6500 GIRLS AND BUDDIES ARE SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GIRLS ON THE RUN REINDEER ROMP 5 K on DEC. 5

Cheers to Catherine Keitley, executive director of Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia! Tomorrow, rain or shine — or impending snow, according to the National Weather Service — more than 6500 girls in grades 3 to 8 are scheduled to turn out for this Saturday’s 5K Reindeer Romp Fun Run at the Reston Town Center starting at 8:30 a.m.

“We were blown away by the response and support we have gotten for this event and sold out so fast that we actually had to turn some runners away,” explains Keightley. “I believe that is simply a testimony to the power of this program.”

In fact, more than 3000 girls in nearly 180 schools from all over Northern Virginia have participated for the last 10 weeks in our Girls on the Run program to empower girls with a greater sense of self-awareness, self esteem and healthy living through the power of running.

“This run is the culmination and celebration of their efforts, and pairs the girls with a buddy runner to help them achieve their goals,” Keightley adds.

Sponsors of the event include Argon ST (http://www.argonst.com), Fitness Together (www.FTCustomFitness.com), PTR Group, Potomac River Running, and the Reston Town Center.

For more information about the run, contact Catherine at (703) 405 5727, and visit www.girlsontherunofnova.org.

STEPHANIE COHEN NAMED 2010 SMART100 CEO

Stephanie Cohen, CEO of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen, was named one of SmartCEO Magazine’s 2010 Smart100 CEOs this week.

“After another competitive year of nominations, the selection committee has chosen Stephanie Cohen to join an elite group of 100 of Greater Washington’s leading CEOs and their organizations,” announced SmartCEO magazine’s Makenna Coyne on December 1. “Combined, this group employs more than 150,000 people, boasts revenues in excess of $9 billion, and has won almost 1,500 business awards. In addition, the group shares a philanthropic spirit by donating time, energy and money to local Washington area charities.”

Each winning company reported revenue in excess of $5 million annually and was selected based on the CEO’s leadership, strategic vision and character, said Coyne noting that Cohen was an obvious choice to be part of the 2010 list due to her initiative to organize and host last year’s DC Health Summit (www.dchealthsummit.com), her charitable work with the ALS Association’s DC/MD/VA Chapter (which helps empower people with Lou Gehrig’s disease), and other nonprofit organizations, and her sheer determination to fight for her client’s rights.

“I am incredibly excited to be acknowledged for the work that I do on behalf of my clients,” says Cohen, who with her husband and business partner Scott Golden has run her firm since 1992. “I have a passion for this work, and truly want to make a difference. I know I can't change the world, but I can do my part in improving things by helping one person at a time.”

Founded in 1992, Golden & Cohen provides health insurance benefit services to more than 1500 clients. Based in Gaithersburg, MD, the company generated $70 million in annual sales last year and currently has 15 employees. As the CEO and co-founder of the firm, Stephanie Cohen has more than two decades of experience in small group health insurance, disability programs and life insurance. She recently was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and annually serves on the prestigious United HealthCare, Coventry, Aetna and Kaiser Broker Council. She is also a member of the Women Presidents' Organization, the District of Colombia Insurance Commissioner Advisory Council, and The Greater Washington Health Underwriters. For more information visit www.golden-cohen.com.

Listen to Stephanie Cohen live Dec. 12 on Executive Leadership Radio

To hear Stephanie Cohen talk about her leadership style and how she and her husband / business partner Scott Golden have built their company into one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the DC Metro region, tune in on Saturday, Dec. 12 to WHFS 1580 AM. The show will air from 10-11 a.m. Or, log onto www.bigtalker1580.com.

Elan magazine features Laura Lee Designs

How did Harvard-educated California girl Laura Lee Williams beaded a path from a Fortune 500 exec to the head of her own successful handbag business? In an article for elan magazine, reporter Hope Gibbs explains.

elan magazine
August 2009

Beautiful beads from Tokyo—more than 30,000 of them—grace the most elaborate offering by Laura Lee Designs, a handbag firm founded in 2005 by California native Laura Lee Williams.

Other designs—such as her trademark M bag—feature fewer beads, but the focus here is on the three-inch wrap of Australian snakeskin in the middle.

