Marist Women's Leadership Program

Mission Statement

Our mission is to expand Marist's diversity initiatives by offering women administrators opportunities for professional development at Marist. In keeping with Marist’s mission of ensuring a diverse and inclusive community, this program encourages leadership development among women administrators through educational events, training, and relationship building.

History of the Women’s Leadership Program

This leadership program began in 2008 as the Marist Professional Women’s Mentor Program, an initiative of Marist’s Human Resources office. A volunteer Advisory Committee launched the endeavor with nine mentor–mentee pairs. By 2017, the program had grown to 30 pairs.

In 2018, the Advisory Committee decided to redirect the program to focus on leadership development. The committee still believes in the value of mentoring and would like to salute all past and present mentor–mentee pairs for the important work they have done over the past decade. Indeed, we encourage currently active pairs to continue to meet, and although the committee will no longer be matching mentees with mentors, we look forward to offering networking opportunities at which participants can identify potential mentors and pursue a mentoring experience on their own if they wish. All women administrators at Marist are invited to take part in the new Leadership Program. To help us plan activities, we’d like to hear from you! We hope you’ll take a few minutes to complete the very short survey at the following link to tell us what topics most interest you: https://goo.gl/forms/yGqsuIzNTyn712Ap2

Past mentor Jane Fiore, now retired from Marist, formerly director of the Academic Learning Center, with mentee K. Renée Springate-Lewis, associate director, Enrollment Technologies and Systems.

Mentoring and Leadership Resources

Online Resources

General Mentoring

• The Free Management Library - Articles on being a mentor, tips for mentees, and descriptions of mentoring
• Allbusiness.com article on mentoring in the workplace - Discusses mentoring and coaching as a form of leadership development and as ways to improve organizational efficiency

• New York Times article, "A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting" - A candid article about the type of gender dynamics that makes mentoring so important

Goal Setting

• Planning for the Future: Setting Goals - Article that focuses on professional goal setting as it relates to career planning

Titles Currently Offered in the Women's Leadership Program Lending Library

• Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, by Dr. Lois P. Frankel
• Ask For It, by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
• Smart Networking, by Liz Lynch
• The Other 90%, by Robert K. Cooper
• Seducing the Boys Club, by Nina DiSesa
• New Girl on the Job, by Hannah Seligson
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
• Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman, by Gail Evans
• Secrets of Six-Figure Women, by Barbara Stanny
• See Jane Lead, by Dr. Lois P. Frankel
• Turning Dreams Into Success, by Bunny and Larry Holman
• Mustang Sallies, by Fawn Germer
• Through the Labyrinth, by Alice Eagly and Linda Carli
• Women as Leaders: Strategies for Empowerment and Communication
• Harvard Business Review on Women in Business

The lending library is located in the Office of Human Resources (Donnelly 120). Stop by anytime to check out the available titles and borrow any books that interest you!

Selected Past Events

Inside the Mentors Studio — Hindsight is 20/20: Veteran Mentors Share Their Lessons Learned. Taking a cue from the long-running series Inside the Actors Studio, four veteran administrators and mentors talk about their career trajectories and women in the world of work. Shaileen Kopec hosted the program, which featured Marilyn Brandl, Jane Fiore, Mary Ann Hoffmann, and Deborah Raikes-Colbert (Murray Student Center, April 19, 2018)

Seasoned administrators (left to right) Jane Fiore, Deborah Raikes-Colbert, Shaileen Kopec, Mary Ann Hoffmann, and Marilyn Brandl shared their insight on the panel Hindsight is 20/20: Veteran Mentors Share Their Lessons Learned on April 19, 2018, in the Murray Student Center.

“Managers Who Influence,” a three-month program designed to develop key competencies necessary to managing and leading successfully, led by Carol Heady, president of Learning and Performance Solutions (September–December 2015, February–May 2016)

Vanessa De Luca, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, spoke on being a female leader in the publishing industry (3/31/16)

Above: Vanessa De Luca, the editor-in-chief of Essence magazine and one of the top leaders in the magazine world, visited Marist on March 31, 2016. Ms. De Luca met with MPWMP participants in the Hancock Center on campus and spoke about being a female leader in the publishing industry.

Essence is an influential monthly magazine for African-American women covering fashion, lifestyle, beauty, and current issues in the African-American community. Ms. De Luca received a BA, cum laude, in English and American literature from Harvard University and an MS in magazine concentration from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Later during her Marist visit, she met with students, senior administrators, and members of the College’s Diversity Council.

In celebration of International Women's Day, a webinar and discussion, "#LeadLikeAGirl: How Women Leaders Ignite Impact" (3/8/16)

Carmen Peña, CEO of Life Consultants International, led a workshop on emotional intelligence skills (2/2/16)

Above: Carmen Peña, CEO of Life Consultants International, led a workshop on emotional intelligence skills for MPWMP participants on Feb. 2, 2016, in the Hancock Center on campus. Ms. Peña received a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany.

Jennie Donohue, public relations faculty member in Marist's School of Communication and the Arts, presented “Creating and Communicating Your Professional Brand” (10/5/15)

Shaileen Kopec, former vice president of college advancement at Marist and longtime administrator in the College’s Advancement and Admissions offices, spoke on being a woman pioneer at Marist (9/21/16)

Women's Leadership Program Advisory Committee

Eva J. Jackson – Director of Employee Relations, Office of Human Resources
Carol A. Heady – President, Learning and Performance Solutions
Leslie Bates – Editor for College Advancement
Elizabeth Donohue – Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator
Erin McGuinness – Benefits Manager, Office of Human Resources
Renée Springate-Lewis – Associate Director, Enrollment Technologies and Systems
Elisabeth W. Tavárez – Assistant Vice President for College Marketing and Communication
Joey Wall – Director, Media & Instructional Technology