St. Bonaventure University’s Women’s Studies program will host a panel discussion on careers and professions in health care and social work at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the auditorium of the William F. Walsh Science Center.

The public is invited.

The panelists for the program are the Rev. Kim Rossi of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Athena Godet-Calogeras of the Health Care Access Coalition, and Salwat Malik, M.D., a family practice physician.

“We are very pleased to have women from the community share their professional experiences with our students. I am sure that these panelists will inspire our students to focus on their future vocations and career opportunities,” said Dr. Alva Cellini, director of St. Bonaventure’s Women’s Studies program and chair of the Department of Modern Languages. 

Rossi has served as rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Olean since 2013. She began the process for ordination in 2001 by attending the former Bexley Seminary, which was part of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. She was ordained as a deacon in 2006 and ordained as a priest in 2008. 

The ministry is a second career for her. She previously was a social worker for 30 years, working with individuals who were on probation or parole. Rossi earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Brockport and a master’s from SUNY Albany.

Godet-Calogeras is chair of the Health Care Access Coalition, a grass-roots community organization committed to affordable and quality universal health care. She also teaches GED classes for BOCES in Olean and is a volunteer educator with the Cattaraugus County Department of Health.

Before moving to Allegany 12 years ago, Godet-Calogeras served as co-chair of Ohio’s statewide Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs, which won groundbreaking legislation in December of 2003. Prior to that she worked with the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio as associate director, directing her passion for justice and her educational and organizational skills to promoting health care for all.

She began her career teaching high school in impoverished areas of New York, Chicago and Cleveland, and co-founded an alternative high school for teens and young adults who had dropped out of Chicago’s public schools.

She has a master’s degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame.

Malik is a family physician, originally from Pakistan, who has lived in Olean for more than 30 years. 

Married with four children, she moved to Olean in 1984 when her husband started his practice. She completed her residency at the University at Buffalo. 

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, we believe in the goodness of every person and in the ability of every person to do extraordinary things.  St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. Named the #5 best college value in the North by U.S. News and World Report, we are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.