Conference chair Dr. Susan Michie opens the proceedings.

The JL Boston Conference Grant Fund was established to encourage, empower, and enable active members of the Junior League of Boston to pursue training opportunities, through an offset of registration and related costs. This grant helps us live into our commitment to connect trained volunteers to meaningful community projects. We’re excited to share how our 2018-2019 recipients used their awards for personal and professional development.

Amy Bucher attended the 2019 CBC Conference – Behaviour Change for Health: Digital and Other Innovative Methods, in London UK in April 2019. Amy is an Active Member who currently serves on the Executive Management Team as the Vice President of Communications. Professionally, Amy works as a Behavior Change Design Director for Mad*Pow, where her responsibilities include applying psychological science to design research projects and behavior change interventions.

The CBC conference is hosted by the University College London, and brings together behavior change professionals working in both industry and academia to discuss best practices in digital health. In addition to keynote talks by members of the University College London faculty, other keynote speakers hailed from Johnson & Johnson and the University of Connecticut. Topics included the role of social media in encouraging healthy behaviors, the ethical obligations of researchers working on artificial intelligence, and how to appropriately research whether a digital health app is effective and useful.

Panelists Dr. Sherry Pagoto, Dr. Amy Bucher, Dr. Sarah Mullane, and Elspeth Kirkman

Amy spoke as part of a panel called “Navigating Tensions: Weaving Academic Behavior Change Research Into Applied Digital Health to Optimize Results.” The women on the panel all work in the intersection of academic and applied research, which sometimes have competing priorities. Audience members asked the panels questions about specific issues they face in their projects and how they try to address them.

Not only does the CBC conference give Amy an opportunity to stay up-to-date in her field, she also believes that her work as a behavioral scientist benefits her contributions to the Junior League of Boston. Having focused on internal placements in recent years, Amy sees opportunities to encourage positive behaviors among our membership by using psychology. At the same time, Amy is motivated to volunteer with the Junior League of Boston because of the organization’s ability to impact the health and wellness outcomes she targets through her work.

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Conference grant recipient and JL Boston member Nicollette Starnella

The JL Boston Conference Grant Fund was established to encourage, empower, and enable active members of the Junior League of Boston to pursue training opportunities, through an offset of registration and related costs. This grant helps us live into our commitment to connect trained volunteers to meaningful community projects. We’re excited to share how our 2018-2019 recipients used their awards for personal and professional development.

Nicollette Starnella attended the Women in Wellness Leadership conference on March 12. Nicollette is an Active Member who currently serves on the JL Boston Signature Events committee, planning and supporting many of the major fundraisers that enable us to impact the wellness of girls.

Nicollette describes her experience at the conference:

“Attending the second annual Women in Wellness leadership conference, hosted by American Spa Magazine, was both enriching and exciting. American Spa has curated powerful day-long conferences that address some of the most pressing issues facing women leaders and leaders-to-be with compelling keynote speakers and breakout sessions.

The event focused on women who hold leadership roles in the spa and wellness industry and included various strategies on unique ways to empower yourself, your teams, and the world. Keynote speakers included Claire Wasserman, founder of Ladies Get Paid, Jean Chatzky, CEO & Cofounder of HerMoney, and Elizabeth Scherle, Cofounder & President of Influenster.

This specific conference was extremely beneficial in helping me to continue to grow both personally and professionally. It reaffirmed that, as female leaders, our goal should always be to focus on leading with integrity and purpose, to create a positive workplace culture for all involved. It taught me that it is vital to protect your energy and let go of perfectionism in order to strive for continual success.”

Thank you, Nicollette, for all of your work supporting JL Boston and for the expertise and insight you contribute to our membership!

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Our fourth profiled recipient is Michèle Barnett Berg.

Conference: Portfolia Summit

Date: April 18^th, 2018

Location: Boston, MA

JL Grant Recipient and Attendee: Michèle Barnett Berg

Michèle Barnett Berg attended the Portfolia Summit and was inspired to learn about this new technology platform that makes it easier for women to invest and make educated financial decisions, and creates markets that support companies founded and led by women. Portfolia was founded with a vision for a new model of entrepreneurial investing designed specifically for women. Portfolia provides an investing community in which participants have access to investment education, can be active in diligence, and build financial muscle. The company’s goal is to have the collective power of 100,000 women invested in its Portfolia Funds by 2023.

Adrienne Penta, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Center for Women & Wealth at Brown Brothers Harriman, speaks to conference attendees.

