Paradigm Shift NYC Presents “No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power” with Gloria Feldt, Feminist Icon

TWM is proud to be a Co-Sponsor of this Women's History Month event and honored that our founder, Kristina Leonardi will be one of the panelists.  Hope to see you on March 19th! 

Click here for more information and place to register.

Dancing Towards Your Dreams

Growing up, I was the super quiet kid in the corner, reading a book or writing a story. The only time I made a sound was when I sang. F​​rom elementary school through high school, I was in musicals, chorus, and even ended up with a solo my senior year of high school. That solo was the absolute thrill and highlight of my singing life​​ (and, sadly, there's no documentation of it whatsoever).

It was also the second to last time I sang in public for 10 years.

What happened? Well, fear and panic and “I’m not going to be a singer so I can’t major in that” and “I’m probably not even that good of a singer so why bother?” The longer I stayed on my self-imposed singing hiatus, the bigger the fear grew, and the harder it was to get back to it. I missed it SO MUCH. I felt incomplete without it. But I couldn’t get over my fear. Looking back, I’m actually incredibly sad – like, crying-as-I-remember-and-write-this sad.

A couple of years ago, fate and my intuition took over and I quieted my fears long enough to sign up for The Singing Experience. It was wonderful; I had a blast and I remembered that the joy of singing on a stage far outshined the voices in my head telling me I’m not good enough. After that, I signed up for voice lessons with various wonderful teachers and coaches, and I performed three more times.

This year, I knew I needed to do what I didn't really think possible as a little girl but wanted more than anything: to sing on stage in front of people I love for a whole show. Me, a microphone, an awesome band, and maybe some tears. (The tears weren’t in the little girl’s vision, but wiser me realizes they’re likely.)

I have three days left to raise the $7,380 I need to make this show happen and make that dream come true. I know I’m asking for a miracle here because I have more than $5,000 to go and just three days to get there, but I’m committed to seeing this through.

If you can make any donation at all, big or small, I’d be beyond grateful. And if you could share it with friends, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, co-workers, that person who flirts with you sometimes, whoever, I’d be beyond grateful.

May you keep dancing towards your own dreams – it’s really never too late.

Paradigm Shift NYC Presents: It Was Rape

Our friends at Paradigm Shift have a great event coming up and we want to make sure you get tickets before it sells out! Check out the details below:

PARADIGM SHIFT NYC PRESENTS: IT WAS RAPE, A Screening and Discussion with JENNIFER BAUMGARDNER, Filmmaker & Activist and a panel of women featured in the film. 

Rape is wrong, illegal, reprehensibleand yet still tragically common. In this film, eight women tell their diverse personal stories of sexual assault, from a Midwestern teenager trying alcohol for the first time to a Native American woman gradually coming to terms with her abusive childhood. Gripping and emotional, this film is an opportunity to empathize with peoplenot just absorb faceless statistics and to puncture the silence and denial that allow sexual assault to thrive. Ultimately, these stories shed light on how this epidemic affects us all. View the trailer here: http://www.jenniferbaumgardner.net/it-was-rape/ 

Location: The Feminist District, The Tank- 151 W. 46th St. (b/t 6th & 7th Ave) 8th Floor, NYC 10036

Looking to the Skies

Last week’s Manhattanhenge and last night’s Transit of Venus have interested me enough to peer into the skies to see the unusual phenomena. None of us will see Venus pass directly between the sun and our planet again; the next one will take place in December 2117. Thankfully, the more awe-inspiring Manhattanhenge (otherwise known as the Manhattan Solstice), will happen again on July 11th and 12th. The reason why I find this more interesting than the Transit of Venus is because the sun will actually align with the New York City street grid, which really blows my mind. Watching Venus’s trek across the surface of the sun did get a little boring, except for the solar flare near the end of it. Regardless of this, I was and still am interested in more sky and space related natural events.

I would love to see the Aurora Borealis (otherwise known as the Northern Lights) this coming winter where I can properly see them, such as in Canada or Norway. A beautiful natural light show in the skies above would be incredible to see. I would gladly welcome seeing all the streaks of light and their overall beauty for myself, even if I had to be bundled up in multiple layers of fabric to stay warm. There is something exciting about staring into the sky and seeing something so beautiful and almost unexpected.

