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President's Update
Marcella LoCastro, CPA, MBA, CITP
EWNJ President
It is with real pride that I write the column for the Fall issue of EWNJ's newsletter. So much has happened over the last year, and I am delighted at all we have accomplished.
Over the last 27 years since our founding in 1980, EWNJ has continued to hold true to its mission and to continue to grow as a leading organization for and about the women in New Jersey.
As organizations like ours evolve, they face the challenges brought by growth and success. EWNJ is no exception. As we have attracted new members, raised more money and awarded more scholarships (over $800,000 has been disbursed to date!) we have had to create the appropriate infrastructure and processes to sustain and nurture that growth.
After the successful merger with the prestigious group, NJ300, we recognized the need for a professional association management company to support our efforts. For many years we enjoyed the management services of Ann Dassing - and to many of you Ann has been the "face" of EWNJ. But at our annual retreat, led by Eileen Scott (previous CEO at PathMark), it was recommended that we hire a full time association management company. This was a bittersweet moment for us all. While we were sad to see Ann step down after eight years with us, we are proudly looking forward to continued growth and an increasingly professional approach at EWNJ.
Our record-breaking crowd at the Annual Graduate Merit Awards Dinner is yet another example of our success. On September 20, 2007, at Mayfair Farms, we disbursed more than $70,000 in scholarships to 21 excellent candidates earning Masters' degrees and PhDs with our help and support.
With Mary-Kate Collins from AAI working with us, we know the future is bright. Next year, on May 15, 2008, we will host our Salute to the Policy Makers gala where we will again set our goals high so that we can continue to support the best and brightest women in New Jersey and help them achieve their dreams.
Thank you for being with us, supporting EWNJ, and making it possible for us to continue growing and living out our mission. I urge you to think about finding new members - by inviting your colleagues to attend an EWNJ event to see for themselves how exciting and dynamic this group is!
Thanks for all your support,
Marcy
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Networking
Please join us on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. for our annual networking event at the Verizon Center in Basking Ridge. It will be a wonderful opportunity for networking as well as cocktails and light fare hosted by Verizon. The charge is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. To register, go to www.ewnj.org.
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Special Request
EWNJ member Ellen Dotto's son, Jay, is currently serving in Iraq. If you would like to correspond with him, his
e-mail is dottoj@comcast.net.
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Member News
NJBIZ's Best 50 Women in Business 2007
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Sponsoring an EWNJ Program will increase visibility for your company or product, while furthering the goals of EWNJ, to assist women to obtain corporate board seats, honor women policy makers and award graduate merit scholarships to the top females in NJ pursuing advanced degrees in all disciplines. If you are interested in sponsorship of an upcoming program, contact Barbara Kauffman, Program Committee Chair, to discuss what opportunities exist.
If you have any news, recognitions earned, requests, ideas, book reviews or would like to be the subject of the EWNJ member profiles, please call Sally Glick at 973-994-9494 or by e-mail at sally.glick@sobel-cpa.com.
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Growing Our Membership
If you know of an outstanding female executive who meets our membership requirements, please invite them to attend our next event and contact Mary-Kate to have a membership application forwarded to her.
We can only grow if the members make it happen and the more we grow, the more we are able to impact women's lives by offering scholarships and networking opportunities.
Member Benefits
For those of you who recently joined EWNJ, or who merged in from NJ300, or who are a scholarship winner or Salute honorees, we welcome you especially to this newsletter. The Update serves as an opportunity for us to share our accomplishments with the world, to highlight our members through our Member Profile column and to remind you of all the wonderful benefits that come with EWNJ membership! We hope you will continue to be an active participant and that you will encourage others to learn more about EWNJ.
Our mission has stood the test of time. For over 27 years EWNJ has been about promoting the advancement of women to the highest levels of business, the professions and government. We do this by honoring women of achievement and providing them with the exposure in the business community that they deserve, by awarding advance degree scholarships so that others may follow in their footsteps, by serving as a portal of information vital to all women in business and by creating a network of powerful, influential women. The members of EWNJ help each other, typically by offering ideas, insights and support. While the dues may be only $225 annually, these relationships among peers are priceless!
EWNJ provides its members with opportunities for development and a state-wide network of business leaders and governmental connections. Other advantages include:
- Reduced rate at all EWNJ events
- The Update - the EWNJ newsletter
- Access to members-only web pages for career development, board appointment and networking
- Participation in the members' only annual "Breakfast with the Governor"
- Meetings with other regional executive women's organizations
- Opportunities to seek corporate and charitable board appointments
- Inclusion in the EWNJ Directory of Members which represents the leading women in NJ
- Access to our membership list for one-time mailings to advertise relevant events and/or postings on our on-line event calendar.
- A subscription to Garden State Women Magazine.
If you have any questions about membership in EWNJ, or would like to join a committee, please contact Mary-Kate at headquarters at 609-249-7982. |
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Review of the Annual Graduate Merit Awards Dinner
On Thursday, September 20, 2007, the Executive Women of New Jersey (EWNJ) disbursed scholarships at their 2007 Annual Graduate Merit Awards Dinner in front of a record crowd at the Mayfair Farms in West Orange. The packed room of more than 130 watched and listened as 21 women from across a range of New Jersey institutions explained how the much needed funds will help them continue with their advanced, graduate-level educational programs. Masters degrees and PhDs abounded in the room as these accomplished candidates told their story.