A program highlight included a speaking presentation by Adrienne Penta, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Center for Women & Wealth at Brown Brothers Harriman. Adrienne’s talk was eye opening and informative as she discussed the following research and challenges:

• 51% of personal wealth in the U.S. is held by women.
• 39% of investable assets are held by women.
• Women are the primary breadwinners in 40% of U.S. households.
• Women are starting companies at 1.5 times the national average.

Yet, it seems women have a confidence problem when it comes to their financial health.

• 74% of women say they don’t know much about investing.
• Men and women have roughly the same financial I.Q. in the U.S.
• Women do not give themselves credit for what they know, and tend to abdicate their financial decisions to their husbands. (This trend has increased from 54% among female Baby Boomers, to 61% among female Millenials.)

Adrienne discussed her work at the Center for Women & Wealth, the steps they are taking to make the wealth management industry more welcoming towards women, and how families benefit from having diversity in decision making and having women at the table. She also cited research from Women Give 2018 report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University regarding the larger impact on girls than boys of parents’ actions in giving as a model of behavior. Importantly, this suggests that our acting as role models and demonstrating that we as women can be investors fosters more financial confidence in the next generation. Adrienne’s parting advice was the following:

1. Be visible .
2. Bring a younger woman with you–meaning bridge the confidence gap and support inclusion.
3. Tell your story–whether at the dinner table or on social media, be seen as a key financial decision maker and investor.

Judith Rodin and Leslie Seymour in conversation.

Michèle also found the fireside chat between Judith Rodin and Leslie Seymour inspiring, educational, and entertaining. Judith Rodin, an entrepreneurial philanthropist, shared stories from her time serving as the first female President at the University of Pennsylvania, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, and serving on nine public boards. Her message was for women to educate themselves, build their financial muscle, participate in their communities, and navigate male-dominated arenas with diplomatic grace. Leslie Seymour, former magazine editor at More and Marie Claire, discussed her experience with transitioning from traditional publishing to a more entrepreneurial adventure as CEO of CoveyClub, and the importance of women creating communities of sharing and learning.

Participants also heard from a panel of Portfolia lead investors regarding the focus on diversity and the new FemTech fund that will focus on investing in Women’s Health. The panelists shared their approach and commitment to diversity in these funds, and how they are supporting many female founders who have often been overlooked by traditional venture investment.

Portfolia founder, Trish Costello and Gotham Gal investor, Joanne Wilson, offer a fireside chat.

The conference finished with another fireside chat by Portfolia founder, Trish Costello and Gotham Gal investor, Joanne Wilson. Trish founded Portfolia to realize two of her lifelong passions: supporting and investing in innovative entrepreneurs, and unlocking the personal and professional talents of women. She discussed the challenges that women founders face getting funded and how the Portfolia investors have the ability to create an entrepreneurial renaissance when they back the companies they want in the marketplace. She shared some of the stories of the companies that have received investment, the benefits of being part of the Portfolia community, and the power of collective learning. Joanne shared her personal story of how she began as an angel investor in the late 90’s–a true pioneer–and how she has developed the endurance and confidence to often be the only woman at the table. She emphasized the importance of creating a hypothesis and a consistent approach to looking at investments. Joanne also spoke about the current venture climate and the fact that there are more women starting companies that are fundable, but there is a need to look more diligently as women network differently. Joanne advised that women should support women, that men should support women, and that there must be a conscious decision to support diversity. She was excited by the potential impact of the presence and engagement of the women attending the Portfolia summit.

Michèle was grateful that she had the opportunity to attend such an interesting and empowering conference. She wants to encourage other members to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for a training grant, as the Junior League benefits when its members can bring forward collective knowledge.

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Our third profiled recipient is Julia Geier.

Conference: Playmakers Conference

Date: October 2017

Location: Life is Good HQ Boston, MA

JL Grant Recipient and Attendee: Julia Geier

Julia Geier attended a two day Playmakers Conference hosted by the Life Is Good Kids Foundation at the Boston headquarters of Life is Good. A Playmaker is someone who spreads the power of optimism to children who desperately need it.

She was pleasantly surprised to find this conference to be a more intimate and connected space where the 45 participants sat together in a circle. The other participants were mostly educators, pediatric therapist, and clinicians. All attendees shared an interest in establishing communities of positivity. Julia’s hope was to learn more tools and methods that she can bring back to JL Boston Arts and use to engage the girls more during activities. 

The conference included learning what tactics and tools to create positive environments. There was also discussion on the power of optimism, and not simply seeing the glass half full, but instead the spots on the glass or simply being thankful that there is a glass. There were exercises to learn and adapt simple traditional games like musical chairs to musical shares. There were minimal rules and it was played to the positive aspects of a traditional game. Musical chairs still involved music and playing with a group, but instead of having some participants have to “lose,” the group works together to fit all participants on fewer chairs. With no time limit or competition, it instead becomes a team building exercise. 

