Summer Events at Woodhull

Young Women's Ethical Leadership Retreat (NY)
June 6-8, 2008
June Dinner Seminar (NYC)
June 18, 2008
Young Women's Ethical Leadership Retreat (CA)
June 13-15, 2008
June Dinner Seminar
June 18, 2008
Raise Your Voices: An Intensive Non-Fiction Writing Retreat for Women (NY)
July 11-13, 2008 - Hey - I'm teaching at this one! Join me there?!
Young Women's Ethical Leadership Retreat (NY)
August 8-10, 2008

Nowhere to Grow

As promised, my thoughts on Tuesday's Leaders Who Lunch event, sponsored by Woodhull, on the theme of intergenerational issues among women at work:

Sitting at a table of leaders from various organizations, I was struck once again by the ubiquity of a problem within the organizational structure at many small nonprofits. There are entry-level jobs and director-level jobs, and not much in between. Hence, for many young people who enter small nonprofits, there is nowhere, really, to grow.

I worked at a small, national nonprofit fresh out of college. I was a research assistant. I loved my job and was mentored well. Following the path of many who work the nonprofit circuit, I went back to graduate school for a PhD, thinking I'd like to teach. Once I realized I didn't (want to teach college, that is), I returned to the same nonprofit, by then under new leadership, as a Project Director. And again, I loved my job. But in the end, and to my surprise, I found myself facing the same dilemma as my younger colleagues: nowhere, really, to grow.

As Courtney, Gloria, Kristal, and I also do regularly at our WomenGirlsLadies events, Woodhull's gifted facilitator Karla asked us to think of one thing we'd like to share with our elder--or younger--colleagues about the kinds of generationally-tinged struggles we sometimes face. So here's what I offered, in the context of that safe space:

To my elders in women's organizations:
1. Have a succession plan in the works for the executive director, and start grooming.
2. Make room for us. Some organizations seem to have distinct limits in terms of voices of leadership. If there is room for more, those of us who end up leaving may instead decide to stay, and help the organization grow.
3. Try to operate from a psychology of abundance, rather than one of scarcity. Your staff are not your competition, but allies.

Whew -- pretty feisty for so early in the morning, huh? I just got back from trying a spinning class for the first time in years, which must be giving me the chutzpah to speak my mind.

Gratitude to Woodhull, and again to In Good Company, for a very rich event. Woodhull is running an Intergenerational Leader Retreat up in Ancramdale on May 16-18. Note: I won't be there, but I urge folks to check it out.

Help Woodhull Win $50,000!

On your marks, get set, donate! Today begins the 24-hour period (starts at 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific today and goes through through 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific tomorrow) in which Woodhull is asking members of its community and friends to donate $10. To do it, click here.

As part of what I think is a rather brilliant Giving Challenge, Facebook will award money to Causes with the most amount of unique donors. That's right - not the highest amount of money raised, but the highest number of unique donors. The Cause with the most unique donors in the given period wins $1,000. But there is also a 50-day challenge, where the prize is $50K....Read more about the challenge here.

New in Cause Marketing - Go Woodhull!

Earlier this month, Facebook.com teamed up with The Case Foundation to present a Giving Challenge--Facebook will award money to Causes with the most amount of unique donors. That's right, not the highest amount of money raised, but the highest number of unique donors. So even the smallest donation really, really counts. On behalf of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, I'm posting this request:

We're asking you to donate $10 and recruit your friends to do the same in the 24-hour period starting 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific on this Tuesday, January 15th through 3PM Eastern/12PM Pacific on this Thursday, January 16th to help Woodhull win $1000!

If you miss those dates, you can still help us out by donating and recruiting - we can still win the 50-day challenge! Read more about the challenge here.

Remember they are interested in unique donors so the more individuals that donate $10 the greater the chances that Woodhull could get a $1,000 match for the day and $50,000 for the 50 day challenge.

Happy New Year!
Wende Jager-Hyman

To make a donation, click here.

Woodhull's Public Speaking Trainings Now Online

A quick update from the Woodhull Institute of Ethical Leadership (which has partnered with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty in order "to share success building tools through online training sessions that promote ethical development and empower women to act as agents of positive social change"):

Right now, Public Speaking trainings instructed by Woodhull co-founder Naomi Wolf and non-profit development professional and poet Tara Bracco are available online, here. There's also an opportunity to "ask the experts," Naomi and Tara, your questions.

The next module, Negotiation, will begin on December 3, 2007, and is led by our own dear Susan Devenyi. More info on all the online trainings here.

Women's Ethical Leadership Retreat - This Weekend!

GUEST POST BY ELIZABETH CURTIS

Clearly, I can't get enough of guest posting here at GWP. But I just wanted to share a cool opportunity with the GWP community - because working with ya'll has been so much fun!

When I'm not wearing my blogger hat, I'm wearing my program coordinator hat at the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership. You may remember Deborah mentioning Woodhull in the past, as she is a fellow at the Institute. Well, this weekend we are having a Women's Ethical Leadership Retreat at our retreat center in Ancramdale, NY (2.5 hours north of NYC and just a MetroNorth ride away). There are still a few spots left - and I would love to see a GWP reader take advantage of this chance to work on building one's personal and professional ethical leadership skills.

And what exactly does this retreat entail, you ask...Well! Woodhull offers thought-provoking roundtables on ways to bring ethics into the each participant’s life. Participants brush up on best-practices for communication strategies and learn how to negotiate in your personal and professional life. They discuss how to add balance to a busy life and explore ways to navigate changes - big and small - confidently and creatively. Through workshops, they sharpen tools in the areas of finance and investment. Participants also have the option of joining in a yoga class, hike, or swim and spending personal time journaling or reading. More information about the Women’s Ethical Leadership Retreat can be found at http://www.woodhull.org/womansRetreat.php.

I hope I'll see you there!

Woodhull Financial Literacy Module Now Online

Before skipping town, just wanted to share an update from the Woodhull Weekly. As I mentioned a few weeks back, the Woodhull Institute of Ethical Leadership has partnered with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to share success building tools through online training sessions that promote ethical development and empower women to act as agents of positive social change. Teachings on financial literacy by Woodhull Fellow Jacquette Timmons are now available via the Real Women, Real Success Stories area of the Campaign for Real Beauty site. The next module, Your Authentic Voice and Advocacy, will begin on October 8, 2007, and is taught by Karla Jackson-Brewer and Dr. Robin Stern