Looking back on my Wellesley education, I admit to many more memories forged during snowy walks around the lake and long lunches in Munger dining hall than I do to any specific class. But, I know that everything about my four years at Wellesley gave me the confidence to believe that anything is possible and an amazing network to help me pursue those possibilities.
After Wellesley, I got my first job working for a large Washington, DC law firm (now known as Wilmer Hale). My hobby of genealogy and an internship at the New England Genealogical Society helped me land my first position as it signaled to the hiring manager that I could keep track of a lot of documents – an important skill for a paralegal. Wellesley’s amazing internships are definitely a key that opens new doors to the future. Put them (and your hobbies) on your resume!
Fast forwarding a few years, I moved to California and eventually landed in the technology world where I worked in marketing (selling products), then product management (making products) and later business development (getting people interested in products not yet available). I was fortunate to get my first job in the software world through the wonderful Wellesley network – which also became my ready-made community in the Bay Area. I went on to become President of the Wellesley Club of Northern CA, among whose members are some of my closest friends to this day.
In my late 20’s, I faced a real crossroads and a number of personal challenges. My dad was diagnosed with emphysema, my mom with breast cancer and my best friend’s husband had brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. I lost my dad a year later; fortunately the others fully recovered and during the many hours sitting by hospital beds, I realized there was a lot more I wanted to achieve.
I decided to enroll in Stanford Business School where I focused on entrepreneurship and public management. My MBA opened many doors for me, including an introduction to my friend and co-founder of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), Jennifer Gill Roberts (who had also attended Wellesley for a year!). For the ten years after our graduation, we worked side-by-side creating the first trade association for women entrepreneurs, helping women build technology and life science companies and secure significant capital for their businesses.
Leading FWE was one of the best jobs I ever had because we created a powerful community of women leaders that eventually grew to 7 cities and 3 countries. This was a role that fed my head – and my heart — because it was challenging as well as rewarding.
I also had the opportunity to co-found Springboard, the first venture capital conference for women. The first event that I hosted in Silicon Valley in 2000 has since catalyzed a global initiative that has been instrumental in facilitating over $6 billion in capital flowing to women-led and women-founded companies. What is special about Springboard is that we don’t just connect entrepreneurs to investors – we offer a 3-month training program for women founders and CEOs – helping them to understand how to build and lead great companies as well as how to shape their funding pitch.
Over 550 women have participated in our programs – from across the US as well as Israel, Brazil and Australia — and our plans are to just keep growing. I consider Springboard one of the signature achievements of my career and I continue to serve on their National Council of Advisors.
Today, I am the CEO of the Thought Leadership Lab. I have the opportunity to speak to and consult with leaders across the world on how to amplify their impact, multiply their influence and achieve real significance in the world. My clients are change agents who want to gain a following for their ideas or scale a program or initiative in the world.
I am on a mission to create more thought leaders – particularly more women who can be recognized for their expertise and invited to take a seat at the table – in the C-suite, Fortune 500 board rooms or even the halls of Congress. I recently documented the process I use with my clients in my first book, Ready to Be a Thought Leader?, that illustrates the seven steps toward career enhancement – and community enhancement – through thought leadership.
If you’d like to learn more about the book – and how you can adopt the characteristics and behaviors of thought leaders – I will be leading a book discussion in Pendleton Atrium from 6:30-8PM on February 24. I hope you can join me. Click here to RSVP.
Let me close with one final plug for the power of the Wellesley network. Throughout my career, Wellesley women have hired me for rewarding jobs and I have hired others in turn; they have nominated me into the Wellesley Business Leadership Council and I have recruited others to join our ranks. My Wellesley friends are even the ones who are hosting book launch events for me in New York, SF, Boston and DC.
The most important lesson I can share with you is this — if you give to the Wellesley community, they give back –it is one of the most powerful sisterhoods in the world. I hope you’ll find an opportunity this year to reach out and get involved.