The CLUB
An incubator of women leaders

News

  • 07/21/2015 6:14 PM | Anonymous

    The CLUB had an exciting second quarter as we realized a 51% year-over-year growth in members, launched our Big Read book review program, continued to see more members organizing informal gatherings, and hosted two all-members events focused on giving/receiving feedback and board readiness.

    In this update: 

    • New Programs - learn about our Big Read, Thriving Workplace and Pitch Perfect initiatives
    • Round up - news from across the CLUB community including our pop-up CLUBhouse plan and upcoming programming
    • Member Recognition - key awards received by CLUB members this quarter
    • Get Involved - help further the CLUB's mission and your leadership skills by volunteering for one of our open positions

    Read on to learn more!

    New ProgramsNEW PROGRAMS

    The Big Read

    Are you a book nerd or just looking for some tips on how to navigate the workplace, gain leadership skills or improve your networking? Then the CLUB’s Big Read program is for you.  The Big Read selects a book each quarter and organizes reading groups and other programming events associated with the book selection.

    This past quarter we read Patty Azzarello’s Rise: How to be Really Successful at Work AND Like Your Life. In Rise, Azzarello shares her guide to succeeding in the workplace based on three precepts: Do Better, Look Better and Connect Better.

    • The Do Better portion of the book emphasizes the importance of adopting ruthless priorities, i.e., the idea that in order to succeed it is crucial to select one or two priorities with the understanding that many other priorities may need to be shelved until your main goal is achieved.
    • Look Better provides a brief but powerful discussion on developing your personal brand.
    • Connect Better focuses on networking tips including the importance of networking both within your company and outside of your company to the broader community.

    A small group of CLUB members gathered to discuss the book on June 17.  The discussion was wide-ranging - beginning with the basics of the book and then moving on to invaluable sharing of career advancement ideas amongst the group. Group participants strongly recommend reading Rise.

    In connection with the Q3 theme of “Breaking Through The Silicon Valley Boys’ Club," the next Big Read selection is Pamela Ryckman’s Stiletto Network: Inside the Women's Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business in which the author interviews women who have formed their own power networks to advocate for each other in the workplace.

    If you are interested in participating in the next Big Read, join the Big Read group. If you have any questions, please email Judith Coley.

    Thriving Workplace Program

    Current workplace practices no longer serve the interests of companies or their employees. Despite massive changes in the workforce in recent decades, the continued emphasis on long hours, “face time,” and 24-7 accessibility often leads to employee burnout and dissatisfaction while negatively impacting profits.

    We have an opportunity to reinvigorate our outdated workplace structures by transforming them into thriving environments that leverage diversity and maximize each person’s contribution to success. That’s where the CLUB’s Thriving Workplace Program comes in. The CLUB Thriving Workplace Program provides a platform to bring together business leaders, change agents, and thought leaders to pursue realistic solutions to reinvigorate our workplace cultures.

    This new CLUB initiative needs your support in the coming months! Please contact Lianne Kennedy-Boudali or Kshama Swamy for more information on how you can get involved, and join our Thriving Workplace group on the members-only website.

    The CLUB's Pitch Perfect - Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch

    Do you have a company, product, service or idea you would like to pitch? Or, are you in a business where you need to pitch yourself or your services on a regular basis?  The CLUB has a new initiative to give members the opportunity to perfect their elevator pitches.  Starting at 6:45 p.m. at the monthly all members CLUB events, up to three members will have the opportunity to give a two-minute elevator pitch to the group and then, in the spirit of learning to grow from feedback, answer up to two minutes of questions or comments about their pitch.  If you are interested in pitching at a future CLUB event, please email Jennifer Lotz.  We look forward to hearing your pitches!


    New ProgramsROUNDUP

    MentoringMentoring

    Save-the-Date - Join us on August 25 for a Micro-Mentoring Event on Unconscious Bias.

    Real EstateReal Estate

    Pop-Up CLUBhouses:The CLUB is excited to announce we are in negotiations to launch a pop-up CLUB house in 2015. Stay tuned for further details to be announced in the coming weeks!