Witnessing these natural events in the skies create great escapism. I think we as people get too overwhelmed with Earth-bound concerns, so looking above to witness something that happens once in a lifetime, yearly, or every few years is a nice way to look beyond ourselves. I am looking forward to the next Manhattanhenge in a month and any future sky gazing spectacles to come.

TWM Turns 10... in Style!

We're going from one event to another here at CHICKS ROCK! Thanks so much for supporting TWM's World of Wellness -- we hope you got a lot out of it. Now we're moving on to the major event of the summer: TWM's 10th Anniversary Fundraiser! Check out the details below and be sure to RSVP today.

TWM's 10th Anniversary Moroccan Magic Fundraiser!
Tuesday, July 26 · 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Come on out for an evening to celebrate a decade of TWM's work to educate, inspire and motivate women of every background to rise up and rock the world!

Mix and mingle with friends old and new while honoring the opportunities we've provided throughout the years for women to connect to themselves, each other and the world around them with programs that promote intercultural understanding and personal growth.

Held in a private room at the exotic Katra Lounge, the event includes your first drink, authentic cuisine and music, a belly dance lesson, silent auction and more! Moroccan or Middle Eastern-inspired/Festive attire suggested.

Cost: $65.00 in advance; $75.00 at the door (cash or check only)

Location: Katra Lounge, 217 Bowery Street (at Rivington)

RSVP on Facebook, Meetup, or email sally@thewomensmosaic.org

V

CHICKS ROCK! is happy to have Kristina back as a guest blogger this week.

Kristina Leonardi is the founder of The Women’s Mosaic. She is a career/life path consultant, speaker, seminar leader and expert in the areas of women, diversity and personal growth.

On May 5, 2011, Kristina attended the 7th annual Voices event hosted by Brotherhood/Sister Sol, a leading non-profit that empowers young Black and Latino women and men by helping them to become critical thinkers and community leaders.

"...I will continue to use my voice, the one I was told is important and matters." -- Rosario Dawson, actress and activist

I'm not a huge fan of American Idol, but have watched it here and there, and the theme I noticed this season has to do with contestants 'finding their voice' and being artists who are true to themselves. Now there's a new kid on the block called The Voice, and the X-Factor coming around the corner as well.

Although on one hand we are attracted to the idea of being plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight, I think our more subconscious obsession with these shows stems from how powerful that little box in our throat really is, because not enough of us use it to its fullest potential.

I have a client who feels she is not heard by her boyfriend, another who is trying to find his voice at his job, another who gets stuck when trying to articulate anything about herself. Shania Twain, who made a living and a fortune living by her voice, lost it after the devastating news of her husband's betrayal and coming to terms with a traumatic childhood. There is nothing more effective to show us just how essential our voice is to who we are than when it is not there.

I recently had the privilege of meeting one of the most distinctive and profound voices in our society today, Dr. Cornel West, who was being honored, along with Rosario Dawson and the former Mayor David Dinkins at the very aptly named Voices 7, the annual gala for The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, an organization that empowers low income Black and Latino youth to become agents of social change through education, activism and spoken word.

A frequent guest on mainstream TV talk shows, Dr. West always has an intelligent and entertaining discourse with his host and speaks my kinda language about love, courage and shared humanity; he is an extremely unique voice of reason in a sea of media madness.

At the end of the event, the students' poem said you "Can't sing when your guard is up and your mouth is closed... The consequences of silence are intolerable." No matter who you are, without your voice and your Voice, you are lost.

The logo and ads for The Voice show two fingers up in a V; I realized it's no small coincidence that this is also the sign of Peace and Victory, as they are all intertwined; because when you find your Voice and use it, you feel at Peace with yourself and can be Victorious in overcoming any obstacle - and that is Vital.

For The Love Of Tea

I attended the first day of the 6th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival in New York City this weekend. To be honest, I did not realize there were five previous festivals in the past five years, and I knew nothing about them until this year. I love tea of all kinds, and I had a free afternoon, so I went. I told several friends about the event, but they were unable to attend for various reasons. I was not deterred; nothing was going to stop me from attending a celebration of coffee, tea, and everything that goes with it.

