WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP - TownNews...women in leadership Inside this edition Wher e to ﬁ nd the Inspire proﬁ les inside this edition: Page 4 Cheri Bechtel Page 6 Ann Couldridge Page

Sponsored by

May 18, 2019

Making a difference in Cumberland County

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

2 | INSPIRE: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP | Saturday, May 18, 2019 tHE SENtINEL

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN CONSULTATIONS | EXPERT INSTALLATION | INTEREST FREE FINANCING AVAILABLE*

STOP BY ANY OF OUR SHOWROOMS TODAY, AND LET OUR HELPFUL ASSOCIATES ANSWER ALL OF YOUR NEW FLOORING QUESTIONS.

LUXURY VINYL • CARPET • HARDWOOD • TILE • AREA RUGS

PA 1634 www.EssisAndSons.com

Mechanicsburg6220 Carlisle Pike

697-9423

Harrisburg4637 Jonestown Road

545-4248

Lancaster1320 Manheim Pike

393-2880

Chambersburg1363 Lincoln Way E.

263-5772

York2808 E. Prospect Rd.

757-0447

Hanover/GettysburgRt. 94 3185 Carlisle Pike

624-0062

CENTRAL PA’S LARGEST SELECTION OF ORIENTAL RUGS

*SEE SHOWROOM FOR DETIALS.

Now is the time to save on gorgeous

carpet during National Karastan Month.

Special financing available. See store for details.

THE SENTINEL Saturday, May 18, 2019 | INSPIRE: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP | 3

FROM THE PUBLISHER

KIM KAMOWSKI | Sentinel Publisher

Women in leadership — it’s a term that may seem out of touch to some.

I mean, women have been “leading” in some facet for decades, if not centuries hav-

en’t they?Susan B. Anthony is a pioneer

of the women’s suff rage move-ment.

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.

Marie Curie is a two time Nobel Prize winner.

Harriet Tubman. Sojourner Truth. Mary Edwards Walker. Helen Keller. Sarah Breedlove.

Shirley Chisholm. I could go on and on.Women have played a pivotal role in the cre-

ation and development of our culture and so-ciety, so why do we continue to single out their achievements?

It’s a good question. A valid question. The an-swer is simply because we continue to struggle for recognition.

We may not struggle in the same way we did for recognition during the time of Susan B. An-thony, but that underlying tension still there. Lying just below the surface and in some of the most understated ways.

Let me give you an example that will help il-lustrate my point.

Last week, I attended an event in Harrisburg.

I had been invited by a male executive director of a local association along with other males in my same position from around the state. At the start of the event, we were standing in a group, waiting to be introduced to the guest of honor. When he approached, he introduced himself and shook hands with each one of the males in my group. After casual introductions, he started a conversation with the gentleman standing next to me. Why is that strange you ask? Because he had completed skipped over in-troducing himself to me and giving me the same cordial handshake. What I received was a head nod of acknowledgment. A head nod. No hand-shake. No introduction. Wanting to receive the same greeting as my male counterparts, I inter-jected and introduced myself. He seemed taken back, but why? Did he think I was just an assis-tant to one of the gentlemen? Did I look shy and out of place? I cannot answer, but I can say that this is not the fi rst time this has happened to me and I am fairly certain this will not be the last.

This example is exactly why we continue to highlight the stories of women. Because we continue to be overlooked, even in the smallest, head nod, types of way.

The women in these pages not only inspire me as a woman in a leadership role, but I also have witnessed them inspire so many young women in our community. The next generation of women leaders, the next generation to demand more than a head nod.

Why we spotlight women in leadership

Inside this edition

Where to fi nd the Inspire profi les

inside this edition:

Page 4

Cheri Bechtel

Page 6

Ann Couldridge

Page 8

Danielle Conway

Page 10

Nicole Deary

Page 11

Safronia Perry

Page 12

Becca Raley

Page 14

Robin Scaer

Page 18

Ronda Lawrence

Page 19

Lindsay Varner

KIM KAMOWSKI


CHERI BECHTEL

Bringing experience to nursing leadershipCheri Bechtel serves as the vice president of nursing operations, uPMC Pinnacle West Shore, and chief nursing offi cer, uPMC Pinnacle Carlisle.

JASON MALMONT PHOTOS, THE SENTINEL

“A leader must be able to effectively communicate. They must be able to listen, to understand, and to articulate their thoughts through verbal, nonverbal and written

communication. A leader must be visionary and innovative.”— Cheri Bechtel


TAMMIE GITT

The Sentinel

Cheri Lynn Bechtel began her career as a staff nurse, became a change nurse and then a clin-ical manager “way back in the days of Polyclinic” before that hospital merged with Harris-

burg Hospital.Then she became the nurse manager of

the cardiothoracic post-op unit. After 15 years there, she moved to the West Shore Hospital as its director of nursing.