    CommunityCommunity

    Our community segments have been busy this quarter--if you haven't had a chance to participate in one of these great small-group events, make some time soon!  Our quarter three events will be tied to the theme of Breaking Through the Silicon Valley Boys' Club, which is sure to lead to some interesting and inspiring discussions. Our segments have held over 20 events last quarter, including walk and talks, lunches, big idea brunches, happy hours, and discussions about how perfect your elevator pitch.  Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about yourself and your fellow CLUB members.  Here are some upcoming events (the details and sign ups are on the events page on the CLUB member website):

    • July 30th - Member Wine & Cheese with CLUB President and Vice President in SF
    • August 13th - Tentative Legal Leading Ladies segment lunch in SF and Cupertino
    • August 25th - A Micro Mentoring Event
    • August 28th - SF Group Embarcadero Walk
    • September 25th - SF Group Embarcadero Walk

    Keep checking the member web site for new events!

    ProgrammingProgramming

    Our Second Quarter was all about “Authentic Leadership” with two events – “Mastering the Art and Science of Effective Feedback” and “Social Impact Through Nonprofit Governance: How to Live Your Passion While Sharing and Building Your Skills as a Nonprofit Board Member.”

    In May, CLUB member Kristi Royse led a workshop examining why we avoid giving and receiving feedback (often because we want to be liked and we are our own worst critics), and how to learn to embrace feedback.  In today’s digital age, making the effort to give feedback in person is even more critical. Did you know that only 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through certain vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc)? Yet, how many of us have important conversations over email, text message or IM?

    In June, we learned about the personal and professional benefits of non-profit board service from CLUB member Jean Ries, including how to identify suitable board opportunities and the expectations and commitments that come with being a board member in terms of time, talent, and fundraising. Serving on a non-profit board is a fantastic way to use your skills to help advance the mission of an organization you believe in, and can even help develop new talents that you never even knew you had!  Interested in finding non-profit Board opportunities? Check out these resources.

    We hope you’ll be able to join us for our Third Quarter events on “Breaking Through The Silicon Valley Boys’ Club.”  We’ll kick off the quarter in July with events in San Francisco and San Jose on “Advanced Storytelling and Presentation Skills: How to Create a Compelling Message and Persuade Anyone.”

    In August, we'll explore how unconscious bias can hold women back in their careers through a series of interactive micro mentoring sessions. Finally, in September, we'll wrap up the quarter with a session on developing effective networking skills. Find out more about the events and RSVP on our members-only site.

    If you have any feedback on programming, or have a speaker or event idea, please reach out to Jennifer Lotz or Kate Wilson. We look forward to seeing you at future events!

    MembershipMembership 

    The membership committee has been hard at work recruiting new members and reviewing applications. The CLUB has experienced a year-over-year growth in fully enrolled members of 51% and the membership committee produced 5 member spotlights in Q2 2015.

    CLUB members featured so far this year in the Member Spotlight include:

    If you would like to recommend a member to be featured in an upcoming spotlight, please email membership@theclubsv.org.

    MEMBER RECOGNITIONMEMBER RECOGNITION

    Key awards received by CLUB members this quarter

    • Karen Catlin (CLUB Board member) - 2015 Wonder Women Tech Innovator Award
    • Erin Rand (CLUB Advisory Board member) – Silicon Valley Business Journal's 100 Women of Influence 2015
    • Annie Rogaski (CLUB President) – Silicon Valley Business Journal's 100 Women of Influence 2015
    • Alice Katwan (CLUB Member) – Silicon Valley Business Journal's 100 Women of Influence 2015
    • Jen Helms (CLUB member) - 50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley in 2015
    • Judith Szepesi (CLUB member) – IAM Magazine Top Patent Prosecutor 2015
    • Julie Stephenson (CLUB member) – IAM Magazine Top Patent Prosecutor 2015

    If you’ve received an award or know of a CLUB member who has, please email us at membership@theclubsv.org for inclusion in our next newsletter.

    GET INVOLVEDGET INVOLVED

    Get connected; share your time and talent with the CLUB

    The member's only website has many informal industry / location / experience level based groups that meet up regularly for networking and to discuss issues of interest. Be sure to join any groups that interest you to receive updates on these events. Click here to browse a list of groups (members only). 

