Former Secretary of Labor Chao to discuss women in leadership with Linda McMahon

As part of founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon”™s “Women Can Have it All” series, Elaine L. Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor will join McMahon to share their perspectives on women in leadership next week.

The public is invited to attend the free event on Thursday, March 31, at 2 p.m.in the Forum at the Frank and Marisa Martire Business & Communications Center at Sacred Heart University.

Serving from 2001 to 2009, Chao is the first woman of Asian descent to be appointed to the Cabinet and is the longest-tenured Secretary of Labor since World War II. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Sacred Heart University in 1991.

The series, sponsored by the Jack Welch College of Business, examines how women can balance career, family and personal time. It features conversations with female leaders across a variety of industries and focuses on topics relevant to women in the workplace, such as management, entrepreneurship and launching and changing careers.

“As a CEO, I want to show women there are no limits to what they can achieve, whether through entrepreneurship, government, non-profits, arts, science or any other path they choose,” McMahon said. “And there is plenty of room for women at the top.”

An immigrant who arrived in America at the age of eight speaking no English, Secretary Chao earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and an economics degree from Mount Holyoke College, and is the recipient of 35 honorary doctorate degrees in recognition for her extensive record of accomplishments and public service.

Prior to the Department of Labor, Secretary Chao was president and chief executive officer of United Way of America as well as director of the Peace Corps. Her government service also includes serving as deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation and chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission. She has also worked in the private sector as vice president of Syndications at BankAmerica Capital Markets Group and Citicorp.

Chao is married to the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky