I’m so thrilled to hear of Doreen being recognized as a 2008 Washingtonian of the Year!  This is so well-deserved.

I recall first meeting Doreen in an early round of the Rainmakers Giving Circle, and was so impressed by how thoughtful and engaged she was in the circle’s work, which was fairly demanding, time-wise.  Knowing how complicated her schedule was, her example motivated me to strengthen my commitment to The Women’s Foundation.

If she could make that meeting downtown, I had better get there!

Through the years, it has been delightful to witness her effect on others as well.

I remember how moved I was to see Grantee Partners beaming as they had picture after picture taken with her at a house event.

At a Washington 100 breakfast at her home, a Grantee Partner told our group how, after meeting Doreen at a previous event, she stopped watching her regular Spanish newscast and started watching Doreen’s. Not only did her English improve, but now her sons also watch Doreen.

And just last month at the board meeting, Covenant House’s Executive Director, Judith Dobbins, broke out with a huge smile as she recognized Doreen during our otherwise routine, round-the-table introductions.  We all had to laugh.

Because of Doreen’s personal graciousness and the respect she garners throughout our region, The Women’s Foundation’s good work is amplified every time she represents us.

But Doreen also has a tremendous fun side that I’ve had the pleasure to get to know as we’ve worked together as co-chairs of Washington 100.  Given how organized and poised she is, you probably would be surprised that half the time I feel like we’re Lucy and Ethel.  We spend a lot of time laughing, just scrambling to keep up and improvise with our latest version of a "plan", which is often a work in progress.

Thank goodness Doreen is a rare combination of extremely dependable and organized, mixed with go-with-the-flow and a really wry sense of humor.

I’m so proud of her earning this prestigious award.

Doreen, you make us all proud!  Congrats on this dazzling accomplishment.

Barb Strom Thompson is co-chair of The Women’s Foundation’s Washington 100 network and a board member. In her professional life, she is a child development specialist.

It is just like Doreen to accept an honor as huge as being named Washingtonian of the Year by turning the attention back to The Women’s Foundation and the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo—two community efforts she supports tirelessly.

But that’s exactly what she did Monday night on the news when her co-anchor, Jim Vance, proudly announced her award. Doreen’s response was about how pleased she was that the award brought attention to Washington Area Women’s Foundation and the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo.

Having worked with Doreen, who serves on our board of directors, I echo Jim’s statements about Doreen’s commitment and efforts in our community.  She has been a tremendous force in fostering The Women’s Foundation’s success, serving first as part of our Rainmakers Giving Circle, and then as a board member and co-chair of our philanthropic leadership network, Washington 100. She also brings an amazing presence and energy to our Leadership Luncheon, which she graciously emcees every year.

As just one example of Doreen’s commitment, she—along with her co-chair, Barb Strom Thompson—helped solidify Washington 100 by recruiting more than 100 founding members to kick off the network in 2007. Many of the current members will say that they were impressed and inspired to join and to remain part of the network by Doreen’s outstanding positive energy and dedication to our work.

In addition to her tremendous talents as a communicator and her knowledge of our community, Doreen brings humility, humor, grace and passion to everything she does, and I know that I speak for everyone in The Women’s Foundation’s community who has had the opportunity to meet or work with her that we are very fortunate to have her involved in our work and mission.

Doreen, here at The Women’s Foundation, we are tremendously proud of you and are thrilled to see your contributions to our region acknowledged by this award.  Thank you for your continuing service to help improve the lives of our region’s women and girls.

Congrats Doreen, and to all the other 2008 Washingtonians of the Year. We’re grateful for the work you do to make our community a better place to live and work.

Read the article on Doreen’s award here.

Phyllis Caldwell is president of The Women’s Foundation and a member of Washington 100.

Last Friday, several District of Columbia students, myself included, filed onto the 8th floor of the Watergate building.  We were all interns with The Urban Alliance Foundation, and were there to get professional help from newspaper editors, lawyers, and other successful people, including my mentor Lisa Kays, on our college essays.

It is routine and mandatory that each Friday afternoon all interns attend a workshop class.  During this time, we are informed of events, discuss events that have happened during the work week, and are educated about key things to know when working in a professional environment and also that you will need throughout life–such as professional attire, how to use technology and managing money and bank accounts.

Since interns are seniors in high school, we have also been focusing a lot on college and making plans, setting goals and working to reach those goals.  We have been discussing applications and different scholarships that are available for us to receive.  Over the last few weeks, we have been drafting our college essay.

The dreadful college essay that most of us fear.  The one thing that is going to set you aside from hundreds of thousands of other applicants applying to the same school.