    Open Roles at The CLUB: 

    The Programming Committee is seeking:

    • Director of Venues: to help find spaces to hold our events.
    • Quarterly Event Chair for the Second Quarter: with its theme of "Authentic Leadership"
    • Quarterly Event Chair for the Third Quarter: with its theme of "Breaking Through The Silicon Valley Boys' Club"
    • Anniversary Party Swag Bag Coordinator:   We need someone to head up an effort to put together Swag Bags for The CLUB's Anniversary Party in early October.  We would love to have women-owned businesses contribute items to the bags.  For example, a coupon for a free exercise class, a coupon for a free bakery item, a discount off a purchase at a boutique, restaurant, or salon, a free or discounted coaching session, a free or discounted resume tune-up, etc.  It would also be great if one or more of the businesses could provide an actual item to include, such as a cupcake, cookie, chocolate, key ring, notebook, etc.  We need someone to lead this effort by coordinating a team to identify the businesses, obtain the items, and put together the Swag Bags for the event.  This will be a great way to promote The CLUB to women-owned businesses and for businesses to promote themselves to CLUB members!
    • Technology Guru: We need a Technology Guru to help us launch some interactive online events.  If you have a passion for technology, and would like to help us explore possible platforms to host online chats or web-based presentations that are interactive and informative for our members, we need your help!

    If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about any of these important roles for the Club, please contact Jennifer Lotz or Kate Wilson.

    The Sponsorship Committee is seeking:

    • Co-chair / Tech Lead: lead our sponsorship efforts for companies in the Tech sector. Please contact Megan Jones if interested.

    The Membership Committee is seeking:

    • Welcome Committee Lead: responsible for developing new member onboarding approach and execute on approach. Personally reach out, via email, to new members
    • Head of Data & Analytics: responsible for analyzing membership data and provide analysis on key trends. Goal is to provide insights from our membership data to better serve, retain, and attract members

    If you are interested in any of these positions with the membership committee please email membership@theclubsv.org.

    Cheers,

    The CLUB Board of Directors

    Annie Rogaski | Diana Olin | Karen Catlin | Kristiane Koontz | Laraine McKinnon


  • 07/07/2015 6:16 PM | Anonymous

    Do you have a company, product, service or idea you would like to pitch? Or, are you in a business where you need to pitch yourself or your services on a regular basis?  The CLUB is starting a new initiative to give members the opportunity to perfect their elevator pitches.  Starting at 6:45 p.m. at CLUB events, two to three members will have the opportunity to give a two-minute elevator pitch to the group and then, in the spirit of learning to grow from feedback, answer up to two minutes of questions or comments about their pitch.  If you are interested in pitching at a future CLUB event, please sign up to be a member.  We look forward to hearing your pitches!

  • 06/10/2015 6:18 PM | Anonymous

    The CLUB has a host of great events this month just for members - we hope to see you at one or all. Click the links below to learn more and RSVP:

    Thursday, June 11th, 6pm - East Bay Happy Hour in Oakland 

    Swing by after work to share a drink with your East Bay colleagues at Penelope in downtown Oakland! We'll enjoy some good conversation, including on the topic of what makes an authentic leader.

    Friday, June 12th 7am - Stanford Dish Walk & Talk in Palo Alto 

    Hope you can join us at the Dish for an invigorating walk and talk, and the best conversation of the day! (recurring, every Friday).

     

    Tuesday, June 16th, 8am - President's Coffee for New Members in Cupertino 

    If you have joined the CLUB in the last year, please join CLUB President Annie Rogaski for a new member coffee. You'll meet other new members, share why you joined the CLUB, and explore ways to get the most out of your CLUB membership. Bagels and coffee will be served.

     

    Wednesday, June 17th, 6pm - Big Read Discussion in Burlingame

    Please join us for a lively discussion of this quarter's Big Read. We have been reading "Rise: How to be Really Successful at Work AND Like Your Life" by Patty Azzarello. Don't worry if you haven't had time to read or skim the book, we want to have a great discussion about the topics raised in the book, and we'll provide some notes of the book at the start of the meeting.

     

    Monday, June 22nd, 6pm - Social Impact Through Nonprofit Governance in Menlo Park

    Come learn about the personal and professional benefits of nonprofit board service, as well as key responsibilities and expectations of board members. Identify the skillsets you offer a board and the nonprofit mission area(s) that fuel your passions.

