For  Immediate  Release  Media  Contact:             General  Information:  Brittany  Hutt             Caryn  Laermer  Director  of  Marketing  Communications     Senior  Manager,  Quality  Consortium  Brittany.hutt@theavocagroup.com       caryn.laermer@theavocagroup.com  610-­‐212-­‐1230             609-­‐799-­‐0511    

 PATRICIA  LEUCHTEN  WINS  BRONZE  STEVIE®  AWARD  IN  2013  STEVIE  

AWARDS  FOR  WOMEN  IN  BUSINESS  

Industry leader in pharmaceutical clinical trials honored in “Maverick” category  Princeton,  New  Jersey  –  November  12,  2013  –Patricia  Leuchten, founder  and  CEO  of  pharmaceutical  consulting  and  survey  research  firm  The  Avoca  Group, has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the ‘Maverick of the Year’ category. Leuchten accepted the award at the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business held in New York City. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world’s top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The 2013 awards received entries from 18 nations and territories. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards were presented to winners during a sold-out event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. More than 1,200 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Company of the Year, Mentor of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Communications Campaign of the Year, among others. Patricia Leuchten won in the ‘Maverick of the Year’ category. Leuchten’s nomination was based on the formation of The Avoca Quality Consortium. Recognizing a need for more collaboration to promote quality within pharmaceutical clinical trials, Leuchten decided in 2011 that her company could be the catalyst for industry change. The new Consortium brings many of

the industry’s top clinical outsourcing leaders from pharmaceutical, biotech and clinical research organizations together to collaborate in best practice approaches to quality management in outsourced clinical research. Stevie Award winners were selected by more than 240 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process this year.  “For 10 years we have been recognizing the achievements of women in the workplace, and this year’s nominations were the most impressive class the judges have ever reviewed,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards. “We congratulate all of this year’s Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners for their achievements.” Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women. About The Avoca Group The Avoca Group, Inc., founded in 1999, is a consulting firm based in Princeton, New Jersey. Avoca’s core capability and the company’s most extensive experience is in the development and implementation of global Relationship and Alliance Management programs for pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and pharmaceutical service providers. Avoca’s team consists of pharmaceutical industry veterans and subject matter experts in the areas of large-scale organizational change, relationship management, information technology, and survey research. The Avoca Group conducts industry research on trends in clinical outsourcing each year, presenting the results, The Avoca Report, at international conferences and in industry publications.  About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, The American Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.      

###  For  more  information  about  the  Avoca  Quality  Consortium,  or  to  inquire  about  membership,  please  contact  Caryn  Laermer  at  =1  (609)  799-­‐0511,  or  visit  the  Avoca  Quality  Consortium  website  at  www2.theavocagroup.com/the-­‐avoca-­‐quality-­‐consortium.