Press Releases

GIA Welcomes New Governor to Board

Samantha F. Ravich is the chair of the Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab.

Published

6 years ago

October 18, 2018

INSTORE Staff

The GIA Board of Governors met in October at the GIA World Headquarters in Carlsbad, CA. Pictured from left, seated: Thomas T. Yang, Thomas M. Moses, Susan M. Jacques, Board Chair Dione D. Kenyon, Thomas H. Insley, Stephen F. Kahler and Barbara Lee Dutrow, Ph.D. Pictured from left, standing: Lisa A. Locklear, Robert Andrew ‘Andy’ Johnson, Lawrence Ma, John W. Valley, Ph.D., Amit Dhamani, Barbara A. Sawrey, Ph.D., Elliot Tannenbaum and Samantha Ravich, Ph.D. Photo by Kevin Schumacher/GIA.

(PRESS RELEASE) CARLSBAD, CA – The Board of Governors of GIA welcomed Samantha F. Ravich, Ph.D., as the newest member of the Institute’s governing body during their regularly scheduled meeting following the Oct. 7 to 9 GIA International Gemological Symposium held at GIA’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, CA. Just before the Symposium, GIA’s global research team of nearly 60 experts gathered for their 12th annual meeting.

Dr. Ravich is the chair of the Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab, a not-for-profit organization with the mission to drive revolutionary, society-wide improvement in cyber resilience in both the U.S. government and the private sector. She is a managing partner of A2 Partners, LLC and serves on several government and private sector boards. She has extensive expertise in cyber risk mitigation, strategic business guidance and corporate culture transformation. Dr. Ravich joined the GIA Board of Governors following the departure of Karen Evans, who resigned in August to take a position with the U.S. government.

The more than 60 attendees at GIA’s three-day annual research meeting included GIA staff involved in research (more than 20 with doctoral degrees), consulting scientists, fellows from the Richard T. Liddicoat Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program, and GIA governors and executives. The researchers reviewed topics including developments in instrumentation, advancements in detecting diamond treatments and laboratory grown gems, origin determination of colored gemstones and pearl structures.

The GIA Symposium has been held every five to seven years. This most recent meeting, with the theme ‘New Challenges. Creating Opportunities,’ showcased the latest scientific discoveries from leading researchers and scientists, and offered a unique program in collaboration with the Harvard Business School to examine key business issues – authentic leadership, disruptive innovation and customer centricity. The Symposium proceedings will be published in the Fall 2018 issue of Gems & Gemology, GIA’s quarterly journal, which will be available at no cost on GIA.edu in November.

The role of the Board of Governors is to direct the strategy of the Institute to ensure that the mission and vision of GIA are followed in all decisions; that the reputation of GIA is preserved and continues to grow globally; and that the financial goals of the Institute are met.

For press inquiries, please contact Nellie Barnett at nbarnett@gia.edu or +1 760-603-4184.

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”