Mary Furlong, CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates Named a Woman of Influence

The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal honors 100 business leaders every year in its Women of Influence special insert, published in the spring. Candidates are nominated through the Business Journal'sonline nominations page, and a selection committee of previous honorees chooses that year's winners. The 2011 Women of Influence committee included 2010 honorees Wendy Beecham, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Executives; Theresia Gouw Ranzetta, Accel Partners; Carole Leigh Hutton, United Way Silicon Valley; and Leah Toeniskoetter, Toeniskoetter & Breeding Inc. Development.

Among the honorees are inspiring women in every industry: lawyers, venture capitalists, space scientists, health care leaders, technology professionals and nonprofit executives.

Furlong will be celebrated as one of the top 100 women at a private reception and awards dinner with other 2011 Women of Influence honorees and their supports on April 14 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

The Business Journal has created a searchable online database which compiles the names of Women of Influence honorees from the past four years. It is available at . There are approximately 400 honorees in all. The database is sortable by year, as well as by company.

About Mary Furlong
Mary Furlong, Ed.D., president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates, is a leading authority on the baby boomer generation as they age. She has guided the offline and online 45+ market strategies of leading corporations and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years, and her list of clients/sponsors includes AARP, First Republic Bank, FirstSTREET, Wellcore, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, United Healthcare (UHC), Caring.com and Verizon. Mary founded MFA in 2003 to help socially- and consumer-conscious companies understand the real needs of this growing market. She is the Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University'sLeavey School of Business. Before launching MFA, Mary founded the nonprofit organizationSeniorNetin 1986 and ThirdAge Mediain 1996. Throughout the course of her work for both organizations, she raised $120 million in venture capital funds, corporate sponsorships and foundation grants. During Mary's tenure, SeniorNet served more than 500,000 adults age 50 and older. Much of her time was spent in the field at the organization's learning centers, observing the applications that worked and the issues related to the technology. ThirdAge Media reached more than 2 million members - most age 45 and older - when Mary served as its CEO and visionary leader of the editorial team. She has appeared on CBS, PBS, NPR and NBC's Today show to discuss trends in aging and technology, and her expertise has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Business Week, Fortune, People and Fast Company, among other publications. In 2001, Fortune Small Business named Mary one of its ‘Top 25 Women Entrepreneurs’, and Time honored her in 1999 as one of its ‘Digital 50’. She also served as a White House Commissioner on Libraries and Information Science during the Clinton administration, and she has conducted hearings on aging and technology for the U.S. Senate. Mary is a member of the American Society on Aging's Business Forum on Aging, the Leadership Council of the National Council on Aging and the AARP Women in Leadership group. She also serves on several corporate advisory boards. Mary is the author of the bookTurning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace, which was published in February 2007 by Financial Times Press. She also co-authored the bookGrown-Up's Guide to Computing, published by Microsoft Press in 1999.
Mary Furlong & Associates 
Founded in 2003, Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA) works with companies seeking to capitalize on new business and investment opportunities in the Baby Boomer market. MFA provides business development, financing strategy and integrated marketing solutions to entrepreneurs, corporations and non-profit organizations serving the 50+ market. Mary Furlong, Ed.D., the firm's founder and CEO, has guided the offline and online 40+ market strategies of leading corporations and non-profit organizations for more than 20 years. MFA produces two annual events: What’s Next Boomer Business Summit (April 29, 2011, www.BoomerSummit.com) and Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit (June 14 & 15, 2011, www.scuboomer.com). Furlong is Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, and previously founded SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. Her latest book, Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace (FT Press), was published in February 2007. More information available at www.maryfurlong.com.