Thursday, June 6, 2013

Women Opening Doors for Women

Tonight is one of my absolute favorite annual events in Washington, DC.  The Women's Information Network (WIN) is hosting Women Opening Doors for Women (WODW). WODW commemorates how the organization was founded 21 years ago, when a group of women gathered around a kitchen table to support the career advancement of each other. The event starts with a large networking reception and breaks into small dinner parties discussing different topics. WIN is an organization dedicated to empowering young, Democratic, pro-choice women that has chapters in Washington, DC and New York. I am especially excited to bring my 19 year old sister to the event for her first time!

I became active in WIN five years ago when I first came to Washington, DC.  No doubt, WIN has been the foundation of my career success and personal happiness in living in DC. I can't reiterate how valuable women centered networks have been to my life.  I strongly encourage you to get involved with a women's membership organization.  They provide communities where you can expand your network and gain new skills.  Below is a list of recommended women's groups based in Washington, DC but may have other chapters.

Thanks to WIN, I was able to:
  • Find two happy homes in DC to live with amazing friends who were WIN members
  • Attend three weddings of friends from WIN
  • Travel to foreign countries with girlfriends from WIN, and thanks to WIN's travel network, finally felt comfortable traveling abroad alone
  • Find sponsors who literally helped me get two great jobs
  • Make great contacts that invited me to events at the White House and the US Mission to the UN
  • Become a published author because I met someone that I later contributed three chapters to her book 
  • Facilitate my first Live Chat for The Washington Post with a brilliant girlfriend and fellow WIN member
  • Serve on my first nonprofit board by being elected to the WIN Executive Committee
  • Serve on the board for two other nonprofits through WIN contacts

I'm sure I can think of many other ways WIN has helped me, but hopefully you get the idea! Below are some other upcoming great leadership development opportunities for young women.  These events are in  DC, but check out the organizations' websites because many of them have chapters around the country.

Upcoming Women's Leadership Development Conferences in DC

2013 Girl Up Leadership Summit
6/10 - 6/12

In collaboration with our partners, Girl Up will host the 2nd annual Girl Up Leadership Summit in the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. Between June 10 and 12, the Leadership Summit will convene 150 youth supporters from across the United States to dive deeper into the Girl Up campaign through three days of powerful speakers, skills-based workshops and advocacy on Capitol Hill.

Women Leading the Future
6/15

Ladies America will host the "Women Leading the Future" day-long women’s conference on June 15, 2013 in Washington, D.C. This conference brings some of the most dynamic women in America together to discuss major issues and topics that are important to women today. Focusing on women making a difference in the world, discussions will deal with where women are today and how they can become stronger, more effective leaders and why their leadership is critical as we head into the future.

PLEN 360 Summit
Summit 1: Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22
Summit 2: Friday, July 19 and Friday, July 26

This two-day skills training is aimed at women starting their D.C. careers. Through a series of interactive workshops, current students, recent graduates, and young professional women will gain the skills and leadership training needed to begin their careers in D.C., as well as a better understanding of the types of careers available to them. Each Summit is a stand-alone event – the topics covered in each will be the same. Participants are encouraged to choose which Summit works best with their schedule and attend only one.

Running Start's Young Women's Political Leadership Summit
7/12- 7/14

This weekend event will bring together young and established women who want to run for office, hone their leadership skills, strengthen their connections in the political world, and learn how to make it to the next level in their careers.  The Summit will feature nationally acclaimed speakers from our past programs and highlight the work of some of our incredible partners working to empower women in politics.

Professional Women's Membership Organizations

Most of these are in DC, but many may have chapters elsewhere. Feel free to add to this list!

Ignite
http://www.ignitenational.org/

Global Women's Innovation Network
http://www.globalwin.org/

Women's Leadership Mentoring Alliance
http://www.wlmaconnect.org/

Women in Government Relations
http://wgr.org/

Women In Housing & Finance
http://www.whfdc.org/

Women's Foreign Policy Group
http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=47259&orgId=wfpg

Women in International Security
http://csis.org/program/wiis

Women's Information Network
http://winonline.org/

Ladies DC
http://www.ladiesdc.com/

Women's Congressional Staff Association
http://www.womenscsa.com/

Women's Congressional Golf Association
http://www.wcga.org/

Women's National Democratic Club
http://www.democraticwoman.org/

Republican Women’s Federal Forum
http://rwfforum.org/

Junior League
http://www.jlw.org/

DC Eco Women
http://dc.ecowomen.org/

Women's Council on Energy and the Environment
http://www.wcee.org/

Younger Women's Task Force
http://www.ywtf.org/YWTF/dc.aspx

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