It turned out to be a good thing that I went alone, because the venue was packed. It was so easy to lose people in the crowds that surrounded the many booths giving away information and samples of so many different types of tea, coffee, chocolate, cheese, and other goodies. I had no expectations, but I should have known that there would be many people clamoring to attend the Coffee & Tea Festival in New York City, of all places. I was also intrigued by the lectures and demonstrations about coffee and tea that ran throughout the day. How to serve the proper afternoon tea in the British and European styles, how to properly brew coffee, and why herbal tea really is not tea were just a few of the many discussions held by the experts, and the people who attended the lectures with me were all enraptured. While there were a few coffee and tea growers in the audiences, most of my fellow attendees were novices just like me. We just love the magic that turns coffee beans and tea leaves into our favorite hot and cold beverages.

What I love about events like the 6th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival is that they make me think about something I can take for granted. I drink herbal and green teas daily, so learning about them is weekend made me feel good, especially since they have health benefits.

Are you a coffee or tea devotee?

Review, Refresh & Reboot

While you're gearing up for TWM's Visioning Workshop, or if you already know you can't make it, you can swing by TWM founder & CHICKS ROCK! guest blogger Kristina's New Year's Workshop on Saturday. Check out the details below.

New Year's Workshop: Review, Refresh and Reboot for 2011!
Saturday, January 22nd 1pm-5pm

Review: 2010
Refresh: Your goals & objectives
Reboot: Get ready for 2011!

Workshop + Group Coaching

COST: $55 in advance; $65 at the door ($10 discount available for Members of TWM, YNPN, Woodhull, NYWICI, Baruch and StepUp)

Spend a reflective, interactive afternoon focusing on what you want to achieve in and how to do it in 2011 and beyond!
In this workshop you will:
*Review your internal and external accomplishments of 2010
*Identify the three areas of life you want to focus on and an overall theme for the year
*Create your definition of success for 2011 and beyond
*Gain insights and tools to overcome blocks and barriers to achieving your goals
*Leave with inspiration, motivation and an action plan to make it happen!

Attendees of this workshop can attend TWM's Visioning Workshop at the TWM Member rate.

Sign up for the workshop here.

Fall Focus & Fresh Start

Sally is feeling under the weather, so there's no post from her today, but this is a chance to promote for TWM founder & CHICKS ROCK! guest blogger Kristina. She will be speaking tonight, so check out the details below.

Spring Cleaning for the Soul: Fall Focus/Fresh Start
October 19th, 2010 | 6:30-8:00pm
Registration is closed. Please contact RMarcus@Woodhull.org

Spring is a time for rebirth, renewal and reawakening. It’s a time when many people dust off their homes and open the windows to let the fresh air in and stale air out – come listen to Kristina Leonardi, founder of The Women’s Mosaic, as she talks about doing the same for your soul! The Fall is also a great time to review where you are at, make adjustments and revise goals, just like you did when the new school year started! Examine what no longer serves a purpose in your life, and what ideas, work, or relationships need to be let go of or revised. Take this time to stop and reflect on who and where you are at this moment and use the energy of the seasons of change to create your best and most fulfilled life now!

Location: Microsoft Corporation, 6th Floor, Room 6042 “Radio City,” 1290 6th Avenue New York City

Cheap Summer o' Fun

The summer is (almost) here, which means the time has come to take advantage of all the free and cheap events in NYC! I’m not a big fan of the heat, and I could do without the bugs, but cheap fun in the city makes the summer worthwhile.

Every summer, my sister and I keep an eye out for great events that we can enjoy that cost us little or no money. Broadway at Bryant Park is one of our favorites, and last year, Shakespeare in the Park gave us one of our best stories ever (camping outside of Central Park is something you don’t easily forget). Usually, our biggest obstacle is keeping track of it all, but this year, I refused to let that be a deterrent. We spent hours going through the various summer guides and calendars that come out, picked our favorites, and made a calendar listing all of the events we’re interested in attending.

The best thing about the calendar is that now we’re able to share it with all of our friends as well. We can pick out the events we want to go to together and coordinate from there. The way I see it, if somebody wakes up and decides they want to do something fun and free that day or the next, they can look at the calendar and surely find something. Between dance classes, outdoor films, festivals, and musical performances, there won’t be a boring week all summer.

