How did you become interested in The Associated’s Jewish Professional Women (JPW)?
I was introduced to JPW through my good friend Robin Belsky. In March 2019, Robin was chairing the “Letters to My Younger Self” event, her brainchild program featuring a panel of professional women sharing their letters filled with guidance and reflection on successes and pitfalls in their personal and professional lives. Not only did I enjoy the program’s content, but I was delighted to see so many women of different ages and different professions attend. I subsequently attended the annual JPW LeadHERship event in June, which was terrific, and was again astounded by the tremendous turnout. I realized that there is a large population of like-minded, Jewish women of different professional backgrounds who come together for discourse, dialogue and networking. I knew then that I wanted to be involved with JPW. I joined as a committee member for the 2019-2020 session and continue as a committee member this past 2020-2021 session.
If someone is interested in JPW, what should they know?
I would highlight the expansive scope of JPW. Rather than catering to one type of professional or distinct industries, we have members and event attendees who are employed by global corporations, are solo practitioners, are consultants, or run a business out of their home. They may be seasoned executives or newly employed, and represent the medical, legal, financial services, real estate, sales, non-profit, and social media/marketing sectors, among others. There are also women who are not currently working, but who are interested in re-entering the work force and find value in the content, guidance and networking components of our programs. JPW is a certainly a great way to bring together career-minded women who are interested in empowering themselves through community engagement and professional connections.
How has the pandemic affected your profession – good or bad?
Broadly speaking, I think the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on professions depending on the sector. I am an attorney and compliance professional in the financial services sector and handle regulatory compliance and the anti-money laundering program for a global alternative investment manager. The pandemic is clearly driving marketing volatility, so investment managers have had to be nimble in how, for example, they run their investment operations and rebalance their portfolios. The pandemic has also hastened the rise of new focal points, such as impact investing, which hones in on societal and environmental considerations ahead of financial gain. While the financial services sector has sustained its share of job losses, I think it is an industry that has the both the capability and resources to pivot rather quickly, so relatively speaking, the pandemic has probably affected my profession less than others.
