Bell Works Pressed for Progress at International Women’s Day Event

FEATURED PHOTO: Bell Works International Women’s Day speakers from left to right: Casey DeStefano, Jennifer Scanarito, Christine Zilinski Paola Zamudio, Margarethe Lauranzi, Sarah Krug, and Jenna Gaudio

If you were not one of the lucky 275 women attending the inaugural International Women’s Day event held at Bell Works in Holmdel, here is a rundown of what happened.

The event started out in the spacious Bell Works lobby, with a cocktail hour and networking where you also were greeted by the ladies of Impact 100 Jersey Coast. Attendees were able to learn about the group of women who collectively fund transformative grants to nonprofits in the Jersey Coast region. In just two years, the philanthropic women behind Impact 100 Jersey Coast have awarded grants totaling $391,000 to nonprofits serving Monmouth County. At its 2017 Annual Meeting, nearly 250 women voted to award Covenant House New Jersey and The Mental Health Association of Monmouth County as Impact’s 2017 recipients, each receiving grants of $123,000. A happy vibe with women and some supportive men sharing their stories and swapping business cards all around.

Guests were then ushered into the state-of-the-art Bell Works Theater that comfortably fit all the attendees. Paola Zamudio, Creative Director at Bell Works, opened with remarks about her mom. She thanked her mom for allowing her to be where she is today. Paola and her mom traveled here from Columbia twenty-one years ago. She credited her for instilling in her three important things: hard work, education, and knowledge.

Vibrant and personable keynote speaker Casey DeStefano introduced the speakers, highlighting their experiences or recounting a funny story. The theme for the evening was #pressforprogress.

Here are the speakers and their messages about adversity and persistence…

Sarah Krug is the amazing woman in the red dress who talked about running away from home when she was just 17 after her mother died of breast cancer, at the age of 42 to pursue her dream of attending Princeton University, and protecting herself from her father. She succeeded and is now the founder of Health Collaboratory, CEO of Cancer 101 and President of the Society For Participatory Medicine. …and makes a positive impact on patients on a daily basis. Her story highlighted the fact that she did not let her former circumstances dictate her path in life. She told the audience to take off their “invisible capes” and awaken their inner superheroes.

Jenna Gaudio is the Marketing Director from Vydia and she talked about how she and some of her female co-workers created a new inclusive culture at Vydia. She showed us a picture of the company basketball game and recounted how the men on the court asked her and the other women to wait for the second game, because they wanted to play one “real” game first. After that experience, she and her co-workers worked to create a more equitable environment at work, including on the basketball court. She also described strategies women can use to move ahead at work. Jenna asked the audience what we want. If we want equal pay, she advised us to ask for it, not wait for it to happen.

Margarethe Lauranzi is a member of Impact 100 Jersey Coast and the Director of Leadership Grant Making and Engagement at Community Foundation of New Jersey. She gave us some striking statistics: across the nation, women control 60% of all personal wealth and own 40% of all privately held businesses. The combined net worth of 50 plus women is $19 trillion. She told us that by 2025, women will account for 60% of all billionaires. It was thought provoking.

Jennifer Scanarito is the iCIMS Senior Director, Cloud Services at iCIMS. When Jennifer took the stage, she pointed to her family in the audience and asked her husband to record her speech. She indicated that although she is white and blonde, there is more to her than meets the eye. Her family taught her to be courageous and to share her story. She urged us all to be agents of change and to speak up and share our stories. Jennifer, who speaks Spanish, ended her presentation by sharing her favorite Spanish quote: “Cada cabeza es un mundo” which translates to “every head is a world.” In other words, every mind is a universe or to each her own!

Christine Zilinski, Salon Concrete owner, stylist, industry speaker, trainer and leadership expert is the product of her tremendous dedication and an endless commitment to personal growth. Christine told a heartbreaking story about her business and her personal life, and then reminded us all to have good thoughts in bad times. She said, “Don’t let bad times define you, focus on what you can control, seek positive counsel or a mentor, ask yourself what you want your outcome to be…and go for it.”