“Last February, I was asked to come here as the vice president of nursing and chief nursing offi cer to help integrate Car-lisle into UPMC Pinnacle and help grow this team,” she said.

Her role as vice president of nursing operations, UPMC Pinnacle West Shore, and chief nursing offi cer, UPMC Pinnacle Carlisle, doesn’t leave as much time for hands-on patient care, but Bechtel does take the time to visit the fl oors and help with procedures, answer call bells and in-teract with patients, even helping them to the bathroom.

And she does so with a purpose.“You need to understand what you’re

advocating for. You need to understand what I’m asking the staff to do,” Bechtel said.

As she works on standardizing the nurs-ing practice across the hospitals, Bech-tel said she has to build trust among the employees and listen to discover what had been done in the past.

“As things change in the organization and we’re doing things diff erently, you have to know the why behind it. You need to be able to explain the vision,” she said.

Integrating the staff means bringing re-tirement and entry level nurses together to meet the needs of each generation, Bechtel said. Family and a healthy work environment are important individually, but it’s also important to have a healthy balance of the two.

“As they come to work I want them to be challenged, innovative, be able to give the patient a good experience, but I want them to have a good experience in their work life too,” she said.

There are challenges in the profession. There aren’t enough nurses. Health care reimbursements are changing. Outpatient care is becoming more common than in-patient care. Technology is becoming more central. Bechtel has to keep up with all of these changes.

“That’s the visionary part of my role having to anticipate what’s going to hap-pen in the future, what are those changes, what are the needs of the nurses,” she said.

In a sense, that brings her career full circle.

“My role allows me to go back to why I got into nursing: to take care of people. I take care of patients and I take care of my staff ,” Bechtel said.

Cheri Lynn Bechtel Age: 57Family: Lee Bechtel, husband, just cel-

ebrated 30th wedding anniversary. Kayla Sorrell, daughter; Joshua Sorrell, son-in-law; Wyatt, Adalyn and Olivia, grandchil-dren; Ryan Bechtel, son; Heather Bechtel, daughter-in-law; Harper, granddaughter.

Profession: Vice president of nursing operations UPMC Pinnacle West Shore; chief nursing offi cer, UPMC Pinnacle Carlisle.

Birth place: HanoverWhere you live now: HalifaxQ. What do you like best about what

you do?I really like that my current position

allows for me to stay connected to what brought me into nursing in the fi rst place. It allows me to take care of people. In my current position, everything I do is con-nected right back to providing the patient

with the best experience and high qual-ity care. I have the opportunity to advo-cate for the patient, family and the staff I work with. It is my role to assure that the nursing staff has the resources they need to provide the care. I also enjoy mentoring novice nursing staff . I can help develop the nursing leaders of the future.

Q. What is the toughest challenge you face?

The toughest challenge that I face is re-cruitment and retention of nursing staff . It seems that over the past fi ve years the nursing shortage has become more in-tense. It has become harder to recruit the staff needed to meet the needs of our organization and then to retain them. This is impacted by several things: local health care competition for a small pool of nurses and generational challenges in nursing. Currently we have nurses from multiple generations in the workforce. Each generation has diff erent needs and wants. We must fi gure out how to keep the experienced generations in the workforce and how to help the new generations tran-sition into the workforce.

Q. What do you like best about working or living in Cumberland County?

Even though I don’t live in Cumberland County, it feels like home to me. I have worked in Cumberland County for the

last four years and I see it as my commu-nity. It is a community that cares about the people who live there. There are so many people in the community that give back to the community to support oth-ers in need. There is history, culture and places of worship that are inviting. I see pride in the people who live in Cumber-land County. It is a special place. I really love that I can be a part of building UPMC Pinnacle West Shore and UPMC Pinnacle Carlisle to be places where this commu-nity can get the highest quality health care they need and deserve.

Q. What are the key elements you see in eff ective leadership?

Integrity is essential in leadership. I feel that a leader should be consistent, open and honest. This builds trust with oth-ers. A leader must be able to eff ectively communicate. They must be able to lis-ten, to understand, and to articulate their thoughts through verbal, nonverbal and written communication. A leader must be visionary and innovative. A leader must be able to see beyond today and be able to plan for the future. A leader must be able to empower others and inspire them to be part of what they are trying to accomplish. A leader must be able to inspire others to be the best they can be and a leader must be able to help others grow and develop. A leader must be willing to trust others and delegate the work. A leader must be humble and able to acknowledge when they are wrong and apologize.

