A Letter from the President

Goofy photo from Katherine (VP) on a tour of the new Doherty High!

Hi everyone,

I'm Gillian Murphy, and I'll be your President for YPWA's 23-24 season! Our 12th season is my third as a YPWA board member, and I couldn't have stepped into this role without the support of YPWA board members. Thank you to our departing board members, Catrina Gardner and Veronica Basdeo. We appreciate all your help as the 23-24 board transitioned over the summer! As we look forward, I'm stopping to reflect on where I started.

Initially, I applied to join the YPWA board after a personally disastrous end of a job I invested a lot of myself into. I was embarrassed, in pain (I had been so stressed at the end that my back seized up), and frankly scared about my future. As I drafted my board application, I realized that by supporting YPWA's mission to deliver networking and development opportunities to women of Worcester, I could also rebuild my confidence and rediscover my abilities!

In the last seasons, I have been working on many behind-the-scenes resources for the board:

• On-boarding training for YPWA board members to ensure people are all on the same page with tasks and communication

• Internal contact directories for vendors and speakers to simplify the process of event planning or pivoting as changes

• Improved data gathering so we can better understand our members and event performance

The Polar obsession is real (my back is clearly in better shape now)

These resources chart a path for YPWA members and guests to receive expanded opportunities as we progress into this season and in the future. What keeps me fired up to take on changes and continue to forge a sustainable future for YPWA is the people we serve. Connecting our members and new experiences continues to pay off in ideas, volunteer opportunities, job connections, new businesses to collaborate with, and so much more for our members and event guests.

I'm glad I can continue building internal structure and bold connections that give back to our board and members, and I'm delighted to have the support of this season's board as we work together. The 23-24 board of directors jumped in over the summer, bringing many new ideas and energy to the future of YPWA. I'm excited to highlight these new opportunities as they are released and keep everyone looped in as we progress!

I look forward to seeing you as we begin our season, and I can't wait for y'all to see what we have in store!