    Wednesday, June 24th, 6pm - The Club at SF Food Bank

    Please join fellow Club members (and your Philanthropy Committee) at the SF Food bank on June 24th.  We'll spend a few hours helping sort and package up food that the Food Bank distributes to food pantries, children's snack programs, and soup kitchens throughout SF and Marin. This will be a wonderful chance to do some good, while you meet and chat with other Club members.

    We hope to see you soon!

    The CLUB

  • 02/12/2015 6:19 PM | Anonymous

    There's no denying that the recent Newsweek cover story "What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women" has garnered a lot of attention. First, the cover art went viral. Many considered it offensive...until they read the story and realized that the artwork suited the article perfectly. Next to buzz were the salacious stories within. They were carefully curated by the author, but still pretty shocking for mainstream media. So now that the fireworks are over and the edition has run its course on the newsstand, how do we keep the spotlight on women's opportunities and drive positive momentum?

    Simple. By connecting women into stronger networks, by supporting one another's endeavors, by building leadership opportunities. You know this as the mission of the CLUB. What you may not know is how the CLUB provided background and positive content for the Newsweek article.

    Late last year, journalist Nina Burleigh reached out to Annie Rogaski, Founder of the CLUB, to get her thoughts on the issues women face in Silicon Valley, and asked for introductions to professional women in Silicon Valley. Nina - who at the time was writing for ELLE magazine - was interested in profiling a young female entrepreneur who was pursuing venture funding. Annie immediately thought of CLUB member Eileen Carey, who was in the process of launching Glassbreakers, a tech startup and peer mentorship community for women. After a couple of conversations, Nina was certain that Eileen and her co-founder Lauren Mosenthal were exactly the right people for her profile. She loved their "hacker-hustler" partnership, and the fact that Glassbreakers is a technology designed for women.

    Nina made a trip to Silicon Valley in December and spent time with Eileen, Lauren and many other people that they suggested. Annie organized a meeting at her firm so Nina could gain perspective from a mix of entrepreneurs and investors - all of whom were connections of the CLUB.

    Just a few months earlier, CLUB Member Laraine McKinnon had been architecting the CLUB Incubator program, and CLUB members Holly Hogan, Katherine Mendonca and Diana Olin each suggested that she meet with Eileen Carey, who could contribute networking expertise. Laraine met with Eileen in August at a Starbucks and (as retold in the article) quickly became a mentor and financial supporter of Glassbreakers.

    In January, an exciting twist came from Nina. She had just taken a job as national politics correspondent at Newsweek, and the first story she was writing was a cover feature on women entrepreneurs trying to make it in Silicon Valley. The article was going to cover Eileen and Lauren as they launched. The issue had an early on-line release (the cover art had been leaked) and hit newsstands on February 6, 2015. The in-depth story reviewed the good, the bad and the ugly for women in Silicon Valley tech. It featured a range of photos, including Eileen and Lauren; the Valley's prominent C-suite women; and - in yet another CLUB connection - a photo of the founders of the Women's Startup Lab, taken in their donated host space, the law firm of CLUB member Mindy Morton.

    Each of these seemingly random events - connecting women into stronger networks, supporting one another's endeavors, creating leadership opportunities - is a success story for the CLUB. There are hundreds of connections and ideas happening through the CLUB. Though they may not always combine to make the cover of Newsweek, they are all critical to our mission to support women and grow the pipeline of women leaders. We encourage you to make the time to reach out to others, mentor, support, share the story and help build on the positive momentum - in Silicon Valley and beyond.

  • 01/19/2015 6:21 PM | Anonymous

    The CLUB’s programming committee is excited to announce the quarterly programming themes for 2015.

    Our 2015 themes are:

    • Q1 New Year, New You
    • Q2 Authentic Leadership
    • Q3 Breaking thru the Silicon Valley Boys Club
    • Q4 Celebrating Success

    First Quarter - "New Year, New You" – We all start our New Year off with resolutions, but how can we actually keep them?  Let’s start the New Year off right, beginning with our January event  -  “Stop Making the Lists of Competing ‘Shoulds’ — Amplify Your Life Instead!,” on January 21, 2015 from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Silicon Valley Pad.  This event will challenge you to examine the guiding principles for your life, what is most important to you, and what embedded assumptions you may be carrying that prevent you from achieving the life you want.