“The white version is perfect for weddings, and pink version is a personal favorite because we contribute a portion of the proceeds from each purchase to Breast Cancer Research,” says the soft-spoken brunette, who shares the tale of how she got started in the handbag business as she sips chamomile tea at a café not far from her current base of operations in Vienna, VA.

As it turns out, the California native never planned to become an entrepreneur. She didn’t plan to go into the family business either—her father and siblings all work in the TV and movie industry. Instead, Laura Lee graduated with a degree in economics from UCLA, a master’s degree in international studies from Harvard University, and spent most of her career working on strategic initiatives and marketing programs for Fortune 500 firms such as Nike, American Express, and Apple Computer.

But when she accepted a job as VP of global business with Hong Kong’s Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) in 1999, her time spent in China inspired her to look at the world in a new way.

“I helped PCCW transform itself from an old guard telecom company into an organization that provided Wi-Fi in airports, developed call centers and established broadband services,” she explains. “In doing so, I worked closely with Chinese executives and watched as they planned strategies that took a long-term view of business. It was a very different approach from what I experienced earlier in my career when I worked for U.S. executives. Too often, we Americans focus only on short-term profits and as a result, some very good ideas never got the chance to take root.”

However, Laura Lee says American firms also tend to be more entrepreneurial and innovative than many Chinese organizations. So in early 2003, she decided to meld the best of both cultures into a company of her own. Her mission: To manufacture elegant hand-beaded handbags and sell them to a sophisticated clientele in the U.S. and abroad.

Laura Lee’s timing was good. Although sales of pocketbooks dropped by an average of 4 percent a year in 1996, the total value of imports of women's handbags or purses recently hit $1 billion, according to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Industries.

“This growth in handbag sales is put down to women regarding handbags as essential, having more than one, coordinating them with outfits as fashion accessories and choosing different sizes or styles to suit the occasion,” says Glyn Barlow, director of the online store Fashion Shop UK.

Growth may also be attributed to an increase in supply, for more handbag manufacturers are outsourcing large portions of the production cycle to factories in developing countries such as China. Not only is labor dramatically less expensive abroad—but also Asian workers pride themselves on paying attention to detail and turning out high-quality products.

Laura Lee witnessed this firsthand when, in 2003, execs at Polo Ralph Lauren’s Hong Kong office hired her away from PCCW to help them with strategic initiatives. She watched, listened and learned—and on her off time amass traveled far and wide to find suppliers for her own line of pocketbooks.

In addition to the high-end beads she found in Tokyo, she discovered an Australia supplier for the snakeskin in Sydney. In her travels, she also located crystals, appliqués, and clasps to complete the look of the elegant creation.

Laura Lee’s connections at Ralph Lauren, as well as a family friend, led her to Timbacc International—a seven-factory operation based in Xien-Du, which
produces a variety of beaded products including evening gowns for Yves
St. Laurent.

“It was harder than I thought it would be to find a factory that would produce my bags,” she admits. “Although the Chinese are trying to be more modern, it is still a very traditional, male-dominated society. At the factories owned by men, no one would even return my calls. But a husband and wife team owns Timbacc, and the wife really runs the show.

Laura Lee had seamstresses there make enough bags to fill orders for about a year. By the fall of 2005, she was ready to peddle her purses. That December, she moved back to the U.S. so she could focus on getting her handbags into tony U.S. stores. Her first stop: Henri Bendel’s in New York City. As luck would have it the buyer was Foster Chang, a man of Asian decent. “He not only liked the quality and design of my bags, but appreciated that they were manufactured in China,” Laura Lee explains.

Chang set up a trunk show for her the week before Christmas, and Laura Lee sold two-dozen bags. It gave her the confidence to knock on more department store doors and today Laura Lee Designs—which range from $250 to $700—are sold internationally in Spain, Australia and the U.K. Nationally, they can be found at Bloomingdale’s, Fred Segal, the Ritz-Carlton gift shops, and tony boutiques from Los Angeles to Miami including Terri & Kate Clothier in Great Falls.

