On March 14th, our staff gathered to observe this dwell panel dialogue that includes a few of Liaison’s government ladies in tech discussing the whole lot from missed handshakes, to mentors, to ladies in STEM. Meet the panel and dive into the dialogue beneath!
Hayley Wolf | Vice President, Gross sales
Spending over a decade in management throughout three campus enrollment workplaces as Director of Admissions. She’s been a Liaison for the final six years. She’s additionally efficiently based, operated, and offered two companies a rooftop bar and a wine bar. And she or he brings her intensive enrollment and campus data and is obsessed with main our groups to success. Hayley loves the humanities, being inventive, inside design, enjoying the piano, portray, throwing ceramics, and so forth.
Enjoyable reality: Hayley has an Oscar, Emmy, and different leisure Award in her rapid household.
Sarah Coen | Chief Progress Officer
Sarah joined Liaison in August 2023. As our chief development officer, she spent her whole profession in increased training serving immediately on campuses and on the Ed Tech vendor facet. As you recognize, a lot of you recognize she spent 25 years at RnL delivering consulting technique to just about 250 campuses and state techniques. And a enjoyable reality about Sarah. She’s the youngest of seven, together with three older brothers and her sisters. And she or he credit a lot of our success to the sturdy feminine position fashions in her life together with her mother’s sisters and coaches.
Enjoyable Truth: Sarah performed Division One volleyball.
Deb Erdner | Vice President, Operations
Earlier than coming to Liaison, Deb spent 10 years at Wilkes and PCOM, and since 2019, she’s served on the manager board at Wilkes Faculty of Enterprise and Engineering. Since becoming a member of Liaison, she’s had 16 titles over 20 years, which might be a enjoyable reality. However Deb additionally performed tennis, basketball, and soccer in school and has two older sisters. Deb attributes her success to each her sisters and her mother.
Enjoyable reality: Deb had a full ankle alternative final spring. At this level, she’s half bionic.
Lea Cadieux | Vice President, Advertising and marketing
Lea’s expertise earlier than becoming a member of Liaison contains main advertising and communication groups on two college campuses and holding management roles in a number of advertising businesses, and know-how firms. She additionally co-founded and later offered a branding company in Washington, D.C. earlier than relocating to lovely Denver.
Enjoyable reality: Lea used to babysit Pink throughout her teenage years and says that Pink was precisely the character that you’d anticipate.
Maggie Wilkerson | President of Time2Track
Maggie began her profession in graphic design and net improvement earlier than buying the Time2Track product from its authentic builders in 2010 on the younger age of 23. Seven years later, Time2Track was acquired by Liaison as Maggie has remained with us to guide the Time2Track division.
Enjoyable reality: When Maggie was 10, a small airplane crashed into her next-door neighbor’s home. Remarkably, nobody was injured on this crash.
Karen Jacobs | Vice President, Account Administration
Karen has over 26 years working in increased training in lots of areas of Enrollment Administration and has labored at Jacksonville College, Penn State and Thomas Jefferson College. She has now been at Liaison for an exquisite 10 years.
Enjoyable reality: Charles Barkley and Isaiah Thomas crashed her son’s wedding ceremony reception.
What are a number of the benefits of being a lady in a management place?
Deb: I believe one of many issues that units ladies aside is their emotional intelligence. When youthful ladies see ladies in management positions, it evokes them to stick with that firm. I additionally assume ladies appeal to a extra numerous workforce as nicely.
Hayley: By having ladies in management roles, we see issues from a distinct perspective, and are innately multitaskers. I believe that provides an entire totally different stage and perspective to the work atmosphere. Having each women and men in management supplies a stronger and totally different perspective within the office.
Sarah: I’m positive the opposite ladies on the panel would agree while you’re beginning a profession, or while you’re in a mid-level profession, it’s all the time good to see different ladies additionally in management positions.
What position do you imagine mentorship performs in advancing the careers of ladies in tech? How has being a mentor or mentee contributed to your personal skilled journey?
Maggie: I used to be privileged to develop up with a dad who labored in know-how for the reason that 1970’s. He actually did an important job of exposing me to know-how at a extremely younger age of 15 years previous. I noticed ladies who have been working in tech so rising up in that area and having that mentorship from my dad type of set me on this path the place I realized Entrance Finish Internet Growth once I was in that position. I used to be related with individuals who actually acted as mentors for me too, and actually inspired me to do these issues. I believe particularly at a younger age, mentorship could make such an enormous distinction for women going into STEM careers and issues like that.
Sarah: Once I take into consideration mentorship and the individuals in my life which have served as position fashions or mentors for me, I can’t think about any of the milestones I’ve completed with out good mentors. Whether or not that was being lucky sufficient to performed division one sports activities, which meant school, which finally meant profession. I don’t assume I ever would have finished these issues with out good mentors, by way of my mother or my coaches, who noticed one thing in me. They noticed potential after which actively did one thing about it.
Maggie: These phrases of encouragement actually keep on with you as a mentee. Even for those who’re not in a mentor/mentee relationship with any person, ensuring that we’re taking the time to encourage others round us is so essential.
Karen: I typically consider mentorship as any person who has gone by way of that door first, proper? You’re taking a look at somebody who did one thing, and also you’re saying, hey, I can do this. I believe the opposite a part of it’s these individuals, who not solely went by way of the door first, however they held it open for you. And I believe that’s actually essential too. The oldsters who truly stand there and invite you into the room or shepherd you thru the method. I believe that was what’s been essentially the most impactful for me. And I believe that’s a lesson that I’ve taken with me too, and I’ve hopefully tried to carry individuals with me as nicely.