What do you have planned this summer? Is there something you look forward to each year?

Over-Scheduled, Under-Organized

One thing I’ve always been good at is staying organized. Ever since high school, my planner was my best friend. I never went anywhere without it and if it didn’t fit in my bag, I’d carry a small pencil and some of those tiny post-its so I could write down an important event and stick it in my planner when I got home. Yep, I was that anal about it.

For some reason, it’s been really hard to keep up with things lately. I wrote a bit about this when I left my iPhone behind a few months back, but it’s only gotten worse. I have at least one event or outing I’m invited to every day, whether it’s an after-work networking event, dinner with friends, the NY Tech Meetup, a relative’s birthday party, a Sunday brunch, etc. It feels nice to know that there are so many people in my network of friends and acquaintances, and that work-related functions like workshops and conferences are interesting enough to keep me busy… but it sure is hard to balance it all.

All of these invites mean that I often agree to spend time with somebody without realizing I’ve already committed that date to something else. In the past few weeks, I’ve double-booked not once but three times! A friend of mine keeps jokingly telling me I need to hire an assistant to keep track of my social calendar. And to think that just over a year ago, I was complaining about not having enough to do.

Needless to say, it’s about time for me to get myself organized again. My planner is small, but not small enough to take with me everywhere. My iPhone would be an obvious solution, but I’m not a fan of the calendar. Maybe I should buy some tiny pens and post-its to go back to my college routine.

How do you stay organized? Do you have a hard time keeping track of your social calendar?

Helping Haiti Through a Friend

Minutes after learning about the earthquake in Haiti, I thought back to a conversation I had with my friend Catherine in December. We were in her work studio in Brooklyn, and I was helping her get ready for a holiday bazaar by preparing price tags made from recycled cereal boxes. As I sat cutting the neatest rectangles I could manage, my friend told me how her desire to start HIMANE, her eco-friendly fashion design company, began in her native Haiti, because there she had access to countless pieces of discarded clothing and other materials. Catherine spoke of making deals with garment factories during her upcoming trip to the country, which she hoped would help stimulate the Haitian economy in her family’s geographical area. I bought a few of her signature bags as presents, and for my own personal use, and I always recommend her collections of "upcycled" accessories and clothing to anyone interested in fashion. Business reasons were not her only motivation to visit Haiti this year; she was also looking forward to seeing her father again after several years. Her anticipation was contagious, in a good way.

Then the earthquake hit and everything changed. Catherine read and watched the news in despair, and then true panic set in. While she found out that her family members were physically unharmed and accounted for, the news of friends who were injured and killed became known to her in the days to follow. Instead of succumbing to grief, Catherine organized a fundraising benefit, People Helping People, for this Thursday evening in Brooklyn to collect funds and supplies for Haitian earthquake relief. She plans to take all donations to the country herself so she can personally distribute them to local hospitals, organizations, and private citizens in late March. I will be one of the enthusiastic participants.

I feel good knowing that I am helping Haiti through my friend Catherine. There is nothing wrong with donating money to bigger organizations involved in the relief effort, but this particular way works best for me. For more information on her fundraising efforts, please visit HIMANE Inc.'s blog.

Of Fashion, Fairness, and Friendship*

The following was originally posted on Jul. 29, 2009. It is being re-posted as part of our CHICKS ROCK! Holiday series.


It is a gift when people can hold it together in stressful situations and be pleasant to people around them at the same time. My friend Catherine reminded me of this as she prepared for a fashion show she designed for last week, in honor of Bastille Day.

When I visited Catherine backstage as she got ready for the Planete Chic & Naturally Couture Fashion Show, she, her models, hair and makeup stylists, and her assistant were decidedly calm and composed. I was impressed by the professionalism and civility they had towards one another. I mostly observed and stayed out of everyone’s way as the tension slowly began to mount. Even when some of models had not arrived yet, and their walking order on the runway had to be changed because of these delays, Catherine and her assistant never broke a sweat as they kept re-arranging their plans. In spite of all of this, she maintained her composure, which was a good influence on everyone else in her team.