“I constantly have people telling me I need to meet someone who creates something special,” says Terri Parent, owner of Terri & Kate Clothier. “The work doesn’t always hold up to the praise—but that wasn’t the case with Laura Lee’s handbags. They are works of art. It’s the perfect accessory for a black suit or elegant evening down. You carry it, walk into a room—and you just stand out.”

That’s exactly what designers in Hollywood thought when they saw a sample of the bags. In fact, in a 2006 episode of Desperate Housewives, actress Eva Longoria’s character Gabrielle Solis carried a Laura Lee handbag—and the show’s costume designers made an outfit to match.

Soon after, organizers of the March 2007 Oscar Wilde pre-Oscar party called Laura Lee to order six of her purses to auction off to celebrities, and invited Williams to the gala.

“Now that was amazing,” admits Laura Lee. “I realize my bags aren’t for everyone, but the women who buy them are confident, and pride themselves on being fashionable, original, and making a statement. I like that in a woman, and want to encourage more ladies to stand out in a crowd and be recognized.”

For more information,visit www.lauraleedesigns.com.

SAVE THE DATE: Dec. 2 — Robin Strongin hosts event, "EMPOWERING WOMEN WILL IMPROVE HEALTH CARE IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD"

SAVE THE DATE
When: Wednesday, December 2
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 3rd Floor Gallery, 1250 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC
Register: Send an email to rstrongin@amplifypublicaffairs.net

How do we improve health care in the developing world? We start by improving the economic opportunities for women, says advisor to the chief economist of the World Bank, Dr. Maureen Lewis. Lewis will speak at a special networking event on Dec. 2 from 6-8 p.m. in Washington, DC, hosted by Robin Strongin, creator of the popular health care blog Disruptive Women in Health Care www.disruptivewomen.net. Other sponsors include Strongin’s public affairs firm, Amplify Public Affairs (www.amplifypublicaffairs.net), Strategic Health Policy International, Medco, Global Health Strategies, Creative Women and VirtuArte.

“It is gratifying to see how Disruptive Women has grown as a community, moving from words on a blog to global action. I am thrilled that this event and our bloggers have generated world-wide interest,” Strongin says. “We have created a place that takes the passion we have for health care and policy and merges it with solutions.”

This Disruptive Women in Health Care holiday reception will serve as the kick-off event for a series of blog posts by Disruptive Women and guest bloggers highlighting the connections between economic empowerment, the arts and improved health in the developing world.

“The Dec. 2 event is also the official launch for a series of blog posts that analyze the relationship between putting economic power in the hands of women — in the U.S. and abroad,” Strongin adds. “I am eager to hear the advice and ideas that Dr. Lewis will share with the impressive group that will be gathered. My belief is that when women put their heads together, great things happen.”

ABOUT DISRUPTIVE WOMEN IN HEALTHECARE

The mission of www.disruptivewomen.net is to serve as a platform for provocative ideas, thoughts, and solutions in the health sphere. We recognize that to accomplish this, we need to call on experts outside of the health industry. The founding Disruptive Women have audacious hopes for our blog. We’re not managing change, we’re not thriving on chaos — we’re not waiting for cures. We’re driving change, we’re creating chaos, and we’re finding cures. In a nutshell: We’re disrupting the status quo in the health machine. Our goal is to become the “go to” health care blog -- one that is recognized as a Petri dish for fresh ideas and bold solutions. Won’t you join us?

ABOUT ROBIN STRONGIN

Robin Strongin is the creator of the Disruptive Women in Health Care Blog (www.disruptivewomen.net) and the president and CEO of Amplify Public Affairs (www.amplifypublicaffairs.net). She is an accomplished public affairs expert with more than 25 years of experience working in Washington, DC. Robin serves on the Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Capitol Chapter and is a member of the Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation. She works with and for Federal and state governments, regulatory agencies, Congress, think tanks, nonprofit organizations, corporations, coalitions and trade associations.

Ampify Public Affairs is the next generation in public affairs, leading the way in the integration of new media and traditional communications strategies. With unequalled expertise in aligning allies, connecting voices, and promoting action, Amplify serves as a relationship builder, creating and sustaining win-win collaborations to move issues forward and influence targeted audiences. Through the blending of innovative communication technologies, credible coalition building, grassroots and top-tiered public affairs expertise, Amplify leverages connections to achieve targeted objectives in the public, private, and political arena.

