Spotlight on the FWA Operations Resource Committee

September 17, 2024

Administrative and fiduciary oversight ensures FWA operations run smoothly

Few people know the workings of the Financial Women’s Association’s (FWA’s) office better than Past FWA President Katrin Dambrot (2015-2017) and current chair of the FWA’s Operations Resource Committee (ORC).


In a Q&A session with Sherree DeCovny, co-chair of the Marketing & Strategic Communications Committee, Katrin talks about how the FWA enabled her to build valuable business and leadership skills to advance her career. She also explains the critical role the ORC plays in supporting and overseeing the FWA’s office.

Sherree: Katrin, to start off, please tell us about your career?

 

Katrin: I owe my career largely to serendipity. Something would fall in my lap, and I would make something of it.

 

When I was studying economics in college, I participated in a work program in Unilever’s (then Lever Brothers) market research department, where a group of us were tasked with making copies of documents after-hours. I kept breaking the copier, so it was either fire me or find something else for me to do. I ended up working on a giant forecasting model that was being built across the company’s soaps and detergent products. Ultimately, I was much better at analysis than I was at copying. Based on my performance on the project, Unilever offered me a graduate summer internship, although I was still an undergraduate, and a few months later offered me a full-time job if I agreed to finish my degree at night. That’s how I launched my career.

 

Later, I was recruited to Pepsi’s Marketing Group at a time when new products and packaging were launching. It was an exciting time at Pepsi, and I learned a different approach to distribution and promotion.

 

Then I joined Seagram. I was promoted and given the opportunity to hold the top management development spot in the company, chief of staff to the president. It was a heady life – two years of corporate jets, high-level meetings and a view from the top of a corporation that at the time was the industry leader globally. My predecessor in the development spot became the next president, and I moved on to financial services, which was recruiting heavily from consumer packaged goods companies because of deregulation.

 

I ended up in companies that faced three hostile takeovers or sell-outs in five years. I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and started my own consulting business in 1989, Dambrot and Company. Incredible, interesting opportunities reached me through the network I had built in corporate life. I consulted with major companies and was asked to work on a task force for the U.N. as well as helping the Dominican Republic better understand how to build value through branded instead of generic products.

 

Along the way, I’ve been asked to serve as chair of the Morris County Association for Foreign Trade and have spoken to many organizations. Recently, I stepped down from a symphony board, and I currently serve as Chair of the Board of Governors of Antioch University.

 

Sherree: What was your journey at the FWA?

 

Katrin: I was invited to an FWA signature event in 2004. I was so impressed by the caliber of the audience that I joined the organization and signed up to participate on the Marketing Committee.

 

A few years later, I invited a colleague, who was looking for a not-for-profit role, to an FWA Not-For-Profit Committee meeting so she could network. I ended up being asked to co-chair that committee in 2009. That was during the Great Recession, when many people in financial services lost their jobs. We invited top speakers to educate our members on governance and fiduciary duty, and ultimately, our well-attended events were profitable for the FWA. Ironically, I’m probably the only person in the FWA’s history to rise to president from the Not-for-profit Committee.

 

Next, I was put on the board as a vice president. I chaired the trip to Berlin in 2013, which was extremely successful in terms of participation and fundraising for the FWA. That event put me on the Nominating Committee’s radar screen, and I was chosen as the next president-elect and then president. At the time, presidents served for one year, but the FWA changed the bylaws so I could serve for two years. The FWA was navigating profound structural changes, so it was beneficial to maintain the same leadership.

 

I am particularly proud of my role in founding/guiding both the Pacesetters Program as well as the Back2Business Program. While I was president, I also mentored a Baruch student as part of our involvement there.

 

After I was president and past president, I stepped into my role on the ORC, which I chaired from 2018 to 2021. I took a breather, and in 2023, I was invited to chair the Committee again.

 

Sherree: What is the ORC’s remit, and why is it important to the FWA?

 

Katrin: The FWA office is the infrastructure that supports the educational and networking programs and events, maintains our website, and ensures that the organization runs smoothly. Essentially, our committee is the administrative oversight of the infrastructure. It focuses on policies, plans and issues pertaining to the FWA office and staff. We oversee FWA personnel issues, staff benefits, wage structure, technology and communications plans and strategies, in addition to facilities requirements. If needed, the Committee coordinates with the FWA’s counsel and recommends appropriate actions to the board. Given the fiduciary responsibility, all members of the Committee must be FWA board members, and currently, there are three of us.

