Welcome Back to DC!

“I wouldn’t be in D.C. right now if it wasn’t for PLEN.” On the evening of August 8, this sentence was repeated over and over by women of all ages. While Beyonce songs played in the background, women from different backgrounds connected over their relationship to PLEN.

Jordyn Arndt, a Harold W. Rosenthal Fellow in International Relations at the US Department of Labor, said that she wouldn’t have moved to DC if she hadn’t attended a PLEN seminar. MJ Swicegood, who attended the happy hour with her husband, said that PLEN introduced her to the intersection of science and business, which pushed her to get her MBA and towards her current job at a biotechnology company. Rebecca Damante attended a PLEN seminar earlier this year and recently moved back to DC for a job in communications.

Since the launch of the PLEN Alumnae Network in February 2017, PLEN alumnae have been reconnecting with each other and PLEN HQ in person and online. Just this week, we launched the PLEN Alumnae Network Facebook group, adding to the multitude of ways PLEN alumnae can reconnect with the women they met through PLEN and learn how they can support the organization that had such an impact on their professional lives.

Laura Allard is part of the group of women this “Welcome to DC” happy hour was intended for; she is in the process of securing a job, and officially moved to DC just days before attending this event. Throughout the night, she connected with other PLEN alumnae and volunteers, and even connected with a PLEN volunteer who agreed to share job opportunities with her. The goal of this event and the PLEN Alumnae Network, as PLEN Executive Director Sarah Bruno said, is to make sure all alumnae “know that you have a family here at PLEN.” Regardless of career path, PLEN is a constant source of connections and support for women leaders of all ages.

Do you have a PLEN connections story you’d like to share? Email it to Hayley or write a post about it for The Plenary!

Hayley Humiston is a Program Coordinator for PLEN, where her main focus is to plan the logistics of each seminar. She is also responsible for marketing, communications, and social media outreach.