Featured Story
Empowered By ANNpower
By Sarabeth Davis ‘16, ANNpower Vital Voices Fellow
I was pretty sure the ANNpower Vital Voices Leadership Forum would be incredible. After all, a couple of SLS girls had been ANNpower Fellows, and I had heard their positive reports. But there was no way to grasp the excitement and pace until I found myself one of 50 girls from all over the US joined together in Washington, D.C. for this intense and amazing leadership “boot camp.” It was the fastest-paced three days of my life!
Each day of boot camp started at 6:00am and we didn't return to our rooms until around midnight. The goal of the Leadership Forum was to introduce us to women leaders who shared leadership skills to help us develop and launch our ANNpower projects (my project is described in the last paragraph). Our days were filled with team building including a panel with White House Women Senior Staff and public speaking workshops. There were special guests including U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, actress and director Jennifer Morrison, and even a style and personal presence panel by Neha Ghandi and Susan Joy. Some of my favorite conversations came "after hours." Late at night, the ANNpower leaders would order pizza and we would all just hang out in the conference rooms—just us girls. This was perfect time for us to decompress and get to know each other better.
One of the most valuable workshops was “Networking & Your Elevator Pitch.” Our mentors and speech coaches helped us think through and refine our various projects, and then we had an "elevator pitch hour," where we presented our stories and ideas for change to top ANN INC. executives. I was lucky enough to pitch my project to Kay Krill, the former CEO of the company who also happens to be an SLS parent.
The last evening we attended the annual Vital Voices 2015 Global Leadership Awards which recognized five women whose leadership and bold ideas are shaping the future. Honorees included women from around the world. They work with courage, creativity and determination to strengthen democracy, create economic opportunity and protect human rights. This year's event included special guest President Bill Clinton, and presenters Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field, Designer Diane Von Furstenberg, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace President Bill Burns. I am so grateful to have heard all these wonderful speakers brought to us by ANN INC.
I recently received a grant to develop my project, Sea Smarts. Sea Smarts will educate youth along the southern Connecticut coast about ocean health and engage students in a call to action to improve the state of the seas. The program will include two workshops with ocean education and art and will be complemented by a culminating community beach clean up. The goal of Sea Smarts is to impart knowledge, personal connection, and tools to students for them to take action and spread the word. Not only will Sea Smarts introduce global ocean concerns, such as plastic and chemical pollution, but will also introduce concerns that apply specifically to the Long Island Sound, such as the invasive Asian Shore Crab. Students will become informed and empowered to advertise the culminating beach clean up within their respective communities, thus teaching them to take action for ocean health.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
