by Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
What are the chances that Josephine Karianjahi, a Kenyan national, and Pennsylvania native Joel Thomas would ever meet under normal circumstances? Surely, slim to none.
Thanks to StartingBloc, a global organization that educates, empowers, and connects emerging leaders to drive innovation across sectors, not only were these two able to meet, but they were also able to join forces and make the world a little bit better.
StartingBloc’s signature program is called the Institute for Social Innovation and it takes place annually in one of three locations: Boston, New York and London. The institute is a fellowship program that mainly consists of a four-day conference in which students are provided with training, education, and the networks necessary to turn any career into a socially responsible one. It was at the 2007 Boston Institute that Joel Thomas met Josephine Karianjahi and decided to leverage her networks in Uganda and Kenya, thus expanding Nourish International, which provides the infrastructure and support for college students to implement long-term solutions to eradicate poverty worldwide.
The planning of these amazing, global events falls on the shoulders of philanthropist Taryn Miller-Stevens, who acts as Director of Programs for StartingBloc. Amazingly, she is one of just two full-time staff members. If enthusiasm could be transformed into manpower, Steven’s could run the organization herself. “When I read the word StartingBloc, hear the word StartingBloc, or say the word StartingBloc, there is an overwhelming rush of excitement and passion that builds up inside me. It [StartingBloc] has insane potential and I don’t want to stop working because that potential is just dangling in front of me waiting for us to give it legs and make it run,” Stevens said. Though she works hard to organize and implement all of StartingBloc’s programs, the organization is also in debt to its staff of over fifty volunteer alumni who also play a major role in keeping the organization running.
Since its inception in 2003, StartingBloc has graduated 850 Fellows from over 40 countries, many of whom have moved on to use the network as a way of establishing social enterprises in their communities and to secure socially-responsible careers. Just a few years ago, Stevens herself was one of these students hoping to make a difference and she was making strides well before she was turned on to StartingBloc. “I attended Tufts University where I was able to combine my varied academic interests by majoring in American Studies with a concentration in Corporate Citizenship and minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies. My studies were complimented by my work in the Tisch Citizenship and Public Service Scholars Program, wherein my final two years I organized conferences on poverty in Massachusetts and socially responsible business,” Stevens said.
Stevens first heard of StartingBloc through a friend who participated in their Institute for Social Intervention. “My friend said I should apply for the program and that people she met through StartingBloc were doing incredible socially minded work in different sectors all over the world. I applied and was fortunately accepted,” Stevens said. Afterwards, things would never be the same. “After participating in StartingBloc’s inaugural Global Institute for Social Innovation at London Business School, I returned home with a new sense of purpose. In just four days my life was transformed; my peers and the speakers whom I heard from and met inspired me like never before,” the philanthropist said.
After graduating from college, Stevens did everything from interning in the Reebok human rights department during the company’s acquisition by the Adidas Group to working as a nanny and assistant basketball coach at her alma mater. Out of the blue and only two weeks into her coaching job, she received a call from StartingBloc’s Executive Director that would once again change her life, just as the Institute had. “After a trip to New York and several interviews with board members, I was hired by StartingBloc and worked from Boston during the winter of 2007-2008. Following the 2008 New York Institute and the best season in Tufts Women’s Basketball History, I made the best move of my life and landed in New York for StartingBloc,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who grew up in suburban Connecticut, has come a long way since her days at her family’s turkey farm. Now, based in Manhattan, she helps run a global network for socially minded leaders, all of whom are doing their part to change their small portion of the world. Though she’s traveled far and experienced a lot, what her parents instilled in her on her small family farm shaped who she became as a person and what became important to her. “My parents have worked their entire lives to make a better life for their family and community. They gave me a strong foundation for everything that I hold close to my heart- family and relationship values, community and team building, business, as well as experiencing new things and people. I wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for them,” Stevens said- and neither would StartingBloc.
Ms. JD’s Third Annual Conference: Avenues to Advancement
NewsPartner or Public Servant?
Competitor or Collaborator?
Flex-Time or Full-Time?
On-Ramp or Opt-Out?
