2007 eNews 1st Qtr.
Hello Friends,
Well, it's another gorgeous day in sunny California in our new
offices overlooking SF Bay. I never get tired of watching the
tide move in and out, the sail boats drift out to sea, the crew
teams rowing in perfect coordination and the wild life foraging
for food. It helps me remember what a privileged life I live in
America where I enjoy safely, healthy food, clean water, luxurious
accommodations, meaningful work and most importantly, fantastic
relationships. Makes me want to increase my gratitude prayers
by a factor of 10!!
There's a lot to catch you up on from the Winter months and of
course exciting new things on the horizon for 2007. I'll start
with the biggest accomplishment is that we finished the book and
shipped it off to our favorite publisher, Jossey Bass. It took
an heroic effort on everyone's part to finish the manuscript with
graphics, bibliography, references, quotes, etc. but I can honestly
say I am EXTREMELY proud of the finished product. The IWL alumnae
who offered their transformational stories of leadership are truly
inspiring. You will be so proud to be associated with this community
when the rest of the world sees how we live our values, take on
the tough individual and organizational issues that make leadership
a "game worth playing."
The book is due to be released on Oct. 10th to coincide with the
inauguration of Harvard's first woman president in 371 years!
That week I will be attending the Women's Leadership Board meeting
at the Kennedy School of government and conducting a 2 hour training
for my WLB colleagues based on the content of the book. BTW, the
final title is: "Trade Up: 5 Steps for Redesigning Your Leadership
and Life from the Inside Out" We are hopeful that the phrase
"Trade Up" becomes commonplace in the public lexicon........after
all anyone can choose to trade up their context once they are
aware that they have one :-) We are planning a big launch event
here in the Bay Area as well as sites around the country and hopefully
events in Canada and Australia. Stay tuned for additional information
as we begin to zero in on dates and locations. Please let me know
if you would like to serve on the host committee for a particular
location or corporation.
As you may recall I promised Jossey Bass that we would sell 50,000
books in our first printing so if you have connections within
your corporation, industry associations, communities, etc. we
would be most grateful to put in early bulk purchase orders. I
also have a vision for creating a Girl Scout badge called "Trade
up" which would signify that the girl earning the badge has
been through a curriculum to explain what context is, how it shapes
our behavior, how we use it to produce both desirable and undesirable
outcomes...........and of course, how to trade up when appropriate.
Sure wish I had that education in addition to my cookie selling
training when I was in Girl Scouts!
Speaking of the Girl Scouts, I traveled to New York with our newest
IWL faculty member Christie Hardwick [http://www.spiritedcontribution.com]
to present Women Leading Change to the top leadership of Girl
Scouts USA. We are a finalist in their search to find a curriculum
that empowers their 700 CEOs and Board Chairs to reinvent the
Girl Scout organization and social change model. If we actually
win the contract we will be delivering WLC over the next 2-3 years
and partnering with the Chief Learning Officer to reinvigorate
their entire curriculum. Wow, what a chance to make a difference!
Also thanks to WLC/ELSC Alumni Mary Bennett and Cheryl Ka'uhane
Lupenui, we are in conversations to bring our work to the national
YWCA network beginning with Greenville, South Carolina. As you
know Cheryl is building a world class leadership center at the
Oahu YWCA using IWL's curriculum as an innovative cornerstone
for leadership development. She is also hosting our Spring open
enrollment WLC at the beautiful Ihilani Resort on Oahu. As a special
incentive we are giving 2 free nights of lodging at the Ihilani
if you sign up by April 19th [http://www.ihilani.com/] In addition
to that I also have a very special promotional discount for any
alum who attended our programs before the year 2000. Drop me an
email and collect your valuable prize: [
rayona@womensleadership.com]
Other exciting news includes IWL alums who have recently won awards
such as, Christie Hardwick, who has won the San Jose Regional
Legacy Award from Working Mother Media honoring one extraordinary
individual for her inspiration, dedication and significant contribution
to multiculturalism and the advancement of multicultural women
and Anna Marks, publisher of Bay Area Business Women's News as
the 2007 NAWBO®-SF Social Entrepreneur of the year! Congratulations!!
I just know there are others of you who have won awards recently
so please send them in and I will include them in my next newsletter.
On behalf of IWL, I have been privileged to serve on the Women
of Silicon Valley Donor Fund where we will be contributing $110,000
to worthy not-for-profit agencies that empower girls and women
to achieve education, career advancement and leadership development.
It is such a joy to participate in these community activities
knowing that I represent all of you.
On a personal note I will be traveling to Peru and Ecuador in
late June and early July as part of the Pachamama Alliance eco-tourism
project.[http://www.pachamama.org] IWL has always been committed
to stewardship of the planet and this is a very practical way
to support that as well as learn from the indigenous people about
sustainability.
I hope that you will continue to stay in touch and share your
projects and your victories with the rest of our community. You
are never standing alone my friend!
Blessing and love to all…….Rayona
Rayona Sharpnack
Founder/CEO
Institute for Women's Leadership
650.556.8800
rayona@womensleadership.com
http://www.womensleadership.com
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