HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNAE NETWORK / New York
Founding Chair: Karen Page (1992-2005)

Mission Statement

The Harvard Business School Network of Women Alumnae (HBSNWA) is a not-for-profit social and professional forum established by and for women graduates of the Harvard Business School. Its purpose is to create an exchange of information, experiences and perspectives so that HBS alumnae may more fully realize their individual personal and professional goals. Guided by an advisory committee of alumnae members, the Network provides opportunities for members to develop contacts, mentors, and friends among the growing number of women HBS graduates.

Selected Events: 1992-2005

1992

Breakfast at Arcadia with Lisa Valk, Publisher, Time magazine
Breakfast at Arcadia with Working Mothers Sharon Baum '65, Jean Moses '75, and Beth Stewart '82
"The Anatomy of a Start-Up Business": Cynthia Gushue Russell '89 of Paper Journey at The '21' Club
Breakfast at Arcadia with Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner AMP 90, President and CEO, Estee Lauder International

1993

Evening of Dinner at The '21' Club with playwright Wendy Wasserstein followed by the Broadway play "The Sisters Rosensweig"
"Blown Sideways Through Life" and dinner with actress Claudia Schear
HBS "MBA: Leadership and Learning" review of the MBA program
"Women on Wall Street" at the Harvard Club with Elizabeth Eveillard '72, Joyce Greenberg '78 and Nancy Havens-Hasty '71
"Managing Career Transitions" with Betsy Jaffe '62 and Millington McCoy '63
Breakfast with Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney and Nydia Valasquez
Dinner at Cascabel by chef Rebecca Charles, via Donna Zaccaro '87
Seminar with author Stephanie Winston on Organization and Time Management
Self-Defense Workshop with a certified IMPACT instructor
Breakfast at the Harvard Club with Ann Fudge, EVP, Kraft General Foods

1994

Career Planning Discussion with Mary Lindley Burton, author, In Transition
Guided Tour of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with wine and music
NYC Alumnae Conference: "The Coming of Age of Executive Women" with breakfast keynote speaker Carol Goldberg AMP 57, President, The AVCAR Group, and alumnae panelists Sharon Baum '65, Barb Doran '84, Dr. Marlene Krauss '67, Joan McCabe '81, Margery Fischbein '80, Alison Leigh Cowan '86, Dana Wechsler Linden '80, Dr. Betsy Jaffe '62, lunch keynote Ellen Marram, and Millington McCoy '63
Breakfast at Arcadia with author Betty Friedan
Cocktail Reception at the Hearst New Media Center with VP Cella Irvine
Executive Coaching with Robert Cuddy, Julie Johnson and Marilyn Machlowitz

1995

Gender Discrimination Law and Lawsuits with Anne Vladeck and Allen Fagin
Panel Discussion with Laura Teller '84, author, Small Business, Big Savings
Dinner at Rosemarie's in Tribeca
Breakfast at Arcadia with New York Lt. Governor Dr. Betsy McCaughey
Hudson River Cruise to Kykuit and tour of Rockefeller House & Gardens
Dinner at Verbena prepared by chef-owner Diane Forley
Wine Reception and Tour of Bloomberg Financial Markets with Michael Bloomberg '66 and Elisabeth DeMarse '80
Breakfast with Lois Juliber '73, President, Colgate North America at Colgate-Palmolive
Holiday Cocktails at the Tribeca home of sculptor Dorothy Haase '70

1996

An Evening in the Courtroom of the Honorable Leslie Crocker Snyder '63
Member-Meet-Member Cocktail Parties in HBS alumnae homes
An Evening on Broadway at "Master Class" with Zoe Caldwell
An Evening on Broadway at "Rent"
An Informal Summer Dinner Outdoors at Caffe Bondi
A Talk with Gail Blanke, president, Avon LifeDesigns
Cocktails with Connie Buchanan, author of Choosing to Lead, at the home of Millington McCoy '63
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Madison Square Garden with EVP Sue Denison '73

1997

Cocktail Reception with NYNEX VP Judith Haberkorn AMP 111 at NYNEX
Cocktail Reception with Bernice Wollman OPM 6, Vice President, Workbench
Investment Seminar with Marilyn Fedak '72 and Ellen Lazarus '76 at Sanford Bernstein
Dinner in the garden at Maria Elena Ristorante
Discussion of home design with Michelle Slovak, interior designer
Reception at Henri Bendel
A Tour of iVillage with CEO Candice Carpenter '83
NYC Alumnae Conference: "Choosing to Lead" with breakfast keynote Jean Bernhard Buttner '58 and lunch keynote Ann Fudge '77

1998

An Open House for Prospective Women Applicants to HBS at the Grand Hyatt
Discussion of New Media at Disney Online with Jillian Marcus '93
A Private Dinner with New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl at Solera
Wine Tasting Workshop at Acker Merrall with President Michael Kapon
An Exclusive Evening at the Chanel boutique on East 57th Street
A Cocktail Reception with Kathy Pitts '94 of CityQuest
An Evening with designer Dana Buchman at her flagship store on E. 57th St.
An Evening at The Worth Collection
Annual Makeover Event at Kimara Ahnert salon on Madison Avenue

