Women’s Breakfast Roundtables in 2011

Each event is organized around topics related to the CCW focus areas with guest speakers and ‘conversation starters’ who share insights and tips to get the discussion going and moving on to an engaging group dialogue – with plenty of time at the end for informal networking to connect with others. There is no better time or place to invest in yourself.

Propose a Speaker or a topic you would like for future breakfasts. We want to hear about the issues that are important to you - so bring your ideas to the table.

Can't make it to the meeting, but want to learn more? notes from all our previous sessions are available here.

2011 Meetings

Tuesday September 20, 20011 8:00am – 9:30am
Starting Your Day with Good Nutrition
Were our mothers right? Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that skipping breakfast is a no-no. At this month's breakfast roundtable, Chen Ben Asher gives us a refreshing new take on the most important meal of the day. She will provide samples for several healthy and easy breakfast options, and discuss the following:

- How breakfast affects our metabolism

- Breakfast's role in weight control, reducing health risks, and on our daily performance

- Eating for health: optimum morning intake

- Healthy breakfast choices: empowering your body, mind, and soul

This special roundtable will feature innovative and fast ways of incorporating fruit, fresh vegetables, fruit smoothies, quinoa, oat porridge, ghee, jam, tzatziki, and green salad into our diet.  Don't know what tzatziki is? Come and find out!

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February Breakfast Roundtable

Tuesday, February 15,2011 8:00-9:30 a.m.
"How U.S. Law Has Been Redefining the Status of Women"

Our conversation starter for this month is  Eloise Rosenblatt , Attorney at Law.

This will be a survey of laws passed by male-dominated legislatures, that protect women and affirm the equality of women with men. It's one thing for a country to have statements in its Constitution about the equality of women, but another thing to have laws that implement that equality. In discussion, we will consider whether laws on the books have actually changed the U.S. culture in which we live and work. 

Eloise Rosenblatt is an attorney in private practice in employment law and wills and trusts. She holds a Ph.D. in theology and was a university professor for over 20 years. She believes that the empowerment of women is crucial for peace in the world, and thinks "feminist analysis" is a useful  term for women when they talk about their human rights, physical safety, employment, education, economic equality, religion and political voice.
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011 8:00-9:30 am

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April Breakfast Roundtable
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 8:00 – 9:30 am

KNOW YOUR WORKER’S RIGHTS!

Equal Pay Day on Tuesday April 12 is the day when an average woman's wages
caught up to those of her male counterparts in 2010. That's right — the wage gap
equates to over THREE MONTHS' worth of women's work. We look at this steep
discount and offer this workshop covering –

wage & hour loss

your right to a safe & healthy workplace

your right to equal pay

and many more issues.

Conversation starter Jeffrey Eng grew up in the bay area, went to law school at
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., was a staff attorney at Fresno
County Superior Court, worked for a U.S. magistrate judge in Fresno as a research
attorney, and then for a law firm in San Jose for 3 years specializing in employment
law. Since 2003, he has been at the Katharine and George Alexander Community
Law Center, working with Workers Rights Clinic law and doing community outreach.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 8:30-9:00am
Alicia Cranck Mt.view
Leading with knowledge: tools & training for success

Conversation starter Alicia Crank currently serves as the Director of the Leadership
Mountain View Program of the Chamber of Commerce of Mountain View. She’s a member
of several organizations including the Rotary Club of Mountain View and board member
of KMVT Community Television.  She also served on the Human Relations Commission
for the City of Mountain View.

Since 1990, Leadership Mountain View (LMV) has been an important training ground for community leaders.  Each class highlights a Leadership Skill through the eyes of a
Community theme. It is with the collaboration of these two concepts: Leadership and
Community that Leadership Mountain View provides knowledge of the community, enables relationships between people and organizations and builds leadership skills.

(How does city government work? How does Mountain View fit into the regional picture?
What are the important issues facing the local education ad public safety systems?
What are the needs in our area's safety net of health and human services? How can citizens make a difference?0

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Tuesday June 21, 20011 8:00am – 9:30am
The Courage of Self-Expression

Have you ever felt censored or silenced? Do you sometimes feel that your voice is
too small for what you want to express? Would you like the freedom to be bold with
your voice?

Throughout history, women’s voices have been dampened by social & cultural
constraints.  However, when we free our natural voices, we are able to give full
expression to who we are and what we feel. We begin to feel heard, and develop
a sense of confidence and efficacy.

This month’s conversation starter is Kay Kleinerman, Ed.D. Kay is a voice expert, teacher/coach, researcher, and writer whose innovative work uses singing to
empower people in ways that transform their lives through voice.  She specializes
in helping others find, develop and fully use their authentic, individual voices to
transcend fears and access their personal leadership capabilities.

Come learn & share in this discussion of voice and how it matters, particularly in the
lives of women, as we continue to make our presence known and felt in our
communities and in the world at large.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2011
The Cardea Center's invites you to the July Breakfast session with a focus on our audience YOU.

You will be the 'conversation starter' and have your choice of issues to pick for discussion, with the whole session geared towards getting to know other women with similar personal and professional interests and encouraging networking.

