Connecticut Women’s Council Programs 2018
January – Game Time with the University of Hartford Hawks
CWC started the year on the court with the University of Hartford Hawks. After a day at work, CWC members enjoyed dinner and a great basketball game.
March – Voices on Sustainability: A Conversation with Sara Bronin on Local Iniatives
Since the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in June 2017, a swath of American cities, states and businesses have stepped in to fill the void and drive toward meeting the goals of the Agreement. For now, climate leadership in America is local. The first of our programs on this topic featured Sara Bronin. Sara is a member of the Hartford Climate Stewardship Council, which works through Hartford’s Office of Sustainability to play a leadership role in environmental stewardship which advances the city’s economy, improves public health and quality of life, and promotes social equity. Sara gave CWC members a birds eye view of sustainability initiatives in Hartford, including what’s working and what’s needed.
May – Voices on Sustainability: Environmental Leadership: Integrating Science, Public Policy, and Political Rhetoric
A career public servant in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Gina McCarthy has been a leading advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and the environment for more than thirty years. As the head of EPA under President Obama, she led historic progress to achieve the administration’s public health and environmental protection goals and Climate Action Plan. Known for her pragmatic approaches and disarming, plain-speaking style, McCarthy has earned the respect of the environmental, public health and business communities with her thorough understanding of all sides of climate, air quality, chemical safety, environmental justice and health equity, and water, land and natural resource protection and restoration discussions.
The Connecticut Women’s Council was pleased to welcome Gina back to Connecticut where she was Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Jodi Rell. Gina spoke to our members and their guests about how we keep climate momentum going in the US, why climate and sustainability are critical public health issues and what she learned playing a leadership role in this challenging area.
June – Come Check Out UConn Hartford
The UConn Hartford campus just up its first year. With regular classes over, we took a tour of their brand new facilities and heard how the first year in their new home went for faculty, students and staff. Following the tour, CWC members gathered at the Arch Street Tavern to catch up with other CWC members.
July – Conversations
We are excited about “CWC Conversations”, a new program series which will let us gather in a small group to talk informally – over a glass of wine of course – about an interesting or hot topic. This occasional series will be led by members and we welcome ideas for topics.
We kicked this series off with “Conversations: Gender and the Future of the Workplace”, facilitated by CWC member Lena DiGenti. We are in the midst of a cultural moment when gender issues are changing how almost everyone interacts, particularly in our professional lives, leaving all of us at least a bit uneasy and confused about where we go from here. How will we work together in the future? Have our gender expectations outlived their usefulness? Can we move to a work place that fully embraces and values feminine and masculine “traits” in men, women and those in between? It was a stimulating conversation, and CWC members in attendance want it to continue.