Newsletter | May/Jun 2002


Laura Eichel bids farewell

The past 2-1/2 years on the Steering Committee, as both a member and as Chair, have been memorable and fun. I want to first thank the group - Tara, Lavina, Hillary, Tricia, Elena, Mignon, Margaret, Grace (and Mui!) --you have all been wonderful to work with! And I will miss you! Lavina, you will make a great new Chair and the best of luck to you (I am here if you need me!).

In brief, my years on the Steering Committee were spent busily managing and preparing for the ongoing events throughout the year. Some of our ongoing goals have been to streamline the administration of the organization by creating simple and sustainable systems that can be better passed on to new committee members. Our database is being fine-tuned, our new membership directory is shipping and our web site is developing by the OWA's 30th Anniversary Web Committee. We are now all connected as members via email which is an incredibly successful tool for increasing member attendance at meetings and other events.

In the past year, our Steering Committee has initiated phone interviews that are featured in the newsletter to keep us all up to date on what members are up to. Another focus has been an effort to connect new members with old as to foster mentoring opportunities within the organization.

In regards to OWA's future, I am very optimistic about the organization's continued growth in membership and advocating its mission of supporting women in design-related fields. I have always cherished OWA's focus on BOTH the personal and the professional well-being of its members and hope that this emphasis remains alive and well over time. In an era when nothing seems more precious than our time, we need open-minded groups such as OWA to keep us focused on redefining 'success' on our own terms and to foster fresh thinking on creating balanced and healthy lives.


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