NTSB Chairman Warns 'First Impessions Can Be Wrong'

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Debbie Hersman criticized the way some members of the press cover the aviation and transportation accidents at a National Press Club luncheon held on Nov. 16.

“We understand the need to solve the puzzle in the early hours of an accident, and we know your editors and producers want you to be the first to get the ‘cause’ of the accident, but what is the cost to your credibility if you are the first to get the cause wrong? We have learned from experience that first impressions can be wrong,” she said.

Hersman pointed to some of the less-than-savvy questions NTSB officials have received while on scene, including, “Who makes 747s besides Boeing?” “What kinds of planes make those white lines in the sky?” and “Who was steering the train?”

She said she understands that in today’s tough journalistic climate, “we don’t have the luxury of having only transportation experts cover our work. These reporters are very good surrogates for the public who, although they rely on our transportation system every day, often have a limited understanding of how it operates and how safe it is.”

The question, Hersman asked, is how do we provide important accident information responsibly?

“ As you know, the NTSB has been investigating major transportation accidents for more than 42 years, and in that time we’ve held thousands of press briefings near the accident scenes,” said Hersman, who joined NTSB in June 2004 and took over as its chairman in July 2009.

“I appreciate this opportunity to meet with journalists outside the atmosphere of a major transportation accident … I am often asked about how I feel about working with the press. I have to say, in the beginning, it was quite intimidating to stand in front of a bank of 20 microphones in a room full of cameras with reporters firing questions at me. “

She said that after accompanying NTSB teams to 17 major accidents in the last 5 years — ranging from the collision of two Washington Metro trains at Woodley Park Station in September, the mid-air collision involving a sightseeing helicopter and single engine plane over the Hudson River that killed 9 people in August — she said she had the opportunity to see her staff and the press corps in action.

“Of course all of our beat reporters are top notch, but occasionally we encounter reporters at the accident scene who don’t routinely cover transportation issues and have the – how shall I say it – don’t have a full grasp of the subject matter.

“Even in this changing environment, when you are being asked to re-invent yourselves on a regular basis, I hope you continue to achieve the professional satisfaction you sought when you became a reporter.”

Kati Marton to speak in DC on Oct. 22 about her new book, "Enemies of the People"

“You are opening a Pandora’s box,” author Kati Marton was warned when she began the research for her new book, Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America.

The Hungarian-born writer paid little attention and dove headfirst into the files of the Hungarian Secret Police (known as the AVO). There, she found the fascinating and sometimes excruciating details of the controversial careers of her parents — Endre and Illona Marton — two journalists who during the 1950s wrote hundreds of articles for the U.S.-based Associated Press and United Press about what was going on behind the Iron Curtain.

Now an accomplished journalist herself, Marton felt compelled to understand the intricacies and courage of her parents who were enmeshed in a nail-biting game of cat and mouse with the AVO. In fact, close friends-turned-informers relayed the Martons’ every move to the Secret Police who were determined to arrest them. The Marton’s only made it worse by spurring easy friendships within the American legation, which afforded them an affluent lifestyle and consequently allied them with the “enemy” in the minds of the AVO.

This eventually led to their imprisonment for six years for charges of espionage.

“All my life, my parents’ defiance of the Communists, their stubborn courage as the last independent journalists until their arrest, trial and conviction as CIA spies, has been at the core of our family identity,” Marton writes in the introduction of her book. “On Feb. 25, 1955, at two in the morning, following a game of bridge at the home of the U.S. military attaché, my father was abducted by six agents of the AVO (the Hungarian Secret Police). His arrest was front-page news in The New York Times. Four months later, they came for my mother.”

Before moving to America, Marton and her sister Juli were sent to live with a Hungarian family named Hellei. “Everything about them made me long for my parents and our old life,” Marton shares.

Indeed, this poignant memoire is at once a history lesson of the Cold War, and a love letter to the people who shaped her life.

