Building A Financial Future: Women & Wealth

The third annual local event was centered around the 2020 global campaign theme, #Eachforequal


On Thursday, March 5th, Financial Women of San Francisco (FWSF) held a sold-out International Women's Day event at the Wharton School, where over 150 people, mostly women, received valuable insights from executives and leaders in the Bay Area's business and financial community.

Rosie RiosRosie Rios, 43rd U.S. Treasurer, Shows The Low Percentage of Women In High-Powered Positions.

Carrying the International Women's Day 2020 campaign theme, #EachforEqual, the event kicked off with a keynote speech from Rosie Rios, the 43rd Treasurer of the United States known for initiating and leading the efforts to place a woman on the front of U.S. currency for the first time in over a century. During her speech, Rosie discussed being awakened by the invisibility of women in U.S. history and the importance of being a change maker. "This isn't about women making changes for the sake of women. This is about people making a difference who happen to be women," said Rios.

Rosie Rios Keynote

After the keynote speech, numerous workshops were held, providing useful tools and solutions for professional women including negotiating skills, building a coalition, leaning in and implicit bias. The day concluded with a panel of business executives sharing success stories of how they've overcome obstacles.

ModeratorsRoundtable Facilitators, Left to Right: Terri Kallsen, Stacy Coffey, Charine Badawi, Pamela Hopkins, Emily Landis, Kristi Royse

"It's not enough to listen to what we have to say, it's important that we take what we hear and we are accountable to making change," says Sheila Lewis, moderator of the "Overcoming Obstacles and Sharing Success Stories" panel discussion.

IWD AttendeesPanelists, Left to Right: Jessica Ross, Neeshi Hathi, Jorge Tittinger, Sylvia Kwan, Sheila Lewis (moderator)

This is the third annual International Women's Day event organized by Financial Women of San Francisco, whose mission is to advance the careers of financial women, representing all generations and cultural backgrounds in the Bay Area through public forums, broad-based networking, financial support, professional development, and leadership opportunities.

IWD Attendees

The organization's membership includes women in positions of influence within the financial services sector and women who hold senior level positions within non-finance companies, government agencies and the non-profit sector. Members include CEOs, CFOs, corporate treasurers, CPAs, attorneys, commercial and private bankers, investment advisors, fund managers, securities analysts, administrators, financial planners, consultants, recruiters and marketers.

IWD Attendees

For more information,  follow FWSF on TwitterFacebook, and LinkedIn.

Moderators Stacy Coffey, Terri Kallsen, Charine Badawi, Pamela Hopkins wrap up the day’s sessions.

About Wharton's MBA Program for Executives, San Francisco


Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 13,000 participants in executive education programs annually; and a powerful alumni network of 98,000 graduates.



About CFA Society San Francisco


With its origin dating back to March 1929, the CFA Society San Francisco (CFASF) is the second oldest and seventh largest of the 140 societies globally that now constitute the membership arm of the prestigious CFA Institute, issuer of the Chartered Financial Analyst Designation. Currently, the Society's 3,250 members include investment professionals employed by Bay Area banks, insurance companies, investment counselors, brokers, public agencies, universities and corporations.

IWD Attendees
Pamela Hopkins, Charine Badawi, Roundtable Facilitators for Building Your Coalition

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