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June 2022 | Volume 6
Dear IWF/MA Colleagues:

June opened on a high with our All-Member/New-Member Reception hosted by Jenny Holaday, President and CEO of Encore Boston Harbor. Over 40 members gathered in Encore’s beautiful Harborside Lounge to meet, reconnect and welcome new members in attendance including Marcela Aldaz-Matos, Jenny Holaday, Lesli Suggs and Joan Wallace-Benjamin.
Leave it to Priscilla Douglas to get the party in full gear as she took center stage and burst into song “Viva Las Vegas” and then invited fellow members to share their favorite conference experiences through the years from hotspots all over the world…Israel, Morocco, Finland, Stockholm and even right here in Boston. Our BHAG is to have 40+ IWF/MA members at the IWF Global Leadership Conference, Nov 1-3 in Las Vegas. And we’re halfway there!!
See who’s committed so far… (and let anyone on the Committee * know you're coming!)
Marcela Aldaz-Matos
Dana Born
Vanessa Calderón-Rosado*
Fiona Calnan
Cady Coleman*
Elizabeth Cook*
Fay Donahue*
Priscilla Douglas*
Rosalind Gorin*
Judy Habib*
Julie Hall
Pam Hamlin
Jenny Holaday
Carolyn Jones*
Joyce Murphy*
Adrienne Penta
Collette Phillips*
Lesli Suggs
Alison Taunton-Rigby
Pallavi Verma
Kirsten will be announcing a “registration party” soon to help you sign up. Early registration is key to getting the best hotel/event selections. Let Kirsten or anyone on the committee know asap if you’re tempted to go. It’s not only a great opportunity to meet amazing women from all over the world, it will also be a fantastic bonding opportunity for our IWF/MA group!!

Board Updates. Prior to the reception, Jenny also graciously hosted our first in-person Board meeting since December ’21 in Encore’s beautiful Gauguin conference room – coincidentally on the same floor as The Spa at Encore Harbor- one of only two 5-Star rated spas in the Commonwealth (yes, we all had the same idea…stay tuned!). Here are a few updates from the Board meeting:

We extended heartfelt thanks to Wendy Foster who is stepping out of her role as Membership Committee co-chair as she has accepted an exciting new role as Chief Family Officer at Success Academy Charter Schools, working with the renowned founder Eva Moscowitz in New York City. (More info below in Member News.) We wish her all the best and look forward to her continued friendship.

Stepping into her Board slot and role as co-chair Membership is Nancy Lurker, President and CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. We heartily welcome Nancy to the Board and look forward to her contributions.

Lesli Suggs and Valerie Fleishman have agreed to co-vice chair the Programming Committee, working with current chairs Tara Levine and Susan Esper.

With appreciation to Renee Connolly and Pam Hamlin for all the great work on our rebranding efforts last year, we agreed to sunset the Communications Committee because we are taking member connection to a new level with an exciting new initiative we’re calling the IWF/MA Ambassadors program.

IWF/MA Ambassadors. We are all about creating opportunities for our members to connect in ways that are both meaningful and fun. Our new Ambassadors Program offers a variety of ways for you to engage. You’ll be hearing more about this soon, but in the meantime, take a look and see what feels right for you.

Be a Buddy – to new members (invite to events, meet for coffee/lunch, do check-ins) 
Host an event – supper club, behind the scenes, summer fun pop-up
IWF Global team - host visits for members from other chapters
Make engagement calls - personally invite members to events 
Be a Dine-Around host – one of our signature events, ready to be revitalized
Lead (be on team for) a conversation of interest, eg, mental health, Ukraine, et al  

We hope you will consider being an Ambassador. It’s a great way for us to build our IWF/MA community of fabulous women by connecting with other members. Please contact our executive director Kirsten Singleton and she will help plug you in. 

One last important scheduling note: We discovered a conflict with our upcoming annual mentoring event, Women Opening Doors for Women (WODFW) so we have decided to move the date from June 13th to September (exact date TBD). If you already registered, we will be in touch to confirm the new date with you. We will also be contacting all mentees to inform them of the reschedule.

I wish you all a wonderful start to summer and look forward to some impromptu get togethers.

Warmest regards,
Judy A Habib
President
International Women's Forum of Massachusetts
MEMBERS OUT AND ABOUT
IWF/MA Members at The Commonwealth Institute's 2022 Town Hall Meeting

The Commonwealth Institute held its Annual Town Hall Meeting and focused on Leading in a Time of Chaos. IWF/MA members Jackie Jenkins-Scott and Jane Steinmetz were panelists in this terrific and thought-provoking discussion. IWF/MA had a table and we were joined by a group of members.
(Photo: L to R) Adrienne Penta, Roberta Hermann, Judy Habib, Jackie Jenkins-Scott, Lesli Suggs)
From IWF Cornerstone Conference, Santiago Chile

Alison Taunton-Rigby checked in from her recent trip to the IWF Cornerstone Conference in Chile (shown here with Sheryl Marshall). Aside from the great networking and locale, the IWF programs feature “conversations that count.” The conference includes sessions to brainstorm solutions to shared problems and global issues. All members can go to the IWF website and check out materials developed from these important discussions at IWF Global Connect! If you have password trouble please reach out to Kirsten.
Priscilla Douglas Speaks at Northeastern University Graduation

On May 20, Priscilla Douglas was a commencement speaker for the College of Professional Studies of Northeastern University. In addition to kudos for their hard work, Priscilla helped graduates understand just how unique their experience has been because of the Covid challenges.
IWF/MA Members Celebrate IWF Fellows at Harvard Graduation Ceremony

Each year IWF Global invests in making women stronger, smarter and more influential through its Fellows Program, a year-long, intensive leadership development experience. The graduations are held at Harvard along with a week-long intensive, immersive learning experience. IWF/MA members Judy Habib, Alison Taunton-Rigby and Rosabeth Moss Kanter helped celebrate a new class of graduates in May at the Harvard celebration.
MEMBER NEWS
Wendy Foster Joins Success Academy in New York City

Wendy Foster started a new career chapter June 1st as Chief Family Officer at Success Academy. She will optimize and scale how Success recruits prospective families, increase the yield of prospective families who enroll/attend Success schools, and achieve high levels of scholar and family retention and satisfaction. We wish Wendy much success and hope she will stay in touch. 
Distinguished Bostonians

Two IWF/MA members were honored by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce at their Annual Meeting on May 17. Dr. Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College and Dr. Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) were recognized as Distinguished Bostonians, 2022. IWF/MA Member Yvonne Garcia served as a host committee co-host this year. Dozens of IWF/MA members were in attendance to help celebrate these outstanding women.
Donna Latson Gittens' New Role With Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM)

Donna Latson Gittens, principal and founder of MORE Advertising in Watertown, was elected as Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ (AIM) clerk of the corporation.