Newsletter
The Koa Club Weekly News Bites
Oct
October 28, 2019
SPOTLIGHT: THE KOA CLUB ADVISORY BOARD
The Koa Club is privileged to work with many women achievers who continue to inspire us with their passion, energy, wisdom and boldness. The Board’s expertise and dedication are critical to the success of The Koa Club’s mission. The Koa Club is indebted to these extraordinary women who sit on The Koa Club Advisory Board. The Board members have shared their proudest achievements below:
Yessica Dupont, Product Manager Engineering, Mobile Webex Teams at Cisco Systems, Inc.
Proudest achievement: “There are many proud moments throughout my career and a lesson learned through each one. The moment that stands out the most was when I was awarded the Inverted Pyramid award at Nordstrom. The award recognizes a leader for many things including empowering others, leading by example, establishing a vision of excellence. This award meant so much to me because my team and their success meant the world to me. The lesson I learned from the comments received was that my focus on their growth and success as individuals helped create purpose in their work which led to our success as a team.”
Michelle Eatherton, AWS Global Partner Investments & Incentives
Proudest achievement: “Within the first year of starting my career at Amazon in 2013, I found out I was expecting twin boys and would soon become a mother of three. I knew it would be challenging to focus on my career while raising TWO new babies at home (plus a 4-year old), but I was determined to charge forward. There were moments in those first years after they were born that I felt absolutely broken and like a failure in both arenas – motherhood and professionally. There were days I wanted to quit, either as a mother or a career person, depending on the day. But with the help of a great support network at home – an au pair and a husband that always supports me – I am doing it! My twins will turn 5 this year; I have been promoted twice at Amazon, moving from an individual contributor to managing a large global team today. I am proud of surviving and thriving during those years, and I encourage other women in similar situations to celebrate their achievements while acknowledging the setbacks as part of the process!”
Amanda Freeman, Director, FP&A – Commercial Finance at Hotwire
Proudest achievement: “Completing a full-time MBA while working full-time.”
Kore Koubourlis, Founder, The Essential Group, LLC.
Proudest achievement: “I am appreciative and proud of so many moments in my career and life. Today, a proud moment that stands out for me as I prepare to set off on a 100-mile trek across France, Italy and Switzerland (cumulative 32,000 foot elevation gain and loss!) relates to the time I was lost for over 24 hours in the mountains near in the North Cascades with not a person nor a trail in sight. It was exhausting and terrifying. That said, I was able to rely on my physical strength, my mental and emotional resilience, and my experience as an outdoorswoman to stay calm, safe, and alive and to ultimately navigate my way back to civilization. I think about that moment often and use it to remind myself that so much in life is accomplished when you just keep on putting one foot in front of the other.”
Angeline Loong, JD, Fellow of Information Privacy, CIPM, CIPT, CIPP/US/E/C
Proudest Achievement: “Earning my law degree cum laude after working full-time and going to law school at night for four years. This proud and humbling experience has made me empathize even more with others who have sacrificed for their goals and deep appreciation for those who provide their support systems.”
Cara Ching-Senaha, Employment Counsel, Americas and India at NetApp
Proudest Achievement: “After years of working as a partner at one of the largest and well-known national firms, I took the leap and silenced the skeptics who said law firm partners can’t make the transition to in-house. To do this, I believed in myself and followed my passion, with great support and encouragement from family and friends.”
THE NEXT TWO WEEKS AHEAD
Totally Random but Really Useful Skills Series: Book Club for Non-Fiction Books
By: The Koa Club
Friday, November 1, 2019; 5:30pm-7:00pm @ Downtown Seattle, Foundry Vineyards, 524 1st Ave S., Seattle WA 98104
Light bites & wine provided
MEMBERS-ONLY EXCLUSIVE EVENT – Free for members of The Koa Club.
Event limited to 15 registrants only
To register: https://thekoaclub.com/event/book-club-for-non-fiction-books/
In this month’s book club meeting, we will be discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s newest book, “Talking to Strangers”, which offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers—and why they often go wrong.