Q. What’s left to do?Health care is ever changing and the

work to be done will continue to evolve with the change. I really believe that along with that there is a lot of work to be done in workforce development. We need to spend time helping to build the pipeline of health care workers of the future. I truly believe this needs to be a high priority for health care leaders of today. We need to expose young children to health care jobs at an early age to plant the seed for future job opportunities. We need to develop education and training sites to support these jobs, to help our future health care workers to get the skills needed to perform the jobs of the future. Health care jobs of the future will more than likely look dif-ferent. We, as leaders of today, must be innovative to help defi ne those jobs and the skills needed to do those jobs.

Email tammie at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @tammieGitt.


ANNE COULDRIDGE

JOSEPH CRESS

The Sentinel

For Anne Couldridge, the road to leadership began with a helpful chat in a parking lot.

The New York City native was new to the Carlisle area when a fellow mom mentioned

that the Arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties could provide advocacy services for two of her sons.

“At the time, Mathew was enrolled at the high school,” Couldridge said. “We started to have behavior issues and chal-lenges. Connor was in early intervention.”

Mathew became her step-son in 1996 when she married Mark Couldridge, who was serving in the Air Force. The couple had Connor in 2000. Both boys have an intellectual disability.

“When you become a special needs par-ent, your focus is on getting the best ser-vices to help your child,” Couldridge said. “Eventually, you start dealing with state bureaucracy and realize that the services you need are very political and dependent on donors, state budgets and nonprofi ts.”

That talk in the parking lot prompted Couldridge to call CPARC, setting in mo-tion a pattern of involvement that saw her advance from a grassroots organizer to an engaged volunteer to the leader of the agency.

Her fi rst step on the road was in 2004 when she became a member of a task force of parents and service providers who took their case directly to lawmakers.

“We were not just saying these are prob-lems,” Couldridge said. “We were working towards solutions.”

She quickly took notice of the opera-tion of CPARC, which served to motivate her further. “I was impressed. … I felt I should give back to something that has helped me.”

Couldridge became a volunteer in 2005. Two years later, she started serving on committees. Three years after that, in 2010, she joined the CPARC board of di-rectors.

“I always believed that as I gain knowl-edge in the fi eld, it was important to give back to the parents who needed the same knowledge,” she said.

As a parent and caregiver, she under-stood the stress and could relate to the work of staff members. Over the years, she attended Shippensburg University as a nontraditional student earning a college degree later in life.

In 2015, the job of director of develop-ment opened at CPARC and Couldridge was hired as an employee. She was in charge of the fundraising side of the oper-

ation until October 2017 when she became the executive director.

All this teamwork over 15 years with CPARC infl uenced her leadership style. “I like to work collaboratively and get all perspectives,” Couldridge said.

For her, this involves inviting her staff to feel free to bounce their ideas off her with the understanding that some kind of compromise is inevitable.

Anne Couldridge Age: 45Family: Husband, three sonsProfession: Executive director of the

Arc of Cumberland and Perry CountiesBirth place: Bronx, New YorkWhere you live now: CarlisleWhat do you like best about what

you do?I know CPARC is aff ecting positive

Desire to help fuels path to leadership

anne Couldridge serves as the executive director of the arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties.



change for people with intellectual dis-abilities and their families. I think the fi eld is at another transition point. It went from institutions to providing community care to further integration into the community and social inclusion.

There is a push that people with dis-abilities should be employed in the com-munity. We believe in that philosophy. The things we are required to do with the state butt heads with that overall philos-ophy. What I mean is we can push our individuals to be more integrated in the community but the community has to reciprocate. That is where the challenge and barriers are for us. One thing I enjoy is coming up with creative ways to include our individuals into the community and bring the community to them.

What is the toughest challenge you face?

Within our fi eld, there are not enough direct care workers, the front-line peo-ple that are working day-to-day in resi-dential, employment or the day program.

They are underpaid for the gravity of the work that is required. That is compounded by the low unemployment rate. We already have a shortage. Now there is even less to pull from. My concern is that we are in a fi eld that already deals with a high turn-over rate which can cause instability in the

lives of the people we care for. These are issues we take to the Legislature to advo-cate for the state budget to include $120 million to increase the wages of direct care staff .

What do you like best about working or living in Cumberland County?

Cumberland County is great. It has it all. There is city life. There is country. It’s a great place to live and raise kids. We take advantage of the great restaurants and parks.

What are the key elements you see in eff ective leadership?

