Keynote Speaker:

As the 78th treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, businesswoman and retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Stacy Garrity is focused on transparency, cutting waste and fees, returning more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners, and making education affordable for Pennsylvanians.

In the U.S. Army Reserve, Garrity served three overseas deployments in defense of the United States: in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm, in 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and in 2008 in Operation Enduring Freedom. As one of the officers in charge of Camp Bucca, an internment camp for enemy combatants in Iraq, she kept the camp secure and American troops safe without a single complaint of abuse from the Iraqi soldiers interned there.

Garrity is also an accomplished businesswoman. She started work as a cost accountant at Global Tungsten & Powders in Towanda, the largest tungsten smelter in the western world, and worked her way up to become the first of two female vice presidents at the company. Her work there included business trips to dozens of countries around the world.

Today, as PA treasurer, she is a fiscal watchdog tasked with protecting more than $160 billion in state assets. Among her many duties, she has returned more than $750 million worth of unclaimed property to the rightful owners. She also manages the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program, the PA ABLE Savings Program for people with disabilities, and the INVEST program for local government agencies and nonprofit organizations. She has cut fees for both PA 529 and PA ABLE, saving account owners more than $16.5 million.

Panelists:

Ainslie Brosig – executive director of the expERIEnce Children’s Museum

Brosig has led the Museum since 2013 and has been well known for her work in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years. Under her leadership, the Children’s Museum has seen tremendous growth. Museum attendance has doubled and membership has tripled. She recently oversaw the completion of a $19 million dollar expansion and renovation project — the largest Capital Campaign for an organization of its size in Erie County.

Prior to her role at the museum, Brosig had worked for 16 years at the Erie Zoo, developing her role from a gift shop attendant to the Community Relations Director.

She is a member of the Behrend Women’s Council, the Hamot Board of Corporators and is the Chair of the Association of Children’s Museums Fundraising Cohort. She was formally a board member of Visit Erie and ECAT. And in March 2024, Brosig was named one of the Mercy Center’s Women Making History award recipients.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Media Studies from Penn State Behrend.

Rachel Ogden, Pharm.D., MHSA, MMEd, BCGP – dean and professor at LECOM School of Pharmacy

Prior to coming to LECOM, she served as the director of Pharmacy for Grove City Medical Center in Grove City, PA.  Dr. Ogden also obtained extensive experience with the geriatric population as the executive director of Full Circle Solutions, a long-term care consulting company. She has provided consultant services to the elderly population in Western Pennsylvania and over 20 Nursing and Assisted Living Facilities. She is a Certified Eden Associate and is active in promoting and implementing culture change in our current long-term care environment. She teaches Effective Communications in Pharmacy Practice course as well as Geriatric and Management Electives. She also lectures in the Pharmacotherapeutics Series. Dr. Ogden is an ambulatory care pharmacist at the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging and the director for the PGY2 Pharmacy Geriatric Residency Program.

Dr. Ogden holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Duquesne University and a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree from the University of Florida. She also earned Master of Science in Medical Education (M.S.M.Ed.) and Masters of Health Services Administration (M.H.S.A.) degrees, both from LECOM. She is a board-certified geriatric pharmacist and serves on the Educational Advisory Council and the Pharmacy Educators and Research Council for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.

Robin Scheppner – president and managing owner of American Tinning & Galvanizing

Since Scheppner taking the helm at ATG, the company has nearly doubled its workforce, invested millions of dollars in infrastructure and equipment, earned prestigious aerospace certification, and consistently enjoyed double digit growth.

Scheppner began her professional career teaching inner-city junior high school in the Cleveland Public School System before moving and teaching in Naples, Florida.

In service to her community, she has been involved in various civic and philanthropic organizations throughout her varied work experiences.

She is a Board member of United Way, founding member of Women United for Community Schools, and member of the United for Education Endowment Campaign. Scheppner also serves as a Trustee for ECF and former chair of The Erie Women’s Fund.

Scheppner holds several degrees including a BFA from Denison University, teaching credentials from Cleveland State University and University of Utah, and an associate degree in Building Construction from Salt Lake Community College.

Attorney Colleen R. Stumpf – partner at MacDonald Illig Attorneys

Attorney Stumpf is a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on trust and estate planning and administration as well as the representation of for-profit and nonprofit business entities. In developing plans for estates of all sizes, Attorney Stumpf provides experience to her clients in the areas of asset protection, long-term care planning, and special needs planning. She also guides her business clients through the lifecycle of their businesses from formation to general counsel, and eventually, succession planning to future generations.

She is a member of the PA Bar Association and Erie Bar Association. Among her recent community involvement, she serves on:

• Advisory Board, Executive Committee, and Panel Member, Athena PowerLink – ERIE.
• Ex-Officio Member (Legal Counsel), Board of Trustees, Saint Mary’s Home of Erie
• Board of Elders and Member for the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business/finance from Grove City Collee and her Juris Doctorate from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law.

Karinna Vernaza, Ph.D. – dean of the College of Engineering and Business and professor of mechanical engineering at Gannon University

While there are many highlights throughout her career, Dr. Vernaza is extremely proud of her leadership in overseeing the academic development, space design, research and development, and operations contracts for the Institute of Health and Cyber Knowledge (I-HACK). To further enhance business development in Erie and NWPA, Dr. Vernaza oversees the entrepreneurial units: Erie Technology Incubator, the Small Business Development Center (which received national attention through Discovery’s show Undercover Billionaire), and Gannon’s node of NWPA Beehive Network.

Dr. Vernaza is active in the community, is a Trustee of the Erie Community Foundation, serves on the Board of Directors for the Erie Technology Incubator, the ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum, and PSNergy, LLC. She regularly volunteers for the Society of Women Engineers, mentors young women pursuing engineering and computing careers, and serves in the American Society of Engineering Education.

A native to Panama City, Panama, Dr. Vernaza attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering Systems. Awarded a Project Latin America 2000 Graduate Fellowship to perform graduate studies, Dr. Vernaza earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.