 

ORC members must be well-versed in the operations of the office. We ensure that insurance policies are reviewed, renewed or changed on time. We don’t do the audit, but we ensure that our 990 filing – a lengthy, complicated tax return for not-for-profit organizations – is submitted on time. Importantly, we oversaw the move from a physical office to a virtual office during Covid and oversaw the development of a new staff handbook. We’re responsible for reviewing the administrative budget, which is part of the overall budget. In 2023, we were involved in the development of a new accounting manual.

 

Sherree: What should current and prospective FWA members take away from your experience with the organization?

 

Katrin: My leadership roles at the FWA allowed me to develop the relationships and skills I needed to expand on an interesting and rewarding career. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for the FWA. I encourage everyone to take advantage of all that the FWA has to offer.

Build your connection with the FWA! Learn about how to get involved with FWA committees here.

Preparing for What's Next: Cailyn Kitchens and the Power of Mentorship

August 13, 2026
by Robert Brown "I believe that mentorship is incredibly valuable, especially during college as you are navigating a lot of changes and first-time experiences." For Cailyn Kitchens, a junior at Baruch College, those words aren't simply a reflection on her college experience. They've become the foundation of how she's prepared for her future. Following her junior-year internship at Scotiabank, Cailyn credits the Financial Women's Association's Baruch College Mentoring Program and her mentor, Laleh Bashirrad, Managing Director at BNP Paribas, with helping her approach one of the most pivotal chapters of her college journey with greater confidence, curiosity, and perspective.

Wall Street Exchange Interns Get an Inside Look at Strategic Communications

August 6, 2026
On July 7, 2026, interns in the FWA’s Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program came together virtually for the fourth session of the summer, titled “Strategic Communications,” sponsored by Joele Frank. Jordan Resnick, HR Specialist, and Heather Wallach, Talent Acquisition Manager, introduced interns to Joele Frank and the world of strategic communications, a field many interns had never considered as part of the financial services landscape. Jordan and Heather explained that Joele Frank advises companies through their most consequential moments, from mergers and acquisitions to shareholder activism, restructuring, leadership transitions, and crisis response, ranking as the #1 U.S. M&A PR advisor and #1 shareholder activism defense advisor in the industry. To bring the firm’s work to life, Jordan and Heather walked interns through several high-profile engagements, including Joele Frank’s support of Warner Bros. Discovery, a current client, as an example of how the firm helps companies navigate high-stakes, high-visibility situations in real time. The discussion underscored that effective strategic communications require not just managing a narrative, but protecting a company’s credibility with every audience watching, from investors and employees to the media and the public. Jordan and Heather also broke down the many disciplines that fall under the strategic communications umbrella, including investor relations, corporate and media relations, governance and corporate stewardship, design, and digital strategy. They emphasized that the firm hires like a law firm, bringing on Account Associates directly out of undergrad, and encouraged interns interested in the field to build strong writing skills, stay current on financial news through outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, and consider Joele Frank’s summer internship or full-time Account Associate programs as a path into the industry. Interns had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation before breaking into small groups to discuss their key takeaways from the session and reflect on what they had learned so far this summer. Many interns shared that the session reshaped their understanding of what a career in PR actually looks like, moving past common misconceptions to reveal a discipline built on strategy, judgment, and relationships. Several groups also highlighted the session’s emphasis on soft skills, noting how much communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence matter in a field so often mistaken for being purely about writing press releases. At the conclusion of the session, the WSE spun the wheel to award a CFA Society Student Membership, sponsored by the CFA Society, to Sarah Convery. Congrats, Sarah! A huge thank you to Jordan Resnick, Heather Wallach, and the entire Joele Frank team for giving interns a behind-the-scenes look at the strategic communications industry. The WSE Co-Chairs and Committee extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the President’s Circle Firms, the Partnership Circle Firms, and the Friends of FWA for their unwavering support and generosity to the interns and the Wall Street Exchange Program. 