Lea: Sarah, you talked about the Pay It Ahead idea. And that’s one thing that actually has all the time been the information when I’ve been a mentor. Early in my profession, I had a feminine mentor who gave me a few items of recommendation that I’ve actually latched on to and carried by way of to at the present time. So I actually tried to pay it ahead utilizing these three issues that have been imparted to me as a result of I really imagine in them.
- Develop your particular person voice and use it typically.
- Comply with your instincts.
- Take the calculated danger. Soar into these alternatives that you simply won’t in any other case contemplate as a result of it’s somewhat scary or in actual fact dangerous. However the payoff would possibly, in actual fact, be super. What I discovered is that while you take these calculated dangers, often you’ll speed up your profession in ways in which the secure path doesn’t all the time do.
How have you ever seen the tech business change for girls all through your profession? What can firms do to foster a extra inclusive atmosphere?
Deb: In the previous few years Liaison has added two ladies on the government stage and extra feminine vice presidents. At expertise: LIAISON in Anaheim this June, we’re doing a ladies’s panel for the primary time. Internally, that is the second time that we’ve finished a ladies’s panel right here too, so I believe Liaison is absolutely doing job at selling and supporting ladies in tech.
George Haddad: We actually should be extra intentional about mentorship if we will. We now have finished an important job of mentoring internally and empowering them to be what they wish to be. However we will nonetheless do extra.
Karen: Girls have been unduly impacted by COVID with juggling household tasks whereas working from house. There aren’t many good issues that got here out of the pandemic, however the accessibility it offered everybody to work from wherever they’re is likely one of the small silver linings.
Colleen (Chief Human Sources Officer & panel moderator): I believe we’ve additionally seen much more concentrate on getting our kids and younger women into STEM applications early, which is newer previously 10 years that I’ve seen, which has been nice.
Are you able to share any private experiences the place you’ve needed to overcome gender associated challenges within the office? What actionable recommendation would you want to provide your male colleagues that they will enact instantly?
Lea: I recall a shopper assembly with all males at first of my profession. The shopper lead shook everybody’s hand, however passed over me. Thankfully, my supervisor jumped in and mentioned, “That is Lea; you could have missed her introduction.” And that was such an impactful second for me, as a result of I noticed what he had finished there. He had taken a danger in entrance of everyone current and known as out the shopper lead, we have been attempting to shut the deal. And however he did that, as a result of he knew it was the precise factor to do. And it made me really feel comfy, it made me really feel extra supported. And really, that supervisor went on to grow to be one among my strongest leaders and mentors all through my profession. I believe the takeaway there may be, is simply that to, to step in, to say one thing to, to help, when it’s known as for.
Sarah: I’ve additionally had experiences the place I labored in my consulting profession. I labored for a campus, after which it got here time to current to the board. And one particular instance was somebody saying “you’ll be able to come current to the board, however we’d like you to carry your male colleague with you”. And I’m like, I can carry the male colleague, however he hasn’t finished any of the work. It’s all of the work I’ve finished. I carry this up extra as a means of recognizing that we do have a distinct expertise. It doesn’t occur in every single place. And it doesn’t occur on a regular basis. However it positively does occur. There’s nothing for our male colleagues to do besides to know that these things does nonetheless occur to us, and it shouldn’t.
Hayley: There’s a notion that I look youthful than numerous my male colleagues. I might say 99% of the time, everybody shakes the boys’s palms first. We had an occasion final 12 months and folks saved referring to the male colleagues as in the event that they have been in cost. However what I recognize in these eventualities is that folks have all the time been very fast to interject and say, truly no, that is my boss. I believe by ensuring that you’re advocating on your feminine colleagues when these sorts of feedback occur, particularly when a male colleague can do this instantly for you, it implies that I don’t need to be on the defensive.
Karen: And one of many different issues is much less what different individuals can do, and possibly what we will do for ourselves and that’s proudly owning the house that you’ve got while you’re in an atmosphere, proper? When in a gaggle of individuals, I attempt to be sure that I’m occupying house that I’m not you recognize, making myself small. In case you go searching at everyone else within the room, the boys within the room occupy as a lot house as they will, they really feel they personal the house. And I’m like “Yeah, that’s me too. I personal this house as nicely!”
Have you ever ever been in conditions the place a feminine colleague handled you poorly and the way have you ever handled that?
Hayley: I’ve all the time discovered that when battle has occurred from girl to girl, it has been as a result of there was a protracted historical past of that particular person not feeling heard, they usually had to do this their complete profession. And I believe generally we overlook that we’re we’re not competing, proper? Sooner or later, each accomplishment shouldn’t really feel such as you’re breaking by way of a glass ceiling. I really imagine the intention behind it has by no means been as a result of they wish to put the opposite girl down. I believe it’s as a result of generally you’re simply so used to coming in along with your fists raised to get your level throughout. However you nearly forgot that possibly you don’t need to put on these boxing gloves as we speak; possibly I can simply come to the desk.
Karen: Colleen mentioned at first about how ladies couldn’t apply for a bank card till 1974, nor might she get a mortgage. My mother and I talked about how ladies can be fired once they have been pregnant…which wasn’t too, too way back. Although these items might haven’t occurred to us, it’s type of in our DNA to all the time maintain combating the disparities.
Colleen: Karen, you mentioned one thing earlier about your mother, and it made me consider ladies supporting ladies. I grew up in a fairly conventional family and I didn’t have numerous females and my household is usually male cousins. My mother all the time anticipated me at any occasion or household gathering; on the finish of the night, I used to be purported to be the one to stand up and assist clear the dishes and clear the tables and all of that. And numerous us do it as a result of we have been introduced up that means.
Thanks to our panel on your candid participation and thank YOU for celebrating Girls’s Historical past Month with us!
