Its appeal to women is similar to that of Oprah or the Oxygen network. Through an atmosphere of support, understanding, and reciprocity, the Professional Women’s Network of New York highlights issues that are important to women. The organization—an Alumni Interest Group of the Penn State Alumni Association—serves as a network for women who work and live in the New York metropolitan area. Its latest event, “Hot Topics,” took an in-depth look at office politics and the difficulties sometimes faced by women in the workforce.
Bringing together 20 women from New York’s professional community, the March 24 “Hot Topics” forum examined a range of work-related topics—from working with a challenging subordinate to a supervisor stealing your good ideas, from a co-worker undermining your work to approaching the topic of a more flexible work schedule.
“We created an open forum for individuals to share their personal work stories and situations and then [tapped] into the experience and wisdom of the larger group to discuss and troubleshoot solutions,” explained Susan Palombo ’82 Bus, a member of the Network. “It was highly interactive and very focused on each individual’s situation. The agenda was simply driven by each member’s willingness to share [her] story.” She said that the feedback from the members indicated that they received helpful and constructive advice. They also expressed interest in doing this sort of thing on an ongoing basis.
In addition to sharing their experiences related to job leads and professional management strategies, the Network offers support to its members as they work to balance the demands of their busy lives. Their goal is to network. They accomplish this goal by offering professional enrichment activities to enhance their communication and management skills, but they also engage in fun activities like dinner, theatre, and golf matches. Their members enjoy not only the benefit of connecting with other professional women from a variety of fields but also connecting or reconnecting with Penn State, perhaps even serving as a mentor to a current student.
Past events hosted by the Network have included “Pursue You Passion,” which attracted more than 100 people. Three accomplished Penn State women, including past Alumni Council member Cathy Rein ’65 Lib, shared their insights on how they brought passion into their lives and careers. Future events planned include a networking happy hour, a cooking demonstration with an award-winning California chef, and a golf outing at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
For more information about the Professional Women’s Network of New York, please visit http://www.psualum.com/affiliate/pwnny/default.asp.
In addition to New York, women’s networks have also been established in Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and Los Angeles. Information about these networks—or any of the more than 300 affiliate groups of the Alumni Association—can be found at http://www.alumni.psu.edu/groups.
