First Annual Latina Awards Ceremony + Celebration - June 2019
As a celebration of 5 years of impact to the Latino community, De Mujer a Mujer and Women2Women’s Latina Initiatives hosted an award ceremony to end the program year. Three Latina women were recognized:
Alneasa Jordan, Community Impact Award – A woman who has shown leadership and commitment to the community in Reading and Berks County.
Genesis Munoz, Young Latina Award – A young Latina woman between the ages of 18-25 who has shown leadership, dedication and commitment to the community. This young woman shows great potential to be, or is, one of the next women leaders of Berks County.
Lourdes Peralta, Sarai Flowers – Small Business Owner Award – This recipient is the owner of a Latina owned business who is thriving and engaging in the community. The business can be headquartered anywhere in the Greater Reading/Berks County region.
Kedren Crosby: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership - June 2019
This interactive workshop was presented by Kedren Crosby, owner of Work Wisdom LLC. We learned about the four dimensions of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (Authenticity, Coaching, Inspiration and Innovation) with their accompanying concrete behaviors. Together we worked on ourselves, got up and split into sections and met new people. It was a serious learning opportunity!
De Mujer a Mujer: Destiny Perez - May 2019
Keep Going!
Growing up poor was hard for Destiny. She wasn’t a good student in school, hung out with the wrong crowd, and was fighting and getting suspended. Since she was 12 people always told her she was going to be nothing, including her guidance counselor who told her to drop out of high school, get her GED and give up getting her diploma because she was pregnant in the 12th grade. Destiny didn’t listen. No matter how hard the road or how many doors close, you need to keep going. So she did.
Across Generations: Berks Leaders Share Their Stories - May 2018
Carolyn Holleran, Women’s Advocate & Trailblazer (Grandmother to Katherine Williams)
Katherine Williams, Tower Health Supply Chain Management
Ramona Turpin, Workforce Development Coordinator
Literacy Council of Reading-Berks (Mother to Martha Turpin)
Martha Turpin, Sales Director – Mary Kay Cosmetics
8th Annual Womens Conference + Expo - April 2019
Another sold out year for the Conference offering women in Berks and beyond the opportunity to connect with other women in the community both personally and professionally. Check out our Conference + Expo page here for more details!
ATHENA RECIPIENT
Alison Snyder, Personnel Assistant Vice President – East Penn Manufacturing
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Kym Gable, KDKA CBS 2 News, Pittsburgh, presenting What’s Your Story?
Brenda Rosado, Enterprise Car Services, presenting Work & Life: Strategies to Managing It All
BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS
”Nice Girls Can Get the Corner Office: How Women Rise” – Amy Teal, CEO – Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital
”Branding Yourself for Success” – Andrea Folino, Owner – Folino Estate & Winery and Vintner’s Table
“Creating a Dynamic & Engaging Workplace: For Women & All!” – Trish Shermot, Director Government Relations/Regional Urban Development Officer– Visions Federal Credit Union
“Make it Rain: Strategies for Success” – Jill Scheidt, Attorney – Masano Bradley Attorneys at Law
De Mujer a Mujer: Dressing for Success + Mentors/Sponsors Workshop - March 2019
Finding a sponsor and/or a mentor can seem like an overwhelming and intimidating task. When looking to identify one for personal or professional development you will want to find someone who has gone where you aspire to be. A good mentor/mentee relationship should challenge, motivate, inspire and push you to dream bigger.
Casual, business casual and business formal. Learn the difference and the importance on how to dress to leave a positive impact on not only your employer but those you come across every day. You never know whose eye you will catch and what opportunities may await you just based off of your dress.
Vicki Clark: The 11 Commandments of Wildly Successful Women - March 2019
We were proud to partner with the Junior League of Reading, Girls on the Run Berks, and VOiCEup Berks to bring Vicki Clark to over 200 women in the audience! We Learned How to Create Your Own Definition of Success—and Achieve It! The Eleven Commandments of Wildly Successful Women identified attitudes and strategies that are crucial to a woman’s success in all areas of life, however she may define it. This session offered 11 areas of focus for women at all ages and stages of life.
