"It's always inspiring to hear of the winding routes other successful women have taken. That's why Council of One Hundred events always make me feel validated and hopeful," says Julie Lockhart (C96), an alumna and attendee of a recent C100 event in Los Angeles.
The council is Northwestern's 14-year-old, invitation-only women's mentoring organization that enlists members who are leaders in their professions. C100 offers career advancement and networking opportunities to all Northwestern alumnae and female undergraduate and graduate students.
This year the organization held events in cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver. In each city students and alumnae met women in various careers, including government, law, finance, business, nonprofit management and journalism.
Kicking off the nationwide series of events, more than 80 alumnae and students from the Washington, D.C., area gathered at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson on July 16. Janet Kurzeka McDavid (WCAS72), a partner with the firm, hosted the event, which included speakers Jeff Green (WCAS79), a senior attorney at the Department of Defense and former president of the NU Club of Washington, D.C., and former U.S. Rep. John Porter (EB57, H99), a partner with Hogan & Hartson and a director at PBS. C100 members Carol De Vita (WCAS68) of the Urban Institute and Kathy Waters Gest (J69) of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs also spoke at the event.
C100 member Lori Anne Czepiel (WCAS84) hosted the Greater New York event July 22 at the law firm of Sidley Austin, where she is a partner. More than 100 female students and alumnae networked with professionals in fields ranging from business to medicine. Council member Karen Page (WCAS83), a culinary author and Washington Post columnist, presented a brief talk on the ABCs of entering a new career.
In Los Angeles more than 30 women joined in the Aug. 2 gathering at the home of C100 member Kathleen Marshall Neumeyer (J66). Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough (C70) detailed how she went from a position as a teacher of students with learning disabilities to the owner of a management consulting firm. Loraine Despres Eastlake (C60) shared her personal career path, which has taken her from her days as a theater major at Northwestern to positions as an advertising executive in Paris, a famed Hollywood screenwriter and a best-selling novelist.
More than 35 women attended the Aug. 14 event in Chicago, held at the home of council member Virginia McEwan Harding (GC96). Diane Dawson (J76), chair of Chicago's Council of One Hundred, welcomed students and young alumnae and introduced 13 local council members who spoke about their experiences and answered questions.
Finally on Sept. 13, council member Maria Arias (L86) welcomed Northwestern alumnae and female students to a networking event at her home in Denver. For more news about alumni events in your community, please visit www.alumni.northwestern.edu/clubs. |