Leadership is about having a vision. You have to focus people and processes toward that vision. I think sometimes that comes with vulnerability. You have to put your-self out there to criticisms of the vision and how it’s going to be achieved. The proof is in the work and the outcomes. Solutions are not one size fi ts all. I am lucky to have a great team to help me. It’s about me adjusting to my team.

What’s left to do?For people with intellectual disability

and autism, social inclusion and social justice has not been achieved. We will continue to break down those barriers.

Email Joseph Cress at [email protected].

Experience vibrant living, forget about

home maintenance, and enjoy peace of

mind with security for your future.

With Chapel Pointe, you can choose:

• Independent living apartments

NEW private townhome community•

called Pointe Place

NEW• home care

• Personal care studios & NEW suites

• Memory support

• Rehabilitation

• Skilled householdswith private rooms

770 S Hanover St., Carlisle

ChapelPointe.org

[email protected]

A Loving Way of Lifefor 75 years!

Tour Today: 717-249-1363

Don’t miss the next issue ofInspire coming in September focusing

on area educators.

Do you know a teacher, librarian, aide, administrator or anyoneworking in the education field that goes above and beyondon a daily basis? Send an email to [email protected] the subject line “Inspire/Educator” and tell us their story.We may highlight them in our next issue.

Want to advertise in future Inspire editions?Give us a call at 717-240-7114 and we will give you a plan that reaches

your target audience while also staying within your budget.


DANIELLE CONWAY

TAMMIE GITT

The Sentinel

The common thread through all of the leadership roles Danielle Conway has held can be boiled down to a sense of truth and authenticity about yourself and how you fi t into that or-

ganization.“You have to assess the needs of an or-

ganization or an enterprise. If that orga-nization or enterprise resonates with your authentic voice, then that’s a good fi t,” she said.

Earlier this year, Conway found Penn State Dickinson School of Law to be a good fi t. She starts her duties as dean of the law school July 1.

Conway makes the transition to Carlisle from her position as dean and professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law. Previously, she served for 14 years on the faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law. Her leadership experience includes 27 years in the U.S. Army from which she retired as a lieutenant colonel.

There’s a lot of learning involved taking on a new role because leaders don’t just land on an organization, Conway said.

“Any leader who comes into a well-func-tioning organization has to quickly be-come aware of the assets available to her and how to deploy those assets in the most productive and most meaningful way,” she said.

Conway believes people will adapt to a leader when they know that the leader is being authentic and has not only a clear view of where the organization is headed and what each member of the community can contribute to move the organization forward.

Building that community spirit requires a leader with numerous qualities, Con-way said. Leaders have to be accountable, transparent and motivating. The leader has a vision, makes sure the vision is spread across the organization, helps people fi nd themselves in the vision and helps people implement the vision.

The leader must also have the will and capacity to include people in the successes while taking responsibility for the failures, Conway said.

“Leadership is not exclusive. There are many, many ways in which to lead. I fi nd, personally, leading by doing is an extraor-dinary skill set and the more that a person learns about his or her discipline, the more wisdom one attains, the more prepared one will be for a leadership role,” she said.

Danielle M. Conway Age: 51Family: Spouse, Emmanuel Quainoo,

and son, Emmanuel Quainoo III.

Profession: Dean and Professor of LawBirth place: PhiladelphiaWhere you live now: CarlisleQ. What do you like best about what

you do?I love to see the “aha” moment — the

epiphany — on a student’s face when s/he gets the point about the information you have conveyed.

Q. What is the toughest challenge you face?

The toughest challenge I face is convinc-

ing people to table their stereotypes and biases so that they can experience, with greater objectivity, the truth of the other.

Q. What do you like best about work-ing or living in Cumberland County?

I am moving to Cumberland County on July 1, 2019. The best thing about living and working in Cumberland County is that I was able to buy a home in the crazy hot market that is Carlisle!

Q. What are the key elements you see in eff ective leadership?

The key elements of eff ective leadership are transparency, integrity, accountability, authenticity and humanity.

Q. What’s left to do?More than can ever be accomplished in

one lifetime, which means grooming the next generation of service leaders now.


A new leadership role at Dickinson Law

“Leadership is not exclusive. There are many, many ways in which to lead. I find, personally, leading by doing is an extraordinary skill set and the more that a person learns about his or her discipline, the more wisdom one attains, the more prepared one will be for a leadership role.”

— Danielle Conway

danielle Conway is an expert in public procurement law, entrepreneurship and intellectual property law.

PROVIDED BY DICKINSON LAW


RICHARD A. DEVINE AND SIRI TERJESEN

The Conversation

Only a handful of the top companies in the U.S. are led by a woman.

