Healthcare Businesswomen's Association

Letter from HBA Orange County President

Greetings HBA Orange County -

Welcome to 2024! I am thrilled to serve as your HBA Orange County Board President for a third two-year term (fifth consecutive year). Orange County is the newest chapter in the Pacific Region and growing rapidly. The Board is comprised of talented and passionate women and men dedicated to supporting the HBA to further the advancement and impact of women in the business of healthcare.

Our OC Board includes the following:

  • President – Dr. Shawn Andrews (Andrews Research International)
  • Vice President – Karen Jimenea (AbbVie)
  • Director of Operations – Brad Lozan (Concuir Consulting)
  • Director of Programming and Events – Annum Zhara (Global Coalition for Adaptive Research)
  • Director of Membership and Engagement – Lindsey Karberg (Prospection)
  • Director of Marketing and Communications – Andrea Sampson (Sampson PR Group)

We are also fortunate to work with an esteemed Advisory Board of executive women across Orange County, and a diverse group of committee members in the areas of Programming, Membership, Marketing, Mentorship, and Corporate Relations.

Together, this team accomplished the following in 2023:

  • #1 chapter in Pacific Region in revenue and in-kind donations
  • Grew total membership 17% (57% growth since chapter started in 2018)
  • 4 Educational programs with speakers on topics of leadership, gender, bias, DEI, allyship & AI
  • 1 in-person networking event at City of Hope OC (60+ attendees)
  • 3 in-person Coffee Chat programs
  • 4 virtual new member programs “Making the Most of Your HBA Membership”
  • Added new HBA OC Corporate Partner – welcome Tarsus!
  • Established 2 OC Mentoring circles (9 mentees, 5 mentors) with 2 chapter co-leads
  • Advisory Board of 11 executive-level women; quarterly joint meetings with chapter
  • 4 co-marketing events with Octane 
  • Collaborations – Dr. Shawn Andrews provided DEI talk for Global IWD celebration, and served as an Ambassador Advisor to 2 Corporate Partner companies (J&J and Lundbeck)

We are now focused on 2024! We are working with our members, partners, and advisors to strategically plan programs for the year that are valuable and relevant to women in healthcare and support gender parity. We will continue to offer both educational and networking programs focused on a range of topics, including novel events such as a TEDx supper club and an axe-throwing and networking event. The HBA also runs a fantastic Mentorship program that runs throughout the year, and the OC program just kicked off with 3 mentoring circles!

HBA OC is lucky to be a part of the Orange County community, as it is home to hundreds of healthcare-focused organizations including biopharma, medical device, diagnostics, research, hospitals, universities, and consulting agencies. Whether you’ve been part of the HBA for many years or are new to the chapter, we hope you will join us at a networking or educational program this year and find out what we have to offer. 

We encourage women and men at any career level to participate in and engage with our local HBA OC chapter. If you’re looking to volunteer or contribute, don’t hesitate to contact us based on your area of interest.

We look forward to a great 2024 – and seeing you at our next event!

Dr. Shawn Andrews
HBA Orange County President

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