WILMINGTON, Del. — Blue Blaze Associates and NEWS4Women announce a new collaboration with Fund for Women for the series, Conversations with Women Making a Difference. In 2020, the Fund for Women (FFW) joins the Delaware Art Museum as both partner and beneficiary.
“The Conversations series, from the beginning, has been thought-provoking and inspiring, sparking many critical conversations about women’s advancement,” said Sarah Kenney-Cruz, a FFW Founder and member of their Young Founders Committee. “This series aligns well with our mission to empower women and girls, and our board voted unanimously to support this new collaboration. We look forward to helping make Conversations with Women even more impactful in 2020.”
The three panelists for the next Conversations event on February 6, 2020, will be:
Claudia Peña Porretti – CEO, Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay
Claudia is a seasoned nonprofit leader with more than 20 years of experience. She has always been a strong advocate for children and her work has included supporting Latina girls through a collaboration with Girls, Inc., promoting awareness of English Learners’ education, and advocating for Unaccompanied Children who migrated to Sussex County. While Executive Director at La Esperanza, Claudia launched a Victims Immigration Services program for Latina victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and created PASA (Prevent Alcohol and Substance Abuse), an evidence-based substance abuse prevention program for Hispanic youth. In 2016, she secured recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals for the Latin American Community Center to provide legal immigration services for low-income Hispanic immigrants.
Honored by Delaware Today as a 2013 Women in Business, and a 2015 recipient of Girls Inc.’s Strong, Smart and Bold Award, Claudia currently serves as a trustee for the University of Delaware and Woodlawn Trustees.
Kathy Jennings – Attorney General of Delaware
Kathy joined the Delaware Department of Justice (DOJ) right out of law school, starting her legal career as one of only two women in the Criminal Division. In the years that followed, she prosecuted dozens of domestic violence, sexual assault, and homicide cases – including working with the FBI, New Castle County Police Department, and Delaware State Police to investigate and prosecute a serial killer who tortured and murdered five women.
She went on to serve as both State Prosecutor and Chief Deputy Attorney General, before entering private practice where she represented individuals and companies in criminal, regulatory, and civil matters. In 2011 she returned to the DOJ as State Prosecutor under Attorneys General Beau Biden and Matt Denn. Kathy also served as Chief Administrative Officer of New Castle County under County Executive Matt Meyer, managing personnel and budgetary matters for Delaware’s second-largest public employer. On January 1st, 2019, she was sworn in as Delaware’s 46th Attorney General.
Lossie Freeman – Director of Corporate Partnerships, Zip Code Wilmington
Lossie is responsible for cultivating corporate relationships for the only nonprofit coding school in Delaware and for helping to place Zip Code graduates in paid technology jobs. Previously she served as Special Assistant to Mayor Mike Purzycki for Employment Initiatives for the City of Wilmington.
Her career began on Wall Street at JPMorgan as an Internal Global Consultant where she assisted in the launch of their FX business in Seoul and a joint venture in Tokyo with DKB Bank. She later became a licensed broker-dealer on the JPM Listed Equity Trading Desk, a clerk on the New York Stock Exchange, and as program manager for a technology group. She also worked in the Economic/Political section at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China and in Washington D.C., as the head of Business Development for a boutique communications consulting firm.
Lossie serves on the board of the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF), and the Fund for Women is one of DCF’s Giving Circles. She is also a trustee for Salem Academy & College.
Panel Facilitator & Series Sponsor:
Carol Arnott-Robbins is the founder of the Network to Encourage Women’s Support 4 Women (NEWS4Women), an initiative to build collaborative community and economic opportunities for women, and to support local nonprofit organizations.
She is also a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach. She specializes in collaborating with financial planners, attorneys, real estate appraisers, therapists, and other professionals to build a team around the specific needs of each client. Prior to her career in real estate, she spent 25 years providing financial planning and divorce strategy planning services, especially for women at pivotal points in their financial lives.
The 2020 dates for Conversations with Women Making a Difference will be:
February 6
April 23
October 1
All events will be held at the Delaware Art Museum from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 before Jan 31, $40 and available for purchase online at www.delart.org. All proceeds are donated to nonprofits in Delaware.
Conversations with Women Making a Difference in Delaware is a series presented by Blue Blaze Associates and sponsored by NEWS4Women. Each event features a different panel of inspiring women discussing a variety of topics including career highlights, life lessons, and hard-earned wisdom. In 2019, the series raised $5,000 for the Delaware Art Museum.
For additional updates, find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConversationswithWomenDE/
Blue Blaze Associates is a women-owned, full-service marketing & design agency founded in 2001. Expertise includes a combination of traditional strategies and the latest digital techniques. Blue Blaze clients appreciate the convenience of working with a single collaborative team that can deliver creative, customized solutions. Learn more at https://blueblazeassociates.com/
NEWS4Women (Network to Encourage Women’s Support 4 Women) unites women to provide a powerful voice through programs, information, and an active social network in our community. Learn more at https://www.news4women.org/
Delaware Art Museum This event series aligns with the Delaware Art Museum’s new strategic direction, which focuses on becoming a more inclusive, relevant community resource. Their goal is to become a space where people can come together on equal terms to engage in cultural and civic discourse. Learn more at www.Delart.org.
The Fund for Women (FFW) is an endowment held at the Delaware Community Foundation. Through the power of collective philanthropy, FFW has distributed more than $2,870,000 in grants to Delaware nonprofit agencies since 1994. This volunteer-led, all-inclusive, diverse group shares a common goal: to help all Delaware women and girls reach their full potential. FFW works to attract new philanthropists, known as Founders, for the statewide organization because together they are making a difference! Learn more at
https://defundforwomen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFFW/
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