Efforts to change that and promote more women into positions of leadership have re-lied primarily on questions of equality. But is there also a business case for putting more women in charge?

Previous research on differences in lead-ership styles between men and women has suggested the latter make decisions using more collaborative and relational methods, which enables them to better manage a range of groups and resources. But it wasn’t able to show whether this actually led to better results.

Thanks to a new study we co-authored, we now have data that shows women-led businesses, in certain scenarios, do indeed perform better than those run by men.

The case for female leadership Our research, conducted with colleagues

Gonzalo Molina-Sieiro and Michael

Holmes, focused on entrepreneurs trying to grow their nascent companies quickly.

We began with the results of the Kauff-man Firm Survey, which tracked 4,928 companies founded in 2004 by conducting annual surveys through 2011. The database includes lots of information critical to un-derstanding what factors influence perfor-mance, including revenue, employees and intellectual property. For our purposes, it also includes many details about the main entrepreneur and top managers behind the venture, including education, experience and gender.

Most entrepreneurs run small operations with few employees and little desire to grow much. A small share, however, lead what we call “high-growth ventures,” which are of-ten defined as companies that experience annualized employment growth of 20% or more during a three-year period.

These companies are a significant engine of economic activity, producing millions of jobs a year in the United States alone and are responsible for a majority of new jobs cre-

ated in the U.S. over the last several decades.For our purposes, we defined a high-

growth venture as among the top 10% of all entrepreneurial businesses in our sample in terms of employee growth in any given year. While the majority of these were led by a male entrepreneur, about a quarter were run by a woman.

Collaborative management styles In our research, we started by compar-

ing how female-led companies performed in terms of employee growth versus those helmed by men.

In preliminary analyses we found that, overall, a female-led business was less likely to experience high growth. However, we knew that there was more to the story since other research has indicated the strengths they bring to organizations.

Given what we know about female lead-ers’ collaborative and relational know-how, we developed a theory that they should be particularly skilled at leveraging the talents of senior executives and managers. For ex-

ample, many female leaders argue building relationships with employees helps create win-win scenarios where employees feel valued, which also helps them avoid the double bind of appearing too authoritative.

So we examined two markers of human capital and management talent: the num-ber of top managers with a college degree or higher and how many had previous en-trepreneurial experience.

The results were clear: Female-led com-panies with more educated managers were more likely to attain high employment growth than male peers with a management team with similar levels of experience.

Levels of entrepreneurial experience, on the other hand, didn’t make a difference for high growth.

Other research has found that female en-trepreneurs do more with less and are able to generate more revenue per funds invested than their male counterparts.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and com-mentary from academic experts.)

The case for women-led businesses

Devotion. Compassion. Dignity.

When your loved one needs help,

join hands with Homeland.

We are privileged to be part of

your caregiving team.

Your choice.Our privilege.

Community Outreach of Homeland Center

717-857-7400 | HomelandatHome.orgHospice volunteers are always welcome.

WINNER

2018

Homeland Hospice

A Toast to the 10th…An Encore forMore!

Save thedate:Nov. 10


NICOLE DEARY

NAOMI CREASON

The Sentinel

Nicole Deary admits she’s something of a personal de-velopment junkie.

That can pertain to her own success taking on a leadership role in her mid-30s, as well as

her interest in helping to shape future lead-ers of the community.

As Leadership Cumberland prepares to celebrate 30 years of developing leaders in the workforce, nonprofi ts and the commu-nity at large, Deary will celebrate two years as its executive director. It took very little time for Deary to see Leadership Cumber-land for the opportunity that it was.

Deary worked at the Carlisle Area Cham-ber of Commerce when she enrolled as a fellow at Leadership Cumberland to take classes on becoming a better leader. An off -hand comment to then retiring executive director Bets McManus turned into a phone call from a board member and the possibil-ity of stepping into McManus’ shoes.

“I’m pretty extroverted and love being around people,” Deary said. “I’ll help about 35 new people every year connect with the community. Hopefully, I’ll inspire them to be a better version of themselves.”

Deary is a one-woman tour de force as the only employee of Leadership Cumber-land. Despite the workload — or for Deary, because of those challenges — she fi nds joy in completing the mission of the organi-zation by connecting community mem-bers with nonprofi ts. By the time the class of community members graduates from Leadership Cumberland, Deary estimates about 80 percent will stay on either as a volunteer or board member of a nonprofi t somewhere in Cumberland County.

“I want to break down any stereotypes” that people have of board members, Deary said. “People think, ‘Oh, it’s only for mil-lennials.’ But it runs the gamut. We have people in their late 20s to late 50s. I like that there’s a diversity to the class.”