Announcing Ms. JD’s Third Annual Conference: Avenues to Advancement
Ms.JD’s Third Annual Conference on Women in Law: Avenues to Advancement will highlight the choices available to women in the legal profession, the changing definitions of success, and the personal and professional infrastructure that best promotes retention and advancement of female attorneys.
Save the Date!! Registration will be open soon so be sure to join the mailing list for updates and additional information about featured speakers!
On the StartingBloc
Women and PhilanthropyWhat are the chances that Josephine Karianjahi, a Kenyan national, and Pennsylvania native Joel Thomas would ever meet under normal circumstances? Surely, slim to none.
Thanks to StartingBloc, a global organization that educates, empowers, and connects emerging leaders to drive innovation across sectors, not only were these two able to meet, but they were also able to join forces and make the world a little bit better.
StartingBloc’s signature program is called the Institute for Social Innovation and it takes place annually in one of three locations: Boston, New York and London. The institute is a fellowship program that mainly consists of a four-day conference in which students are provided with training, education, and the networks necessary to turn any career into a socially responsible one. It was at the 2007 Boston Institute that Joel Thomas met Josephine Karianjahi and decided to leverage her networks in Uganda and Kenya, thus expanding Nourish International, which provides the infrastructure and support for college students to implement long-term solutions to eradicate poverty worldwide.
The planning of these amazing, global events falls on the shoulders of philanthropist Taryn Miller-Stevens, who acts as Director of Programs for StartingBloc. Amazingly, she is one of just two full-time staff members. If enthusiasm could be transformed into manpower, Steven’s could run the organization herself. “When I read the word StartingBloc, hear the word StartingBloc, or say the word StartingBloc, there is an overwhelming rush of excitement and passion that builds up inside me. It [StartingBloc] has insane potential and I don’t want to stop working because that potential is just dangling in front of me waiting for us to give it legs and make it run,” Stevens said. Though she works hard to organize and implement all of StartingBloc’s programs, the organization is also in debt to its staff of over fifty volunteer alumni who also play a major role in keeping the organization running.
Since its inception in 2003, StartingBloc has graduated 850 Fellows from over 40 countries, many of whom have moved on to use the network as a way of establishing social enterprises in their communities and to secure socially-responsible careers. Just a few years ago, Stevens herself was one of these students hoping to make a difference and she was making strides well before she was turned on to StartingBloc. “I attended Tufts University where I was able to combine my varied academic interests by majoring in American Studies with a concentration in Corporate Citizenship and minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies. My studies were complimented by my work in the Tisch Citizenship and Public Service Scholars Program, wherein my final two years I organized conferences on poverty in Massachusetts and socially responsible business,” Stevens said.
Stevens first heard of StartingBloc through a friend who participated in their Institute for Social Intervention. “My friend said I should apply for the program and that people she met through StartingBloc were doing incredible socially minded work in different sectors all over the world. I applied and was fortunately accepted,” Stevens said. Afterwards, things would never be the same. “After participating in StartingBloc’s inaugural Global Institute for Social Innovation at London Business School, I returned home with a new sense of purpose. In just four days my life was transformed; my peers and the speakers whom I heard from and met inspired me like never before,” the philanthropist said.
After graduating from college, Stevens did everything from interning in the Reebok human rights department during the company’s acquisition by the Adidas Group to working as a nanny and assistant basketball coach at her alma mater. Out of the blue and only two weeks into her coaching job, she received a call from StartingBloc’s Executive Director that would once again change her life, just as the Institute had. “After a trip to New York and several interviews with board members, I was hired by StartingBloc and worked from Boston during the winter of 2007-2008. Following the 2008 New York Institute and the best season in Tufts Women’s Basketball History, I made the best move of my life and landed in New York for StartingBloc,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who grew up in suburban Connecticut, has come a long way since her days at her family’s turkey farm. Now, based in Manhattan, she helps run a global network for socially minded leaders, all of whom are doing their part to change their small portion of the world. Though she’s traveled far and experienced a lot, what her parents instilled in her on her small family farm shaped who she became as a person and what became important to her. “My parents have worked their entire lives to make a better life for their family and community. They gave me a strong foundation for everything that I hold close to my heart- family and relationship values, community and team building, business, as well as experiencing new things and people. I wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for them,” Stevens said- and neither would StartingBloc.
