They come from different backgrounds and work in fields as diverse as banking, healthcare, and the automotive industry. But the four women who spoke at Felician University’s Women’s Leadership Speakers Series on October 20 have one thing in common – they’re all successful Felician MBA alumnae.

The panel discussion with this powerful group of women took place at Ray’s Place in Education Commons on the Rutherford Campus. The Women’s Leadership Speaker Series supports the University’s focus on diversity, inclusion, and student empowerment, something panelist Patricia Kavanagh, Compliance Risk Management Officer with Citi, and a mother of five touched on. “You want to do this? You want to volunteer to manage the executive meetings? Sure, I’ll do it and I never would have said that if I had not felt empowered, and I think the cohort program at Felician University gave me that empowerment,” said the 2009 Felician MBA graduate.

Felician 2011 MBA Alumnae, Melisha Osario is an Operations Manager with Careplus NJ. She worked in sales and marketing before losing her job when her organization downsized and moved overseas, leaving her to search for a more fulfilling and stable career. After researching her options, she ended up going to South Africa for a month to volunteer at a school with autistic children. Ms. Osario spoke of the importance of continually updating goals at different stages of a career journey saying, “My focus changed, but more importantly I am not holding myself a prisoner of my previous expectations or goals because when you do that you are essentially setting yourself up to fail and not giving yourself a chance to succeed.”

Other topics discussed included the challenges of working in male dominated industries, and the importance of networking and establishing connections with members of either sex. “Hold and nurture those relationships,” advised Ms. Kavanagh because, “those people will lift you up, and help you get through entanglements that might be preventing you from getting a promotion.” The women offered other suggestions including, learning a foreign language, researching internship opportunities online, and not overlooking the importance of volunteering which many employers count as experience.

Tanya Mouzakitis, Felician MBA Alum from 2015, remembers what it was like to be young and struggling to figure things out. Now a Product Marketing Manager with Samsung Electronic America, she participated in the panel discussion to, “Hopefully help answer some questions that can help them get through something.”

Not being afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone was the advice of Felician MBA alumnae, Pamela Sieradzki, who is Finance Director and Sales Manager for Performance Maserati. “I think you have to do that, because it will make you stronger, open doors for you, and make you more promotable.”

Now in its second year, the Women’s Leadership Speaker’s Series is an initiative of the School of Business and Information Sciences led by Dean Heather Pfleger, Associate Dean David Turi, and Assistant Professor Joy de los Reyes, who Dean Pfleger says, “came in with a vision of what this Women’s Leadership Series should be all about and really puts her heart and soul into making the program a reality.”

The next Women’s Leadership presentation will feature Ms. Leigh Ann Soltysiak of Silverleaf Consulting, LLC and takes place on November 17 at 1pm via Zoom. For more information and to register for this popular event, click here.

For more information on the Women’s Leadership Speaker’s Series contact Dr. Joy de los Reyes at DeLosReyes@felician.edu.