershey extends a warm welcome to all employees and students affiliated with Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine.
Commission for Women seeks to promote women’s initiatives in the areas of equity, volunteering/community, mentoring, professional development and recognition, strengthening networking and social connections and workplace safety.
There is no requirement for membership, and all employees of Penn State Health and the College of Medicine are encouraged to join, regardless of gender.
Mission and History
Penn State Commission for Women seeks to promote the efforts of faculty, staff, trainees and students affiliated with Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health to allow for the full and equitable participation, advancement and collaboration of women by identifying and resolving issues pertinent to women.
In addition, a key focus of the Commission for Women is to identify and actively support women’s needs within the broader community.
The group was organized in 2011 as the Organization for the Advancement of Women, and in 2015 was recognized as an officially supported campus organization in Hershey.
Leadership
Brenda Thomas
Administrative Support Coordinator, Office of Research Affairs
Chair-elect
Pending (2026-2027)
Past chairs
Raz Abdulqadir (2024-2025)
Terri Smith (2023-2024)
Jennifer Nyland (2022-2023)
Jaime Bashore Long (2021-2022)
Jessica Yingst (2020-2021)
Julie Gill (2019-2020)
Penny Devlin (2018-2019)
Lidija Petrovic-Dovat (2017-2018)
Catherine Caruso (2016-2017)
Mary Leone (2015-2016)
Lisa Walborn (2014-2015)
Maria Baker (2013-2014)
Soha Ghossani (2012-2013)
Patricia Sue Grigson (founder)
Teams
Events
Awards
Since 2013, Penn State Commission for Women‘s 3C award has recognized the significant effort of an individual, regardless of gender, whose work and volunteer efforts have impacted the advancement of women within or outside the University in any of the following areas:
Commitment: Demonstrating commitment toward supporting the growth of women through education, mentorship, leadership or opportunity
Community: Addressing the needs of women and girls or promoting female initiatives in the community
Change: Championing change, advocating and creating impact regarding women’s issues
Recipients
2026: Jennifer Nyland, PhD - Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
2025: Not awarded due to restructuring
2024: Nicole Hackman, MD - Pediatrics
2023: Rhea Sullivan – MD/PhD candidate
2022: Shubhra Kumar-Bradley, MD – Internal Medicine
2021: Anna Ssentongo, DrPH, MPH – Surgery and Public Health Sciences
2020: Kristin Eckert, PhD – Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
2019: Cynthia Chuang, MD, MSc – Medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine and Hospital Medicine)
2018: Tamara Oser, MD – Family and Community Medicine
2017: Rose Baron – Public Health Sciences
2016: Jennifer Knepper, RN, MSN, CCRN – Nursing
2015: Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld, MD, MSc – Medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine and Hospital Medicine)
2014: Angela Phillips – Penn State Medical Group
2013: Beth Bradley, RN, MSN – Nursing
The annual Mentoring Award of Penn State Commission for Women in Hershey recognizes faculty, staff and trainees for exemplary and effective mentorship.
The award recognizes a mentor who has voluntarily helped others to reach their potential professionally and personally.
Recipients
2026: Leslie Parent, MD - Medicine (Faculty winner)
2026: Sandra Pasic - Cardiac sonographer (Staff winner)
2026: Hannah Kuntz - MD student (Student winner)
2025: Not awarded due to restructuring
2024: To-Nhu Vu, MD - Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (Faculty winner)
2024: Karen Ostwald - Patient Logistics (Staff winner)
2024: Raz Abdulqadir - Postdoctoral scholar (Student winner)
2023: Kristin Riley, MD – Obstetrics and Gynecology (Faculty winner)
2023: Julie Becker, MSN, RN – Informatics IS Clinical (Staff winner)
2023: Madison Oxford – MD student (Student winner)
2022: Monika Joshi, MD – Medicine (Faculty winner)
2022: Julie Gill – Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Staff winner)
2021: Vinita Acharya, MD – Neurology (Faculty winner)
2021: Jennifer Phoenix, MSN, RN, CSN, CPN, CPHON – Nursing Education Staff (Staff winner)
2020: Amy Burns, MD – Urology (Section of Pediatric Urology) (Faculty winner)
2020: Nicole Lehman, JD – Administration (Staff winner)
2019: Shou Ling Leong, MD – Family and Community Medicine