November 2019 FWN Newsletter

Dear Fletcher Women’s Network members, 

The fall is a busy time for FWN, particularly as a result of important events on the Fletcher calendar. Read below about the Fletcher Women’s Leadership Award and the 5th annual student-led Conference on Gender and International Affairs. As part of our strategy to forge a closer relationship with Fletcher and include women students in our membership, we have added two student liaisons to our Executive Committee: Palak Khanna ‘20 and Ally Friedman ‘21. Playing a major role in engaging with Fletcher, FWN/Boston has been revived under the leadership of Ally Hawkins ‘17 and Ahsen Utku ‘15. Read on for all the details and more.

Fletcher Women’s Leadership Award Ceremony November 14th

You are invited to attend the sixth annual Fletcher Women’s Leadership Award Ceremony on Thursday, November 14th, 5:30pm at ASEAN Auditorium. Please register by Monday, November 11th here. On the same day, you are also invited to an FWN/Boston meeting beginning at 4 pm which will include a “meet and greet” with new Dean Rachel Kyte. We hope that you will consider attending these events, as well as the Gender Conference which follows on November 14-15. 

The Fletcher Women’s Leadership Award (FWLA) was established in 2014 by the Board of Advisors of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and the School’s executive leadership to honor outstanding mid-career female graduates who are making a meaningful impact in the world in the private, public and NGO sectors. This year the award will go to two outstanding women in their field.

5th Annual Gender Conference Registration Open

The student-led 5th annual Conference on Gender and International Affairs, [En]gendering Change: A Rally for Action is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, November 15-16. We encourage our members to attend this conference as an opportunity for professional development (with no-registration fee!) as well as a chance to connect with Fletcher students, faculty and other alums. This year, the conference has been paired with the FWLA to give alums an opportunity to attend both events. For those who are traveling from out of town and would like to consider staying with a local alum, check out FletchSurf.

As you may know, the entire conference is student run and self-fundraised. Go to the crowdfunding link to donate.

FWN/Boston Looking to Connect with Area Alumnae

The FWN/Boston group is working to build on their momentum and connect with more Fletcher women in the area. They communicate information about upcoming events and opportunities through two channels: a Boston Facebook group and the Fletcher Online Community, where you can update your geographic location to be automatically added to their listserv. Feel free to contact co-chairs Allyson Hawkins (allyson.e.hawkins@gmail.com) and Ahsen Utku (siirveyulaf@gmail.com) with any comments, questions, or ideas! Join them through the mailing list and/or Facebook group!

FWN Mentoring Program Poised to Kick-off

The FWN Professional Development Committee is excited to announce the launch of the Mentoring Program, an initiative of FWN to share experiences and strengthen the support network among alumnae. A total of 102 alumnae from 22 different countries and backgrounds signed up as mentors (52), mentees (43), or both (9). The women come mainly from nonprofit organizations, followed by the for-profit sector, government, and consulting organizations. The volunteer mentors look forward to giving back and empowering less experienced women to thrive in both their professional and personal lives. In their own words: “Paying back for a tremendously rewarding career in development during which I benefited from several excellent mentors” (Mentor, F‘69); “Sounding board in a safe environment to share aspirations and put in place milestones to achieve them” (Mentee, F’11). The mentoring program will focus on career discovery, career path development, and career transition among other themes. In November and December, the mentoring team will work on matching mentors and mentees, and they will conduct onboarding webinars. Stay tuned for more information!  

FWN/DC Leadership Begins New Term 

Four women have stepped up to lead the FWN/DC group:  Carlisle Levine, Rabia Altaf, Alejandra Mazariegos, and Georgia Lordanescu. Their first order of business has been to conduct a brief survey of local members to inform their programming. We look forward to supporting their efforts and collaborating with them. To get involved, contact them at fletcherwomensnetworkDC@gmail.com.

New FWN Leadership Team Announced

Thank you to those of you who contacted us with an interest in joining our team. New Executive Committee members include current students, Ally Friedman ‘21 and Palak Khanna ‘20; and alumnae Alison Gibbs ‘91 (Portland, ME), Cacilda Teixeira ‘15 (Boston), Dulce Carillo ‘01 (DC), Valerie Hamilton ‘19 (Brussels), Sophie Pouget ‘09 (Paris) and Silva Kantavera ‘10 (Madrid).  

They join Kari Sides Suva ‘11 (Portland, ME), Tori Okner ‘14 (Bonn), Rebecca Sholes ‘91. (Worcester, MA), Jennifer McCandless ‘97 (DC), Ana Garcia ‘13 (Khartoum), and Ally Hawkins ‘17 (Boston). The new team will begin 2020 with preparing a strategic plan for their two-year term.  

We continue to recruit and interview for some committee positions. We will announce those appointments in the next newsletter.

Sincerely,

Ana Garcia, Co-Chair Communications Committee

Kari Sides Suva, Co-President