There have been several editors and writers who have come in and talked to the classes as a whole about writing our essays.  But on Friday, everyone received that one-on-one attention that they needed. 

We were paired up with a professional and then sat in a quiet area where we could focus and really think.

It was very helpful to get this sort of help. Little things that you might not catch, another person will, and it is those little things that can make a writing piece excellent. 

It was a very successful event.  No one was rude or judgmental towards anyone’s writing.  They were only helpful in as many ways possible.

In the end, every last intern walked away with a sense of confidence that they can write an excellent essay, and that it is going to get them into the college of their choosing.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance–a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  When she graduates from high school this year, she hopes to go to college and eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.

In an election guide released this week by the DC Women’s Agenda, DC Council candidates were challenged to find solutions to staggering issues confronting women and girls in DC, including the facts that 12% of DC women lack health insurance; 25,000 individuals, primarily women, are on the DC Housing Authority wait list for affordable housing; and, 9% of babies born with HIV/AIDS nationwide come from DC.

In response to a proposed policy that would support the adjustment to inflation each year for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (currently at 19% of the federal poverty line), the At-Large candidates offered different point of views. Councilmember Kwame Brown said he would “consider supporting this option but would like to have more information…to ensure that this is the best option to improve the quality of life for our local parents and children,” and Candidate Patrick Mara said he “would need to assess the implications of such a policy change in light of the present budget situation.” Councilmember Carol Schwartz said she “favored adjusting the amounts of TANF benefits to account for inflation” and Candidate David Schwartzman said “a cost of living adjustment every year for TANF benefits is absolutely necessary.”

This issue is especially important when you consider that for a family of three, to meet their basic living expenses, they must pay $4,386 per month, according to Wider Opportunities for Women. Even with a variety of public benefits, including food stamps in the amount of $426 per month, Child Care and Development Fund Subsidy and Medicaid, families’ expenses are more than they can afford with the TANF benefit of only $427 a month.

The 2008 Election Guide/ Issues Affecting Women and Girls details candidates’ responses to questions related to women’s issues in the upcoming election and is designed to help voters understand candidates’ positions on issues related to health care, housing/homelessness, wages, benefits and economic self-sufficiency, teens and child care. The D.C. Women’s Agenda calls for candidates to focus on the issues facing women and girls and encourages D.C. residents to expect the same of the candidates – both now and after the elections in the fall.

Debbie Billet-Roumell is the coordinator of the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation that is a coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, and individuals working to promote the advancement of equality, safety and well-being for women and girls in the District. It is chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women.

The Election Guide is available online or by requesting a hard copy at DBRoumell@wowonline.org.

After taking a few weeks off this summer, I’ve returned to The Women’s Foundation re-energized and excited about the coming months.

Having the time away also gave me time to think about the power of inspiring people to change the course of our lives and work by changing our perceptions of what is possible. I started thinking about this as I prepared my blog on one of my personal heroes and role models, Madame C.J. Walker, and the last few weeks have continued to lead me down this trail of thought.

Particularly my experience at Girl Scout Camp CEO, where I joined other women executives at to spend time with young women leaders in high school talking about the skills and qualities that lead to success and leadership in the corporate world—and life in general.

Spending a hot summer day roughing it with these bright, energetic young women, and sharing my experience as a woman in business and now as the leader of a nonprofit, reminded me of the importance of the mentors that had made a difference for me—that had inspired me to think of my potential in terms far greater than I might have imagined on my own.

As I worked on badges and sang camp fire songs with these young women, I was inspired by their confidence, their intelligence, and their proud sense of all they could do in this world. Of their sense of unlimited potential, and of their determination to unlock it in themselves, and in each other.

I couldn’t help but wonder who their role models were, and what messages were helping them develop this broad sense of who they could be?

Was it the impact of seeing Hillary Clinton run for president, or knowing that Nancy Pelosi was the first female speaker of the House that had to do with their bold ambitions? Was it seeing Michelle Obama’s successful career, poise and leadership as the potential first African American First Lady?  How much of their optimism was driven by their mothers, their sisters, their teachers, their Girl Scout leaders?

But as the week wore on, and many of the young women were far more able to identify and discuss a contestant on American Idol than Nancy Pelosi, it struck me that their hard-won sense of place in the world had emerged through a far more complicated set of messages than I could have ever imagined—even with two daughters of my own.

For their role models seemed to be the contestants on the reality shows they followed enthusiastically, which showed them that fame and fortune could happen overnight. And the movie and television personalities—from Beyonce to Angela Jolie — who made it look effortless to achieve lifestyles of incredible wealth and fame, and stunning good looks.

