Lynn Banaszak: 2017 Women of Distinction Award - Technology & Communication

Eight inspiring women from the Pittsburgh area, two outstanding Girl Scouts, and Girl Scout community-champion corporation GEICO will be honored at our Pittsburgh Awards of Distinction Luncheon on Wednesday, May 31 at the Omni William Penn Hotel. Proceeds of this premier event support Girl Scouts’ mission to develop courage, confidence and character in girls and to inspire the next generation of young women to become the leaders of tomorrow. Register now. 

Congratulations to Lynn Banaszak, recipient of the 2017 Women of Distinction Award in Technology & Communication!

Lynn M. Banaszak is the executive director of the Disruptive Health Technology Institute (DHTI) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). She is a one of Pittsburgh’s most connected executives with national reach: guiding, mentoring, and coaching professionals and startup
technology companies.
Since 2013, DHTI has invested $5 million in 38 projects led by CMU researchers who are working with industry, payers and providers striving to create disruptive healthcare solutions. Prior to her appointment at CMU, Lynn was vice president and chief relationship officer at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, where for nearly a decade, she worked with 400 startup companies, helped deploy nearly $20 million in direct investment in 75 companies leveraging over $900 million in additional capital to the region.
Lynn was also one of the original directors of the $8.1 million Accelerator Fund, LLC life sciences venture firm. Lynn was recently recognized as one of only three Pittsburgh businesswomen on the national American Business Journals “Women to Watch” list— selected from 1,000 women across the country. She was designated one of the “Best Personalities of Pittsburgh,” was selected as a Pittsburgh Business Times 2016 Business Women First Award winner and was the 2015 Athena of Greater Pittsburgh Award Winner. In addition, Lynn was recruited by the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 to facilitate the first Bench to Bedside course for the $5 million Coulter Program that funds and mentors translational research by clinician-bioengineer teams that address unmet clinical needs through innovative technologies. Lynn is a national innovation thought leader for events like the Louisville Innovation Summit, a coach for the AARP Miami Innovation Competition, the SXSW Vegas and Impact Pediatric Health Pitch Competitions and the Jewish Healthcare
Foundation Health Fellows Program.
Lynn, along with her sisters, founded The Caileigh Lynn McDowell Foundation in honor of the beautiful life of her precious niece Caleigh, who tragically passed away in April 2016 due to catastrophic injuries from undiagnosed Crohn’s Disease. The foundation is working to transform political, social and economic systems and institutions to create a kinder, more equitable, and just society for all, while also advocating specifically about issues that affect teenage girls.