Another powerful message that Julia took away from the weekend centered around “goodifying” an activity. Making small adjustments can create an “o’playsis” (play + oasis). An o’playsis is defined as the space that facilitates social connection, joyfulness, internal control, and active engagement. These new techniques are the small steps that Julia looks forward to bringing to her volunteering and to “goodify” regular routines like opening the morning circle in a different way or engaging the girls in the kitchen more. 

Julia is filled with many ideas to maximize the work with JL Boston Arts using new games, tricks and a framework to spread joy to the Saturday morning activities. The retreat stressed that a Playmaker cannot spread what she/he does not have and this rang true for Julia. She is very excited to share her new skills and and mindset with other League members. Julia was very happy and thankful that she attended this conference and wants to advocate for others to take advantage of the opportunity of applying for a training grant.

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Our second profiled recipient is Connie Henderson.

Conference: Race Amity Conference

Date: 11/17 & 11/18/2018

Location: Boston (Quincy), MA

JL Grant Recipient and Attendee: Connie Henderson

Connie Henderson attended the Race Amity Conference in Boston, and overall enjoyed her experience. Connie shared some key insights with us following the conference. There were a few sessions that did not reach her expectations, but she still gained a lot of insight, enjoyed herself and appreciated attending as this helped her to grow as a woman and educator. 

Some of the highlights included the opening keynote speaker, Roberto Rivera. Rivera was very engaging and charismatic as he spoke about how changing your lens, or perspective, can turn negative experiences into positive. He shared stories about his rough childhood and teen years, and how a shift in his focus helped him change his life.  Rivera went from drug dealing to going to college and now working on his Ph.D. and doing very inspiring work in his Chicago community.

Connie attended multiple breakout sessions and was very interested by “White Women who Teach Black Boys” whose content made her think. The session was challenging and motivating. She bought the book that the presenter co-authored, a guide for white women that teach boys of color. Connie looks forward to reading and reflecting more on this subject.

The lunch speaker was Rainn Wilson from The Office who spoke about his company Soul Pancake, which empowers people to make stuff that matters. Connie was happy to learn that the the “Kid President” video clips which both she and her students really enjoy are produced by Soul Pancake.

Connie also really enjoyed seeing one of her favorite social justice authors and speakers, Debby Irving, give an engaging presentation on how to explain white supremacy to a skeptic. Another favorite session was The Musicality of Shakespeare. Connie was especially looking forward to this session, as she teaches Shakespeare and makes the connections between Shakespeare and HipHop to her students. She loved the presentation and materials shared and hopes to incorporate some of what she learned into her teaching. 

A second session that Debby Irving and Dr. Eddie Moore, the author of The Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys, gave has inspired Connie to bring back an idea to JL Boston. Irving discussed having a 21 day action plan for social justice because studies show that if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. They want people to start stepping out of their comfort zone and facing and talking about their privilege. A list of suggestions to get the conversation started included podcasts, video clips, and other resources.

Connie recently went to the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force meeting and would like to present the 21-day Challenge to that group. Connie supports JL Boston’s diversity efforts but sees that there is a greater conversation that needs to happen. If we don’t face the uncomfortable truths, it won’t matter in the long run. As Debby Irving said during the conference, “Plantations in the south before the Civil War were diverse.” 

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The JL Boston Conference Grant Fund was established to encourage, empower, and enable active members of the Junior League of Boston to pursue training opportunities, through an offset of registration and related costs. We’re excited to share how our 2017-2018 recipients used their awards for personal and professional development.

Our first profiled recipient is Nicollette Starnella.

 Conference: American Spa’s Women in Wellness Leadership Conference

Date: 3/6/2018

Location: New York

JL Grant Recipient and Attendee: Nicollette Starnella

Summary:

Grant recipient Nicollette Starnella attended the first annual American Spas Women in Wellness Leadership Conference and found the event be extremely beneficial for her continuing education as a Spa & Leisure Management Professional. The event, focused on women who hold leadership roles within the spa and wellness industry, included information on different and unique ways to empower oneself, teams, and the world. Keynote speakers included Carolyn Parrs and Devi Records, founders of Women as Game Changers; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and founder of Ellevest; and Dana Campbell, CEO of Optimize Corps. These women gave inspirational presentations and led breakout discussion on varying topics. Nicollette said she benefited a great deal from attending this conference as it helped her to develop both personally and professionally.

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