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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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:

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."

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.