Beyond Ideas: Making Global Impact: Women in Business Conference 2009
NewsThe ninth annual London Business School Women in Business Conference, Beyond Ideas: Making Global Impact, will address women’s evolving roles in today’s business world. Building on past themes such as “Challenging Norms: Changing the Face of Business” and “Opportunities in an Evolving Business World”, the conference will highlight the impact women are making in local and global marketplaces and how they are making it.The conference will profile influential women leaders and provide key takeaways on how participants may make greater impact in their respective countries and business environments.The following panels will be hosted to discuss specific topics on Global Impact:
The London Business School Women in Business Conference is widely recognised as a leading women’s conference in Europe. Join professionals, academics and students for a full day of events planned with distinguished speakers, panels and networking to promote impact beyond the day’s events.
Visit the website for the event schedule.
All Dressed Up and Someplace to Go
Office PoliticsAs Oscar Wilde put so eloquently, “It’s only the shallow who do not judge by appearance.” And if this is the case, I suppose the City is full of deep-thinking philosophers.
Ambitious young City girls looking to enter the City of London have an added layer of complexity in their mission that the boys don’t. You not only need to act smart, you need to look it.
We women obsess about our appearance not because we are vain or frivolous. It is because history has taught us that if we don’t get our appearance right, people won’t stop talking about it. It becomes an endless distraction from everything else we want to talk about. That skirt one-inch too short is like a virtual mute button.
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Beyond the Storm: Opportunity & Risk in a New Era
NewsNow in its eleventh year, the CFO European Summit takes on a new life as CFO Outlook 2009. Featuring enhanced networking opportunities and increased interactivity, CFO Outlook 2009 will take a long view on how the outcomes of the global financial crisis will transform your expectations, your strategies, and ultimately your role.
The event is designed to foster candid discussion amongst your peers from across Europe. Underpinned by key insights from CFO Europe’s award-winning editorial team alongside expert opinion from a panel of industry leaders, we encourage an atmosphere of lively and relevant debate on the topics that matter to you.
For more information or to Register.
Why Laura isn’t CEO – Chicago Booth Global presentation series
NewsMore and more women are getting a business education but few of them seem to make it to the top … why are there so few female CEOs?
Various explanations have been proposed, including the suggestion that women are still discriminated against, or that women just don’t have what it takes to compete in the often cut-throat business environment. Current research led by Chicago Booth Professor Marianne Bertrand explores the reasons behind the gender gap in business. Unsurprisingly, her research confirms that female MBAs have not done as well as male MBAs in the labor market.
What may surprise you, however are some of the reasons why they have not done as well. Attend Chicago Booth’s Global Leadership series to hear Professor Bertrand discuss factors that explain the large and rising gender gap in earnings between MBA graduates of an elite business school. Her findings will provoke a re-assessment of personal career choices, offer insight into human resource policies, and provide broad guidance to those responsible for organisational practices.
With a reputation for excellence and personal service, the London Capital Club, based in the heart of the City, is the City’s premier private members Club for men and women, which combines the grace and integrity of a traditional city club with a modern understanding of business needs.
This event is free to attend but seats are limited. To secure a place, visit Chicago Booth School of Business.
The “Opt-In Project” Inspires Change In The Legal Profession
Breaking the Glass CeilingWhen I first interviewed Patricia Gillette, an employment law expert and partner at Orrick in San Francisco, I noticed two things about the way she spoke about the future of the legal profession. First, despite the temptation to point fingers when discussing the ever-present wage gap in the legal profession, Pat Gillette focused on solutions. Second, she was optimistic about the possibility of change in the profession, especially due to the shifting economic reality. In Pat’s view, for example, women may be at an advantage as firms shift away from hourly fee structures – a shift that may be inevitable as the economy turns sour for law firms and clients. Women lawyers, in Pat’s experience, are at times more efficient at completing assignments. While the current billable hours system may not value the fact that they are able to complete work quickly, the legal profession of the future is likely to value this type of efficiency.
