Dear Members,
As I write this I am frantically preparing to leave on a much needed vacation. But, before I go I wanted to let you know about something exciting. We have a new website! Go check it out at nawbo-sv.org. This beautiful new representation of our chapter has been a long time coming. So we hope you like it as much as we do. The new site is modern, mobile, and packed with useful information and resources. So, check back often as we intend to be updating information regularly to provide you with relevant content to delight, inform, and engage you.

A special thanks to our VP of Communications, branding strategist Karen Hebert of The Oya Group and corporate sponsor Roberta Kiphuth of Detati Digital Marketing for their efforts in making this a reality!

NAWBO Silicon Valley was well represented at the recent Silicon Valley Business Journal’s annual Women of Influence event. Our own Toni Julian was an honoree at this year’s event. And many of our members and alumnae of the prior classes of WOI were in attendance to cheer her on. Judging by the cheers coming from the crowd, I can proudly say we were among the loudest!

The WOI event showcases 100 women in Silicon Valley annually. Honorees are women from industry, non-profit, business owners, and other areas. Only a small percentage are women who truly own their businesses. And that got me to thinking – we should all raise a glass to ourselves and each other. Because who is a woman of influence if not an owner of her business? Every day we influence the lives of our employees, our clients, and our families. In general, we tend to work harder with less and have to work smarter to be recognized for our achievements. And yet, most of us wouldn’t trade what we do for anything else. So, in the spirit of Women of Influence, stop and congratulate yourself, for you are awesome!

Speaking of awesome, I’d like to use this, my last President’s message, to thank my Board of Directors who have worked so hard over the past two years to make this organization a success. I proudly hand the gavel back to Maxine Goulding and the incoming board to take us to the next level!

Thank you to all of our members for your support of our organization. We are here to help each other, educate, have a voice in public policy and enjoy each other’s camaraderie. If you’ve been joining us regularly at meetings, thank you! If you haven’t joined us in a while, come on back and be part of something great. Hope to see you all at our June meeting.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you as President these past two years!

Fondly,
Monika