Message From EWG President

Many thanks to each of you who selected me to serve as your President. It is a rewarding and challenging experience for me. I am honored to serve you.

I would also like to thank the officers and committee chairs for all the work you are doing to support me and EWG. Without your help my job would be impossible. The Board has been meeting monthly to plan activities for the upcoming year. Our first event, a luncheon with Maureen Bunyan, was successful and totally sold out. We look forward to a number of high-quality events in the year ahead.

As most of you know, EWG was founded in the early 1970s. Its mission is to promote, support and mentor women for senior leadership positions in the Federal government. The founding members were a group of dedicated women determined to help other women rise into leadership positions. Objectives included advocating the advancement of women in the social, economic, and political structures of our society and advancing women in senior leadership positions. Women have come a long way, but there is more to be done.

My goals for the year include reinvigorating the organization, sponsoring a variety of engaging events, and increasing membership. I am well on the way to accomplishing these goals, but need your help to make the organization even stronger. This is how you can help:

1. Tell me what you would like to see EWG do. What types of events would interest you?
2. Do you know an outstanding speaker who might agree to speak at a future meeting? Would you be willing to invite him or her?
3. Recruit a new member. Invite a senior woman to come to a meeting. As all my friends know, the best way to get new members is to have a friend ask you to join.
4. Mentor a rising woman executive. Invite her to attend a meeting to meet other senior women.
5. Visit our web site and tell me how we can improve it. Our web site address is http://www.execwomeningov.org/.

I encourage you to contact me about what is on your mind. If you have a talent in a particular area and would like to help, I would love to hear from you. We are considering having a conference in the future and will be looking for volunteers to help. Membership is more fun if you are involved.

Lastly, I urge you to sign up for events early. If my first experience is an indicator, you may find an event is filled. We almost had to turn people away from our most recent event. I would not want to have that happen to you. Sign up early and bring a guest.

--Linda Massaro

Lunch With Maureen Bunyan:
"How a Network Balances National and International News with Local Coverage"

Maureen Bunyan, a veteran television news broadcaster and the primary news anchor for ABC-7, was the featured speaker at the Executive Women in Government luncheon on October 1, 2002. At 6 and 9 pm on weekends she and Kathleen Matthews form the only all-women news anchor team in the Metro area and one of the few in the country. A Washingtonian of 29 years, Ms. Bunyan described herself as the quintessential Washingtonian in a lively, interesting, engaging presentation of stories and perspectives on the media, primarily women in the media. She observed how far women have come in the media and other professions. While more women are active in political, scientific, and business fields, it continues to be difficult to identify women to serve as experts for news programs.

Ms. Bunyan shared some important lessons learned in her media career, told through amusing personal stories. She learned never to conduct a private conversation in a public place, never to be surprised that viewers are taking note of everything she says and does, and never to assume that she can go unrecognized in the Washington area. She also learned to avoid information in the form of gossip, preferring only information that is inspirational or informative.

Washington is a complex place, full of national, regional, and local issues, perspectives, and influences. In her view local news programs in Washington should not try to cover all issues, but should give Washingtonians a sense of themselves locally, nationally, and internationally. Media professionals today, unfortunately, are treated as if they are authorities, when in reality they receive most of their information in packages, briefings, and news releases. She feels strongly that veteran professionals “need to challenge ourselves, work with young professionals to instill the old values, keep ourselves and them curious and observing.”

The news today is also influenced by Hollywood’s portrayal of women and its emphasis on the appearance of women, and the focus on celebrities as news items. As news has become an essential element of the entertainment industry, the content of news programs is heavily influenced by consultants who shape the programs for success and revenue.

Reflecting on her career, Ms. Bunyan remarked that she learned “Grace comes from knowing you will survive, and you do.” She described herself as “a fighter with velvet gloves.” One of her guiding beliefs is “You are what you think you are; you are what you think you will be.” Her positive attitude and energies led to her pioneering role in establishing organizations to support the progress of women and minorities in the media. Ms. Bunyan is a founder of the National Association of Black journalists. Ms. Bunyan, along with Judy Woodruff and Carole Simpson and two other women Journalists, founded the International Women’s Media Foundation which serves women in the media in 100 countries. Ms. Bunyan, who serves as a member of the board of directors, spoke passionately about the activities that the foundation conducts to support women journalists in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who face physical and emotional challenges unknown to U.S. journalists today.

-- Elizabeth McDaniel

Upcoming Programs

November 2002

The Power of Partnership: Women and Organizations as Catalysts for Change
Sponsored by The International Alliance for Women Global Partnership Forum

Noon, Thursday, Nov. 14 through Noon, Friday, Nov. 15
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Rotunda Room, Washington, DC

As an EWG member, you are also a member of The International Alliance for Women, a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to encourage, develop, fund and implement programs that foster economic empowerment and advancement for women around the globe. TIAW is a global network of women’s-based organizations (including EWG), their leaders, and other women of influence.

Invited speakers include:

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Senator
Carole Black, President & CEO of Lifetime Television
Pegine Eschevarria, author of For All Our Daughters
Dr. Riane Eisler, Ph.D., President of the Center for Partnership Studies and author of The Power of Partnership

To learn more about TIAW or to register for the conference, visit http://www.tiaw.org.
EWG members pay the TIAW member rate.