Pat’s focus on solutions and optimistic view of the possibilities for both women and men becomes less surprising and more poignant when one considers her work as co-founder of the Opt-In Project. The Project was partly a response to various articles published around 2003, which all examined what has been coined the “Opt-Out Revolution.” In articles such as “The Case for Staying Home,” “Mommy Madness,” and the infamous “The Opt-Out Revolution,” authors depicted the “trend” of women obtaining the highest levels of education, entering the workforce in record numbers, and then choosing to leave.
The founders of the Opt-In Project wanted to test the “Opt-Out” conclusion against the theory that women were actually being pushed out of the workplace. The ultimate mission of the Opt-In Project, created in 2006, was to “tap into the wisdom of industry leaders to find innovative strategies for the retention of professional women in the workforce.” Ultimately, the goal of the Project was to create a forum to take the discussion to the next level: Are there more sweeping measures that should be considered to create greater career sustainability for both women and men?
Despite its ambitious nature, the Project cannot be described as anything other than “a success.” Over a period of an entire year, the Opt-In Project brought more than 900 people together from a variety of industries for events in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and New York. Industry experts started each evening by presenting their ideas for improving retention and leadership opportunities for women. The conversation was then turned over to participants for smaller group discussions, which generated many ideas. These ideas, which are summarized below, are described in full detail in the Opt-In Project Report. The Report is available at the Opt In Project website.
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Are You Challenged?
Breaking the Glass CeilingWomen may feel unchallenged at work but that isn’t stopping them from taking risks and proactively managing their own careers. According to new research from Accenture, almost half of female business professionals around the world (and a similar number of men) believe they are insufficiently challenged. Yet these same women feel confident in their skills and capabilities.
The global consulting firm reported this information after surveying 3,600 professionals in medium to large organizations in 18 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa. Forty-six percent of the women surveyed said they are not significantly challenged in their current roles. This, despite the fact these respondents feel confident in their abilities to manage their workloads, meet deadlines, delegate and negotiate.
The survey also revealed that 59 percent of the women believe their careers are successful or very successful and that their jobs require them to stretch beyond their expected responsibilities on the job.
Despite the lack of challenge from the top down, 81 percent of the women who categorize themselves as very successful, said they assume added responsibilities in order to advance their own careers. They also reported learning new skills, considering new positions and regularly asking for new challenges.
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Volatility Forecasting & Trading Strategies 2009
NewsBoth on a national and global level, volatility has been continuing to radically escalate and experience wide swings. While some may use it as a means to hedge their portfolios, others are viewing volatility as an asset class on its own and have implemented ground-breaking arbitrage techniques to transform this recent surge into profits. During the current market crisis, institutional investors, asset managers and market players of all types, are forced to keep a close watch on volatility, while striving to build new strategies and systems to benefit from the vast amounts of returns it can provide.
This conference will fill a critical need to examine the evolving strategies, models, performance and different approaches to volatility trading on both a national and global stage. It will be the premier platform that will unite Hedge Funds, Asset Management Firms, Investment Banks, Quantitative Analysts, Portfolio Managers, Heads of Quantitative Research, Exchanges, CEO’s and Chief Risk Officers.
Visit the website for information on featured speakers.
Helping Management Through Times of Transition
Expert Answers, Managing ChangeIn our current economic climate, management-level executives are not only challenged to make difficult decisions to keep the organization going, they also have to deal with the very difficult task of letting people go and all that comes with it. For women, it can be especially difficult as we often feel a sense of empathy for the employee’s situation and will carry our concerns for their well being around with us for days.
Corporate decision-making is guided by the bottom line: financial cost and gain. A more accurate cost analysis, however, recognizes the psychological and emotional costs and impact of workplace events and policies on the company’s most important resources: its people. While people in leadership positions are charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing policies and organizational changes that will keep the organization afloat, they also grapple with the stress and dilemmas inherent in decision-making within an environment that may be characterized by urgency and fear.
According to the Chinese tradition of the I-Ching, every crisis is characterized by the potential for both danger and opportunity. The current economic crisis offers manifold opportunities to advocate for making lemonade from lemons.
Here are some practical tips that management can employ to help themselves and those who must be let go make the best of a challenging situation – and provide those left behind with greater confidence.
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