Wall Street Exchange Interns Learn Foundations for Professional Excellence

July 30, 2026
On June 23, 2026, the FWA's Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program 2026 cohort gathered virtually for the third weekly session of the program. The session was sponsored by Knopman Marks, a boutique NYC-based firm known for its high-performance training for securities licensing exams. Brian Marks, Co-Founder and President of Knopman Marks & Highwire, led a practical, high-energy conversation titled "Foundations for Professional Excellence." The first topic that Brian discussed was the habits that drive a successful early career and why those habits matter well beyond an internship. The skills interns build now are the same ones that separate a good intern from a great one; and that later separate a good professional from a high performer. He described high performance, not as a matter of raw talent, but rather as a set of behaviors one can practice. The habits put in place early are the ones that compound. The interns who start practicing them now are the ones who carry them from an internship with limited responsibilities into executive-level responsibility later. The interns then reviewed a series of four credibility builders and four credibility killers, proactive behaviors that shape how senior professionals come to trust a young professional. Owning your mistakes and learning from them is a key credibility builder and surprising your manager with bad news at the last minute is a major credibility killer. The interns then rated themselves on a Strategic Action Matrix, a four-box framework charting how strategy: “Are you focused on the right things?” interacts with execution: “Are you doing the work to get there?”. He asked interns to consider one or two new habits they could put to work immediately. Brian impressed upon the interns that professional excellence is thinking strategically and executing well, while stepping outside their comfort zone, stretching past their limits and building resilience when the plan changes. Brian then introduced the five strategies in The Intern Success Playbook, emphasizing that interns are building their personal brand every day through what others observe. Whether it's staying focused instead of constantly checking a mobile phone or taking the initiative to connect with colleagues, everyday actions shape how others perceive them. His five strategies focused on working and communicating smarter, building authentic relationships, and paying close attention to perception and details. The interactive format kept energy high. Interns enjoyed the live Q&A, the quiz, and the chance to ask questions. A screen full of Zoom hearts spoke to the value they found in his advice. A huge thank you to Knopman Marks and Brian Marks for investing their time and expertise in the WSE 2026 cohort. The session concluded with the WSE Committee awarding intern Sarah Convery a CFA Student Annual Membership, sponsored by the CFA Society. The WSE Co-Chairs, Gerri Bostick and Laura Smith Dunaief, and the WSE Committee extend their sincere appreciation to Brian Marks and Knopman Marks for their support in making this virtual session a success. We also thank the FWA President Albana Theka, FWA leadership, volunteers, sponsoring firms, and participating employers for their continued commitment to providing this valuable experience to the next generation of financial professionals. 

Wall Street Exchange Interns Learn Networking Best Practices

July 23, 2026
Interns participating in the 2026 Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program gathered virtually for the program’s second session, an interactive panel discussing “Networking Best Practices.” Sponsored by S&P Global, Northwestern Mutual, and Wells Fargo, the session brought together three financial services professionals to share how they have built and sustained meaningful relationships throughout their careers. The discussion was moderated by Dan Yu, Co-Founder of FutureProof You and Director of Partnerships at the talent development nonprofit Ascend Leadership . After a long career on Wall Street, Dan pivoted to recruiting and career coaching, work that has since taken him from coaching college students to C-level executives. He set an energetic, conversational tone for the panel, joined by Jena Angeliadis, Executive Director and Senior Lead Product Manager at Wells Fargo; Antonietta Gaudio, Recruiting Operations Manager at Northwestern Mutual; and Christina Siekierski, Senior Product Manager at S&P Global.  Jena traced her own path across American Express, JPMorgan Chase, and now Wells Fargo, encouraging interns to think of networking less as a transaction and more as an ongoing practice built on curiosity and follow-through. She pointed to her own career transitions, including launching the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card, as proof that relationships built early in a career often resurface in unexpected and valuable ways later on. Drawing on nearly 14 years in talent acquisition, Antonietta spoke about her “white glove” approach to building trust, urging interns to lead every interaction with empathy and authenticity rather than a polished pitch. She reminded the group that confidence in networking is built from within, and that the goal of any conversation should be genuine connection, not simply a foot in the door. Christina offered a product manager’s view of networking, describing how cross-functional relationships across product, commercial, and client teams at S&P Global have been just as important to her growth as relationships built outside the office. She encouraged interns to treat every colleague, not just senior leaders, as a connection worth investing in. To help interns put the panel’s advice into action, Dan closed the session with five “homework” assignments to complete in the weeks ahead: Update your LinkedIn profile Build a Linktree or dotcard Join or start a virtual networking group Reply to your three oldest unanswered text messages, using voice text Call someone you haven’t spoken with in a year A huge thank you to Dan Yu, Jena Angeliadis, Antonietta Gaudio, and Christina Siekierski, and to S&P Global, Northwestern Mutual, and Wells Fargo, for helping interns build the confidence and tools to network with purpose. At the conclusion of the session, the WSE Committee awarded a CFA Society New York student membership to Angela Lin. The WSE Co-Chairs and Committee extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the President’s Circle Firms, the Partnership Circle Firms, and the Friends of FWA for their unwavering support and generosity to the interns and the Wall Street Exchange Program.
More Posts