An Invitation to Join the Women of CPAFE

In 2011 I attended a networking breakfast after some gentle nudging from a friend of mine, Rachel Strella. The group was CPAFE, Central Pennsylvania Association for Female Executives. It's mission? To advance women in the workplace through Education, Mentoring and Networking. 

This all-female group included members from a wide variety of fields and at varying levels of experience. Bankers, project managers, CEOs, financial planners, event planners, non-profit gurus, artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and more. And each month I learned something new to help me to be a better professional! 

Here are a just few of the topics we've covered: 

• Social Media Rules of Engagement (Rachel Strella)
• Business Archetypes: Communicating at the Speed and Power of Symbols (Patty Bear)
• How to stay Positive in a less-than Positive World (Rickie Freedman)
• Running Across America: 50 States of Leadership (Jeff Fazio) 
• Achieve and Believe, Goal Setting for Go-Getters (Catharene Garula)

Now, four years after my initial visit, I'm fully committed to this group of gals! In 2013 I served on their Board of Directors under the leadership of Cathy Jennings. And in 2015, I agreed to serve as their President for 2015 (Crazy, right?!). But the mission of this group and the friendships I've developed make it all worthwhile!

The 2014 Board of Directors!

We held our first general meeting of the year this past week - Conversations that Connect. It was a spin off of speed networking, and we jumped from table to table sharing our successes from 2014 and goals for 2015. What a great way to move beyond those 30-second elevator speeches and start to truly get to know each other!

Me and my VP, Lindsay Owens, with Vera Cornish

So what else does CPAFE have in store for 2015?

• Later this month, we'll have our January Happy Hour at Ted's in Midtown Harrisburg (a new initiative spearheaded by fellow board member Jessica Lacklin). 
• The programming committee (led by Carol Fastrich-Aranos) will be bringing us some great speakers at our general meetings each month.
• The spring mixer will bring out our creative sides at Paint & Create.
• And we may even have a few fun service opportunities as well! 

Want to learn more about CPAFE or attend an event? We would love to welcome you to our next happy hour or general meeting! Post your questions below or visit our website, www.cpafe.org. 

#cpafe #networking #leadership #girlpower