Update us with your news!

Susan Burnett - ELSC 2002
Susan appeared in the May 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review, Congratulations, Susan!

Pam Herlich - WLC 08/02
Pam states, “I was among the last group laid off from Schwab in 2002. It was a great 15-year run and Schwab was VERY good to me, so I have a lot of good memories. I am definitely looking for my next professional opportunity and am doing so on two fronts:

1) Looking for a position (preferably in San Francisco) that will utilize my extensive experience in corporate client business development and client relations, management of legal and regulatory securities issues and stock plan services and administration on behalf of senior executives and boards of directors (most recently - 15 years with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.).

2) I'm also exploring making the transition from corporate to the non-profit sector to a position in Development that would use my superior writing skills, experience in donor and shareholder event coordination, database management and my expertise in corporate client relationship and business development referenced above. I've been doing pro bono work for several nonprofits in Development over the past 4-5 months.

I would appreciate hearing from any of you regarding opportunities you think might fit the above. Thanks!”

Lynda Maybury - WLC 02/02
Lynda has formed her own company, called Digital Assets, Inc., since she attended WLC last year. She says, “This Corporation has two very different businesses. The first, Digital Assets, produces DVDs from professional video, such as corporate training and events, independent films, school events, and consumer video like weddings, travel, and family reunions. The second business, the 529 Club, is a fun, beach town bar in Santa Cruz, CA. The two very diverse businesses are a sharp turn from high-tech marketing, but extremely rewarding. I'm also still consulting in consumer marketing, which keeps my historical experience and talent up to date.”

Lee Nold - WLF 12/97
Co-founder of Pro Show (www.pro-show.com), Lee Nold, has her husband as her new business partner. They are focused totally on event staffing management and are working in all the major US event cities.

Tami Olson - WLC 07/01 and WLC 03/03
Tami completed a refresher WLC course in March. As with many organizations these days, hers experienced the tough reality of reorganization and downsizing that left those remaining demoralized. Tami, manager of IT and Network Services, decided to do something about the low morale. As part of her breakthrough project, she created a morale-building campaign called ‘Local-Motion,’ obtained buy-in from the VP and enlisted help from the Culture Manager. Together they created a presentation, set a roll-out date and continued to build support by meeting with the COO and CEO and ultimately the Leadership team. Their plan was enthusiastically endorsed by all. The project to rebuild employee morale is underway. Personnel are beginning to embrace the ideas presented. One of the program goals is to create a breakthrough goal of 99.99% on-air availability. Originally the leadership was concerned that this might be viewed as unattainable and have a demoralizing effect. It had quite the opposite effect – employees felt anything less was not acceptable! Congratulations, Tami! Great job!

Julie Piotrowski - WLC 03/03
Julie has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation in Atlanta for their 3-month Knight Journalism Fellowship in Public Health Reporting! She enthusiastically shares, “I am absolutely thrilled and begin my training at the CDC June 16. I'll participate in the CDC's 10-day public health journalism "Boot Camp" and then continue on through the summer when the program concludes at the end of September. There are people coming to the CDC from as far away as Ghana and Kenya. I had no idea there were such international candidates. Even after learning in February that I was a finalist for the fellowship, I wasn't fully aware of its depth and expectations. The CDC has selected candidates it feels will, through their future journalism endeavors upon completion of the fellowship/education, communicate the agency's trials and triumphs to the public at large.” Here's a bit more about it: www.cdcfoundation.org/fellowships/knight_fellows.html

Cathy Rath - PLC 04/00
After “six months of sending resumes down black holes” Cathy has decided to go solo. Cathy relates, “Before my OD position at Schwab, I had worked for years with teenagers (first at Planned Parenthood as a Community Health Educator), then at a project entitled, Transforming Communities, Creating Safety and Justice for Women and Girls in Marin, CA. As a community organizer and change agent, I was able, by applying best practices in the prevention field, to accomplish attitude and behavior shifts within the targeted populations.

At Schwab I acquired an extensive list of certifications, attending programs such as IWL’s Partners Leading Change, DDI Adapting to Change, Interaction Associates' Facilitative Leadership and Strategic Concepts, etc. With advanced competencies in strategic planning, leadership effectiveness training, facilitation and individual/group coaching from my 2+ years in the corporate world, I decided to return with these enhanced skills to what I know is my true calling.

My vision is to run two concurrent teen forums: one directed at middle-school aged girls and the other for high-school (9-11 graders) in the various towns of Marin County and then, well, who knows! I have been collaborating with the Novato Police Department and Community Violence Solutions (new name for the Rape Crisis Center) and we successfully launched round one in Novato. More programs are being planned for the summer and early fall.

I'm very excited about this work and feel confident that an important need is being met. Preventing sexual assaults through promoting community awareness is just the beginning, insuring that potential victims of these crimes have the knowledge, skills and support to make healthy decisions and keep safe is what will make the true difference in their lives.

I've also started a separate entity: C. Rath Consulting and am currently negotiating a contract to provide OD-related facilitation and diversity training. So it's all good!”

Toni Riccardi - ELSC 2002
Toni appeared as the cover story in the March/April 2003 issue of Diversity, Inc. Toni also recently received the Rappaport award from the Simmons Graduate School of Business for being an outstanding alumna. She’ll be delivering a keynote address to students in August. Congratulations, Toni!

Susan Trainer - ELSC 2003 , Tracey Warson ELSC 2003 and Rayona will appear as the cover story in Working Mother’s July/August 2003 issue.