Rooted in a 1999 fund for women and girls, the WNY Women's Foundation runs one of Western New York's largest leadership gatherings, drawing close to 900 people
From left, Sujata Yalamanchili, Dr. Ellen Baker, Dr. Raven Baxter, Dottie Gallagher and Dr. Amy Butler on the main stage of UB's Center for the Arts. Photo: Gail VanCise for the WNY Women's Foundation
Dr. Raven Baxter spoke on the UB Distinguished Keynote Panel at the 4th Annual WNY Leadership Summit on May 29, 2026. The session was the summit's main-stage keynote, held at the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts in Amherst, N.Y.
The panel put four UB alumnae from different fields side by side. Dr. Ellen Baker is a 30-year NASA veteran who flew three space shuttle missions. She now directs Project ECHO at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Amy Butler is a former Biosciences Division president at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Dottie Gallagher leads the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. Sujata Yalamanchili, a partner at Hodgson Russ, moderated.
Baxter speaks during the UB Distinguished Keynote Panel. Photo: Rebecca Dyson for the WNY Women's Foundation
The summit's program called the panelists "an extraordinary group of UB alumni who are leading with impact across industries and communities." They would share "their lived experiences, leadership journeys, and the role community and mentorship have played in their success," it said. The day's theme was "Owning Your Power, Building Community."
Mentorship and sponsorship remain uneven at work. In Women in the Workplace 2025, Lean In and McKinsey & Company found that 31% of entry-level women have a sponsor, compared with 45% of men. The foundation's own fact sheet notes that women make up 47% of the labor force but hold 33% of chief executive jobs. Five days after the summit, Fortune reported that a record 56 women lead Fortune 500 companies, 11.2% of the list.
The WNY Women's Foundation traces its roots to 1999. That year the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo created the WNY Women's Fund, according to the foundation. It is now an independent nonprofit and marked its 25th anniversary year in 2024. Its Pathways to Progress reports, published in 2010, 2017 and 2024, track women's leadership, pay equity, child care and poverty in the region.
The summit offers tracks for every career stage, plus a Leadership Allies track for men. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield was the presenting partner, with UB's Office of Alumni Engagement and the Center for the Arts. The event had sold out the two previous years, the Buffalo Criterion reported.
"It's our hope attendees of the summit come away ready to lead with confidence and build environments where everyone can succeed," foundation CEO Sheri Scavone said in the paper's preview.
The audience in the Center for the Arts main stage theater. Photo: Gail VanCise for the WNY Women's Foundation
"I believe your willingness to share your experience and perspective made a meaningful impact on the close to 900 attendees," Jennifer Loughran of UB's Office of Alumni Engagement said of Baxter's part in the panel.
Baxter, a Buffalo native, is a molecular biologist and science communicator known online as Dr. Raven the Science Maven. She earned two degrees at SUNY Buffalo State and a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo.
Details on the summit are on the WNY Women's Foundation website.
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