About the Book
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn’t true? “Talking to Strangers” is a classically Gladwellian intellectual adventure, a challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news. He revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland—throwing our understanding of these and other stories into doubt. Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. In his first book since his #1 bestseller, “David and Goliath,” Malcolm Gladwell has written a gripping guidebook for troubled times.
About the Author
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers: “The Tipping Point,” “Blink,” “Outliers,” “What the Dog Saw,” and “David and Goliath.” He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content company that produces the podcasts “Revisionist History,” which reconsiders things both overlooked and misunderstood, and “Broken Record,” where he, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam interview musicians across a wide range of genres. Gladwell has been included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers.
Follow My Lead Series: Beyond Networking to Nextgen Connecting
By: Lindsey Fernandez, Founder, WithU Consulting (https://www.withu.org/)
Wednesday, November 5, 2019; 5:00pm-7:30pm @ Belltown, 2208 2nd Ave, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121
Light bites & wine provided
$50 fee for members of The Koa Club; $75 fee for non-members of The Koa Club
Event limited to 20 registered participants only
To register: https://thekoaclub.com/event/beyond-networking-to-nextgen-connecting-members-pay-only-50/
Discover the magic within and how you can be a connected change maker for the greater good of your team, organization and community. An interactive session where you uncover how to energize your ecosystem.
About the Speaker
As a Global Leadership Facilitator and Advanced Analytic Network Coach, Lindsey brings over 25 years of experience as a business leader and entrepreneur. In February 2019, Lindsey founded WithU Consulting. WithU designs bespoke experiential programs to align with corporate strategies and consults with leadership to deliver quantifiable outcomes. Coupled with her talent management background and experience in high-tech companies Lindsey has a unique perspective of how behaviors impact business outcomes. Prior to WithU, Lindsey worked as Director of Leadership and Sales for BTS Asia. In this role she developed leaders across the region in India, Japan, China, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. In January 2017, she returned to the United States and joined Advantage Performance Group, a division of BTS. She is a well-respected speaker and has contributed to various media publications and outlets, including U.S. publications, television, and a self-published novel. Lindsey has worked with multiple MNC’s, including; Merck, Deutsche Bank, GSK, Novartis, SAP, ABB, Ericsson, Thai Military Bank, AT&T, Intel, SBC & The Ritz-Carlton. Lindsey is a keen athlete and outdoor enthusiast. She has completed over 30 marathons and ultra-marathons, several triathlons and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Whitney. Lindsey draws from these accumulated personal and business experiences to inspire others to be their best version of themselves. Most weekends Lindsey can be found exploring alpine lakes with her dog and husband in Washington State. Lindsey is a native English speaker, fluent in Afrikaans, and conversational in Mandarin.
Totally Random But Really Useful Skills Series: Touchdown! Understanding the American Football Game
By: Tavan Pechet, dedicated football fan
Sunday, November 10, 2019; 2:00pm-5:00pm @ Private home in Kirkland – address provided to registered participants
Light bites, beer & wine provided
MEMBERS-ONLY EXCLUSIVE EVENT – Free for members of The Koa Club.
Event limited to 15 registrants only
To register: https://thekoaclub.com/event/touchdown-understanding-the-american-football-game/
Football can be a confusing sport at first, but it is actually fairly easy to understand when explained properly. Come learn about the basic rules, regulations and scoring of football to make it a more enjoyable sport. If you don’t know your tight end from your end zone, you should definitely come check out this fun and enlightening event.
About the Speaker
Tavan Pechet advised family enterprises and serves as a fiduciary of family trusts. He previously served as CEO of a single family office overseeing the business and financial operations of a wealthy family. Tavan also served as an executive of two businesses, practiced law, and clerked for a federal judge. He has been invited to speak on governance and management of family enterprises from New York to Sydney. Tavan focuses his charitable efforts on survivors of sexual assault and on military veterans. He is authoring a book on the ethics of friendship, and is passionate about non-partisan efforts to improve public policy and political processes. He holds an AB from Harvard College, a JD from Harvard Law School, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To view pictures of events that we have already held, check out our pages on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-koa-club/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thekoaclubwomen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thekoaclub/).
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