Deary is also passionate about mento-ring women, which she does through the West Shore Chamber of Commerce where Leadership Cumberland shares a space. She notes that 60 percent of this year’s Lead-ership Cumberland class that graduates in

June are women.With Leadership Cumberland maxing

out at 35 students for the fi rst time this year, and as Deary also works on a strategic plan with the board of directors, she’s hopeful about where this work takes her.

“There’s a part of me that loves that ev-ery day is new,” she said. “It’s never a dull moment, for sure.”

Nicole Deary Age: 38Family: Husband, two children and two

dogsProfession: Executive director of Lead-

ership Cumberland

Birthplace: CarlisleWhere you live now: CarlisleWhat do you like best about what

you do?Inspiring people to become the best ver-

sion of themselves.What is the toughest challenge you

face?Capacity building. Right now, I am a staff

of one supported by a board and working committees. I’d love to see us off er more programming and support to our nonprofi t community. To do that, I need more help and fi nding the resources to fund another position is challenging.

What do you like best about working

or living in Cumberland County?The sense of community. I’m always

amazed at how well everyone takes care of one another.


There are so many elements that cre-ate eff ective leadership; trust, respect, humility. But I think to be really eff ective you need to be self-aware. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you communicate and handle confl ict? The only person we truly control is ourselves. You have to lead yourself well before you can really lead others.

“Yesterday I was clever, I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” -Rumi

What’s left to do?Change the world ... one class at a time.

Email Naomi Creason at [email protected] or follow her on twitter @SentinelCreason

A goal to inspire more leaders

“There are so many elements that create effective leadership; trust, respect, humility. But I think to be really effective you need to be self-aware. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you communicate and handle conflict?”

— Nicole Deary

as executive director of Leadership Cumberland, Nicole deary works to train future leaders in the community and in the workforce.

JASON MALMONT, THE SENTINEL


SAFRONIA PERRY

DANIEL WALMER

The Sentinel

For Safronia Perry, Hope Station has always been home. Even so, stepping into the role of exec-utive director shortly before predecessor Jim Washington’s death in 2017 presented a new

challenge.“There were people (who said), ‘You’ve

got big shoes to fi ll,’” she said. “So (I’m) trying to live up to that, make sure I didn’t disappoint.”

Washington was the well-known long-time leader of Hope Station Carlisle, which provides programs and resources for fam-ilies in the Hope Station neighborhood in Carlisle’s north side.

Still, Perry brings her own unique back-ground to the job. She grew up in and still lives in the neighborhood, so she knows what the families she serves are going through. She can identify with the young girls but also young boys, since she raised sons, she said.

Perry draws upon that wealth of expe-rience every day as she helps run the Kids Café after-school snack program and other Hope Station programs, acting as a second mom and grandmother to many of the chil-dren.

But in addition to these day-to-day tasks of mentoring youth, taking on the director role means people look to her to speak up about issues that impact her community.

“I feel like there are things that I defi -nitely need to speak on because they are looking to me for direction, they are look-ing for me to be the voice, not just as an employee here at Hope Station but as a resident as well,” she said.

Perry admits she still fi nds certain as-pects of leadership challenging — for ex-ample, saying ‘no’ when necessary to avoid stretching herself too thin. One thing she won’t ever say ‘no’ to, however, is Hope Station itself.

“This is what raised me and what’s raised my children and my family,” she said. “No matter what I end up doing in years to come…Hope Station is still home.”

Safronia Perry Age: 49Family: I have 2 sons, ages 29 and 19, my

mom, sister and a brother.Profession: Executive directorBirth Place: Fitzgerald, GeorgiaWhere I live now: CarlisleWhat do you like best about what

you do?What I like best is the fact that I am giv-

ing back to the community that I grew up in. We do a lot here and I feel like I’m mak-ing a diff erence. I also hope that little black girls see me and realize they can be in any position they choose.

What is the toughest challenge you

face?Having enough funding is my toughest

challenge. We are a staff of two. It is hard for us to do everything that we want to do. Funding would allow us to hire someone else.


What I like best about working here is that it is in the neighborhood that I not only live in, but grew up in. This is not just a job for me. It’s a passion. The residents trust me and understand that their children are

in good hands here.What are the key elements you see in

eff ective leadership?I think one key element is allowing peo-

ple to see you as authentic, caring, and understanding. Another is understanding that people respond to positive feedback. Leading by example is most important!

What’s left to do?What’s left to do is inviting more people

in the community to get involved. Allow-ing others’ voices to be heard is important in understanding what’s needed. What’s left to do is empowering others to become leaders.

daniel Walmer covers public safety for the Sentinel. you can reach him by email at [email protected] or by phone at 717-218-0021.