    In February, we'll move on to the subject of “Transitions,” and discuss making effective career transitions, whether you’re looking at moving laterally, advancing within your organization, or completely changing careers.

    We'll close out the First Quarter in March with our Mentoring event and be inspired by mentoring success stories, learning how to “make the ask” to a potential mentor, as well as how a mentor can help you “make the ask” to move forward in your career.

    Second Quarter - “Authentic Leadership” - Many of us want to be leaders in our organizations or industries, but don’t know how to take that first step.  Others are already leaders, but want to progress to the next level or become better and more effective leaders.  In the Second Quarter, we'll explore what makes someone a great leader, how to find and capitalize on leadership opportunities, and how to develop and hone your leadership skills and style.

    Third Quarter – “Breaking Through The Silicon Valley Boys’ Club”  - Despite all of the advancements made by women over the years, in many ways, Silicon Valley remains a boys’ club.  In the third quarter, we’ll be looking at ways to break through that boys’ club, by changing the conversation to how women can gain power in the workplace, and examining the biases (both overt and unconscious) that can prevent women from attaining top positions.

    Fourth Quarter – “Celebrating Successes” – The Fourth Quarter is all about reflection and celebration.  We’ll look back at what we’ve achieved over the year, celebrate those successes, and look forward to even more progress in the upcoming year with the Club’s Anniversary Party in October and our Holiday Party in December.

    Thank you to our programming committee for driving our monthly events!

    The CLUB Board of Directors

  • 01/15/2015 6:22 PM | Anonymous

    Thank You To Our 2014 Sponsors!

    You helped the CLUB build a diverse community of professional women who, in turn, helped each other accelerate their leadership journeys. And it’s working. Read our 2014 Annual Sponsorship Recognition Report to hear about the impact we’re having on women from your organization and others across the Bay Area.

  • 01/10/2015 6:23 PM | Anonymous

    As we close out 2014, the CLUB Board wanted to share our insights and thank you’s with our members for a fantastic year.  2014 was a foundational period for us.  In 2013, we were in a constant state of learning, and in 2014, our processes and leadership solidified in an amazing way, allowing us to build upon our first year’s momentum and achieve even greater things, including the launch of our mentoring program and establishing our ‘segments’ to facilitate additional ways for our members to connect with each other. 

    While we heard from our members that they loved the 10 formal events and numerous  informal connections the CLUB facilitated this year, much of the work and innovation that happened this year was behind the scenes – so we wanted to make sure you were aware of who has worked so hard to help make the CLUB what it is today. We are excited for what this leadership structure and growth will position us to achieve in 2015!

    One of our initiatives for 2015 is to communicate more often with the full membership.  While one or more of our Board members have attended every event this year, we do not always have the opportunity to talk with everyone.  We would like to ensure that our members have insight into all the great events and opportunities offered by the CLUB, so please keep an eye out for a quarterly newsletter to keep you up to date.

    In 2015 we are also excited to expand our mentoring program with the addition of Mentoring Circles, and also launch our Incubator and Community Advocacy programs. Keep reading for additional details.

    Thank you to our 2014 Leaders, and welcome to our 2015 Leaders

    Board

    Our Board in 2014 began with three of our original founding Board members – Annie Rogaski, Kristiane Koontz and Julie Stephenson – and two new members who joined us in late 2013 – Karen Catlin and Diana Olin.  After three years of service, Julie decided to step down, to focus efforts on a law firm she started with two other CLUB members (Annie and Judith Szepesi).  Thank you, Julie, for your long-term contribution to building and leading the CLUB. In 2015, the CLUB will welcome Laraine McKinnon as the 5th member of the Board.  We know the CLUB will continue to flourish with Laraine’s ideas and talents contributing to our Board.  Welcome, Laraine.

