PWCC Connections Newsletter
September 2018
15th anniversary party
Celebrating 20 Years of Connections 1999—2019
Mission

PWCC provides networking connections that support, enrich and inspire women to advance professionally and personally.

Goals

PWCC brings professional women together in a variety of networking venues to share knowledge, experiences, and resources with other women. Members have access to:

  * Facilitated networking opportunities at monthly speaker luncheons
  * Special member-only events
  * Committee activities
  * Board participation
September Happy Hour at The Hubbard Inn
Join us for a Happy Hour! Thursday, September 6, 2018 at the Hubbard Inn. 

September Networking Luncheon:
"Lessons in Leadership"
Susan M. Santiago, Senior Vice President, Select Service Operations,
Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Union League Club of Chicago
65 West Jackson Blvd.
11:30 am-1:30 pm
$40 members | $60 non-members |
Table of 10 - $500 | 
$0 Premier Members and Sponsors, but RSVP is requested.

Must register by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 7 or the price increases by $10 .   Register here .
Welcome back and Happy New (PWCC) Year!  

Join PWCC for our kick-off luncheon as we welcome Susan M. Santiago. Susan will share the story of her path to leadership at Hyatt and the lessons learned along the way. 

Susan M. Santiago currently serves as senior vice president, select service operations, where she is responsible for the structure, growth, strategy, and operations for Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels in the Americas. Santiago previously served as senior vice president global select service and full service franchise operations.

Santiago is a seasoned hospitality veteran and has been a member of the Hyatt family for more than 25 years. Starting her career at Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Santiago has worked her way through an ascending series of food and beverage positions at Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, Grand Hyatt New York, Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, Hyatt Regency Phoenix, and Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Spa and Casino. Additionally, Santiago has served as corporate food and beverage director for Hyatt hotels and resorts in the U.S., and vice president of food and beverage operations for Hyatt hotels and resorts in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Santiago has also served as general manager of Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa and Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and Casino, as well as general manager and area vice president of Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and senior vice president of operational experiences for the full service Americas at Hyatt's corporate office in Chicago.

Santiago currently serves on the Inclusion & Diversity Council for Hyatt, and is co-chair and executive sponsor for HyPride, Hyatt's LGBT diversity business resource group (DBRG). Outside of Hyatt, Santiago is a Board of Directors member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Women in Lodging. In 2010, Santiago was recognized as one of the Top Five Latino Executives of the Year by Latina Style Magazine. Most recently, Santiago earned No. 17 spot on 50 Most Powerful Latinas in Business list- compiled by The Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and published by FORTUNE magazine.

Come and be inspired! We are expecting a large turnout, so be sure to register early and before the price increases $10 on September 7th! 
Fall Fête - PWCC's 20th Anniversary Celebration
Sign up today and take advantage before the price increases on September 20th!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available, learn more .

Questions? Call PWCC at (312) 263-1808.
September Tips for Smarter Living
Minimizing Stalker Ads on Your Devices
Welcome back to PWCC! As we look forward to networking and learning this program year, let’s begin by clearing out those annoying stalker ads that pop up during our google (or safari or firefox) searches. Yes, you looked at that pair of shoes but you decided not to buy them. And yet you’re haunted by them through constant ads.
Here are a few ways to minimize the chances of being stalked:

  • Periodically, clear your cookies. Ad trackers will have a tougher time following you around if you delete your cookies on each of your devices.
  • Reset your advertising ID. In addition to cookies, Android and Apple phones use a so-called advertising ID to help marketers track you. You can reset it whenever you want. On Android devices, you can find the reset button in the ads menu inside the Google settings app, and on iPhones, you can find the reset button inside the settings app in the privacy menu, under advertising.
  • Periodically purge your Google ad history. Google offers the My Activity tool, myactivity.google.com, where you can take a deep look at the data that Google has stored about you, including the history of ads you have loaded, and choose the data you want to delete.
  • If possible, hide the annoying ad. On some web ads, like those served by Google and Facebook, there is a tiny button in the top-right corner that you can click on to hide the ad.

Submitted by:
Carol Jambor-Smith, Ph.D.,
Founder and Principal, Jambor-Smith Communications
PWCC Blog: Jumping Back into Leadership!
The 2018-2019 PWCC season and its wonderful roster of inspiring speakers arrives just as we begin the annual task of shaking the summer sand out of our shoes (even if only metaphorically) and refocusing our sight on our professional aspirations. How can we become the leaders we want to be? 

The evolving world of work is reintroducing itself to the power of soft skills as face-to-face interaction among employees is making a comeback. Yes, technology is aiding this interaction but the value of communicating directly has never been so high. 

To build a competitive advantage, organizations are looking to hire employees who demonstrate qualities that form the foundation of these newly-necessary soft skills: authenticity, empathy, self-awareness, constant creativity, an internal sense of purpose, and resilience in the face of relentless change.

As you begin to position yourself for greater professional challenges and recognition as a leader, here are some skills to think about cultivating:

  1. Become agile in your thinking. Leaders who can quickly yet effectively think, decide, and inspire will be critical to keep up with fast-changing competitive demands. 
  2. Recognize the value of earning respect. As the workplace evolves to become more transparent, collaborative, and mindful, leaders will be required to hold themselves responsible and accountable for the effect their influence has on their employees and the organization as a whole. 
  3. Become empathetic. We all must build emotional intelligence within ourselves. Empathy and compassion are the foundation for bringing people together in mutual understanding, necessary more than ever in workplaces that cultivate diversity.
  4. Develop selflessness. Learn how to encourage the dreams of those around you. 
  5. Be flexible. Adapting to the changing technology and millennial-created cultures will keep you fresh and relevant.
  6. Become an active listener. Leaders need to be highly skilled listeners to stay ahead of the curve on what's happening with their teams, their clients, and their partners. This will require active listening, including being able to tune in to emotional content.
  7. Develop humility. A leader doesn’t view herself as the most important member of the team. Be modest about your value. Encourage others to shine. 