These figures were such a far cry from the hard working, disciplined, bright, serious women before me with expectations of success in a diverse array of careers that I couldn’t help but wonder where the balancing messages came from.

Were there real life examples of success of political, academic or medical leaders that touched them?  Who are the voices that have been able to cut through the many messages that tell young women that their worth is their appearance, their ability to fit in, the size and shape of their bodies?  Who have been the examples that have, like Siobhan reminded us earlier this month, shown them that a woman is evaluated for her mind far more than her looks, for her mental strength more than the numbers on scale?

This led me back to thinking about last year’s Leadership Luncheon, and the power of the stories shared by Laceiy and Sharan, about how they overcame harsh obstacles to utterly transform the course of their lives—about how they were shown the power of their potential and found the strength to unlock it.

Even when it seemed someone had not only hidden the key, but thrown it away.

And this is the power behind inspiration, I realized.  And why the voices of those close to the young women at Camp CEO–the voices of their personal mentors and role models—are able to get through to them, cutting though the chatter of easy success and glamour that is thrown at them every day from every angle.

And why Laceiy and Sharan had found the strength to change their lives.

Not because someone on TV told them to. Or because a movie inspired them. Or because they saw someone do it on Project Runway.

But because real people shared their stories—their defeats, their challenges, and their obstacles—and how they overcame them.

And in so doing held up a mirror that showed not only what was, but what could be.

And that is why I’m so re-energized and thrilled to be back at The Women’s Foundation and the work we do here. Because our work is precisely that—to hold up that mirror for women and girls throughout our region.

And to ourselves.

For by coming together, and giving together, we are able to see that our collective potential to change lives—and our community—is unlimited.

And that’s what is so exciting for me about the Leadership Luncheon.  Because giving together is at the heart of our work every day, all the time, but the luncheon is the opportunity to see it, to feel it, and to experience it all at once, in one room, at one time.  To truly understand the power of real people to come together to show one another—whether a CEO at a high-powered corporation or a woman on the journey to change her life—that, acting together, we can do anything.

That’s a true power lunch.

Phyllis Caldwell is president of The Women’s Foundation.

I didn’t do it because I had the perfect body.

I did it because I didn’t.

I was just recovering from the birth of my second child, and needed to shake a bit of baby fat, in fact.

And, after 10 years of caring for my mom, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and becoming a mom myself, I needed to turn my attention back to taking care of myself a bit.

So when my girlfriend told me that she was entering the Mrs. Maryland pageant, instead of putting it off in hopes for a better time, or a better body, I decided to enter with her.

Life was short, I had realized as I cared for my ailing mother. Entering a pageant was on the bucket list I’d created for myself when she became ill.

In December 2007, when I officially decided to enter and prepare for the pageant, I had crossed off a few things on the list. I had run a marathon and earned a master’s degree.

Both were challenging. But neither involved a swimsuit competition.

I knew that this experience would push me further beyond my comfort zone than I ever had been.

So, I didn’t do it because I had the perfect body, or because I was dying to parade around on stage in a swimsuit.

I did it because I didn’t, and I wasn’t.

And because I wanted my daughter to see that when there are challenges, when you have to go outside your comfort zone, when you aren’t sure, that you can still take on anything you want, and succeed.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved watching the Miss America pageants on television, but it had never occurred to me that I could be in one.

Much less win one.

But on June 25, 2008, I did.

And while the crown is nice, I have been more struck by the process itself. Of learning about and testing my limits as I got back into shape and prepared for the various aspects of the pageant, including the interview.

It was through the interviews—which counted as half of our score—that I learned the amazing stories of my fellow contestants. About their careers as engineers, their PhDs, about their extensive community service.

About my fellow contestant who immigrated to this country 15 years ago, and has worked for seven days a week at her own business since then to create a future for her children. This year, her daughter graduated from the University of Maryland.

And every woman I met through the pageant had an inspiring story like this, of how she is impacting her family, her community and her own individual self-confidence.

And that is where the true beauty in the Mrs. Maryland pageant lies for me.

Because each of us was uncomfortable with the swimsuit competition and with being on stage, but we did it anyway.  Because of our sense of what we had to offer, as women, beyond what we looked like, beyond what everyone might see on the outside every day.

And yes, I enjoy wearing the crown. It has great meaning and significance for me.

But what I most treasure about it is the opportunity I have while I have the honor of wearing it to serve as a role model for other girls and women.

And what I hope I am able to convey to each of them is a concept I heard in a Tiger Woods commercial, where his father says to him, "I promise you that you’ll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life.”

Because I believe that the strongest gift we can give to each other as women, and pass along to our daughters, is the idea that the greatest goal is mental strength, and that each of us possesses it. That if you can dream it, you can make it happen.

