Announcements and Opportunities

Upcoming: NAFE Women of Excellence Breakfast. On December 4th, we’ll celebrate this year’s winners at an awards breakfast at The Times Center in New York City, hosted by The New York Times Company and sponsored by IBM and WellPoint . Click here to read more about the outstanding women we’ll honor. Click here to reserve your spot at the breakfast table. See you then!

Balance Work and Life – and Get a Discount, Too! On October 22nd, NAFE members are invited to participate in a one-day workshop in Winter Park, FL. Today’s woman has been told she can have it all -- but no one ever told us how. Contagious Confidence™ Conference participants will be part of a powerful training class that includes humor, interaction, and practice on worklife skills. Click here for full details. NAFE members get a 20% discount by using this code: NAFE1022.

Want to promote your business? For NAFE members – for a limited time only – an ad in one issue of NAFE News & Notes will cost you just $75.00. (Regular rate is $150.00.) Ad dimensions are 120 x 120 pixels. Contact newsletter editor Paula Damiano to place your ad. Larger display ads and website banners are also available – ask for prices.

NAFE Discount on Whirlpool Products. Through a special arrangement with Whirlpool, NAFE members can reap big savings on Whirlpool appliances, accessories and other items. You and your family can purchase up to 12 products a year under the VIPLINK program. Sign up for the discount program – just click on the Whirlpool banner at the top of nafe.com.

Jill Raufman joined the NAFE/Working Mother Media team two years ago. In her role as Manager of Membership Development & Communications, she has handled everything from membership renewals to new network formations. Her most recent effort was the New York City Metro Area get-together during Working Mother’s Multicultural Women conference in June. The gathering produced major interest in the start-up of several new local affiliates in the New York City region.

Jill worked for NAFE on a part-time basis while she completed her master’s degree in Public Health at Hunter College. We’re proud to announce that Jill has finished her degree program – but we’re equally sad to say she’s leaving us. Jill will now manage the global health programs, including a special one on diabetes, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

In her spare time (and isn’t it amazing that working women always find spare time, despite all the demands on their lives?), Jill is also Executive Director of Kiboko Projects, an international cultural exchange program. (Kiboko means hippopotamus in Swahili.) An example of the organization’s work was videos made by HIV patients in Kenya that were screened for a group of New York City school children, who in turn produced masks and photo diaries based on their reactions to the videos. The children’s works were then sent to Kenya and exhibited there.

Kiboko’s mission statement explains that the group uses “masks, documentary films, and the arts as media through which participants share their life stories. … This dialogue is the first step toward an understanding of each other.” Other projects have involved Russian soldiers, fisherman along Lake Victoria and young mothers from the Kibera slums of Nairobi. The idea is to have members of similar communities in different cultures share their experiences on important issues like family, health, and society.

We wish Jill much success and happiness in her new role at Albert Einstein. The position seems made to order for someone with an interest in global health issues. Stay in touch, Jill – we’ll miss you!

Maria Marsala, Profitability Expert at Elevating Your Business was selected from over 3,500 submissions to be featured in The 2010 Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar. The calendar provides advice for women business owners from influential women leaders across the US and Canada.

The U.S. Small Business Administration presented its 2009 Administrator’s Leadership Award on Friday to Mary Parks, Acting Associate Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Small Business Utilization. Parks commented, “This award really recognizes the men and women in GSA regional offices who put in the time and energy to establish relationships with and help small-business owners.”

5 Tips
…for a Stronger Voice

Kate DeVore, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a theatre voice/speech trainer and a speech pathologist specializing in professional voice. She operates Total Voice, Inc. in Chicago, and is the co-author of The Voice Book: Caring For, Protecting, and Improving Your Voice (Chicago Review Press).

The voice is one of our most vital communication tools, and it makes an indelible impression. These tips will help you keep your voice strong and healthy, or even improve your “vocal image.”

1. Breathe. The human voice is a wind instrument, and the power source is the breath. First we breathe in, then we use that breath to talk. As you inhale, allow the abdomen to move outward, and as you exhale feel the abdomen move in toward the spine. Be aware of inhaling before you speak, and spending that breath to make sound. Shallow breathing can negatively impact not only vocal quality and loudness, but also stress levels, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

2. Hydrate. The vocal cords need moisture to function efficiently. Most of us don’t drink quite enough plain water, especially in light of all the things that can zap moisture from the body. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, so they cost you water. Many medications, especially decongestants, antidepressants, and heart medications, can be drying. Smoke is exceptionally drying to the vocal cords. In addition to drinking about 2 liters of water a day and compensating for things that dry you out, consider direct steam inhalation to moisten the vocal cords. You can use a pot of water heated over the stove, or get a little device called a personal steam inhaler.

3. Keep your head on straight. Misaligning the head causes tension in the voice. Common ways to misalign the head are to lift the chin up or to jut it forward. These actions are often accompanied by a rounding forward of the shoulders. If the head is balanced on top of the skeleton and the back of the neck is long, the muscles are free and the channel for voice is open. Keep your earlobes over your shoulders, chin level, and crown of the head as the highest point.

4. Use vocal variety. Speaking in a monotone is not only dull for the listener, but can be fatiguing for the speaker as well. Vary your inflection and visit your upper range for emphasis. Many women speak at the lowest end of their pitch range, which actually decreases resonance and power. Variety is interesting and conveys enthusiasm and confidence.

5. Speak your truth. Our metaphoric voice, our “voice” in the world, is as relevant as the physical voice mechanism. “Biting your tongue” or getting something “stuck in your craw” can cause tension in the throat, which negatively affects your voice.

For a complete list of events, see our online Calendar!

Seattle, WA
October 24, 2009
Attend an all-day conference for self-employed women and women in small businesses, featuring three keynote speakers and twelve breakout sessions taught by experts. The event is presented by Money Wise Women Educational Services. Learn more here.

New York, NY
October 27-29, 2009
Working Mother magazine will once again honor the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. The list – and the annual Working Mother WorkLife Congress– promote best practices and family friendly policies as healthy concepts for business bottom lines. Plan to attend!


• Go to nafe.com to view our ever-expanding Calendar of Events for opportunities around the country. The new Search function makes the Calendar even more useful and accessible.
• Use the Event Submission Form online to let us know about events in your area. Events submitted for the website will also be considered for the NAFE News & Notes– twice the exposure for one listing!

Check the NAFE Calendar of Events for network meetings, workshops and other happenings around the country.

WORDS TO WORK BY

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.”

-Eleanor Roosevelt