Program areas at WISE
WISE 2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS2022 was a year for the books for WISE! Throughout 2021, the WISE Board worked very hard to build a solid foundation to set the organization up for long term success. The organization was finally able to reap the benefits of all its hard work. Although the DEI Learning Series officially kicked off in late 2021, the rubber really hit the road in 2022. In partnership with ExecuInsight, WISE offered 16 sessions across 3 tracks (Human Resources, Leadership & Personal Growth). There were 122 participants across 30 companies. It was a HUGE success and will continue to be a staple in WISEs program offering as a Partner benefit. Participants were surveyed and rated the program an average of 4.4/5.0, which is phenomenal for Year 1! Topics covered included Recruiting Best Practices Attractively & Proactively Serving Up a Diverse Candidate Pool, Inclusive Interviewing & Onboarding, Scorecards How & What to Measure, Launch BRG Programs, Unconscious Bias & Conscious Inclusion, Be an Upstander (not a Bystander), A Leaders Role in DEI Efforts, Preparing for Bold & Sustainable Progress, Self Assessment & Action Planning, Business Case for DEI, Resonant Leadership & Emotional Intelligence, and Handling Difficult Situations & People. In addition to flawlessly executing the 2022 program, there was a ton of work to set the stage for 2023 content, including the addition of a 4th track, the Cohort Program. A topic that was top of mind in 2022 was succession planning and Board engagement. With Jen Linke serving as Chair, the organization saw incredible leadership and organization to set itself up strategically in years to come. According to bylaws, Linke must roll out of her Chair position at the end of 2023. In true WISE fashion, the Executive Committee identified a successor (Katie Blohowiak, currently service as 1st Vice Chair) early on in 2022 to ensure ample time to train / hand off by the end of 2023. Even though we didnt have any board members rolling off in 2022, in prioritizing succession planning, we are excited to announce that Mary Conwell with Sofidel & Miranda Sakschek with Winland Foods will be joining our Board of Directors effective Jan 2023! Mary comes to the Board from our Recruitment Membership Committee and Miranda joins us after serving on the Junior Board. Both of these are great examples of our strategic vision on driving engagement at all levels in the organization. The decision was made in 2022 to remain virtual for the WISE Annual Meeting, however, the Board felt strongly that the personal connection was missing. Many hours of hard work and planning went into putting on an In Person Networking event to align with the timing of PLMA. The event was an absolute success, where nearly 225 people across the industry gathered to network.The Organizations 2022 annual event featured an incredibly dynamic and motivating panel in The Band of Sisters. Participants were given the gift of their book, You Should Smile More. The message of the meeting was alive and thoroughly discussed as people came together in person for the networking event. Below you can see the 2022 WISE Wins by the numbersConducted 5 webinars with 533 attendeesHeld 6 online networking events with 156 attendeesPerformed 9 mentor circles with 54 participants from 19 companiesMonthly e-newsletters with original content & interviews