20 Stories from 20 Years of NEW

As we near the end of our 20th anniversary year, we look back and reflect on the thousands of lives NEW has touched throughout its history! Here are just a few of the wonderful stories our members shared with us from their NEW experiences.

When Tina Winham told me about NEW, and she invited me to an event with her. I attended that event and thought it was super cool. It is just awesome to see so many women and men be involved with this organization.There are so many people from different parts of different industries that are involved with NEW. That’s how I got involved, by literally going to my very first event with NWA, and that was probably 2010 or 2011, and I am still here.
– Ashley Jones, Business Manager – Central Region/KeHe Team, Acosta, NEW  Chicago Region Operations Planner

I had the best experience at my last networking event before COVID hit. I entered a room of 200 or so people and instantly felt like I was at home. I knew quite a few people and made sure to say hello to those women and men but then had the chance to meet 30+ new colleagues who were just as eager to network. There is [no] networking event like a NEW Connect!
– Carol Vella, Associate Director, Marketing – DEI, Walmart

I had the honor of accepting an award at the NEW Summit back in 2017 as the Treasurer for NEW Greater Philadelphia for our 10-year Anniversary Event. The ladies of NEW GPA put their heart and soul into planning that event. [The] 2017 Summit was in Washington DC that year, and PepsiCo hosted a dinner on the rooftop of the hotel. It was such a surreal experience having all of my internal and external network together in one place to celebrate the power of women and excellence within our industry. I will never forget that year!
– Katie Wallace, Director of Sales for PepsiCo

Making the connections and support from those connections!
– Kalyn Oden, Tyson Foods

In 2001, I was serving as pro bono counsel to the group forming NEW.  During one of the earliest of dozens of conference calls to write NEW’s by-laws, one of the principal founders, the late Hedy Halpert, announced that I would henceforth have the nickname ‘Prince Charming of NEW.’ Hedy liked giving out nicknames. Prince Charming sounded good to me, so on my next draft of the bylaws, the lineup of officers included not just the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and those other boring titles, but also Prince Charming…roughly 45 seconds after I sent out that draft, I got a call from my then-Crown-colleague Jennie Jones, who, in her typical subtle fashion, wanted to know “What the [expletive] is this Prince Charming [expletive]?” Needless to say, after that rebuke, Prince Charming no longer made an appearance in the bylaws.  They did, however, make me one of NEW’s initial directors and its first General Counsel.
– Andrew Lapayowker, General Counsel & Secretary, Rosemore, Inc.

I truly have so many amazing NEW memories, but two stand-out ones for me are when I had the opportunity to interview Indra Nooyi, and [interviewing] Jennifer Garner & John Foraker at two of our Premier Events.
– Jill McIntosh,  CEO JVM Ventures, Sr Consultant Simpactful

During COVID. I knew everybody was home doing nothing, so I sent a Zoom invite to a bunch of friends from [NEW Executive Forum] and everybody showed up. We got through the pandemic together and love our calls so much that we are still getting together virtually.
– Fawn Germer, Best-selling Author & Speaker, fawngermer.com

The first time I attended the Summit Conference was in 2010 is still my all-time favorite NEW moment. I was so empowered and inspired sitting in the general sessions and looking around at all the WOMEN who were in my industry with me. That day, my thoughts forever immediately from being focused on how hard it was going to be to successful as a woman in the industry to being excited about changing the industry and bringing more women along with me.
– Kallie Millar – Director of Sales & Marketing, CROSSMARK

NEW Summit, being in a room of a few thousand people all standing up and making a call to action to advance women is one of the most powerful things I have ever been a part of.
– Melissa Rodriguez, Principal Client Insights – IRI

I was sitting in a bar with PepsiCo colleagues at a national NEW event and across the room was the Coca Cola team. [My] good friend and author Fawn Germer grabbed us all and brought us to the center of the area together as ONE team. So many of us became friends after that. And you realize how you leave your company at the door and come in not as competitors, but as mission aligned colleagues. That’s what NEW is about.
– Subriana Pierce, Navigator Sales and Marketing/Managing Partner