As you seek ways to burnish your leadership skills, gather tips from upcoming PWCC luncheon speakers on their techniques for leading. And remember, you can always seek out leadership opportunities within PWCC by joining a committee to work first-hand on making this 20th anniversary year the strongest one yet!

Submitted by:
Carol Jambor-Smith, Ph.D.,
Founder and Principal, Jambor-Smith Communications
Networking Tip
Fall into Networking
As summer winds down, now is a good time to think about building your fall networking calendar. Grab your daybook or digital calendar and plan to maximize your connections and opportunities. 

First, review your own groups, memberships, associations, affiliations and connections. Next, identify what groups are planning formal or informal events or activities in the upcoming months. Think about who you may want to reconnect with after a busy summer season. Even more importantly, think about why you should connect. What do you want to share? Why is this important or valuable? How can you help? What do you want to gain from the experience moving forward? Prepare specific answers to the questions for each individual or group. These concepts can be focused or broad, depending on the group. 

By taking the time to prepare, you’re ready to network with a purpose! But remember, networking is never once and done. Be sure to follow up after your meetings with an appropriate note or connection on social media, make notes about when you might meet again, and work to nurture and grow your new networking relationships one step at a time.

Submitted by:
Ellyn Caruso ,
Founder & Creative Director, CarusoPR/Caruso Communications LLC
Member in the News
Calling all PWCC Members!
Do you have some news to share? Do you have a recent accomplishment that you'd like to highlight? Submit your professional or personal news to  admin@pwcc.org  for consideration in an upcoming newsletter. It's a great way to share your accomplishments and continue to build and grow your PWCC Connections. 
Elene Cafasso , President of Enerpace, Inc., was recognized by the International Coach Federation and awarded the prestigious Master Certified Coach (MCC) designation, awarded to only 825 professional coaches to date. Known by her clients for her diligence and dedication to leadership development, Enerpace has worked with hundreds of leaders, providing solutions at the individual, team and firm level, as well as workshops and assessments.  
A special thanks to  Barb Yong ,  Elizabeth Kuroski , and  Shannon Hahn  for organizing the event.
On Friday, Aug 25, the  Attorney SIG and the Financial Advisor SIG  joined together for a fun afternoon of networking, golf, and camaraderie! 

Participants included: 
  • Nicole Romito
  • Eleonore Weber
  • Shannon Hahn
  • Elizabeth Kuroski
  • Julie Brett
  • Karen Gillespie
  • Barb Yong
  • Annika Mitchell
Looking Ahead
Upcoming Events!
Our 2018/2019 Luncheon Events Schedule is available here . Mark your calendars and save the dates for these great events. Remember: non-members may only attend one progressive luncheon and one speaker luncheon in any membership year (September - June). So become a PWCC member now!

October 10, 2018 | Luncheon  
Dr. Lauren Streicher , Medical Director of the Northwestern Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause

October 23, 2018 | Special Event
PWCCs 20th Anniversary Celebration: Fall Feté - 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the Chicago Athletic Association
Connections & Conversations
All First Timers, Experienced Members and Guests are Welcome.
 
Join us at 11am, prior to every luncheon at the Union League Club, to learn about the Professional Women's Club of Chicago and membership engagement. Ask questions, participate in discussions about PWCC, and network during this brief, 30-minute meeting.
 
Our next Connections & Conversations Event is Wednesday, September 12 at 11 am
Welcome New Members
Please join PWCC in welcoming these new members who joined during the summer months of June-August 2018:

Livia Barker, Chicago Beverage Systems
Jennifer Barton, Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd.
Shannon Riley Berkery, Shannon Berkery - Graphic Designer
Laura Bernhardt, Oliver Group
Michelle Collett, Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago
Aledia Evans, Catalyst
Nancy Free, Raymond James
Patti Hughes, Lake Life Wealth Advisory Group LLC
Jill Hunt, Medela, LLC
Arlene Levy, A. Messe Supply
Jennifer McGowan
Jennifer O'Grady, AARP Foundation RSVP
Alma Pajova, Wells Fargo Advisors
Mary Lou Polcyn, Chicago Beverage Systems
Grace Rohan, Beermann LLP
Kayley Anne Shomers, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP.
Grace Singer, ManeuverPoint Group LLC
Katherine Smith Dedrick, KSD LAW PC
Karla K. Thomas, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Kit Woleben, Woleben Law LLC

New Members:  Be sure to look for our New Member Ambassadors with their Red Ribbons affixed to their nametags at our next luncheon. The Ambassadors are keen to help you feel welcome, comfortable, and introduce you to opportunities available within PWCC.
PWCC Policies
All reservations for the monthly luncheons are requested no later than 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the luncheon.  Anyone reserving after Friday, September 7th , at 5:00 p.m. is subject to a $10 late charge and seating availability.  
 
Please help PWCC and the Union League Club make the monthly luncheon experience a great one and reserve on time and observe their  dress code policy .
Stay Connected!