“No one played a bigger role in my life than my father, who was so sparing with praise,” Marton writes toward the end of the book. “I think I even chose my life partners with him in mind. In 1977, when I was hired as an ABC News foreign correspondent, Papa told me to observe and learn from Peter Jennings. ‘Now there is a man who has all the important qualities: intelligence, a sense of the world, great good looks — a man, Kati, who has it all.’

"So, I recall thinking at the time that this is the sort of man he would like as his son-in-law. Until the end of his life, though we had divorced, he considered Peter, the father of his grandchildren, as a son-in-law. And vice versa. After I married [Ambassador] Richard Holbrooke, then an assistant secretary of state, Richard and Papa would sit for hours reminiscing.”

In the epilogue, Marton admits she would not have written this book if her parents were still alive. “Most deaths bring both grief and relief. With my parents’ deaths the taboo of the past was lifted.”

Gail McGovern: Leading the Red Cross through turbulent times [National Press Club

When Gail McGovern took over as president of the Red Cross last year, the former AT&T vp had no idea she’s have to deal with the aftermath of eight hurricanes and tropic storms, a record tornado season, and the worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years.

She did know that she was inheriting a $209 million operating deficit, a mandate from the Board of Governors to eliminate it within two years, and that she was the 10th person to take the helm of the PR-challenged agency in the last decade, she told the crowd packed into the McClendon room at today’s Club luncheon.

And the Harvard marketing professor — who since 1998 has twice been named one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Corporate America” by Fortune magazine — said she isn’t complaining. “I pinch myself every day because I feel so fortunate to serve in this remarkable [128-year-old] institution.”

In fact, McGovern credits the downturn in the economy for giving many non-profits, especially her own, the impetus to make “needed and sometimes overdue changes. “

She suggested five ways that non-profits can successfully navigate these turbulent times.

1. Have a monomaniacal focus on your mission and on the people you serve. “As leaders of non-profits we must make every single decision through the lens of our respective missions,” McGovern explained. “The country depends on us to do so. We need to look at everything we do and every dime we spend, and eliminate all extraneous activities that don’t support the people we serve.”

2. We must be even better stewards of our donors’ dollars. “This has been one of my main areas of focus,” she shared, noting the organization recently laid off 1000 employees and 350 in the field of their total staff of 33,000 employees, 722 local chapters, 36 blood services regions and more than 500,000 volunteers. That, along with other cutbacks, has enabled McGovern to cut the organization’s deficit by 75% — to $50 million.

3. Nonprofits have to find new ways to raise money and engage donors. McGovern said she’s managed to master this, for in September 2008, in the heart of hurricane season; she launched a $100 million fundraising campaign to replenish the Red Cross’ depleted disaster relief fund. She surpassed that goal within nine months.

4. Embrace new tools. McGovern admitted this is critical, but easier said than done. “While the nightly news and newspapers are important ways for people to get information, more and more people of all ages are getting immediate information from the web and their cell phones. Nonprofits have to embrace new forms of media, and while this may seem like a statement of the obvious, pause for a moment and remember that we’re a big, 128-year-old institution. Don’t underestimate the massive change in mindset that this requires.”

5. Keep looking to the horizon. “I recently met with senior leaders from our major U.S. chapters and asked them to generate ideas that would enable the Red Cross to prosper and grow to 2020. Their ideas were creative, exciting, wacky, and truly showed out of the box thinking. The exercise has me thinking about forming a futurist think tank composed of volunteers.”

McGovern also said that one of her most memorable days on the job was when she flew to the disaster site after Hurricane Ike struck Houston in September 2008. She helped serve chili to the thousands of people that had been displaced from their homes.

“We first went to a giant kitchen that has the capacity to make 45,000 meals and elderly men with giant biceps lifted vats of chili into a big van. Then we drove to the site, and I had no idea how the people would know we were there, but I was assured they’d know. Within 10 minutes, there was a line that stretched for blocks because we were bringing the first hot meal these hurricane victims had since having their lives upended. We dished out that chili for hours, and I never before felt like I was making such an incredible difference. I have the best job in the world.”

When asked if she’d welcome embedded reporters at disaster sites, the Red Cross president said she’d be happy to have them. “I actually think our disaster sites would make a great Reality TV show.” Stay tuned for that.