This informal free-format networking and information exchange over breakfast will be a chance to turn a regular busy morning into a relaxed gathering for exchange of ideas and information.

Come discover a regular source of support, and expand your network with other dynamic women to share ideas and resources

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2010 Meetings

Tuesday, November 16,2010, 8am-9:30am
Location : Room 105
1922 The Alameda,
San Jose, CA 95126

Speaker: Susan Gordon, Director of Non-profit Relations @ Causes

The upbeat tempo of this month’s Roundtable discussion had largely to do with Susan Gordon’s vivacious energy as she convincingly expounded on the benefits of social media, particularly via her company, Causes. We learned words such as “clicktivism,” the act of clicking to not only donate but to be involved in a social endeavor of one’s choice through the Causes application on Facebook. With 1600 non-profit organizations being created every year, there are plenty of organizations with 501(c)(3) status to choose from. A book that was recommended to read on the decline of social capital in the U.S. with increased mobility is Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of the American Community: http://www.bowlingalone.com/

For those in attendance involved in various sectors from small business to non-profits, Susan provided us with helpful tips and tricks to strengthen our efforts. Here are some points below:

• When using a social media platform, we should ask questions like, “Is that where people are? Is it the best tool to meet your goals?”
• Setting time-bounded experiments can be an effective way to assess whether time is well spent on a particular social media platform.
• Be a creative copycat. Observing people who are doing it well can give us ideas for how best to maximize our presence.
• Realize that we are all learning in these new mediums and we can contribute our and learn from others’ best practices at http://exchange.causes.com

Tuesday, October 26 from 8:00-9:30 a.m
Understanding the November Ballot: An Interactive Session

We had an excellent discussion at this month's roundtable where Dr. Gloria Hom shared her wealth of knowledge on not only the Propositions on the Nov. 2nd ballot, but also on key concepts such as reapportionment (the process of dividing the number of State reps. and senators among the State's population in order to assure districts of equal size) and referendum (direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal). We spent more time on certain propositions than others. A summary here will be far from doing any justice to what was discussed, so I present some highlights:

- A general rule of thumb, says Dr. Hom, is to vote "no" when in doubt, because if a Proposition is sound, it will appear again on a future ballot. Some propositions may have good ideas but have some kinks to work out. A proposition is democracy by petition and once a proposition is passed, it is difficult to change.

- Prop 19: Legalize and tax marijuana. If passed, anyone over 21 can grow and smoke a limited amount of marijuana. The Pros include increasing State revenue and reduction in funds to drug cartels. The Cons include uncertainty over the law's influence in local jurisdiction and flaws with the proposition itself that will have unintended consequences on public safety.

- Prop. 20 and Prop. 27: Prop 20 extends to congressional districts a law passed in 2008 that created a commission to redraw boundary lines for California state legislative districts and Board of Equalization districts. Prop. 27 seeks to repeal 2008's Prop 11 thereby protecting the power of political incumbents.

- Prop. 22 prohibits state raids on local government. The argument against is that it takes away resources from the state.

- Prop. 23 argues that energy costs in California will go up when AB32 (clean air legislation) is implemented.. The Cons include removal of incentives for companies to save energy.

- Prop. 24. In 2008, democrats made concessions to republicans. This proposition is proposed by the democratic party to repeal benefits to business owners and increase the state revenue by 1.3 billion. The argument against is if the proposition passes, many small business will be unable to deduct certain losses and unable share certain tax credits with other businesses, thereby negatively impacting small business owners.

- Prop. 26 argues that voters must give permission before any new taxes can be imposed, resulting in more transparency for voters to decipher between taxes and fees. An argument against this proposition is that this should be a local decision rather than state-wide.

We also wish to thank Emily Thurber of the Democratic Party for her active participation and input. Emily and Gloria inadvertently wore color appropriate clothing representing their respective parties! The discussions were lively, tasteful and civil, and we all came away more educated and aware.

Location : Room 105
1922 The Alameda,
San Jose, CA 95126

Tuesday, September 21, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Women's Entrepreneurship: Keys to Running a Successful Small Business - Part 2

The Sep breakfast meeting concluded the two-part series on Women’s Entrepreneurship, featuring small business owners in a variety of disciplines.

Conversation Starters:

• Shirley Chen, Ph.D. Esq, CEO, WinVivo Corporation
• Kara Rieben, Owner, Frozen Yogurt Store, Utah
• Panelist from women's Initiative to be confirmed
• Moderator: Lorrie Williams, Women's Initiative

Location : Women's Initiative for Self Employment
1401 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 208,
San Jose, CA 95126.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:00-9:30 am
Women's Entrepreneurship: Keys to Running a Successful Small Business - Part 1

The Aug breakfast meeting was the the first in a two-part series on Women’s Entrepreneurship, featuring small business owners in a variety of disciplines.