Growing into leadership role at Hope Station

“This is what raised me and what’s raised my children and

my family. No matter what I end up doing in years to come…

Hope Station is still home.”

— Safronia Perry

Safronia Perry serves as the executive director of Hope Station in Carlisle.



BECCA RALEY

Finding passion in the nonprofit sector

Becca raley is the executive director of the Partnership for Better Health in Carlisle.



NAOMI CREASON

The Sentinel

The last thing Becca Raley ex-pected as she studied to be-come a teacher was that she wouldn’t love the job when she fi nally became employed.

“When I grew up, I wanted to be a teacher. I grew up in a family of ed-ucators,” she said. “It was the hardest job I ever had.”

Working from before sunrise at school to nearly midnight creating lesson plans, it only took a year for her to understand that this wasn’t what she wanted.

“I needed a new path,” she said.Raley found her new path in the nonprofi t

sector through an internship at the now defunct Public/Private Ventures, a social research organization based out of Phila-delphia. The internship led to a full-time position as an analyst, and the Carlisle na-tive and Dickinson College graduate fi nally found her calling.

“It was incredibly exciting. The things we were doing were some of the biggest proj-ects in the country,” she said, adding that she would get to travel across the country to lead focus groups on how to better com-munities. “It was very dynamic.”

After 10 years at Public/Private Ven-tures, however, she wanted something new, a way to connect to the communities she was trying to help. On a national scale, she saw projects proposed, but she never got to stick around long enough to see the results of implementation.

“Here, you’d know when you made a dif-ference. You’re held accountable,” she said.

“Here” is the Partnership for Better Health in Carlisle, formerly the Carlisle Area Health & Wellness Foundation. She started as the director of grant writing, but it didn’t take long before she was off ered the position of executive director.

“When I had the opportunity to (get) that role, I knew I’d give it everything I had. I didn’t know if I’d be successful,” she said. “I had a lot of support from my family and from the board to make it work.”

Making it work, so far, has meant fairly substantial changes under Raley’s lead-ership. In addition to the name change, the organization became more involved in helping area organizations with grants — including the group’s annual Match Mad-ness event in March — and it expanded its role in health care to address underlying factors, such as poverty.

“The fi rst defi nition was very traditional.

For someone to be healthy, they had to eat healthy food, exercise, see a doctor or den-tist … and avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco. While that’s still true and very important, our board has adopted a framework for how we think about health,” she said. “Now it means looking at a more specifi c popula-tion that needs greater assistance.

“It was a great organization when I came to it,” she said. “The foundation was doing really great work. We’re much more of a door-opener to the foundation’s resources than a gatekeeper.”

Becca Raley Family: Husband, Ed, and two daugh-

ters, Olivia, 15, and Athena Doty, 11Profession: Executive director of Part-

nership for Better HealthBirthplace: Springfi eld, IllinoisWhere you live now: CarlisleWhat do you like best about what

you do?I love bringing innovative programs to life,

advocating for a place that I care so much about and seeing our communities improve year upon year. Aff ordable new health ser-vices have opened in Perry County, the per-centage of residents with health insurance has increased, the number of parks, trails and playgrounds has expanded, and much more. It’s exciting to be an integral part of all this. When you work at the local level, it’s rewarding to see positive changes happen.


Doing a few simple things well can have a huge impact on public health. Yet our world is changing at a rapid pace, and there needs to be more collaboration across all sectors to address complex problems like home-lessness, hunger and addiction. Policy and system-level changes can have a far greater impact on poverty than quick local fi xes and charitable handouts but getting people to invest in this deeper journey is hard.


Coming up through the local schools, I now cherish knowing three-generations of families. Plus, I’m always meeting won-derful new people. Carlisle is such a livable community. I can walk or bike to work and

enjoy being a few blocks away from doz-ens of delightful restaurants, shops, Bosler library and Dickinson. I’m continually in-spired by our vibrant arts community. And our many trails, forests, parks and water-ways are a main attraction. In the summer, my family spends time at Laurel and Fuller lakes — to have resources like these that are just 20 minutes away is extraordinary.


Eff ective leaders need to always be look-ing forward, placing themselves in new sit-uations, reading and working to understand and shape a future that will benefi t every-one. It takes optimism, kindness and pas-sion to help others realize that their skills and contributions are essential to improv-ing our community. Supportive leadership

involves thoughtful listening, creating shared action plans, cheering people on, rolling up your own sleeves, and staying focused and organized. I’m often quick with a thank you, honest about diffi culties, and when mistakes happen, I apologize.

