IE Alumni Volunteer Forum
The IE Volunteer Leadership Forum was held in New York on October 11, 2018. The focus of this event was to respond to the many inquiries we have got from our members, for ways to contribute and volunteer to promote the various efforts of the IE Alumni Association. As always, an evening with our alumni friends is bound to be high energy, engaging and festive while getting some serious work done!
About 49 members attended, convening after work hours at Rent 24 in midtown Manhattan. The highlight of the evening was an app-based team building exercise. Everybody was assigned to groups, and each team worked through a slew of brainteasers, quizzes and other fun challenges to compete for the highest points. As one can imagine, an animated and exciting hour of competition saw members meet, greet, and collaborate within teams to win.
Julia Sanchez, Head of Global Alumni Relations, addressed the group, and welcomed everyone’s initiative to volunteer. She also presented an IE Volunteer Handbook that lists the various opportunities for members to continue to be a part of the IE community in meaningful ways such as Career Drives, Fundraising, and the Mentorship Program. Please refer to the book for more details, and contact your Board to get involved.
Francisco Chabran introduced Victoria Perez Agreda, his newest member on the team, who joins our IE New York Offices from Madrid where she was an Associate Director of Admissions. Matthew David, who heads our Talent and Career Development, discussed the focus of his role and some of his current projects. He invited members to reach out to him for career related opportunities and ideas, including supporting him in his efforts to build relationships with your respective organizations. Brian Cabezas, President of the IE Alumni Board announced that Elizabeth Rodriguez, Brian Norris and he will be moving on from their roles on the Board, and introduced our new board members Mariana Schwacke and Sean Robertson. Board members Anthony Giordano and Dechu Muthana spent a few minutes talking to the group about the Club’s other events for the rest of the year. We are happy to share that our fellow Board members from Chicago also attended the event!
The IE Volunteer Leadership Forum was also held in Miami and San Francisco and was reported to be a huge success at these locations as well.
Alumni Startup Spotlight: B-wom
The number of women in today's workforce is growing, and movements like #metoo have shed light on the need to really look into the way we create corporate culture. Women are leading companies and filling key positions, and it's more important than ever for organizations to truly understand and support their health needs, and to improve the support they offer around maternity and return to work. Doing so is not only ethically right, but also the best way to establish an inclusive and supportive corporate culture while reducing costs on medical bills, productivity, dropout rates and absenteeism.
The B-wom Corporate Wellness program addresses these issues and includes:
+ On-site Workshops
+ Personalized premium digital health coach for all female employees (and spouses/partners)
+ Strategic recommendations for the company to increase satisfaction and engagement
The updated program includes the breast cancer prevention contents, and the team is offering IE Alumni a 15% on their corporate program.
Contact estrella@b-wom.com if you want to have this program offered at the organization your work for (or you founded!).
Read more here.
Alumni Spotlight
In each month's newsletter, we highlight one IE alum in the Alumni Spotlight. This month’s Alumni spotlight is Estrella Jaramillo, cofounder of B-wom, a digital coach for women’s health.
What program did you graduate from?
Masters in Corporate Communications '13
What is your current job?
Co-founder of B-wom, a digital coach for women's health. We guide women through health priorities at every stage of life.
How long have you been in New York?
It's been 2 years now!
What’s a recent accomplishment that you are proud of?
We just launched the breast cancer prevention contents within our B-wom program, and are getting a very positive response from organizations that are interested in working with us! Also, we've been able to get presence in many publications, from Forbes to Swaay. One of my favorite parts is to do advocacy work and raise awareness about issues that have traditionally been considered a taboo.
What is an ask from the alumni community?
I want to invite them to be the change we want to see. To join the movement to improve women's, sexual and maternal health, and to support me in reaching out to corporations that need to do a better job at attracting, retaining and keeping female talent happy. Companies need to develop inclusive cultures. If you think the B-wom corporate plan (workshops + private digital health tool + consulting) could be interesting for the company you work for, drop me a line and I'll send some info!
What can you offer to the alumni community?
Happy to share my experience bringing our company from Spain to the US, as well as discussing the Femtech space and big career transitions, if anyone is considering and feeling unsure!
What is a typical day in your life like?
There really is no typical day, and this is what I love the most! Some days I come to work out the The Wing and do 12 hours of focused work - that's usually Fridays and weekends, actually! Other days I’m on back to back calls with potential clients and then have a speaking gig at night. And other days I'm on a plane to SF, LA, or wherever the business takes me! Lots of change, which I love! Rock & Roll!
What was a major turning point in your life?
When I realized that there was nothing wrong with me for not wanting to be in the same office, with the same people, doing the exact same thing every day - and that there were other options and ways of working that had not been presented to me. My life changed, as you can see.
What do you wake up for each day (what is your guiding purpose)?
Fighting inequality. Building a future where most women don't have to still feel like they have to choose between having a very ambitious career or building a family, because the second shift still falls on us mainly. Contributing to creating spaces for people to openly discuss their intimate health concerns, seeing a system that truly supports mothers and their needs... So many things!
Happy IE HallowIEn!
- Anthony, Dechu, Mariana & Sean
IE NYC Alumni Club Board
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