In this issue...

 

Feature Article

Staying Connected: Burden or Blessing?

An Interview with Teresita Abay-Krueger

 

Women Transforming Culture: How They Do it Bringing Organization Home
By Mary Hunt

 

Cultural Corner

Why Book Clubs Matter

By Rosemary Kite

 

News and Upcoming Events

 

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Spring 2009 Newsletter

 

 

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

 

A New Executive Director for Murray Hill Institute

We are pleased to welcome Rosemary DellaMarco, the new Executive Director of Murray Hill Institute as of November, 2008.  Prior to coming to Murray Hill Institute, Rosemary was a Vice President at Banc of America Leasing.  She became familiar with the operations of non-profits through her work in financial services lending to healthcare and educational institutions.  A native New Yorker, Rosemary is a graduate of Hunter College where she majored in History.

Asked about her vision for MHI, Rosemary had this to say: “Professional work done ethically can make a real change in the environment.  The current economic situation gives evidence of the importance of ethical behavior and demonstrates the need to help people realize that they have a personal responsibility to foster a positive work environment by behaving with professional integrity.   I’m glad to be part of something that supports that vision.”   

Rosemary’s valuable analytical skills and broad knowledge of how businesses operate bring much expertise to help develop our programs and strategies as MHI begins its second decade.  

Coming in March: Connie Kelly to Speak to Young Professionals Group on “Put Your Best YOU Forward”

Connie Kelly, an executive coach and consultant, will be the featured speaker at an Evening of Conversation for Young Professionals on Wednesday, March 25th, 7:30 pm, at Murray Hill Institute.  Connie will share her insights on how to convey poise, self-assurance, and confidence:  a critical dimension to one’s professional persona, whether you are preparing for a job interview, a performance review, or a presentation to your peers.
 
Click here for more information, and to reserve a space.

On Wednesday, May 13, Vanessa Cognard, Advertising Director, More magazine, will speak on “Developing Relationships Across Generations.”  

The Young Professionals Evenings of Conversations are part of the Mentoring Program at Murray Hill Institute.  These evenings bring together experienced professionals and young women in the early stages of their careers to share ideas and provide networking opportunities.  Last fall, on November 11, Alice Tepper Marlin, President, Social Accountability International, spoke to the group on “Corporate Social Responsibility.”  On December 12, the young professionals group enjoyed an evening of flute, violin, and piano music followed by Christmas caroling.   

Fashion Forum

Fashion Forum, a partner of Murray Hill Institute, is a non-profit organization for young women that explores fashion and related industries, and promotes those positive trends which uphold the dignity of women.  In this brief report, the Public Relations Director for the group gives an account of recent and upcoming activities.

Fashion Forum is in the middle of another trend-setting season with their 2008-2009 events.  Taking a hint from the NY runways, we had fun with feathers – learning from the crafty Molly Gee how to make oh-so-fashionable feather headbands from affordable materials.  Each of the attendees came away wearing a big smile and their own colorful creation.  I even wore mine to the second annual wine-and-cheese reception hosted by Alderton House to benefit Fashion Forum!  We had a great crowd and great time, sharing the mission and vision of Fashion Forum.  This year’s reception also featured guest keynote speaker Amanda Ferrer, knit designer at Adrienne Vittadini, and young designer Satsi Khalsa, whose evening dresses several board members wore at the event.  With the word out, we hope to attract more great talent to share their knowledge and passion and more young women to learn and benefit from them.  Every introduction, word of advice, and penny helps!

 

In November, Fashion Forum hit the streets and took a field trip into Brooklyn to tour the studio of Domestic Construction, a company created by that dynamic duo Trish & Maureen, whose creativity reaches as far as fashion, housewares, and even wall surfaces.  Trish took us through the ins-and-outs of a successful marketing strategy for a self-owned business, especially with a brand as distinctive as Domestic Construction, voted #1 designers in decor on the acclaimed trend web site Daily Candy!

 

2009 started off with a bang when Bethany, fabric buyer for Oscar de la Renta, explained in our January event the entire process of fabric from thread to dress. She wowed us with samples from an array of fabrics, stories about Oscar, and the sculptured Oscar de la Renta skirt that she wore to the event.

