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Guest speakers

Seeking two board members
See you soon!

Cindi Brown is our guest speaker for our September meeting, and she will focus on the importance of accurate financials and how to use them to make important business decisions. She will share some examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly and how lenders depend on financial statements, credit history and cash flow to make loans.

Cindi has thirty years of banking experience with Bank of America, starting as a part time teller in San Bruno and retiring as a Vice President and Branch Manager in Healdsburg.  She held just about every position possible from teller to underwriter and had excellent training.

In 2002, Cindi was referred to a high-end retailer in Healdsburg who was going through some challenging times.  She was hired as the GM for and assisted in getting the company back on their feet.  One year later the President of North Coast Bank who was looking for a business development officer contacted her.  Now she is the Vice President of Business Development and Merchant Bankcard Services Manager.  She loves what she does.

Mentoring is one of the things that ABWA is known for as a national organization. Our chapter holds a mentor meeting every year (usually in March or April) to honor our mentors and to spotlight mentoring organizations. However, rather than focusing on mentoring once a year, what if we created an ongoing mentoring opportunity for our members? A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Diana Ruiz, who is a volunteer with the Global Women's Leadership Initiative. They are a new organization in Sonoma County, and they are seeking to develop a network of professional women in business, education, non-profit and professional organizations, as well as political and community leaders, who appreciate the need for leadership development and mentoring for young women in Sonoma County.

Diana and I are going to meet to discuss a collaboration between our Wine Country Chapter and the Global Women's Leadership Initiative to offer mentoring opportunities between our members and other women in business. If you appreciate the people who have mentored you along your career path and are interested in paying it forward, this collaboration is right up your alley!

To find out more about the Global Women's Leadership Initiative, you are cordially invited to attend an introductory seminar. It will include refreshments, a brief informative presentation, and lively dialogue.