• How to Take the Stress Out of Networking
• How CHRO's Have Networked to a Corporate Board Role
• How to Manage Your Stakeholders at Your Job
• Fireside Chat with Valerie Capers Workman, CHRO, AI Expert, & author of "Quantum Progression"
• How to use AI to Find Topics For & to Write LinkedIn Posts

Coming Up!

• How to Land a Fractional Role
• Networking Your Way to a "Cool" Job in Community Management, Partnerships, or Sustainability
• Corporate Politics - The Mindset You Need to Survive & Thrive

4 Dates 4 Experiences

Thurs, Sept 17 at 12 noon ET

Thurs, Sept 24 at 12 noon ET

Wed, Sept 30 at 12 noon ET

Thurs, Oct 8 at 12 noon ET

You can register for one class or the entire package.

Women are exiting corporate America in record numbers.

They're retiring.

Getting laid off & downsized.

Or just leaving.

At every age, women are deciding that they're just done with whatever they've been doing.

And now they want to create & control their next career act.

If you missed the in-person event in Martha's Vineyard, join us for "Let's Toast To Your Next Act - the Virtual Experience".

We won't have the champagne toast like we had on the island; but this version features 4 separate events on 4 different days.

You can register for the package of all 4 events. Or you can register for an individual event.

You'll walk away with key insights, an action plan, encouragement, & new connections.

The virtual version of "Let's Toast to Your Next Act" will feature:

• Thursday, September 17 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

A panel discussion & Q&A with women who'll share how they figured out what they wanted their next act to look like and then made it happen.

• Thursday, September 24 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

"What You Need To Know If You're Thinking About A Corporate Board" with Shelly Lombard, a 6x corporate board member & the founder of Schmooze.

• Wednesday, September 30 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

An interactive workshop with Lisa Haynes, the author of "Retired & Killin' It". After retiring as the CFO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Lisa became a certified retirement coach who focuses on the non-financial side of retirement. She is also your "Reinvention Wing Woman". So this mini workshop is for anyone who is navigating the uncertainty & challenge of reinventing themselves.

• Thursday, October 8 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

A fireside chat with Esosa Ighodaro. After six years in financial operations at Citibank, Esosa left & co-founded Black Women Talk Tech. BWTT is a community with 100,000 members & hosts an annual conference that has attracted over $10 million in sponsorship support. Esosa recently founded AcceleratorCON, the premier conference for accelerators, startup founders, investors, universities, innovation hubs, and economic development corporations.

3 Dates 3 Mini Masterclasses

Thurs, Sept 24 at 12 noon ET

Tues, Sept 29 at 12 noon ET

Thurs, Oct 1 at 12 noon ET

You can register for one class or the entire package.

If you want your next act to include a corporate board, in these classes, we'll go deeper.

You can register for the three-course package. Or you can register for an individual course.

The instructor is Shelly Lombard, a 6x corporate board member & the founder of Schmooze.

You'll walk away with key insights, an action plan, & encouragement.

• Thursday, September 24 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

"What You Need To Know If You're Thinking About A Corporate Board".

Shelly will cover what boards do, how to find & use a company's proxy statement to find out who's on the board, & the benefits & drawbacks of being on a corporate board.

• Tuesday, September 29 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

"To Land A Board Role, You Need To Fish In The Right Pond & With The Right Hook".

There are certain boards that are a fit for you because of your skill set. It's a matter of figuring out which ones are a natural fit.

• Thursday, October 1 from 12 noon to 12:30PM ET

"Networking Your Way To A Board Seat"

Why are there so few women on corporate boards? Why is it so hard for women to land a seat? The reason is that 80% of corporate board roles are filled through personal relationships. One woman put it this way, "When a board seat opens up, the men in the room look around at each other & ask 'who do we know?'" You want to be one of the people they know.

3 Dates  3 Mini Masterclasses

Tues, Oct 13 at 12 noon ET

Thurs, Nov 5 at 12 noon ET

Tues, Nov 24 at 12 noon ET

You can register for the entire package. Or for individual courses.

It's time.

Whether you want to change jobs, get promoted, or get on a corporate board, it's time to start building relationships.

Because relationships change everything.

Either way, you'll get actionable takeaways to help you start building your network of relationships.

Tuesday, October 13 at 12 noon ET - "Networking For Introverts"

Thursday, Nov 5 at 12 noon ET - "Networking Done Right Is strategic, Not transactional"

Tuesday, Nov 24 at noon ET - "The Info-Intro-Invite Approach To Building Relationships"

Wednesday, October 14 at 12 noon ET

Felicia Smith is the Vice Chief of Global Operations for the US Department of War and the founder of The Climb.

