Women’s Leadership Program Hosts Second Annual Panel Discussion Event

Wurmen’s Leadership Program 2015 Panel Discussion
(From L to R) Carla Santos, Sumera Munhaf, Melissa Vega, Prachi Makkar, Elaine Rizzo, Vanessa Marling, Henry Amoroso, Kathleen Ellis, Amanda Sulkosky, Alison Kruse, Noel Girgenti, and Mike Reuter

After months of meticulous planning, the Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) successfully held its second annual, university-wide panel discussion on February 17th in the Jubilee Auditorium. The topic of the night’s evening was “How to Brand Yourself” which sparked the discussion with the distinguished moderator and panelists. Kathleen Ellis, Senior Vice President of Multinational Solutions at Chubb, served as the Program’s moderator for the second year in a row while Elaine Rizzo, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Investors Bank,  Vanessa Marling, Managing Director  of the Corporate Data Management Program at JP Morgan, and Dr. Henry Amoroso, associate professor at Seton Hall University’s Department of Economics and Legal Studies, joined her for their first WLP panel event.

Personal branding, as defined by the Women’s Leadership Committee, is “how people market themselves (including their core beliefs, values, career, personal experience, and gender differences among others) as brands. It is a self-identification process that allows the individual to answer the question: ‘Who are you?’ Personal branding enables the individual to positively differentiate him- or herself from other people.” This compelling topic is prevalent throughout anyone’s career journey. At its core, a brand is what you stand for as an individual and conveying this message properly is essential to achieving success and finding your place in the world.

Before the commencement of the panel discussion, the committee members welcomed the WLP mentors and invited guests to join them for the panel discussion’s pre-reception at 6 PM. Celebrating a few floors above the event location, attendees enjoyed hors devours and light refreshments to accompany this networking opportunity. At 7 PM, all gathered in the auditorium for the main event.

Action shots of our panel discussion!
(From L to R) Moderator, Kathleen Ellis, followed by panelists, Vanessa Marling, Elaine Rizzo, and Henry Amoroso.

The discussion began when co-president of WLP, Sumera Munhaf, welcomed the audience and invited Kathleen Ellis to the stage. Ms. Ellis created an environment of open learning and engagement for the event’s listeners. The panelists were prompted with questions that covered the development and maintenance of an individual’s brand, the expression of this brand to potential employers, the importance of authenticity, and gender differences concerning these self identities. The panelists were in overwhelming agreement of one another’s answers as they shared the learnings from their personal experiences. A few of the most prominent main points are listed below:

• Brands evolve slowly over time; therefore, it is important to have consistent role models and mentors.
• Do not let society’s stereotyping pigeonhole you into someone you are not.
• Have a presence that allows others to know you are there and that you have valuable opinions to share.
• View the world as an equal opportunity for everyone.
• Be confident in who you are. Stay authentic in all aspects of your life despite the setting.
• Tailor your brand to the people around you.
• Know your guiding principles and have an obsessive interest in determining who you are. You must be able to answer this honestly.
• Share your story and let the love of what you do or have done shine through.

With these wonderful insights to fill the discussion, Ms. Ellis opened the floor to a Q&A session. Students were able to ask their most pressing questions directly to the expert panelists. At the very end of the event, co-president Noel Girgenti closed out the night and presented the gifts.

Thank you to all who attended the Women’s Leadership 2015 Panel Discussion and for supporting the program.  We would also like to thank Kathleen Ellis, Elaine Rizzo, Vanessa Marling, Henry Amoroso, and Michael Reuter for making this event possible and such a wonderful success. The Leadership Development Honors Program would also like to congratulate WLP for its amazing work and creating this opportunity to learn!

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