Hello chapter leaders, fellow #NAWBOsister members, corporate partners, and colleagues!
I hope your Summer months are going well, and that your businesses, families, and dreams are thriving!
I am honored and privileged to be your NAWBO-CA President. Like so many of you, I’m goal-oriented, and have set three goals for NAWBO-CA this year. I will need the assistance and support of all our amazing NAWBO-CA leaders, members, and partners to make these goals a reality. As for the goals, they are:
Goal 1
: To raise visibility for NAWBO at the state level, by championing all of our chapters and by supporting relevant legislation that creates opportunities for all women business owners. I look forward to working with our VP of Public Policy Moreen “Reenie” Lane and our Legislative Advisor extraordinaire Lori Kammerer. They are go-getters who’ve already set me and NAWBO-CA on the path of advocacy with meetings last Wednesday and Thursday in Sacramento with State Treasurer Ma’s Office, Secretary of State Padilla’s Office, the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the Office of Senator Hanna-Beth Jackson, and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez’s Office.
The meetings were extremely successful, and I leave it to Moreen to cover the details on all in her upcoming advocacy-focused newsletter this month. As well, due to one of my other volunteer leadership hats — Board Member on the California Workforce Development Board — myself, Moreen, and Lori all also took time to meet with Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development Julie Su’s brand new Undersecretary Stuart Knox to discuss workforce development resources and information that we can share with you in your local regions and cities. As employers you will be excited to learn about grants and government funded upskilling, reskilling and more for your staffing needs. More to come on that in the subsequent newsletters!
Goal 2
: For NAWBO-CA to take the lead in marketing all our chapters via social media (using geo-targeting and geo-interest targeting). The result of which will not only raise visibility of the organization, but push traffic to the local chapters and aid in building membership while also expanding your chapter footprints. This will be accomplished with the guidance, strategy and efforts of the Marketing Committee headed by Amber Wallace, VP of Marketing. Stay tuned for more information as we go.
Goal 3
: To bring in more state-level Corporate Partners who can not only support our shared mission for women business owners across the state, but also to create opportunities for all women-owned businesses in California as well. We have new partnerships already in the works, and will report back on this topic soon.
I have a request of all of you, too: please share with me and NAWBO-CA what your needs are and how we can best help you. We’re here to serve and the best way to do that is to hear directly from you. Please reach out to us at NAWBO-CA any time. As for all our dedicated chapter leadership (we have 11 NAWBO chapters in California [see sidebar story listing all our chapter leaders as of July 1), we know that you all have your own chapter-focused goals for this year. Please know NAWBO-CA is here to support those goals and to assist in any way we can.
My friends and colleagues, I am very much looking forward to serving with you all! Together, I know we will accomplish all of our goals.
Warmly,
Hilary Lentini
President, NAWBO-CA
Founder & Creative Director, Lentini Design & Marketing, Inc.
Past President, NAWBO-LA
Governor-Appointed Board Member, California Workforce Development Board