Her LinkedIn post inspired this Schmooze Fireside Chat!

She said, "At some point I stopped apologizing for having a strategy.For knowing what I wanted and being specific about it.For building relationships with intention and not just waiting to see who showed up.For being visible on purpose — not because I was performing, but because I understood that invisibility was not humility. It was just invisibility."

Women get told to "be excellent, be available, be grateful, and do not want too much too loudly."

"But you are allowed to know what you want. You are allowed to build toward it on purpose. You are allowed to take up the space your talent and your track record have earned. Stop apologizing for having a strategy."

In this Fireside Chat, Schmooze member Monica Alexander will talk with Felicia about how to incorporate this advice into our careers.

Thursday, October 15 at 12 noon ET

When we think of building a network of relationships, we often think of external relationships. But when you're an operations executive, your job is to make sure processes are followed so things run smoothly.

You need to be able to do that without ruffling feathers. 

In addition, as one senior exec put it, "there is no such thing as a 'non-revenue' role." But how do you position your contributions so that people know how you impact the top line?

Ayanna Clunis, a Partner & the Head of Operations for TPG Global, will discuss the importance of developing the internal relationships you need inside your company to do your job well. TPG is one of the largest asset management firms in the world.

Our moderator, Mikal Kuflom is a Schmooze member & a newly-minted MBA. She has over 11 years of experience in operations, as well as portfolio analysis, at a global asset management firm.

Tuesday, October 20 at 12 noon ET

You're bracing yourself for that call from HR that everyone dreads.

You have a lot of money tied up in this company. Don't leave any of it on the table. You can negotiate your severance, roll over your 401K, have your stock options vested.

These women can tell you how to do it.

Belinda Lewis Batiste is a First Vice President - Investments & Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo.

Keri-Lynne Shaw is the Founder of The Salary Bump. She helps people negotiate both compensation packages and severance packages.

Schmooze member Bridgette Tillman is the Founder of True North Global. She is an attorney who advises companies on complex trust and safety matters involving platform risk, user safety, law enforcement response, and regulatory considerations.

Thursday, October 22 at 12 noon ET

You went to this event because you want to meet new people & expand your network.

You've introduced yourself. Now how do you keep the conversation going? Especially if you're not good at smal talk. Or you're an introvert. Or just shy.

Susan Greenwood Schroeder will share tips for how to keep the conversation going & really connect with people.you've just met.

Susan is Director of Marketing & Communications for How Women Lead. She directs the organization's storytelling and content strategy for its podcast, social media, and press.

She is also the founder of SGS Workshop. Working at the intersection of strategy and storytelling. she helps founders & corporate executives clarify what they stand for & sharpen how they say it.

Tuesday, October 27 from 12 noon to 1PM ET

You know you should be networking. But you're not sure how to start.

Networking should be more than just going to events and sharing LinkedIn info with the people you meet.

Effective and intentional networking means (1) Being Strategic (while making room for Serendipity; (2) Being Systematic; and (3) Being Seen.

Shelly Lombard, the founder of Schmooze, will share her framework for networking and Schmooze tools that can help.

This session is for Schmooze members only. This class is interactive & lasts 60 minutes.

Wednesday, October 28 at 12 noon ET

Does corporate tell women to step up? To ask for what they want?

But then are they punshed for being ambitious?

In this Fireside Chat, author Stefanie O'Connell will discuss:

• how asking for a raise you deserve can result in a guilt trip.
• women remain passed over and excluded, not for a lack of ambition but because of it.
• why decades of educational gains and empowerment messages have not translated into corresponding advances for women at work
• And she'll give us talking points you can use to identify and combat these biases.

Our moderator is Tracey Forde Weaver, a senior healthcare product ^ strategy executive. You know you should be networking. But you're not sure how to start.

Thursday, October 29 at 12 noon ET

Tami Rosen says "The greatest missed opportunity at most conferences is not a keynote session, a panel, or a workshop. It is the conversations that never happen."

Tami's career includes 16 years at Goldman Sachs in senior HR roles. Now she's serving on corporate boards.

In an article she wrote for Fast Company magazine, she says most of us leave networking opportunities like conferences "with little more than a collection of business cards and LinkedIn connections that never turn into anything meaningful."

She explains why that happens and what we can do differently.

Our moderator is Digna Louis, a CFO and strategic finance leader.