Vicki Floyd Clark has devoted the past 30 years of her life to building capacity in organizations and inspiring community and business leaders. A noted speaker, facilitator, consultant and trainer, she has extensive experience in the nonprofit, government and private sectors. Her work includes numerous specialty areas; board development, inclusion and diversity, leadership development, strategic planning, project planning, membership engagement, volunteer resource development, and effective communication.
Each year she speaks to thousands of community and business leaders and has made presentations in 49 of the 50 United States. Her international experience includes engagements in England, Russia, Canada and Venezuela.
Courtney Coffman: Walking the Tightrope - Assertive vs. Aggressive
This event brought together more than 200 women!!
Courtney is Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Penn State Health St. Joseph, a mother and a millennial. She is a Healthcare Executive whose journey from Big 4 Accounting to the hospital C-Suite was as unconventional as it was accelerated. Her path was paved with risks, hard work, and a lot of “Sure, I can do that.” Hear her experiences and recommendations on being assertive without being perceived as aggressive in the workplace.
W2W/De Mujer a Mujer Crossover - January 2019: Rosa Parra
Only Take One Cookie
Rosa was taught to go unnoticed. If she walked into a place she didn’t need to draw attention to myself, be quiet, don’t you know that will result in monthly debt, don’t show cleavage, red lipstick is for floozies, only take one cookie. You have a husband, a house, and a car; well what more could you want?
Rosa Parra is a creative leader with extensive experience educating the community and embracing the cultural diversity by bridging the Anglo and Latino community together with a monthly bilingual magazine, Palo.
De Mujer a Mujer: Interview Etiquette Workshop - December 2018
Presented by Breadth of Hope: No matter how many times you’ve done it, going on a job interview can be exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. While it may feel like the employer has you under a microscope, you can go in prepared to impress the employer with the most confident and well put together package – YOU!
Christine Miles: The 6 Questions to Understand People - December 2018
In this session, Christine Miles, M.S. Ed of Philadelphia-based CI Squared talks about the importance of listening and gathering a story from others. What you’ll walk away with will help you understand people on a deeper level and improve your emotional skills in both your personal and professional life.
De Mujer a Mujer: Lourdes Peralta - November 2018
Passion, Success & Inspiration!
Lourdes Peralta, is owner and florist of Sarai Flower Variety Flower Shop since 2015 in the City of Reading, Pa. Lourdes has been a florist for over 25 years, owning her own flower shop in New York City before moving to Berks County. Lourdes shared with us that her motivation comes from struggles of a humble and poor childhood and from having to leave her family behind to be able to find a better way to provide financial support.
Julie Knight: Eight Attributes of an ATHENA Leader - November 2018
You graduated with a degree in one field, but lo and behold, you’ve entered a totally different profession. Have no fear, the two might be more related than you think! Berks County Living magazine Publisher Robyn Jones, an elementary education degree-holder, explained how she transitioned to her current position and how her college education helped to make it all work.
De Mujer a Mujer: Resume Writing Workshop - October 2018
Presented by Breadth of Hope – Your application documents provide employers with a summary of your experience, skills, and accomplishments. This session will provide you with the understanding of how to use each of these documents to highlight your career and have your social media align with what you want employers to see. Let your application documents speak for you before an employer even meets you!
De Mujer a Mujer: Olga Negron - September 2018
Woman in leadership roles, it is our time!
The experience of being the first Latino woman ever elected as a member of City Council truly made her the woman she is today. It is a lot of hard work to get to where she is, and she shared her experiences with the crowd talking about growing your base, getting engaged with your community, and not allowing anyone or anything to stop you. Determination! Councilwoman Olga Negrón has been a member of several organizations in the Lehigh Valley and through Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth Kase: The Two-Million Dollar Miracle - September 2018
Elizabeth Rohrbach Kase RN graduated class of 1986 Reading Hospital School of Nursing and is currently an ambassador athlete for the IM ABLE foundation and a certified Peer Visitor for the Amputee Coalition.
She shared her inspirational experience with us and how she came to triumph after a life-changing disability.
Women2Women Launch Event with Janice Kaplan - 2018
Women2Women kicked off our 8th year of programming in partnership with the Junior League of Reading. We welcomed Janice Kaplan, widely known for her achievements as a writer, television producer and magazine editor. She is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller The Gratitude Diaries and her latest hit, How Luck Happens.