At 37, I never thought it possible that I would be wearing a crown that I didn’t buy for myself.

And having the honor of wearing this one reminds me every day that its beauty has far more to do with the pretty face it frames, and actually represents the whole of the mind, spirit and strength that it surrounds.

Siobhan Davenport is a member of The Women’s Foundation’s board of directors and is the reigning 2008 Mrs. Maryland. She will compete in the national Mrs. America pageant in September. Siobhan’s platform and philanthropic interests include support for Alzheimer’s treatment and research, and increasing awareness of and support for early child care and education. She is an investor in The Women’s Foundation’s Early Child Care and Education Collaborative.

A few weeks ago, Phyllis blogged about being a guest editor on Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty site.

And now, her post is live.  "From Orphan to Millionaire: The story of an amazing woman," discusses a woman who has been a source of inspiration to Phyllis, both for her business saavy and her philanthropy. 

"Based on what I know about Madame Walker, I assume that her products would fit into the former category. Because her life tells the story of a woman who didn’t necessarily seek to enrich herself, but to enrich every woman around her.   This is how good business, in the truest sense of the word “good,” is conducted. Not with only a profit motive, but with a people motive," Phyllis writes.

Read the full column.

The Women’s Foundation is proud to report that four staff members of Grantee Partners have been selected for the 2008-2009 class of Future Executive Directors sponsored by the Nonprofit Roundtable.

We congratulate each of the leaders selected for this year’s class (and noted that 20 of the 24 are women!).  And we extend a special salute to the following staff members of Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation:

• Jenny Friedman, Director of Development at CASA de Maryland;
• Karen Minatelli, Deputy Director at DC Employment Justice Center;
• Donna Ortega, Associate Director at Capital Area Asset Builders; and,
• Jennifer Shewmake, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Grants Manager at the Latin American Youth Center.

This is the first class of fellows in this program, and The Women’s Foundation salutes these women not only as examples of women’s leadership in our community, but as trailblazers in this new and exciting initiative of the Nonprofit Roundtable as it works to build the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector through leadership development.

Congratulations and good luck to each of this year’s fellows! 

Philanthropist Laurie Emrich, a "woman moving millions," and a founding board member and supporter of The Women’s Foundation, as well as many international women’s funds, describes how her journey from Denver to Africa to Washington, D.C. was an intellectual, spiritual and emotional one leading to her commitment to give back to her community and to "participate in the long-term building of an inclusive, community-based, multi-racial movement for justice."

Read more about Laurie’s journey to social justice and philanthropy in her own words here.

Laurie explains in her piece that she derives inspiration from the words of 1960s rhythm and blues singer-songwriter Wilson Pickett: "Ya gotta shake whatcha brought whicha."

Laurie’s story is one of transforming the gifts and abundance she has received into a true spirit and lifetime of giving back. 

She inspires us all to consider what we all "brought whicha," and how we can use it–whatever our gifts–to better our communities and the world.

Today, I had the pleasure of joining Phyllis, our president, and our new philanthropic education officer, Nicole, at the Prince George’s County Fire Department’s "Hour of Power." 

The staff around The Women’s Foundation know that I’m a big advocate of the "civilized lunch," where you actually leave your desk and talk to other human beings. 

The women of the Prince George’s County Fire Department are taking that idea a lot further–gathering for "Hour of Power" lunches to get to know one other, take time out for their goals, dreams and wishes and to foster their own sense of empowerment through each other.

Now that’s a civilized, if not inspiring, awesome idea.

And if that’s not inspiring enough, their theme for this year is "Vision to Victory." 

Phyllis was asked to come in as the guest speaker and to lead today’s lunch.  She started off with the videos and stories of Lacey Paey and Sharan Mitchell–and their personal stories of vision to victory. 

Then the discussion moved to the power of women to support their families and communities, and the many ways that they give back, often without realizing the extent of their impact. 

Invariably, in a room full of dynamic, powerful women like those that we met today, the conversation eventually turned to The Power of Giving Together, and how women, working together, can accomplish so much.  

When asked what this group might like to do, together, what issues they saw in their community that they wanted to see changed, it was clear that many were already playing an active role in programs and interventions to help build the self-esteem of young women or in supporting individuals who needed information or resources to move into better careers.

Power indeed.

By the end of the hour, as we made our way out to head back to the office, we walked through groups of excited chatter about ways to get involved, ways to do more, ways to work together to positively impact their community.

In summing up, Lieutenant Colonel Carla Blue, who convened the Hour of Power, offered a great statement that embodies what we refer to as The Power of Giving Together.

"A little bit with so many can add up to so much," she said, concluding a very empowering hour, indeed.