President Isabel Dewey leads breakout session at the Citi: How Women Shape Technology and Business event

Written by: Isabel Dewey

I had the pleasure to lead a breakout discussion at the second annual ‘Citi: How Women Shape Technology and Business’ event in Tampa.  Citi created this event for women in technology from across the region to get together, grow their skills, and meet like-minded professionals.  The women in attendance represented a diverse cross-section of ages and ethnicities; we were in various stages of our careers and had differing areas of expertise. Despite these differences, we were brought together by the shared belief of developing each other, a core tenant of The Junior League of Tampa’s Mission.

My breakout challenged attendees to identify their interests and pinpoint desired skills. Then they leveraged that information to explore community organizations to build those capabilities.  My decision to continue my leadership journey in The Junior League of Tampa derived from the same type of visioning.  I had a strong background in strategic planning and program management professionally. However, I was interested in growing my fundraising experience, and felt it could be easily transferable to professional sales roles and nonprofit boards.

My actual experience has far exceeded my expectation. I have learned to fundraise, growing relationships, and aligning our Mission to the corporate social responsibility pillars of our donors.  I have built relationships with leaders in insurance, healthcare, government, foundations, and local businesses.  These opportunities would not have been possible without developing my potential with The Junior League of Tampa.

For me ‘Leveraging Community Organizations for Professional Networking and Career Growth’ is not a breakout session that I led or a LinkedIn group I have started. It is a lesson learned from personal experience and an opportunity I will continue to build upon for the betterment of myself and the community that I live in.