Lean In -- Inaugural Women of Isenberg Conference Was Terrific!

Although the weather this morning was frigid that did not stop about 150 of us from attending the 2014 Inaugural Women of Isenberg Conference, which took place at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

It was a terrific event and brought together undergrad and grad students, alums, faculty, and staff to hear from outstanding female professionals, including the Keynote Speaker, Susan C. Hammond.

Our Undergraduate Dean, Dr. Linda Shea, had opening remarks, which set the wonderful tone for the day.

There was also a panel this morning of 4 Target employees. Target was one of the sponsors.

I very much enjoyed the morning session on Lean In and it was great to see former students, one of whom, Christina Calvaneso, drove up this morning from NYC.

I took copious notes and enjoyed the sharing of professional stories and pearls of wisdom.

Some of my favorites:

• Define your own success;
• Don't undervalue yourself and others;
• Write thank you notes;
• Look for mentors and use them;
• Don't work in environments that violate your values;
• Have goals, take on hard challenges, be patient, and put in the work, and
• Build and surround yourself with a great team.

Also, students were told to take advantage of all the great clubs and leadership opportunities. This very much resonated with me since I have been serving as the Faculty Advisor to the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter for a decade now.

Below are some photos that I took at this very special conference:

The food was also great.

And, for those of you who may be wondering, there were a few males in attendance, including several husbands who came to support their spouses who gave talks.

Congratulations to the organizers and especially to the Isenberg Women in Business, which did a great job in the planning and execution of this event!