RisingStrong in #LDNont
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, London….
The theme for last year’s re-launch of the #LDNont chapter of Women in Communications and Technology was “We’re Back!”, and not only did we show up, so did YOU, the London community of women! The response from the attendees that came to each of our events was overwhelmingly positive, supportive and appreciative of the programming that the board crafted for 2015–2016 program year.
We worked hard to ensure that each and every event that we hosted was done following three core tenets: provide people the opportunity for purposeful networking, deliver robust, practical content so that they can learn, and turn to local experts and give them an opportunity to teach.
We’re proud of what we produced last year, and we’re certain that this year is going to build on that success so that we can continue to support women in London in their personal and professional growth.
This year, at our launch event held at the beautiful Che Restobar on October 13, we announced the 2016–2017 theme of Rising Strong. We’re confident that the programming that we’ve planned for the upcoming year will inspire and ignite, and from the reactions in the crowd that night, we have a good feeling that we’re onto something.
Here’s what you can expect this year:
Thursday November 17th
The Brand of You. Each and everyone of us has a personal brand, and we want to help you put your best self out there. This event has three parts: first, we’ll join stylist Susan Jacobs of Personal Style Consulting for a session on investing in accessories and how that investment can create multiple different looks for your both personal and business wear. Then, with Susan’s assistance in choosing accessories that best flatter you, you’ll be under the bright lights to have your professional headshot photographed by Eileen McCammon of BeanBot Productions. Eileen will capture a variety of poses for each subject, upload the selections to an online gallery where you can select you favourite shot which will then be touched up and provided to you in final form. Finally, you’ll have your LinkedIn profile assessed by our board members, under the direction of social media professional, Karen Schulman Dupuis. Karen’s been on LinkedIn since the very beginning and has taught hundreds of people how to present themselves and use LinkedIn to their advantage for their own careers, and in support of their businesses. The goal for this evening is to empower you with some strong tools to help you master your personal brand and enhance and/or start your social profile.
Saturday February 4th
Rising Strong: Daring Leadership
“We need to have honest conversations about what it takes to bring our best, most authentic selves to work, and how to effectively encourage our colleagues to do the same. We need to understand the human side of cultivating an organizational culture where people feel inspired and supported. These conversations may sound risky and vulnerable, but risk and vulnerability are essential to courageous leadership. Real change and innovation are within our reach if we’re willing to talk about the emotions, thoughts and behaviors that get in the way.”
Dr. Brené Brown, Creator of The Daring Way™
This is a one of a kind workshop that’s been crafted especially for the WCT membership by Janet Frood of Horizon Leadership. Janet will lead a half-day, weekend workshop based on the teachings of Dr. Brené Brown. This workshop is focused on exploring the vulnerability that lives in leadership and how to find the inner resolve to be courageous, connect with others and move forward when facing fear or uncertainty. It’s an opportunity to explore what ‘Daring Leadership’ means as individuals and as women leaders in communication and technology. The style will be interactive with time for personal reflection and shared dialogue. This workshop will be limited to 35 persons, and will be held at Innovation Works.
April 2017 — date to be confirmed
We will be holding an “Influencing Workshop — How Do You Create a Circle of Allies In Our Career and Life” with Colleen Sharen. Colleen is a Professor with Brescia College where she teaches classes in marketing, market research, entrepreneurship, strategy, organizational behaviour and brand management. She was also a pivotal figure in ensuring that the overwhelmingly female teaching staff at Brescia College, Canada’s only women’s university, closed the gender pay gap through igniting her community of supporters into action, and having the administration of Western U change Brescia’s standing from being the 2nd to last paid staff, to being on par with the rest of the university. With over 15 year’s corporate experience in addition to her teaching, we know this session will help you build a stronger more resilient circle of allies.
June 22nd, 2016 — Wine’d Down Event
You might have some FOMO in case you missed last summer’s Wine’d Down at Wich is Wich, so make sure to put this date on your calendar early this year! Join us for a more casual evening to wind down and get ready to enjoy the summer ahead.
If you want to make sure that you don’t miss out on any of these events, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to get updates about our events and how you can buy tickets. We’re looking forward to hosting you this year, and if you haven’t signed up for your membership yet, don’t wait!