    Advisory Board

    We continue to have a high-profile, amazing set of Advisory Board members.  Two of our original Advisory Board members, Mona Sabet and Erin Rand, continue to provide us with fantastic strategic insights.  In 2014, we added two other Advisory Board members – Angie Chang and Kim Le.  Our Advisory Board provides laser-focused feedback that keeps us strategically on track and moving towards even greater things.  Thank you, Mona, Erin, Angie, and Kim.

    You can read more about our Board and Advisory Board here.

    Programming Committee

    By far our busiest committee, our Programming Committee created and planned monthly events throughout the year, building a playbook in the process to make future events much simpler to put on.  They implemented a quarterly topic format that enabled members to dig deeply into each quarterly topic, but in a different way each month.  Each quarter had a quarterly chair who ensured each month of the quarter built on the prior one.  Each event had an event chair as well as volunteers to help plan the event and to pitch in at the event.  Thank you to each of the Programming Committee members who worked incredibly hard to bring us high quality events and content. Thank you specifically to:

    • Mindy Morton and Laraine McKinnon for their leadership of the committee
    • Mindy Morton, Julia Cowles, and Judith Szepesi for their leadership as quarterly event chairs
    • Kate Wilson, Beth Roemer, Holly Hogan, Laurie Charrington, Marina Feehan, Jennifer Lotz, Michelle Gillette, Mindy Morton, and Laraine McKinnon for their leadership as monthly event chairs
    • Christine Pham for supporting our event marketing and online registration

    We look forward to continuing our Programming excellence under the 2015 leadership of Kate Wilson and Jennifer Lotz.  Kate and Jennifer have been active in the Programming Committee and have become veterans in executing events.  Thank you Kate and Jennifer for taking on this important role.

    Membership Committee

    One of the most fun things about building the CLUB has been to read the applications of prospective members.  Not only do we see an impressive group of leaders applying, but it is abundantly clear from each application how passionately we all care about finding a community of women to help us and whom we can help.  The mission of the CLUB shines through in our members’ applications and we are so fortunate to continue to grow our membership with quality professionals who contribute to the vitality of our community. The membership committee is responsible for member acceptance, administration, recruiting and recognition. In 2014 we saw further growth in the size, engagement and diversity of our membership, across industries and career progression. Thank you specifically to:

    • Joselle Deocampo for stepping up to lead the committee in 2014
    • Joselle Deocampo and Pam Fulmer for leading our member recognition team and publishing 7 member spotlights in 2014
    • Libby Moulton for leading our new member acceptance process twice per month
    • Bing Xie for serving as our Membership Liaison for supporting our member administration and recruiting efforts

    The membership committee has ambitious goals for 2015 under the continued leadership of Joselle Deocampo. Bing Xie will continue in 2015 as our Membership Liaison and Shannon Dahl will join the committee leadership as the Director of Member Recognition.  Please email membership@theclubsv.org if you are interested in supporting the work of this important committee.

    Real Estate / CLUBhouse Committee

    In 2014, our Real Estate Committee took on a couple roles.  In addition to helping to secure locations for monthly events, this committee explored the possibility of establishing the CLUBhouse.  Thank you to Laura Majerus, Sarah Lambersky, and Hillary Barnhart for their great efforts researching the real estate issues, creating a survey to gather member input, and analyzing that input to help direct our 2015 efforts.

    In 2015, we will structure our real estate tasks a bit differently.  We will move the function of locating event space into the Programming Committee and we will create a new CLUBhouse Committee to help us establish our first CLUBhouse.  Please email annie@theclubsv.org if you would like to join or lead our 2015 CLUBhouse Committee, which will help us make CLUB history.

    Sponsorship Committee

    One of our key 2015 initiatives – establishing our CLUBhouse – will depend heavily on sponsorship funding.  Our 2014 leadership, Risa Beckwith and Katherine Maraschin, built a great foundation for sponsorship asks, by analyzing our value proposition so that we can more effectively show the value the CLUB brings to our sponsors.  We’d like to express our gratitude to Box, Jones Day, Synopsys, Fenwick & West, Morgan Lewis and Google for hosting our events, and ServiceRocket, Wilmerhale, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Procopio as well as several anonymous donors for contributions that enable us to serve our members.  Thank you, Risa and Katherine, for creating the framework for our 2015 Sponsorship team.