Special Guest: Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman

Monday, November 18, 2002
Networking 11:30 a.m.; Luncheon 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Lincoln Dining Room (3rd floor), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, 12 th & Jefferson Drive, S.W.
Washington, D.C. (above the Smithsonian Metro Stop).
Cost is $20.00 per person. Bring government ID

For additional information contact: Diane Gelburd, (202) 720-2587. To reserve a space, go to http://www.execwomeningov.org/.

February 2003

Leading With Spirit

“Our ability to grow as a leader is based on our ability to grow as a person.”

--Kevin Cashman , Leadership from the Inside Out

In today’s world, leaders are most often evaluated on leadership skills and competencies, the external manifestations of leadership. We are constantly torn between getting results and living a life that is authentic and purposeful. Is it necessary to leave our spirit at the door when we walk into our office to be successful?

Join us for lunch with Executive Coach Julie Shows, who will help us discover ways to connect with our own spirit and bring that authenticity and purpose to our teams and organizations. Learn how leading with spirit encourages the creativity and passion of those we lead.

Julie is a senior associate of the Strategic Executive Coaching Alliance (SECA), and President of The Coaching Connection, which provides executive coaching to leaders in both public and private organizations. Julie coaches leaders from a “whole life” perspective to facilitate corporate cultural transformation. Her approach is based on 30 years’ experience in senior management, financial planning and business ownership.

March 2003

Healthy Children, Healthy World

Invited Speaker: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman

Join us for remarks by Governor Whitman on EPA's 2002 Report America's Children and the Environment -- its findings and the issues it raises for women as both mothers and leaders. The Report forms the basis for Governor Whitman's platform for the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A reception will follow in EPA's historic "Green Room," located in EPA’s newly refurbished Headquarters in the Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

June 2003

EWG Annual Conference, Washington, DC

Race for the Cure – Join Team EWG for this inspirational event

Watch this space for registration info.

EWG Helps TIAW Launch Village Bank in Mexico

EWG is a member of The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), a global network of women’s business and professional organizations. EWG members can tap into TIAW’s resources. One of TIAW’s important international undertakings is sponsorship of micro credit entities that make small loans to women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Several EWG members have been instrumental in creating and administering TIAW’s Microenterprise Fund, including past presidents Donna Heivilin and Virginia Robinson (the godmothers of the Fund) and current vice president Margie Armen.

On August 19, 2002, Donna, Virginia and Margie joined Patricia Hinnen and a delegation from TIAW to attend the opening ceremonies for an 11-member village bank in the small town of Cuautla, Mexico. Cuautla is located in rugged mountains about 45 minutes by bus from Cuernavaca, and about 2 hours from Mexico City. The bank will be operated in cooperation with Finca, an internationally known micro lender. John Hatch of Finca headquarters and Pedro Calderón, who heads Finca’s lending operations in Mexico, accompanied the TIAW group. Other donors and guests – 33 strong --made up the VIP contingent who attended the launch.

The 11 borrowers in Cuautla ranged in age from 20 to 60+, and each was receiving her second Finca loan. First loans are typically smaller and more borrowers can be financed with the $3,000 to $5,000 TIAW invests in a village bank. Several of the Cuautla borrowers had small children, including one little girl who was celebrating her 6-month birthday along with the opening ceremony. Angélica, the youngest borrower in the group, is studying law at the state university in Cuernavaca, and will use her micro loan (about US$300) to run a small snack stand on the weekends. She also plays on the all-state soccer team. The TIAW delegation expects Angélica to be organizing a women’s network of her own in about 20 years' time. Another borrower told the delegation of her need to use the proceeds from her business to help pay for her daughter to obtain a kidney transplant, and to cover the expensive dialysis treatments that she needs three times a week until the surgery can be done.

The women who received loans to help start their businesses were mostly illiterate, but all had good skills for what they were planning to do. The businesses run by these women are as diverse as the women themselves and range from roadside vending of soft drinks and packaged snacks/cooked foods to a bakery, clothing consignments, and Cuautla’s first beauty consultant. The delegation got to taste some of the culinary efforts of one borrower, who made us delicious chicken seasoned with mole sauce.

The bank launch was scheduled to coordinate with the Asian Pacific Economic Council (APEC) and Women Leaders Network (WLN) meetings in Acapulco, and several of the TIAW contingent were delegates. Microenterprise is a theme of this year’s APEC conference, thanks to Mexico’s President Vicente Fox, who had the foresight to put it on the international agenda. As a result, WLN delegates from the Philippines, Taiwan and Canada had the opportunity to share in the village bank launch with our proud and happy TIAW/EWG group.

Donors traveled in style (air-conditioned motor coach) from Acapulco to Cuautla and stayed in an historic hotel built in 1560 as the villa of Hernán Cortez. Lush gardens, mature palms and flowers everywhere contributed to a feeling of luxury. Acapulco accommodations were equally luxe -- the famed Las Brisas, with its hillside casitas, pink jeeps and private pools.

More donor trips are scheduled for upcoming Mexican bank launches between now and January. Why not consider joining a future trip? You will have fun and see exactly how your participation is going to improve the life of a woman, her family and her community by sharing economic opportunity. This gratifying and heartwarming experience may boost your outlook on life and work. Or you could give your kids a chance to see first hand that what matters most to many of the world’s people is nutrition, not Nintendo. You and they may never be the same. Contact Donna Heivilin (donna.heivilin@verizon.net) or Virginia Robinson (vbr@erols.com) for more information on how to donate or attend a future donor trip.

-- By Margie Armen

EWG Welcomes Our New Members since Last Newsletter (May – October 2002)