DALLAS, April 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF), the premier leadership development organization in the foodservice sector, and Sysco, sponsor of the 2014 Sewell Scholarship, have recognized Lisa Schairer as this year's recipient. Schairer is vice president of food and nutrition services and environmental services for Aurora Health Care.

"This is a tremendous honor for Lisa and presents a wonderful opportunity for her to further develop leadership skills that have already made an impact within Aurora Health Care," said Amy Rislov, senior vice president, human resources at Aurora Health Care. "Lisa is very passionate about her job and is committed to enhancing the patient experience throughout the Aurora system, which includes directing a high quality and innovative food service. "

Sponsored by Sysco, the Sewell Scholarship award is named in honor of Phyllis Shapiro Sewell, a former Sysco board member and champion of women's rights in the workplace. As a supporter of high-level leadership development programs, Sysco annually provides funds to an emerging female executive to attend the WFF Executive Leadership Program in partnership with Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

"We are proud to recognize Lisa Schairer for her career accomplishments and to support her continued development as a leader in the foodservice industry through the Phyllis Sewell Scholarship," said Bill DeLaney, president and CEO of Sysco.

Schairer's leadership experience and willingness to seek out opportunities for career growth make her an ideal candidate for WFF's Executive Leadership Program. Schairer has been successful at Aurora Health Care by building a cohesive team that reduces cost and increases efficiency while maintaining excellent relationships with multi-disciplinary departments. She continually demonstrates innovative thinking and pushes the boundaries of her organization to obtain positive outcomes.

"WFF 's Leadership Program is the recognized executive leadership development program for the foodservice sector, " said Anna Mason, general manager of WFF. "We want to develop a pipeline of executive leaders who will be the new faces of leadership."

ABOUT WFF

The Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) is the industry's premier leadership development organization with more than 25 years of experience advancing women in the foodservice industry. WFF serves thousands of individuals and hundreds of employers in all segments of the industry including operations, manufacturing, distribution, publishing, consulting, and more. Through highly effective and educational events such as the Annual Leadership Development Conference, Executive Summit and Regional Connects as well as professional development and rich networking opportunities, WFF provides the competence and strategic connections needed to make a positive difference in the careers of women in the foodservice industry. For more information, visit wff.org.

ABOUT SYSCO

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. The company operates 193 distribution facilities serving approximately 425,000 customers. For Fiscal Year 2013 that ended June 29, 2013, the company generated sales of more than $44 billion. For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation or Twitter at www.twitter.com/Sysco.

ABOUT AURORA HEALTH CARE

Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and a national leader in efforts to improve health care quality. Aurora offers services at sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.