 

We have a great line-up for the spring: expanding our repertoire with interior design, getting hands-on practical with chic and affordable shopping strategies.  And we’ll also be bringing back the highly-successful Prom Panel, now in its second year, which not only gives fashion tips on dress, hair, makeup, accessories, (and even etiquette!), but also offers a refreshing view of the real core and meaning of prom: expressing our own inner beauty and sharing the evening with our friends.
 
For comments, suggestions, or further information, email us at nyfashionforum@yahoo.com

 

Angela Reckart


A Philosophical Perspective on Competitive Sports

The winter 2009 lecture in Murray Hill Institute’s Culture and Core Beliefs lecture series, which took place on Friday, February 6, 2009,  dealt with “Sports and the Good Life: The Meaning of Athletic Competition.”  Paul Gaffney, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, St. John’s University, explored the philosophical question of why sports matter.  A brief answer may be given by saying that they are inherently meaningful.  Athletic competition sets up a relationship between two or more persons where the conscious intention is to defeat the opponent. Only the opponent gives us the opportunity to be a champion.  We enter into a competition to become a winner.  In order to better understand the nature of athletic competition, Prof. Gaffney gave a brief description of two philosophical positions regarding human struggle: the Hobbesian position where physical survival and the restless desire for power are all-important, and where the opponent would be seen merely as an obstacle, since what would matter would be the goods attained after the victory; and the Hegelian position where two spirits or human beings confront each other, seeking recognition.  In the Hegelian model, each human being wants to prove himself, each needs to be acknowledged. The encounter between the two is intrinsically valuable since the self realizes his being through the opponent.  The real self is in relation to the other. In a Hegelian understanding of athletic competition nothing is at stake except recognition.  
 
Athletic competition then is not about external values such as money, neither is it, according to this interpretation, utilitarian, as the practices of law and politics can be.  To give an example of the kind of recognition that is meant here, Plato’s description of the philosopher as an “athlete with words” can be of service: there can be a kind of genuine intellectual combat whereby two persons try to defeat each other with a better argument; the best argument wins out and is recognized as such.  Whatever external prize there may be is not what is important but rather the activity itself that is excellent.  When athletic competition is seen in this way, then the athlete can be considered a representative type for mankind because of the many virtues needed to foster excellence in competition with others.     

Prof. Gaffney kindly sent a copy of his talk for the Murray Hill Institute Resource section of our web site. To read a copy of the talk, click here.   
 

Alice Ramos   

Women in Media

Mirta Ojito,Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, spoke to the Women in Media group during an Evening of Conversation on Wednesday, February 11, 2009.   Her topic, “The Journalist and the Immigrant; Reporting on the Self” explored ways that a journalist’s personal background can serve as a positive influence on his or her reporting.  Mirta gave us a compelling account of her emigration to the United States from Cuba at age 16, and her subsequent experiences as a young journalist at the Miami Herald and later at The New York Times. She had the opportunity to cover Cuba in 1987, and returned to cover Pope John Paul II’s trip to Cuba in 1998. Both of these experiences strengthened her conviction that the work of reporting and writing is enhanced if the reporter knows something about the topic and can bring insights,  depth, and nuance to the situation being covered. Fair and balanced reporting is paramount and can be strengthened, rather than hampered, by a point of view. Mirta has captured many of her experiences in her well-received memoir, Finding Mañana, published in 2005 by The Penguin Press.

 

Internships Needed!

The Rosedale Center, a supplementary educational center in the South Bronx and a partner of Murray Hill Institute, runs a Job Training Program for high school girls each summer.   Rosedale is seeking partnerships with companies who would like to host a full-time or part-time high school intern for the month of July 2009.  All interns are carefully screened by the Rosedale staff and are given supplementary training and mentoring throughout the program to ensure that the experience is a productive one for both the host company and the intern.  This is a great opportunity to help an aspiring inner city student gain work experience and refine her career goals.  Companies who have participated in the program in the past are universally positive about the experience. If you know of any companies that would be interested in participating, or would like to find out more about this opportunity, please contact Alice Trimmer at atrimmer@sbef.org.