| GWLN MISSION
The Global Women's Leadership Network (GLWN) is an international network of women leaders who dare to transform their organizations, their communities, and the world. Worldwide, women represent the largest untapped source of leadership. Through training, community building and in-country mentorship programs, GWLN is liberating women leaders to create a new world, built on human rights, gender equality, sustainable development and global integrity. | | GWLN Events | |
Global Women
At the Well
Topic: We're All in This World Together
Date & Time: March 21, 2008, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Location: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
1069 East Meadow Circle, Palo Alto (Directions, at www.itp.edu/contact.cfm)
Speaker: Jackie Ehlers
Jackie Ehlers will share her story about transforming the world's "Us vs. Them" conversations into "We're All in This World Together." She will speak about a half- century of generating greatness in every human being and about her commitment to making a powerful global difference until she is "at least 100 years old." Jackie inspires her audiences to engage in a purposeful, po werful global mission that will continue to grow throughout their lifetimes and beyond.
Jackie is an award-winning global educator who has lived and worked in Zambia, Central Africa, Egypt, and England, as well as many places in the United States.
Registration and Networking:
7:15 a.m. Register by sending an e-mail to gwln_reg@yahoo.com, subject 03/21/08 WAWELL, by 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 19. Early registration is appreciated. Registration is also accepted at the door.
Refreshments:
Continental breakfast will be served. A $10 contribution is requested. (ITP students and staff are our guests.)
Thanks to our co-host, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. The Institute provides graduate education for the mind, body and spirit.
For Information contact,
Bonita Banducci at
650-529-9336 or
Barbara Key at
650-589-0411
SAVE THE DATE
Global Innovation Dialogue
Topic: The Awakened Leader: Creating Purpose and Passion at Work
Date & Time: April 22, 2008, 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Santa Clara University, California Mission Room, Santa Clara
Speaker: Almaz Negash
Almaz Negash, Managing Director, Women's Initiative Silicon Valley, will lead the dialogue about how corporate leaders can integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the fabrics of their organizations. As Peter Block states: "The Social Responsibility of most of our institutions needs to be awakened, for it has been dozing on the drug of minimum standards for years."
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 DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Dear members of the network,
We teach that from time to time, life brings us a "two step" - a call to step, turn, and take a different direction. I had an editorial about women and the environment ready to go to press for this issue of the newsletter as a complement to the profile of Melinda Kramer. Then, I read a posting on Women's International Perspective by Philo Ikonya, WLW 2006, a woman in Kenya. I felt that its message is more timely.
Here is what the editor says about Philo (known to us as Gacheri):
Philo Ikonya has decided to wear sacks instead of regular clothes to protest the current violence in Kenya. She has also helped organized a campaign urging other Kenyan women to wear sacks for clothes, too. Philo says, "The sack in itself has a biblical message. I think we Kenyans need to repent for certain things, especially our leaders. The biggest sin we are committing is that we are unable to face each other and speak when there is a lot of violence. I need to express myself through what I am wearing; to pass on that message, the sack cloth is very powerful. I shall continue dressing like this and urging other people to dress like this for as long as we do not have peace in Kenya; as long as we do not have justice and reform."
In her series, Kenya Is Burning, Philo shares her thoughts and feelings as her country struggles with the devastating violence that has claimed so many lives and turned its people against each other.
I urge you to read her article at http://www.thewip.net/contributors/2008/02/a_letter_to_nje
ri_a_kenyan_sis.html#more.
One sentence of it sums up our wish for the entire world, and particularly, Kenya at this time.
"I believe we shall run together - until the children of the mountain hold hands with the children of the lake, and all the other children of Kenya, safely under the leadership of women."
Gacheri, GWLN stands with you.
| Featured WLW Graduates
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Networking Women Environmentalists
by Ellen Boneparth
Although women have worked on environmental concerns throughout history, the environment has rarely been seen as a women's issue. Women's Earth Alliance (WEA) is changing all that. It is a coalition of women environmental leaders from across the world who have discovered how much they can accomplish from interacting and working on common goals
 The woman who put WEA together is Melinda Kramer. Over three years, WEA has drawn together women leaders "from South Africa to Israel, Australia to Haiti." They have "agreed upon shared values and principles, identified key technology and communication needs, established regional hubs around the world, and mapped out programs and initiatives." Based in San Francisco, WEA has, among other things, worked on training women for water management in the Philippines, organized indigenous women leaders in Bolivia, and created an advocacy partnership of women leaders from Native American tribes in the United States.
How did Melinda Kramer, a 28-year-old, get inspired to create WEA? Educated in anthropology and environmental policy at Washington University in St. Louis, Melinda became immersed in working with local mothers to fight a polluting lead smelter. From college, she went to Kenya with CARE and to China to work on marine resources. What she discovered in her international work is that the "women's message was always different. It was not merely an environmental message but was well-rounded to include human rights and social justice."
WEA began three years ago with a meeting in Mexico City of 30 women from 26 countries throughout the world. They designed the fr amework for their global initiative and mapped out their shared goals and strategies. This year, women from all over Africa will meet for a Women and Water Conference hosted at the Greenbelt training facility, established by Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai. Melinda is committed to the grass roots as much as conferencing. When asked what she might do with a hypothetical million dollar contribution, she responded that she would give more support to local activists. Until that million dollars comes in, WEA supports itself on contributions mostly from individuals (some of whom are in Giving Circles) along with help from some foundations.
