This event is sold out. Please contact the WGR office to be placed on the waiting list.

Mentor Dinners bring professional women together to discuss what life is like as a female in the field of government relations.  The dinners are limited to 20 participants, participants have the unique opportunity to build close bonds with other WGR members. Two experienced industry professionals serving as the evening’s hosts, Jacqueline Bowens, President and Chief Executive Officer of the DC Hospital Association (DCHA) and Catherine Cohen, vice president for governmental affairs for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Jacqui and Cathy will guide conversation, provide perspectives and share their own life experiences.

Mentors:

• Jacqueline Bowens, President and Chief Executive Officer of the DC Hospital Association (DCHA)
• Catherine Cohen, vice president for governmental affairs for the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Location: Cafe Deluxe
2201 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Closest Metro: Foggy Bottom

This is a members-only event.

Registration Fees:
Members: $40
Event Registration with purchase of a NEW Membership (a $50 savings!): $235

Registration includes dinner and dessert.

Payment & Refund Policy
WGR Registration Fees must be paid in advance and are non-refundable. You may substitute someone else at your membership level for your registration without penalty; however, membership benefits are non-transferable. If your replacement is not in your membership sector, you will be responsible for the difference in fees.

Consent to use of Photographic Images
Registration and attendance at WGR events constitutes an agreement by the registrant to WGR’s use and distribution of the registrant or attendee’s image or voice in photographs and videotapes.

Jacqueline D. Bowens has over 25 years’ experience in health policy and executive leadership in both the public and non-profit sectors.  Ms. Bowens is effective in strategic planning, leading diverse and cross-functional teams, fostering and leveraging collaborative partnerships and serving as an agent of change to motivate teams to turn challenge into momentum.  She is a passionate healthcare advocate serving on several non- profit and public sector Boards and Commissions.
Ms. Bowens currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the DC Hospital Association (DCHA), a role she assumed in November 2016.  Prior to taking on her new role as the leader of DCHA, Ms. Bowens served as Chief Executive Officer of the D.C. Primary Care Association (DCPCA) for nearly four years (2012-2016).  DCPCA is a member driven organization of federally qualified community health centers and other advocates, committed to ensuring that all DC residents have access to quality health care that is equitable, easy to navigate and empowering. DCPCA provides health care
Ms. Bowens has had a long history in hospitals and health care and prior to joining both DCHA and DCPCA, served as the Executive Vice President and Chief, Government and External Affairs Officer at Children's National Health System in Washington, DC. 
Ms. Bowens has also served as a professional staff member for former Congressman and Appropriations Committee member, the Honorable Louis Stokes, D-OH and; served as the Coordinator of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, a coalition of health professionals and advocates comprised of nearly 2,000 health care and health policy leaders and advocates.

She received a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration/Public Policy from the University of Southern California (USC) and earned an executive master's degree in management and technology from the University of Maryland. 

Ms. Bowens is a Mayoral appointee to the Not for Profit Hospital Corporation (United Medical Center and to the DC State Health Coordinating Committee which advises on health planning matters for the District Government and provides recommendations for approval of all certificates of need applications (CON) for new or expanded health care services. 

Today, beyond her family, one of Ms. Bowens’ greatest joys is serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fishing School in Washington DC.

Catherine Grealy Cohen is the vice president for governmental affairs for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, with more than eighteen years in the position and more than 30 years in governmental relations.  Ms. Cohen rejoined the Academy in 1997 as director of the Washington office, the lobby arm of the Academy.  In this capacity she directs Academy federal, state and health policy efforts on behalf of 18,000 U.S. based ophthalmologists.

Through her leadership, the Academy, as the voice of ophthalmology in Washington, has played significant roles in affecting physician payments under Medicare, ensuring appropriate eye care for veterans, as well as the successful passage of the first blindness prevention benefit under Medicare for detection of glaucoma.

Prior to her position with the Academy, Ms. Cohen served as director of federal affairs at Eastman Kodak Company, where she coordinated the grassroots program and helped establish an employee political action committee (PAC) for the 100-year-old company.  She initially served as director of health affairs, coordinating development of Kodak’s health care reform position for use at both the state and federal level.  She also reported to the president of Kodak’s medical device company and acted as their lobbyist.  Before her tenure at Kodak, Ms. Cohen was director of the American Society of Clinical Pathologist’s Washington office where she supervised the organization’s federal and state lobbying efforts.  She started her lobbying career with the Academy in 1979 after four years on Capitol Hill.

Ms. Cohen earned a master’s degree in health services administration from George Washington University and is widely published on Medicare reimbursement, legislative and regulatory issues.