I loved the Gala at my first NEW event in Los Angeles! I didn’t know a single person at the Summit, but I had the best time! I was completely blown away by the event, the speakers, the attendees, and the party at the end was a blast!
– Katie Mumm, Acosta Sales & Marketing

Over the last two years I have benefited greatly from being a member and a leader within the NEW organization. Whether it’s the personal relationships I have formed, the professional experiences I have gained, or the lessons I have learned – I am so thankful NEW is a part of my life.
– Nicole Balkenbusch, Head of Finance, Amazon North America Customer Service NEW Pacific  Northwest Region Executive Co-Chair

I had the opportunity to learn and to lead as an officer with the [Cincinnati] region, as well as to build my public communication skills [speaking] to 2, 3, 4, or 500+ of our Cincinnati friends. Those experiences shaped me into the leader that I am today. I am truly grateful for the vision of this organization.
– Felicia Mooty, Director, Market Activation, Nestle Purina North America

I have had so many experiences and opportunities that I have been able to leverage through NEW. The first time I introduced a speaker was with NEW, the first time I moderated a panel was NEW, the first time I spoke on a panel was NEW.
– Marla Thompson, SVP/GM, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce, Past NEW Board Chair and Region Advisor

It’s so inspiring for me to see how NEW has affected the careers and lives of so many others. As ambassador for Acosta, I am given the opportunity to help spread the values and benefits of NEW to so many other people within my organization. That fuels my motivation to keep doing what I’m doing.
– Nicole Wright, program Engagement Consultant, Acosta Marketing Consultant, Path Forward  Consulting, NEW Ambassador

I attended my first NEW event hosted by Frito Lay at a headquarters building in Plano, TX. They were looking for volunteers, and I was interested in joining the organization. Little did I know six months after I joined, I would be leading the programming committee. Through that experience I got to meet motivational speakers, book authors, and I even had the opportunity to meet the first female brigadier general for the United States Army. And oh my gosh, what a cool experience that has been.
– Carmen Fahrenthold, Deployment Director, Frito-Lay PepsiCo Global Template

In 2017, 12 women formed NEWGen – a committee focused on increasing the representation of Millennials within NEW. The highlight was getting the opportunity to be the youngest presenters at NEW Summit 2018, delivering the session titled “Humble Brag: Millennials Are Your Greatest Asset.”
– Briana Lee – Shopper Marketing Manager – Tyson Foods

My most memorable experience is from the 2018 NEW Summit that was in Chicago. That was my first Summit ever and I was an officer at the time. That was the year we won region of the year, and it was so exciting seeing the accomplishments we had as a region, our officer team working together and achieving all the goals and the mission of NEW and being recognized by Sara Alter and the NEW HQ Board of being the best region of the year.
– Doug Waller, Sr. Director of Sales – Walmart, Harry’s, Inc., NEW Northwest  Arkansas Region Executive Co-Chair

My journey with NEW started in 2011 when a senior leader at the Clorox company in Atlanta asked me to volunteer for NEW. I didn’t know when I said yes what that would mean for my personal and professional development, but from that first mega event in Atlanta with over 300 attendees at the Coca-Cola headquarters, to countless other events then subsequently in the Seattle region with Pacific Northwest, NEW has always filled my cup.
– Desiree Frey, Director of Regional Growth & Development, NEW, Past NEW PacNW Region Co- Chair

At my previous employer, our former president was heavily involved with NEW.  She was one of the founding members of the SoCal region. So, I used to go to events and attend webinars, so I was involved with NEW as a participant, which means I’d go to the events. The events were fantastic. We were surrounded by women who were doing phenomenal things. It was a great circle to be in. I felt like one of the lucky ones because I got to go the events, hear from phenomenal speakers, and be a part of it all. It was just a very cool way to get introduced to NEW.
– Vicki Goizueta,  Human Resources Business Partner, Acosta, NEW Southern California  Communications Officer