Kristin McDonough |
September 2008
Dear Members,
As much as I love sultry summers at the Jersey shore capped by a Labor Day Tanglewood weekend, I never really regret the approach of September once I’m back in the Big Apple.
Autumn in New York signals fresh starts. Academic semesters unfold, the cultural season launches …. and the FWA calendar starts to fill up. This fall’s varied offerings reflect our global perspective as we look at the impact of the food crisis on microfinance institutions and engage in an interactive discussion on the Brazilian marketplace with three Credit Suisse managing directors. A workshop for FWA members and Proskauer Rose attorneys only teaches self defense techniques that can be harnessed for mental and emotional control in stressful workplace situations.
In addition to Meet and Mingles on both sides of the Hudson, Transition Tuesdays -- free workshop presentations for, and by members only -- are now offered in New Jersey. Please note though, that you will have to cross the river for the incredible 15% store wide savings on September 8 when Saks stays open late for FWAers to network and shop!
What a packed event calendar doesn’t show is that FWA members don’t only use the slower summer months to develop opportunities for themselves. “Next generation” activities included the spirited reunion of our Murry Bergtraum scholarship recipients at a Mets baseball game and the celebratory wrap-up, underwritten by the McGraw-Hill Companies, to a Women’s Leadership in Microfinance course offered by Women’s World Banking with moving thank you remarks from FWA scholarship recipient Ann Mulinda whose participation from Uganda we made possible.
The Wall St. Exchange Program is the seasonal highlight. I was lucky enough to take in four of the ten insight-packed sessions that President Circle firms Bank of New York Mellon, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, TD Securities, along with Baruch College and corporate supporter Northwestern Mutual Financial Network hosted at the invitation of College Connections co-chairs Denise Seegobin and Lene Skou. The energy and enthusiasm of the 37 collegiate interns themselves as well as the sponsoring firm's “talent” who conducted mock interviews and shared resume-building career advice was palpable. Keynoting this year’s closing reception, hosted by KPMG, was FWA board member (and KPMG partner) Jennifer Anderson. Her tracing the trajectory of her career, which included a four-year stint in Germany early on, riveted the internationally focused 2008 WSE cohort.
A behind-the scenes endeavor of particular import for the FWA this summer has been the work of Financial Backpack Advisory Committee (FBAC) which is overseeing the FWA’s ambitious new financial literacy initiative funded by HSBC’s exceptionally generous $900,000 grant. FBAC members Jerry Gallashaw, Linda Hamilton, Vicki Hartman, Cathy Smith, and Lindsay Starr, are helping to shape this five-year personal financial literacy training venture that targets 3000 students at metro area high schools. Liz Knoop, newly added to the FWA office staff, is developing the curriculum and executing the delivery. Click here for more information about how you can be part of this historic new FWA “next generation” program launching on November 15.
Regards,
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