The program for the evening included a welcome from EWNJ Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Bonnie A. Evans, Senior Vice-President at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and a keynote address by Richard J. Codey, New Jersey Senate President. Senator Codey was insightful and sensitive to the issues facing women today. Yet he reminded them that there is no glass ceiling today - that the sky is truly the limit. He delivered his remarks in his typical warm, humorous and gentle style - and received a standing ovation at the conclusion.
The Scholarship Winners:
Melissa A. Anderson
Maura Bruno
Mary D'Alessio
Magalie Dougé
Christin M. Fingerlin
Angela C. Meluso
Amy K. Miller
Lisa A. Mooney
Naomi B. Mueller
Josephine A. Paltin
Erica R. Pass
Yvette R. Pittman
Lauren R. Quinn
Kerri L. Sowers
Katarzyna A. Trzaska
Catherine W. Wilkes
Special Awards:
President's award to: Noreen C. Lazariuk
Ehrlick Award to: Sharon A. Amobi
Mareb Foundation Award to: Florette Cohen
Meehan Award to: Jeanne V. Cestone
Syms Award to: Kristen E. Kushiyama
Mary LoCastro summed it up for us all when she noted in her remarks, "One lesson we have learned is to have big dreams, since nothing is impossible." |
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EWNJ Member Spotlight  Heather Suarez, Esq.
Meet Heather Suarez. The first time you meet Heather, the words "vibrant" and "colorful" immediately come to mind because of the dynamic clothes she is always sporting that have helped to build her personal brand. Heather is definitely vibrant, but in many more meaningful ways than can be seen by wearing colorful suits.
Heather is a partner at Walder, Hayden & Brogan, P.A. in Roseland. She graduated from Rutgers in 1978 in what was just the third graduating class of women and became her firm's first employee who was not an experienced, seasoned attorney when they hired her immediately after graduation (until that point they had never hired new attorneys!). She then continued to break the glass ceiling at her firm by becoming the first female partner, but also its first part-time partner as they worked to accommodate her hectic schedule as a professional who was juggling work-life balance issues with two toddlers at home. (Her pregnancy actually led to the formation of the firm's maternity policy - another first!). Somehow through the years she has made time to serve as the President of ICREW of NJ (Industrial and Commercial Real Estate Women), lecture for the N.J. Institute of Continuing Education on issues related to real estate transactions, donate her services for 11 closings for Habitat for Humanity - Newark, be instrumental in the youth sports programs in Springfield, be an active member of the planning process for the reorganizing of the Springfield high school and most recently, serve as Board Member, Executive Board Member and Committee Chair for Women's Fund of New Jersey and serve as a committee member for EWNJ.
Her most recent accolades include being named as one of New Jersey's Top 50 Women in Business in 2007 and also in May, 2007, The National Association of Women Business Owners, North Central Jersey Chapter in conjunction with the Silberman School of Business at Fairleigh Dickson, recognized her with its Women of Inspiration 2007 Corporate, Business Award.
Heather was a member of NJ300 and of EWNJ - so the merger of these two groups made perfect sense for her, enabling her to combine her efforts and continue working tirelessly and passionately for women in the business community and for all those women in New Jersey who have no one to speak for them.
Learn more about Heather and her firm at http://www.whbesqs.com. |
Introducing AAI and
Mary-Kate
One of the initiatives that resulted from our 2007 annual strategic planning retreat was the decision to hire a professional association to work with us. We have enjoyed more than eight years working with Ann Dassing who served in the capacity of a part-time executive director for us. But it is clearly time for us to get the organization to the "next level" and our exciting growth has indicated the time has come! After a long and careful selection process, we are now working with Association Associates, Inc. (AAI). Established in 1992, this group provides association management and related services to a wide range of trade and professional associations like EWNJ. Headquartered in Trenton, this team of 27 skilled individuals led by President Debbie Hart, is local, accessible, and well-trained. They have the accreditation and background we need combined with the passion to help us continue growing and thriving. We are already seeing the fruits of their labor as our annual scholarship dinner went off without a hitch - and the turnout was wonderful.
Mary-Kate Collins is our primary contact at AAI and she has already plunged in, attending committee meetings, Board meetings and being "inaugurated by fire" by stepping in and taking over the final details of the September 20th dinner.
With a background in project management for programs ranging from strategic planning to team building and meeting and retreat planning, Mary-Kate is ideally suited for our group. She has more than 15 years of experience in the meetings/hospitality industry and 11 years in association management. We are excited at all the possibilities that will unfold - and look forward to leveraging her considerable knowledge next year as we plan for our annual Salute Gala in November 2008. |
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The Final Word
If you have any news, recognitions earned, requests, ideas, book reviews or would like to be the subject of the EWNJ member profiles, please call Sally Glick at 973-994-9494 or by e-mail at sally.glick@sobel-cpa.com so that we can continue to make this member newsletter a valued communication tool for everyone. | |
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