Melinda participated in GWLN's Women Leaders for the World program in 2006. She came away with many things, including clarity of vision, self-awareness as a powerful individual, and a tighter program strategy. She put it eloquently when she commented that GWLN "highlighted ways that I was in my own way."
Melinda shares her passion for the earth with her fiancé, who has an organic catering business. Her greatest inspiration is "being in nature, hiking in the woods, and reconnecting to the enormous system I'm a part of."
As Melinda observes, bringing together isolated women leaders was a need "too powerful to ignore." Many of us knew that, but we needed Melinda to make it happen
To learn more about Women's Earth Alliance's upcoming programs see:
Transformative Advocacy in U.S. Southwest: Uniting women attorneys with women Native American environmental activists
The 2008 African Women and Water Conference, Nairobi, Kenya: Thirty African women leaders embark on a training to transform their communities
| GWLN Workshop
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Success Beyond Success
GWLN invites you to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be as a leader. In a highly interactive, hands-on workshop, Success Beyond Success will help you:
- Acquire new strategies to produce more rapid and lasting change for yourself and your organization
- Better understand and influence people, and improve your management and leadership skills both personally and professionally
- Discover the easiest and most predictable ways to turn your dreams into reality
This workshop features Mariana Bozesan, a social and serial entrepreneur with 25+ years of experience. A computer scientist, psychologist, venture capitalist, and philanthropist, Mariana is an internationally acclaimed public speaker and recognized authority in consciousness leadership.
Give yourself this valuable gift and register today!
Date and Time: Friday, March 28, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: ITP (Institute of Transpersonal Psychology), 1069 East Meadow Circle, Palo Alto
Cost: $199 before March 7; $249 from March 7 to March 27; $49 for students and nonprofit organizations. Cost includes breakfast and lunch, and workshop materials.
Registration: Online: http://SuccessBeyondSuccess.eventbrite.com Phone: 800-862-8852 Email: sage@sageera.com | Other Announcements
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International Women's Day Celebration
Celebrate, connect, and learn at the International Women's Day Celebration "Women and Human Rights, Moving Beyond the Barriers." The keynote speaker will be Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, and the event will include a women's music and dance concert as well as arts, crafts, and jewelry.
Date and Time: Saturday, March 8, 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: SOTO Theater, 701 Vine Street, San Jose
Information and Tickets: events@cardeacenterforwomen.org
General admission is $25; student admission is $15.
FountainBlue's "When She Speaks" Women in Leadership Series
Topic: Work Life Balance
Silicon Valley women leaders are challenged by the co rporate and business pressures of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal demands of life and family. This month's When She Speaks event focuses on how successful women are juggling these often competing goals and what we can do to adjust our own and others' expectations on us, in order to ease the load. Our panelists will share their stories, commiserate with us, and challenge us to re-evaluate our roles, our priorities, and our own expectations for ourselves.
- Facilitator Kristi Royse, KLR Consulting
- Panelist Raji Arasu, eBay
- Panelist Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Integrated Health Team, Cisco
- Panelist Allison Leopold Tilley, Partner and Co-Head Corporate Securities & Technology Section, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
- Panelist Catherine Moore, Director Business HR, Nokia Research Center
- Panelist from EMC Corporation
- Other panelists to be confirmed
Date and Time: Thursday, March 13, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location: EMC Corporation, 2831 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara
Registration: Pre-register at www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=146103 by Wednesday, March 12, at noon, or pay $40 on site.
Nona: A Different Kind of Motherhood
Ellen Boneparth, who writes about WLW graduates for the GWLN newsletter, has a new book entitled Nona: A Different Kind of Motherhood.
Even though Ellen had made no place in her life for children, she became in her fifties a different kind of mother-a Nona, a godmother to a young Greek woman. For nearly five years, she willingly shared herself and her life with Katerina. Together they learned about American college life, travel, relationships, and living in foreign cultures, but mostly they learned about themselves and each other. As they traveled back and forth from California to Greece, they discovered that for a parent and child, growing up means growi ng apart.
This story is not only about a godmother and goddaughter. It's about families, friends, and teachers who helped Katerina build a home away from home. It's about living on Greek islands, traveling in Europe and Asia, and launching a career after college. It's about risk-taking and comfort-giving, openness and privacy. Most of all, it's about mothers and daughters finding their way to an honest and loving relationship.
To learn more about Ellen's story and to purchase copies (especially for Mother's Day!), go to www.iuniverse.com:80/bookstore/book_detail.asp?
EYH Launches New Website
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Network has launched a new website to advance its mission of encouraging young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The network is a nonprofit organization of educators, scientists, mathematicians, parents, community leaders, and government and corporate representatives. Through its programs, EYH provides role models and hands-on activities for middle and high school girls.
To learn more about this vital network, become a volunteer, attend a conference, or become a donor or supporter, visit
www.expandingyourhorizons.org | | Linda Alepin, Founder
Global Women's Leadership Network | Newsletter layout and distribution by Mary Estrella of the Estrella Group.
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