The Central Ohio Chapter of the IIA is pleased to bring you a 2hr CPE women in leadership panel discussion. The panel discussion will be held from 10:00 - 12:00 pm on March 21, 2025 in-person or via Zoom. In-person attendance will also offer an hour long networking session from 9:00 - 10:00 am with continental breakfast featuring sliced fruit with berries, fresh baked muffins, fluffy scrambled eggs, sausage links, sugar cured bacon and breakfast potatoes. The panel will focus on the following topics:
How women can combat perceptions, stereotypes, and workplace challenges and bias
How to communicate more effectively in the workplace and overcome gender communication differences
How women can leverage their unique strengths and perspectives to add value to the organization
How women can mentor and promote the upward advancement of other women in internal audit
The panel will be comprised of Melissa Clawson, Chief Audit Executive, Internal Audit at The Wendy's Company, Lauren Caporaso Bowman, AVP - Corporate Services, Internal Audit at Nationwide, Kim Wilson, Senior Director - Technology & Digital Risk, Internal Audit at Abercrombie & Fitch, Jordan Blanchard, Director, Internal Audit at Westfield Insurance, Cindee Waugaman, Manager, Cyber Risk & Regulatory at PwC, and will be facilitated by Carlee (Baumgardner) Lee, Consultant, Internal Audit at Nationwide. This event is a great opportunity for women and men to hear from our esteemed panel.
Please bring questions for the panel and we look forward to seeing your there!
Panel Bios
Melissa Clawson, Chief Audit Executive at The Wendy's Company
Melissa is the Chief Audit Executive of Wendy’s where she has led the IA department for the last 6 years. Prior to Wendy’s, she worked at EY for 11 years in the Risk Advisory Services performing a variety of internal audit projects across several companies. In that time, she also had 2 global rotations: the Global IA group working on the IA methodology, thought leadership, led the global CAE survey, and developed IA training for the client serving professionals; and Global Risk Training group expanding on her prior training work to act as a project manager linking the instructional designers with the SMEs in IA, IT, Cyber and ERM.
Melissa is also passionate about participating in employee resource groups (ERGs), both at EY and now at Wendy’s. She has led a Lean In Circle for 5 years as part of the Women of Wendy’s ERG and now for the past year as a co-lead of the Programming Committee of WeQual, Wendy’s LGTBQ+ group. Additionally, she is a co-chair of the newly created GiveCare (caregivers group) that started in 2022.
Lauren Caporaso Bowman, AVP - Corporate Services at Nationwide Insurance
Lauren Caporaso, CPA is the AVP, Internal Audit - Corporate Services at Nationwide. In this role, Lauren leads the audit team responsible for the assurance and advisory engagements over Nationwide’s Office of Investments and Corporate Functions. Lauren began her career in the Financial Management Program (FMP) and Corporate Audit Staff (CAS) at General Electric.
Prior to joining Nationwide in 2024, Lauren held several controllership roles at GE and Baker Hughes (BH), most recently as the Global SOX Leader for BH. Lauren graduated from Wheaton College (IL) with a degree in Economics. Outside of work, Lauren serves as the Treasurer for Edheads, a Columbus-based non-profit. Additionally, Lauren enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her husband and two black labs.
Kim Wilson, Senior Director - Technology & Digital Risk at Abercrombie & Fitch
Kim is an avid retail enthusiast both personally and professionally, devoting most of her career to the industry. She currently serves as Senior Director of Digital and Technology Risk for Internal Audit at Abercrombie and Fitch. She previously held positions with Victoria Secret Digital E-commerce, LBrands Corporate Finance, Bath and Body Works Financial Reporting, and EY.
Kim has continually given her time and expertise to supporting the local community. She served as Treasurer of New Directions Career Center; an organization focused on women’s empowerment to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through providing career counseling and employment-related education (2016-2019). She also served as Treasurer of Women for Economic Development (WELD) focusing on developing and advancing women’s leadership to strengthen the economic prosperity of the community (2013-2015). Kim continues to support other philanthropic efforts including Christmas Off Campus at St. Stephens Community House, Warfield Brothers Foundation, and the Jillian Ripley Endowment Fund.
Kim, her husband Kevin, and Ripple (a little fawn pug) reside in Columbus. They enjoy attending Ohio State football games, visiting local restaurants, breweries, music festivals, and traveling. Kim enjoys flexing her creative side by learning the craft of wedding floral design.
Jordan Blanchard, Director of Internal Audit at Westfield Insurance
Jordan is the Director of Internal Audit at Westfield Insurance (US). She leads the Internal Audit operations and technology teams to deliver valuable and actionable insights and risk mitigation strategies to key stakeholders and delivers results and updates directly to the Audit Committee.
Jordan started her career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers where she spent 4 years in the Financial Services practice group. She was most recently a Director of Internal Audit at Nationwide Insurance responsible for overseeing Internal Audit engagements within Nationwide Financial. Prior to that she was in multiple leadership and strategic roles at Nationwide for over 10 years, in Internal Audit, Compliance and Accounting.
Jordan is a graduate of The Ohio State University, a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor. Jordan is an active member in the Institute of Internal Audit (IIA) and serves as Chairwoman of the Board of the Central Ohio Chapter. She is also an active member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA).
Cindee Waugaman, Manager - Cyber Risk & Regulatory at PwC
Cindee is a Manager in PwC’s Cyber, Risk & Regulatory Advisory Services practice with over 10 years of experience specializing in enterprise risk management, SOX compliance, operational audits, and technology risk assessments. She has helped different companies (including organizations in the industrial manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, pharma, insurance, and retail and consumer industries) strengthen their risk frameworks and internal controls with clients.
Throughout her career, Cindee has navigated the complexities of corporate finance and audit as a woman in leadership, often balancing strategic advisory roles with hands-on execution. She has led risk transformation initiatives, spearheaded post-IPO SOX compliance efforts, and advised C-suite executives on mitigating financial and operational risks. Her experience includes managing cross-functional teams, implementing cutting-edge risk assessment technologies, and driving change. She is passionate about mentoring others in audit and finance and advocating for increased representation by women in leadership.
Outside of her professional career, Cindee is an avid sports enthusiast who also enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, and baking…all with her dog, Tex. She is dedicated to giving back to the community and has participated in programs such as Big Brother Big Sister. She also has a strong passion for coaching soccer, having spent several years at both the club and high school levels.
