Power of Women engages, informs, and inspires professional women of all backgrounds and ages
WORCESTER – In 2020, the former Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce program Women’s Information Network, known as WIN, has been rebranded as the Power of Women, or POW.
Connecting, educating, and empowering professional women in the workplace and the community is at the heart of the reconfigured program, said Sharyn Williams, the Chamber’s vice president of marketing, communications, programs, and events.
“Creating a platform on which women of all ages and backgrounds can come together in support of one another – personally and professionally – is a major tenet of the Chamber’s work to develop strong business alliances and engage local professionals with the community surrounding them,” she said.
Between February and November 2020, four quarterly POW luncheons will be hosted by the Chamber at Mechanics Hall. Similar to previous WIN programming, these luncheons will feature high-level speakers discussing a range of topics relevant to women in the working world. JP Morgan Chase and Co. along with their Women on the Move program have stepped up to sponsor this important Chamber program.
During some of the in-between months, three POW meetups will take place. Popping up at various locations across the region – including host businesses and area non-profits – meetups will range from facilitated discussions and networking to community service events.
JPMorgan Chase & Co has signed on as the sponsor of POW. / COURTESY JPMORGAN
Sponsoring this pivotal programming is JPMorgan Chase. The firm, said Eric L. Goodwine of JPMorgan Chase’s Worcester middle market commercial bank, “has a strong commitment to support women leaders through our Women on the Move program, which made it an easy decision to join forces with the Chamber’s POW network.”
Through this partnership, he added, the aim is to “help more women succeed in their professional and personal lives. … Through our efforts, we can help create an equal future for our female employees, clients, and consumers.”
As the Chamber looks to strengthen the breadth and depth of participation in POW, the content of these meetings will also reflect the diversity and wide-ranging skills and expertise among female leaders of the greater Worcester business community.
POW will exist as a program in tandem with and complementary to the Chamber’s annual Worcester Women’s Leadership Conference, scheduled for May 7 this year, and provides a year-long opportunity to continue the important work of empowering women.
Irene Brank is scheduled as the first keynote speaker in the newly-rebranded program. / COURTESY MS. BRANK
The original WIN program began more than 25 years earlier as a way to bolster and support women in the workplace. Largely unchanged since its inception, the time was right to update the program to entice women just entering the workplace who have had a different experience than those in decades past. Under its new format, POW will also look to expand mentorship opportunities for diverse, multigenerational groups of women at various stages in their career paths.
POW offers an all-inclusive discounted annual membership of $125 to Chamber members along with a-la-carte pricing for Chamber members and non-members. The first event under the POW branding is slated for Feb. 18 with Irene Brank as the keynote speaker.
A storyteller, speaker, and advocate for the transgender community, Ms. Brank (she/her) specializes in transgender education, consultation, transition at work consultation, and
leading gender transitions in the workplace. As an ally, she collaborates with parents, transgender people, and insurance companies. Ms. Brank is a frequent speaker for corporations and nonprofit events. Outside of speaking, she is a human resources and inclusion leader with extensive experience in energizing, motivating, and transforming organizations.
For more information, to enroll, or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Ms. Williams at 508.753.2924 ext. 231 or by email at swilliams@worcesterchamber.org.