In Catherine’s case, I think it has to do with her self-confidence. Like many small business owners, she has been affected financially and emotionally by the recession. At the same time, she loves what she does and is really good at it. We met at the CHICKS ROCK! Launch Party last September, where she first impressed me with her intelligence and kindness. Our friendship really began when she told me how she uses recyclable items (such as discarded umbrellas and other fabrics from clothes and furniture) to create bags and clothes. While things haven’t been easy for Catherine and Himane Inc., she has always demonstrated admirable leadership skills. As a friend and advisor, I hope to learn more from her in the future.

Is there a friend/colleague/family member you admire, especially during these difficult times?

Of Fashion, Fairness, and Friendship

It is a gift when people can hold it together in stressful situations and be pleasant to people around them at the same time. My friend Catherine reminded me of this as she prepared for a fashion show she designed for last week, in honor of Bastille Day.

When I visited Catherine backstage as she got ready for the Planete Chic & Naturally Couture Fashion Show, she, her models, hair and makeup stylists, and her assistant were decidedly calm and composed. I was impressed by the professionalism and civility they had towards one another. I mostly observed and stayed out of everyone’s way as the tension slowly began to mount. Even when some of models had not arrived yet, and their walking order on the runway had to be changed because of these delays, Catherine and her assistant never broke a sweat as they kept re-arranging their plans. In spite of all of this, she maintained her composure, which was a good influence on everyone else in her team.

In Catherine’s case, I think it has to do with her self-confidence. Like many small business owners, she has been affected financially and emotionally by the recession. At the same time, she loves what she does and is really good at it. We met at the CHICKS ROCK! Launch Party last September, where she first impressed me with her intelligence and kindness. Our friendship really began when she told me how she uses recyclable items (such as discarded umbrellas and other fabrics from clothes and furniture) to create bags and clothes. While things haven’t been easy for Catherine and Himane Inc., she has always demonstrated admirable leadership skills. As a friend and advisor, I hope to learn more from her in the future.

Is there a friend/colleague/family member you admire, especially during these difficult times?

Who Are You & What Are You Supposed to Be Doing With Your Life?

CHICKS ROCK! wants to highlight Kristina's work by re-posting an edited version of a review of her talk Who Are You and What Are You Supposed to Be Doing With Your Life?, originally written by Sophia Karwowski for Manhattan WCO Center.

Kristina Leonardi is founder of The Women’s Mosaic. She is a career/life path consultant, speaker, seminar leader and expert in the areas of women, diversity and personal growth.

Join her for Who Are You and What Are You Supposed to Be Doing With Your Life? this Saturday, May 2. RSVP to see her speak Tuesday, May 5 when she presents: What Now? Turning Job Loss into Opportunity.


On September 4th, many women (and a few men, too) came to the Manhattan Open Center for an event held by Kristina Leonardi, Founder and Director of The Women's Mosaic. She presented a talk entitled "Who Are You and What Are You Supposed to be Doing With Your Life?" an attempt to equip attendees with the tools to apply their unique talents and passions to their professional life in a practical way. Leonardi shared these life lessons in a friendly, non-judgmental way, relating to the people in the crowd as equals with stories and anecdotes from her own varied and non-conventional career path. She explained how she managed to incorporate skills and contacts gleaned from each point in her varied resume into her founding and development of The Women's Mosaic.

Leonardi repeatedly stressed the importance of people who wish to make career changes to examine what they truly want without the distraction of outside influences. For example, she said, family members and friends often persuade a loved one to refrain from making drastic alterations to their lifestyle without meaning to be harmful. Many people claim they want to "help others" in their work but often don't realize this type of work can be harmful if they don't already have a stable self-image in their own life. The only way a person can get to know their true preferences, Leonardi stated, is by spending more time alone and learning to appreciate their own company.

Another neglected aspect of the path to a fulfilling career, said Leonardi, is the recognition and acceptance of one's own unique strengths. Many people have not yet identified the specific talents they possess and that have the potential to empower them in their professional and personal lives. Paying attention to repeated compliments from others and re-visiting one's childhood quirks can offer strong hints to hidden talents that people didn't allow themselves to recognize. The most useful life lesson to come out of this self-search that people should always remember, Leonardi told the audience, is to "do what you love and the money will follow."