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Thanks to generous grant funding from the Rockdale Foundation, WAM International brought its first-ever paid professional staff person, Jennifer Thomson, on board this summer. Since launching in 2005, WAM has relied exclusively on volunteers at every level. The WAM International board of directors and the chapters in the WAM network all run on volunteer labor, and WAM has greatly benefited from pro bono legal counsel and other donated technical expertise. The addition now of professional staff support represents an important symbolic and practical milestone for WAM. "The enthusiastic response to WAM from all over the world, and our rapid growth, demonstrate the force for good that this organization can be for the microfinance industry," said WAM President Anne Folan. "Harnessing this potential now requires the talents and focus of a professional, and WAM was very fortunate to be able to hire Jennifer."

Jennifer is hardly new to WAM, having helped create WAM New York, one of the earliest WAM chapters, in 2005. She held the position of co-Chair of WAM-NY from 2006-2007, and currently serves as the WAM-NY Membership co-Chair.  Jennifer's professional experience includes ten years in microfinance and domestic community development finance, with US-based work focused on community development credit unions. She has worked with the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union and consulted with the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. On the international side, she managed a loan fund of over $1 million in eight African countries for The Hunger Project.  Jennifer has lived in New York City for over 15 years, and earned a Master of International Affairs (MIA) from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. Originally from the Boston area, she currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and 17-month old son.

Jennifer's work with WAM will focus on fundraising, communications & marketing, institutional development (particularly the refinement and implementation of WAM's second strategic plan) and chapter relations. She can be reached at wam.intl.director@gmail.com

 

WAM's 3rd Strategic Plan covers the three-year period 2009-2011 and focuses on three key objectives - Highlight, Connect and Strengthen.  

1. Highlight the important role of women's leadership in microfinance and microenterprise development through evidence-based research showing the impact of women's leadership on outreach to women clients.
2. Connect women working in microfinance and microenterprise development by serving as a platform and developing a vibrant worldwide network of WAM chapters.
3. Strengthen the capacity of women working in microfinance and microenterprise development by supporting initiatives to build their skills. 

Each goal has specific, measurable goals to be achieved by the end of 2011, specifically:

Highlight:

• Develop a business case on the correlation between    women's leadership and its impact on a majority female client base.
• Disseminate results to WAM Chapters, the industry, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Be an industry thought leader in gender and the microfinance and enterprise development industries.
  

Connect:

• Expand WAM's global network of Chapters to at least 20 with an aggregate Chapter membership of over 500 members.
• Facilitate communication via a website and other virtual platforms.
• Develop and disseminate regular email newsletters to the network.
  

Strengthen:

• Provide scholarship opportunities for at least 20 women to participate in microfinance or enterprise development conferences or trainings.
  

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the WAM network, and the generosity of supporters, significant progress has already been made. The creation of WAM USA will now relieve the domestic chapters of significant administrative and legal burdens, leaving them free to pursue the core work of identifying and welcoming new women professionals in microfinance and of developing compelling program offerings.

 

The WAM website (www.waminternational.org) has been greatly enhanced thanks to the efforts of volunteers John Richardson of JMR Portfolio Intelligence (Washington, DC).  Chief among the upgrades to the website is the addition of an on-line version of the WAM Directory. The shift away from paper should make it much less of a burden to update and maintain accurate membership records for all the chapters. Major thanks to volunteer Susan Reddish for her heroic efforts on Directory production.

 

Finally, with the launch of this newsletter, WAM is one step closer to the goal of connecting our chapters to each other and to news from around our industry.
 
The current chapter roster includes:

 

International chapters: WAM Canada,  WAM Central and Eastern   Europe & the Newly Independent States, WAM Ecuador, WAM Kenya, WAM Middle East and North Africa, WAM Uganda, WAM Netherlands and WAM India.

 
U.S.-based Chapters: WAM Atlanta,WAM Chicago, WAM DC, WAM New York, and WAM  Northern California 

Grant funding from the Master Card Foundation made possible two WAM scholarships to the Boulder Institute summer 2009 training in Turin, Italy. Members throughout WAM's global network submitted dozens of nominations to an ad hoc selection committee consisting of WAM International President Anne Folan, WAM New York's Karla Brom, and WAM Ecuador's Maria Sara Jijon Calderon. WAM was ultimately able to send two women professionals to Turin to gain the hard technical skills so critically needed in microfinance's management ranks. The first, Majoalane Matuka of Lesotho, was nominated by WAM Kenya's Beth Mwangi. The identity of the second WAM scholarship recipient, a young woman from Afghanistan, is withheld at her request. She reports that although her own father supported her professional goals, other men in her community strongly condemned her ambitions, let alone her travelling alone outside the country to pursue them. Both she and the Turin organizers report that she learned a great deal from the Turin training - a reminder that women's support for each other's development remains vitally important.
 
If you have ideas or information to help WAM continue the progress that has already been made on the Strategic Plan, please e-mail info@waminternational.org 

All input is greatly welcomed!

 

As part of our commitment to women's professional development, WAM will occasionally feature resources for women to further develop their skills and credentials. 
 

This edition of the WAM newsletter highlights the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation which has the following offerings:

1. American Fellowships support women doctoral candidates completing dissertations and scholars seeking funds for postdoctoral research leave or for preparing completed research for publication. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. One-year postdoctoral research leave fellowships, dissertation fellowships, and summer/short-term research publication grants are offered.  The deadline is November 15th, 2009.
2. International Fellowships are awarded for full-time graduate or postgraduate study or research to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.  The deadline is December 1st, 2009.
3. Career Development Grants support women who hold a bachelor's degree and who are preparing to advance their careers, change careers, or re-enter the work force. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.  The deadline is December 15th, 2009.
4. Selected Professions Fellowships are awarded to women who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and who intend to pursue a full-time course of study (during the fellowship year) in designated degree programs where women's participation traditionally has been low. The deadline is January 10th, 2010.
   

For more information, or to apply, please go to the AAUW website at www.aauw.org