Conversation Starters:

• Brooke Schiller, Organizational Development Consultant and Founder of Incite Partners
• Nelly Capra, Italian Chef and Founder of Ornella Cucina Italiana
• Ingrid Mult, Massage Therapist and Founder of Massage Rescue

Location : A NewAmerica
100 E. Santa Clara Street (at Third Street),
San Jose, CA 95113. call Mariah: 408-460-0245.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 8:00am - 9:30am
Money Matters: How Women Earn, Spend, Save and Invest

Did you know that women control 60% of America’s wealth and that in 80% of the nation’s households, women are the primary decision makers regarding purchases? More and more, when it comes to money, women are in a position to influence and decide how to spend, save and invest for themselves and their families.

Come join us as we explore women’s relationship with money and discuss how we can wisely maximize our finances over time.

Conversation Starter: Shannon Parker

A licensed investment advisor with a specialist designation in financial planning who focuses her practice on working with women and families. She conducts regular educational workshops for women around various aspects of financial and estate planning and is passionate about giving women the tools to make smart decisions when it comes to their finances. She has led investment and financial planning practices at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Vangaurd.

Location: Sunnyvale Art Gallery Cafe, 
251 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087;
phone: (408) 737-8188.

Tuesday, June 15,2010, 8:00am - 9:30am
Knowing and Playing Your Strengths
Knowledge and skills can be acquired, but strengths are innate. Knowing your strengths energizes you. It makes you sharp, not well-rounded. This month, we will explore our strengths through conversation, experiential exercises, and a bit of introspection and
discuss why knowing your strengths and mastering them is more important now than ever before in our constantly changing world.

Conversation Starter
Pat Obuchowski, CEO inVisionaria
co-author of
“ Scrappy Women in Business: Living Proof that Bending the Rules Isn't Breaking the Law ", and co-founder of Catalyst Youth Leadership Program.

Location & Parking
Orchard Valley Coffee Shop,  349 East Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008
phone: (408) 374-2115

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Has the Gender Revolution Stalled?” was the topic of the conversation with special guest: Paula England, Professor of Sociology and an affiliate of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, whose research focuses on gender inequality in labor markets, and on how changes in family life are affected by the gender and class systems.

During her interaction with the audience, Paula provided insights and traced the progress of women in the workplace and home over the past 50 years in comparison with the relative changes in the roles of men in both work and family life. Followed by Q & A. Great audience participation.

Our special guests this month were two long-time advocates in the Valley.
Sally Lieber, former Mountain View City Council member and Mayor and Former California State Assembly member representing the 22nd Assembly District that includes the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and portions of Santa Clara and San Jose. She has extensive and impressive experience to share in the realms of public service and civic engagement.

Emily Thurber began her career working for Senator Alan Cranston and then became a Foreign Service wife and mother living in Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Canada and Washington, DC. Since returning to the South Bay in 1990, she has been active in politics serving as President of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition, and now Regional Director of the California Democratic Party for Region 5. She has also served on or chaired boards and committees for YWCA, Los Altos Sister Cities, the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women, and the Los Altos Community Foundation.

Lisa Frederiksen, Researcher, author and speaker widely known for her work on women’s history and women and family issues provided important insights on the history of women in the workplace and how far we’ve come in balancing the “second shift.” She then lead the audience in an engaging group dialogue around the topic, posing a number of questions to pull forth the experiences and wisdom of the group.

At the February 2010 Cardea Center for Women Networking Breakfast, entrepreneur Kristi Royse shared her story of starting and running her own consulting business – KLR Consulting. Through courage, determination and optimism, Kristi has grown a business and a career that aligns with her passion and allows her to create the lifestyle she desires. She highlighted the importance of goal setting in her success: “If you don't have a goal, how do you make your dreams come true?" She also shared the importance of friends, mentors and coaches along her journey – friends to provide support and a sounding board, mentors to provide advice and counsel and a personal coach to help map out plans and hold her accountable along the way. Other women in the group – many also entrepreneurs – echoed this advice and agreed that a strong support system around a new business owner to provide resources, ideas and strength are key to success in branching out and starting your own business. Breakfast attendees exchanged advice from their own experiences, brainstormed around some new business ideas, and highlighted a number of key resources for women business owners (such as the Small Business Administration and Score).

Thanks to all who participated – it was a great conversation for both established and budding female entrepreneurs.

Our first January Breakfast of 2010 was a great success! Thank you to Carol Adamski life coach and CEO of Alive, Centered and In Action

Drawing from her 15 years of experience as a life coach, Carol provided her insights and some practical tips on how to mindfully begin the New Year and focus our energy and attention on achieving the goals and dreams most important to each of us. She lead an engaging conversation around setting goals and mapping out a plan for 2010. As we launch into the New Year, the breakfast was a great reminder to take time to be intentional about what we want to create in the world – whether it be in work, family, relationships, community or other goals and dreams.
 
Using the “Be/Have/Do” framework that Carol introduced, we began brainstorming and sharing some of our aspirations for 2010.

• Be – goals that shape who you are in the world (e.g., spontaneous, peaceful)
• Have – things you want to acquire, whether material (e.g., money, a beautiful house) or immaterial (e.g., courage, deep friendships.
• Do – what you want to accomplish or achieve (e.g., go on a trip, get a promotion)
  

The goals and perspectives shared were varied and insightful – each person contributing valuable ideas and points of view that enhanced our lively discussion. It was an excellent way to begin the New Year and start a new week.