1999

Private Bobbi Brown event at Le Train Bleu at Bloomingdale's
An Evening with Headhunter Dr. Dana Ardi, Senior Partner, LAI Worldwide
An Evening at Young & Rubicam with Vice Chairman Linda Srere
An Evening with the founders of Serafina, including Mary Greenhill '97
An Indian Dinner at Vatan
A Malaysian Dinner at Penang
A Brazilian Dinner at Churrascaria Plataforma

2000

"Get Paid What You're Worth" panel discussion with Susan Bishop OPM 27, Tammy Kien Jersey '91, Ilene Leff, and Debra Sito
Summer Evening Manhattan Treasure Hunt, with dinner at Lupa
Evening discussions in the home of Andrea Gabor, author of Capitalist Philosophers and Einstein's Wife
Mardi Gras Dinner at Cafe Boulud
Women in Venture Capital with Deborah Farrington '78
A Private Tour of the Museum of Modern Art with its President Agnes Gund
Lunch at DB Bistro with Roz Zander, author of The Art of Possibility
Caviar Tasting over dinner at Petrossian, led by Jane Borthwick '84
An Evening with Wenda Harris Millard '83 at the offices of DoubleClick

2001

"Women, Sports and Power" discussion at the home of Barb Doran '84
An Evening with the Parents League on private school admission in NYC
An Evening with author Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood: Why Motherhood is the Most Important -- and Least Valued -- Job in America
An Evening Behind the Scenes of the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center
An Evening on Broadway at "Jane Eyre," following dinner at Local with producers Annette Niemtzow and Peg Golden
Asian cooking lessons followed by dinner at Hiroko Shimbo's Kitchen
Cocktail Reception and group dinner at Eleven Madison Park
NYC Alumnae Conference featuring Jacqueline Adams, Nancy Barry, Laura Day, HBS Professor Myra Hart, Amy Langer, Ann Moore, Tony Schwartz, Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner, Sheryl WuDunn, and Shoya Zichy

2002

Dinner at Cello with Christopher Byron, author, Martha Inc.
Lunch with Discover Your Genius author Michael Gelb
Reception and 15-Minute Workout Demonstration at InForm Fitness
Lunch at Artisanal with Caroline Myss, author of Sacred Contracts
Dinner at Cello with Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell, co-authors of Loving What Is
Dinner at Cello with Gary Zukav and Linda Francis, co-authors of The Heart of the Soul

2003

NYC Alumnae Conference featuring Michael Gelb, Leslie Wohlman-Himmel, Teresa Kennedy, the Hon. Leslie Crocker Snyder, Barbara Stanny, HBS Professor Shoshana Zuboff and James Maxmin
Evening with MacArthur Fellow Sara Horowitz, founder of Working Today
Dinner with Barbara Corcoran, author, Use What You've Got
Lunch with The Hired Guns' President Allison Hemming, author, Work It!
Lunch with Laura Day, author of The Circle and Practical Intuition
Lunch with Marilyn Tam, author, How to Use What You've Got
Dinner with The Power of Full Engagement co-author Tony Schwartz
An Evening with Court TV's Rikki Klieman at the home of Elaine Gilde '78
An Evening with Maria Cuomo Cole, President, HELP USA
An Evening at Henri Bendel with the authors of How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less

2004-2005

An Evening Discussion of "The Whole Bible in Half an Hour" with HBS alumnae
An Evening at The Corcoran Group with Barbara Corcoran and Sharon Baum '65
A Fall Cocktail Party and Gallery Walk at Sotheby's
An Evening at the William Doyle Galleries with owner Kathy Doyle
Lunch with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Sheryl WuDunn '86
Lunch with Kay Koplovitz, author of Bold Women, Big Ideas (2004)
An Evening at Danskin with Joyce Darkey Hrinya '88
Lunch with Chairwoman of the New York State Consumer Protection Board May Chao '84
Private evening event at Bergdorf Goodman
Reception at Estee Lauder's offices with top executives Jeanette Wagner, Rochelle Bloom and Janet Cook
Private Shopping holiday event at Henri Bendel (2004)
Reception at The Carlisle Collection with the Hon. Leslie Crocker Snyder (2005)

Annual and/or Ongoing Events

January Goal Setting Workshops at the home of Coach Jane Umanoff
Summer Brunch with New Admits at Tavern on the Green
Annual New York Women's Agenda Star Breakfast with Hillary Rodham Clinton
Annual Spring Cocktail Party
Outreach Panels of HBS Alumnae at local colleges (e.g. Columbia University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York University)
HBS Alumnae Investment Club, founded by Sarah Ahn '94
HBSNWA Book Groups in member homes in Manhattan, Westchester, CT, and NJ


The HBSNWA would like to thank our alumnae for their invaluable support:

Millennium Members:

Sharon Baum '65
Ashley Garrett '87

(List in formation)

"For the past two years, Columbia University Center for Career Services has partnered with the HBSNWA to offer a panel on the topic of 'Women in Business.' The members have spoken enthusiastically and candidly about their backgrounds and the issues and challenges of being a woman in their chosen industries. They are here in response to recent research indicating a decline in the pursuit of business careers and graduate business education by younger women. The panel is designed to encourage women to pursue these careers and to pursue a graduate degree in business. Our students have benefited not only from the information provided during the panel, but also from the opportunity to ask questions and from the informal networking opportunities that preceded and followed the panel. This is a strong program that I am pleased to have added to our calendar as an annual event."
--Deborah Rothstein, Director of Career Development, Columbia University