    We also measured the impact The CLUB is having on our members via a survey at our 2nd Anniversary Party. You can read about the impressive results in “The CLUB Effect.”

    We are working on the 2015 leadership.  Robin Patin will chair our technology industry sponsorship efforts and we are looking for chairs to lead our initiatives with other industries. If you are interested in joining the sponsorship committee or taking a leadership role, please email annie@theclubsv.org.  Someone from the committee may reach out to you in 2015 to help explore sponsorship by your company.  This is a HARD job – please be receptive to their asks and collectively we can make our CLUBhouse a reality.

    Philanthropy Committee

    Many of our members have expressed an interest in giving back.  Our Philanthropy Committee has worked throughout 2014 to identify opportunities of interest to our members.  While some exciting opportunities were identified, they also were quite labor intensive to get off the ground.  In 2015, we will look to identify simpler opportunities that will have a local impact while giving CLUB members the chance to give back together – building our CLUB Community as well as helping to improve the communities we live in.  Keep an eye out for opportunities posted on our Members-only website in 2015.

    Thank you for our 2014 leadership – Sangeeta Tiwari and Bettina Weiss – and welcome to our 2015 leadership – Bettina Weiss and Rachael Meny.

    New Chair of Community

    We are excited to announce a new leadership role – Chair of Community – which will be filled in 2015 by Mindy Morton.  This important role was created to facilitate communication, ideas, and coordination across committees, segments, affiliate organizations, and the Board.  We are thrilled to have Mindy step into this role with her depth of experience with the Programming Committee and her participation in CLUB Segments.

    Affiliates

    Thank you to Laurie Charrington, our Affiliate Chair in 2014, who developed our Affiliate database and set the foundation for coordinating our efforts with those of our affiliates.  If anyone is interested in continuing this work in 2015, please email info@theclubsv.org.

    Segments

    One of the most exciting initiatives we started in 2014 was creating segments (geographic, experience levels, and industries) that enabled smaller gatherings to explore issues of interest to that segment.  Gatherings included walk and talks in SF and at the Stanford Dish, various breakfasts, lunches, a women in tech panel, an “art of the ask” speaker, a Breast Cancer Awareness walk, “Big Idea” brunches, and more.  Thanks to our 2014 Segment Leaders for working with no roadmap and creating something amazing:

    • Geographic
      • SF/North Bay: Holly Hogan and Jaime Kitano
      • Peninsula: Pam Colbert, Kimberly Culp, Mary Fuller
      • South Bay: Marina Gruber and Karen Kaufman
      • Industry
        • Marketing: Laurie Kretchmar
        • Finance: Laraine McKinnon
        • Tech: Laura Fechete and Risa Beckwith
        • Legal: Mindy Morton
        • Experience Levels
          • <10 years: Marina Gruber and Karen Kaufman
          • 20+ years: Julia Cowles

    In 2015, our segments will be known as “Communities” and will be led by Mindy Morton, in her role as Chair of Community.  Thanks to the following members who will take on (or continue) these leadership roles:

    • Geographic
      • SF/North Bay: Holly Hogan, Jaime Kitano and Kathleen Bost
      • Peninsula: TBD
      • South Bay: Marina Gruber and Karen Kaufman
      • East Bay: Krista Baughman
      • Industry
        • Tech: Laura Fechete
        • Legal: Krista Baughman
        • Marketing: TBD
        • Finance: TBD
        • Experience Levels
          • Aspiring leaders (typically <10 years): Marina Gruber and Karen Kaufman
          • Emerging leaders (typically 10-20 years): TBD
          • Established leaders (typically 20+ years): TBD

    If you are interested in leading any of the segments with TBD, please email info@theclubsv.org.  This is a great, easy way to get some leadership experience.

    Mentoring

    In 2014, we launched The CLUB’s mentoring program.  We held a kick-off event in March where we heard about the benefits and best practices of mentoring, and we’ve had monthly forum posts about mentoring discussion topics.

    Moving into 2015, we’re excited to add to our mentoring options with the launch of a “Mentoring Circles” pilot for 8 members to meet monthly to jointly work on their career goals and how to best meet them.

    Many thanks to the Mentoring Committee for their work to launch and expand this important program: Holly Hogan (chair), Michelle Garrison, Karen Kaufman, Katherine Maraschin, and Katherine Mendonca.

