In May, multiple Together Women Rise chapters in Delaware hosted a special event for members to build comraderie within and between chapters and to grow Rise. Our Volunteer Manager, Kia Hunter, recently spoke with one of the event planners, Yvette Drazich (Chapter Leader of DE, Newark -1) about this experience.
Mellen Duffy Tanamly spent her career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which took her all over the world including West Africa, El Salvador, Belize, Egypt, and Jordan. She learned of Together Women Rise through friends at USAID and has been a member for over six years. She recently took over leadership of her chapter and is excited for this new role! Details
Sally is an expert networker and she meets people through her many assorted activities. Whether it’s through directing and acting at Rita’s Theater, playing tennis, selling real estate, singing in a choir, or as a professional painter, Sally loves to make connections with people – and invites many of them to Together Women Rise meetings!
Kia: Sally, your chapter is celebrating its 14th anniversary this year. Congratulations! Have you been with the group since the beginning, or when did you join?
Sally: I started this chapter 14 years ago. I was originally with another chapter, with Cari Class, but Rise was growing so quickly with up to 30 people per month, I offered to start a second chapter. I had been with the organization for about two years prior to that. It’s a great way for new people in town to meet others in the community, and a couple of our members have been with us for a really long time. The closeness has developed over time as well. Details
As Together Women Rise commemorates our 20th anniversary and looks ahead to the next 20 years, we want to ensure a top-rate Volunteer Program that meets the needs of Rise now and into the future, particularly as we expand our chapter and member numbers. We also want to ensure that every volunteer has a rewarding, empowering, and fun experience! Details
“A Florida girl stuck in a Maryland body,” Kristina moved to Florida about 18 years ago and loves it. Kristina has a master’s degree in teaching but is now a realtor by profession. She still feels at heart that she is a teacher and a helper, and Together Women Rise combines all of her favorite things.
Although their paths to central New York were a bit different, both Debbie and Ruth now enjoy having family nearby as they enter retirement – or almost retirement. Debbie works in HR/Accounting, and her hobbies include reading and birdwatching. Ruth passed along her passion for engineering to her daughter, and now loves to help other women in need.
Born in England, Polly is no stranger to moving all over the world. She even spent her career as an International HR Manager for Johnson & Johnson. Now, however, she appreciates having her grandchildren only 10 houses away in San Jose, California. Introverted, yet passionate, Polly likes to jump in first and figure out the details later. Details
Linda likes variety. She’s held a number of interesting jobs over the years. She’s been a nurse, CPA, director of surgical services, entrepreneur, and was the first women ski-lift operator at Aspen Ski Corp. Now she focuses on geographical variety – biking all around the world with her husband (over 3,000 miles in 2022)! Details
One of our goals for this Chapter Leader newsletter is to create a forum for chapter leaders to learn from each other and about each other. We’re calling this feature “A Rising Tide” because when one of our chapters succeeds, we all succeed – and we should share those strategies and successes with each other to lift all our boats, metaphorically speaking. This month, we are featuring one of the AZ, Tucson – 3 chapter’s four leaders, Jill Sobieszyk.
A “retired” teacher of 40 years, Jill now lives in Arizona and tutors students in many subjects, from math to reading. As an educator she finds the value of teaching so important, which is also why she remains a student herself, taking art lessons and researching our many grantees and their countries’ cultures. Details
Born in Maryland, Sheila grew up in a family that highly valued education. After hitting the glass ceiling in the healthcare field, she started her own company, Quality America, Inc. Now retired, Sheila enjoys edible landscaping and looks down when she hikes so she can forage for mushrooms. Details
This year, we have a new tool to help our members create their own fundraisers for the Together Women Rise annual appeal. Several chapter leaders and members have already set up their fundraisers, including Debra Berman, our Central Regional Leader. We recently spoke with Debra about the individual fundraiser she set up using this new tool. Details
Achieving global gender equality cannot be accomplished alone – and neither can running this organization or sustaining your chapter. Planning for the future of your chapter and sharing chapter responsibilities are key factors in maintaining successful Together Women Rise chapters. At our National Chapter Leader Event on Oct 16, we discussed best practices for continuity planning and inviting members into leadership roles. Details
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Together Women Rise is registered as a nonprofit 501c3 organization. EIN 20-0031928
