“There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.” – Madeline Albright

Nancy Dunleavy, CEO of Dunleavy & Associates, and moderator of the WinIT Leadership Spring event, quoted this line and set the tone for the night. Attendees of the event noted that this quote struck them in a wildly positive way, and brought their attention immediately to Nancy as well as the diverse group of panelists.

The WinIT Spring event was held last Thursday, April 6th, and was sponsored by Fidato Partners and Vanguard. It was a rainy evening, but the turnout was exceptional and clearly showed the determination of the women in this organization to attend and participate in the event. The theme centered around learning how to adapt and evolve in an ever-changing environment that is the world of information technology, especially for women. On the panel sat Danielle Cohn, Senior director of Entrepreneurial Engagement at Comcast, Andre Young, CEO of You Evolving Now, and John McGrory, a Principal in IT at Vanguard.

This panel was very diverse with each person coming from a different background and journey and it certainly made an impact.  Attendees such as Michelle Burnick (SVP, Director of US Technology Solutions, TD Bank) and Eloise Young (SVP, Strategic Planning and Information Services, PGW) stated that this diversity created an interesting and dynamic platform for the panel discussion. They also noted that this event became one of the most interactive to date with polling software making it easy and efficient to create a compelling conversation for all participants. One of the most impactful topics they were able to mold a conversation around was finding the value in failure. Failure is inevitable in life, but how we recover from it and move forward is what defines us.

Andre in particular explained the importance of being adaptable in both the workplace and in life, and how to bring your whole self to any obstacle that you may face. There is so much to learn from a negative situation, such as having little guidance in a new role or dealing with a manager that you may not mesh well with. Moving through harsh situations, learning the skills you need to grow, and keeping your head held high is how we adapt to struggles and evolve for the better at the end of the day.

Overall, the event was a great success and brought together a diverse, talented, and strong group of women to learn more about their own power, leadership skills, and how to continue on in their journey of positively impacting the IT world for all women.