Letter from 2017 President, Paige Venable

Dear Financial Women of San Francisco Members and Friends,

Paige Venable

There are not enough words to describe the 2017 Financial Woman of the Year event that took place on October 6, when we honored Robin Washington, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gilead Sciences, Inc. Pat Hudson, FWSF board secretary, could not have said it better: “The event was so impressive, memorable, inspiring, successful and all-around awesome.” Robin’s speech alone, as inspired by the book "The Measure of Our Success" by Marian Wright Edelman, made attending the event well worthwhile. It is remarkable that Robin's number-one thought and piece of advice — "Be your authentic self" (which is  no small feat) — oftenr recurs in the words of other top-tier women in finance. Our Financial Woman of the Year Co-Chairs, Jessica Ross and Melissa Radic, provide a closer look at this awe-inspiring event that took place to honor such an accomplished, generous and classy lady.

Continuous Improvement

Our all-volunteer board of this incredible non-profit organization continuously strives to improve our infrastructure, marketing, and communication functions. To that end, we are very proud of our expanded efforts in social media in 2017 as led by our Vice-President of Marketing and Communications, Anne Evers and her team, with the professional guidance of our partner and sponsor, Harden Communications Partners LLC. We recognize the vital role social media plays in the branding, reach, and growth of our organization. Read about how these new efforts were applied at the Financial Woman of the Year luncheon.

We’re also very excited about the launch of the FWSF Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) Alliance. The objective of the Alliance is to create a local forum among WIN groups to share best practices and ideas, expand our networks and create a broader community for conversation and action. I applaud Kathy Wheadon and Robyn Rogin for their hard work and dedication in creating this very important community.

Programs

Browsing the internet, I often read many articles featuring hot topics such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, quantitative analysis, and inclusion and diversity. FWSF recently featured some of the best expertise in these relevant and important subjects to share with our members, aspiring members, and other interested professionals.

Mark your calendars, as we have several notable upcoming events planned in 2018:

January 25th | Create Your Best Future! Designing Your Personal Strategic Plan for 2018

February 2nd | Economic Outlook and Trends for 2018

February 15th | Active vs. Passive Investing

March 8th | International Women’s Day – Advancing Women in Finance

Membership

If you have not done so already, it’s not too late to renew your membership to take advantage of member-only benefits, as well as discounted ticket prices for general admission programs and events.

The future

A heart full thank you to the amazing 2017 board and committee members for your contributions and dedication to the organization and to women in finance in general. Your efforts will reverberate throughout the generations to come.

The 2018 board was ratified on December 5, 2017, at the Annual Meeting and I could not be more excited about the future of Financial Women of San Francisco. The 2018 President, Kathleen Nielsen, is the quintessence of leadership, professionalism, and generosity. She has diligently served the FWSF Board and its members with her solution-oriented leadership style; her grace and integrity; and her selfless generosity. Kathleen consistently brings fresh ideas and perspectives as the evolution of FWSF continues. 

I look forward to another exciting and prosperous year under Kathleen’s leadership.

Sincerely,

Paige Venable
2017 FWSF President

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