    Incubator Program

    In 2015, we are launching a new Incubator program – created by Laraine McKinnon – that will help members who have already established themselves as leaders create a more visible external profile as a leader.  Thanks to our 2015 leaders of this program: Laraine McKinnon, Mindy Morton, and Kristi Royse.

    Community Advocacy Program

    In 2015, we are also launching an outward facing program, which will be driven by CLUB members and non-members, to identify best practices for building thriving work cultures, and highlighting companies who successfully do so.  We have a great group of thought leaders already forming, who will be led by our 2015 Chair of Workplace Best Practices, Sally Applin.  We have one open leadership position, for Quarterly Company Spotlight Chair.  If you are interested in the future of work, and helping to recast our workplace cultures to be more inclusive of women leaders, and would like to join us, please email annie@theclubsv.org.

    It’s not too late…

    If you are not yet signed up to lead or participate in the above committees, please reach out to the 2015 leaders identified above, or fill out a survey here.   Committee participation is a great way to get to know other CLUB members, build leadership skills, and get the most out of the CLUB.

    We look forward to an exciting CLUB experience in 2015 – thank you all for being a part of our community!

    The CLUB Board

    Annie, Kristiane, Karen, Diana and Laraine

  • 01/10/2015 6:23 PM | Anonymous

    To kick off 2015, Catalyst published statistics of women in business at various levels of leadership


    Source: Catalyst Knowledge Center
  • 01/05/2015 6:24 PM | Anonymous


    The CLUB is thrilled to announce that Laraine McKinnon, a Managing Director at BlackRock, has joined its board of directors. Laraine has been an active member of the CLUB since 2012 and in 2014 served as the Vice Chair to the Programming Committee. She also spearheaded and launched the CLUB Incubator, a women’s leadership advocacy program for the CLUB. She will co-direct the pilot of this program for The CLUB in 2015.

    Laraine is an influencer and problem solver who thrives on changing the status quo through methodical multi-level action steps. Her passions include helping women reach their full potential and helping Americans save for their future, which she does in a consultative role with major American employers, designing employee financial benefits programs to help deliver better outcomes. Laraine is a thought leader and frequent speaker on both topics.

    She is a graduate of Wellesley College and lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and two children where they enjoy hiking in the local hills and racing their sailboats on San Francisco Bay.

    Please join us in welcoming Laraine to our board!

  • 11/30/2014 6:26 PM | Anonymous

    The CLUB is excited to announce the launch of the second of two new programs in January 2015 that will accelerate the careers of members at the mid and senior career levels.

    The new Mentoring Circles program pilot offers thought partnership and support to solidify participants’ personal brands, career and networking plans.  Through this eight-session program, participants will be challenged to explore their values, strengths, purpose and goals to generate these outcomes.

    Mentoring Circles provide an environment for busy women leaders to interact with like-minded peers in a safe and confidential environment.  We believe that making the time to explore our interests, desires and goals within a community of our peers is a significant benefit in reaching our professional and personal goals.  This program is designed for members with eight or more years of professional experience.  Ideal candidates are ambitious, accomplished and value thought partnership and input from their peers to develop their personal brands and networking strategies to meet their goals.

    Should I apply for the Incubator Program or Mentoring Circles?

    The Mentoring Circles Program, along with the Incubator are two pilot programs launching in 2015 that support the CLUB’s mission to incubate women leaders.  The Incubator Program is an advocacy program designed for members with 12 years or more of experience who are looking to get public recognition for their expertise and leadership to boost their careers to the next level (e.g., press, speaking engagement, board seats).  The Mentoring Circles Program is designed for members with eight or more years of experience who want to define their personal brands and career plans through self-exploration and reflection, thought partnership and continuous growth.  Participants will exit the program with solidified personal brands and networking strategies to meet their career goals.

    How to apply:

    Please click here for more details about the program and how to apply. Applications for the 2015 Mentoring Circles pilot program are due Friday, December 19, 2014.

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The CLUB is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code.

The Women's CLUB of Silicon Valley   P.O. Box 126  Palo Alto, CA 94302  USA   info@theclubsv.org

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