Press Releases

Betsy Bernard speaks about "The Seven Golden Rules of Leadership" at United Ways of New Jersey Women’s Leadership Council regional event

October 29, 2007 – Bridgewater, NJ – The Women’s Leadership Council of the United Ways of New Jersey will hold a networking event on November 29, 2007 at the Bridgewater Manor in Bridgewater, NJ from 5:30-8:30pm, to bring together like-minded women dedicated to philanthropy and community issues.

While women are becoming more visible among the executive ranks of charitable organizations, they remain the minority in one of the centers of power in philanthropy:  volunteer boards of directors.  United Way positions women as philanthropic leaders by engaging them in Women’s Leadership Councils where they address community issues while priming them for executive positions on non-profit boards.
Betsy Bernard is an accomplished CEO, experienced public company Board Director and popular speaker. As President of AT&T, she led more than 50,000 employees in a $27 billion business that served the needs of four million global business customers. For three consecutive years, Bernard appeared on Fortune Magazine's list of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business".
Bernard has served over the past nine years on the Boards of Directors of major public companies, including United Technologies, Principal Financial Group, Serco Group plc, URS and BearingPoint. She chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee at Principal Financial Group and serves on other audit and compensation committees. She was a member of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on board leadership.
A popular speaker, Bernard has delivered keynote addresses at the global conference of the International Women's Forum, the national conferences of the National Urban League and the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, and at Town Hall Los Angeles. Her speech, "Seven Golden Rules of Leadership," summarizing key learning’s during her years in leadership positions, has earned Bernard a place among those national speakers who combine insight and humor to motivate and delight audiences.
According to United Way of America, the Women’s Leadership Council’s national goals are to develop a powerful voice for women in philanthropy and become an engine for growth by raising $100 million nationally by 2008. The WLC program recognizes that women are change agents and their participation in addressing key social issues is critical to improve lives and enhance philanthropy around issues that impact our communities.  Increasingly, women can choose a career in business or the home, take active roles in government and politics and expect equal treatment in public and private life.  Like never before, women are endowed with wealth and power and the ability to serve and impact their communities!

There are eleven United Ways in New Jersey that have formed a collective group to share resources and grow the WLC throughout the state and region. They are: United Way of Greater Mercer County, Warren County, Monmouth County, Central Jersey, Essex and West Hudson, Morris County, Somerset County, Burlington County, Atlantic County, Union County and Passaic County.

If you would like to attend this exciting event please contact Sharon Washington at the United Way of Essex and West Hudson at 973-242-6726 or swashington@uwewh.org by November 17, 2007.

United Ways of New Jersey are community-based organizations that mobilize local resources to meet the health and human care needs in New Jersey.  United Ways utilize the collective power of people to work toward long-term solutions in four focus areas:  Helping Children Succeed, Fostering Self-Sufficiency, and Caring for Seniors and People with Disabilities and Accessing Healthcare.

Contact
Carolee Kueller
Vice President, Resource Development
United Way of Greater Mercer County
609.637.4902
carolee.kueller@uwgmc.org