What’s left to do?Our region is rich in resources but not ev-

eryone has equal access to the valuable op-portunities that are here. Increasing wages would go a long way toward ensuring that more working families have the chance to thrive: This would get at the roots of the challenges that so many low-wage workers face. Containing the rising costs of health care, higher education and housing is just as vital. There’s so much left to do, yet as a society we’re making steady progress. For me personally, someday, I’d like to volun-teer for Teach for America, AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps ... but I have a lot to ac-complish before then.

Email Naomi Creason at [email protected] or follow her on twitter @SentinelCreason

“Effective leaders need to always be looking forward,

placing themselves in new situations, reading and working

to understand and shape a future that will benefit everyone.”

— Becca Raley

274 Wilson Street Carlisle, PA 17013Tel: 717-960-9009www.ForBetterHealthPA.org

Join Us for MoreInspiration as We Celebrate

Our Region's

2019Champions forBetter Health

May 28, 2019 at Dickinson College

Host: Secretary Teresa Miller, Department of Human Services

Reception at 5:00 pm

Awards Presentation at 5:30 pm

RSVP to Casandra at 717-960-9009 x 0


ROBIN SCAER

Leading YWCA into new chapter

robin Scaer is the executive director for yWCa Carlisle.


“It gives me great satisfaction to see others performing at their highest level possible and contributing

to our agency thus ensuring its future goals. I also strongly believe in trying new ideas and initiatives

and helping people learn to be OK with failure or setbacks ... that’s how we move forward ultimately

by being tenacious and experienced from our past.”

— Robin Scaer


ZACK HOOPES

The Sentinel

Five years ago, Robin Scaer de-cided to take the plunge on making her passion into her full-time job.

A long-time volunteer for a number of community groups,

Scaer served as a board member at the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg when the off er was made to become the executive director at YWCA Carlisle.

“It really catapulted me into my next career move — that I wanted to lead a nonprofi t organization,” Scaer said. “So I was able to put that passion together of what my career had been in marketing and marry that with wanting to be in the hu-man service fi eld.”

There is no typical day, Scaer said.“Who we serve and how we serve var-

ies widely,” she said, and part of the job is adaptability. The YMCA focuses on social services, particularly its rape crisis pro-gram and assistance for abused women.

The nonprofi t also runs a number of programs in schools and through other community groups to encourage racial and gender inclusion, and is partnering with more and more organizations in the Cum-berland County area to expand its reach.

“You get more done when you’re sharing your strengths and moving the dial that way,” Scaer said.

While it’s never been easy, the landscape for female leaders in Central Pennsylvania is getting better, Scaer said.

“There are many, many strong female leaders and that continues to grow,” she said, a trend that helps the YWCA’s mis-sion of empowering girls to break gender barriers and seek leadership roles.

“If you can see an image of yourself in that fi eld, it’s much easier to pursue,” Scaer said.

It’s also a matter of the broader commu-nity realizing that everyone benefi ts when those who have been disadvantaged get a chance to use their talents — the core con-cept of the YWCA’s work.

“I think the broader community is at the point of beginning to understand that ripple eff ect,” Scaer said.

Robin Scaer Age: 51Family: Married to Robert Scaer, 4 chil-

dren, 4 grandchildrenCurrent occupation/profession: Ex-

ecutive Director for YWCA Carlisle

Place of birth: Columbus, OhioCurrent residence: Resides in Me-

chanicsburg, but lifelong resident in this area having grown up in Carlisle and grad-uated from Carlisle High School in 1986…Go Thundering Herd!

What do you like best about what you do? What I like best about my role at YWCA Carlisle is being a connector between staff and the community to pro-vide our programs and services through-out Cumberland County. I like the daily positive energy of the team/staff I work with and our commitment to our mission; helping lift up others no matter how long it takes to make that happen. I thrive on the reality that no two days ever play out the same way and that daily challenge is motivating and empowering. I consider myself fortunate to enjoy going to the of-fi ce every day.

What is the toughest challenge you face? One of the most regular demands is to ensure continuation of funding sources for the various programs and sources we off er on a regular basis. Diversifying our funding streams is critical to our longevity in this community and we are thankful for many longtime and new supporters. But this is no diff erent than many other non-profi ts experience as well. Trying to get in-ternal and external stakeholders to view us

as a business organization and not solely as a nonprofi t ... which is a tax exempt status not a business model ... is something I’m committed to make happen.

What do you like the most about living and/or working in Cumberland County? Who doesn’t wish to express pride for where they live? Cumberland County off ers so much in terms of work and play off erings and it has been a pos-itive place to raise a family. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the place I call home continue to strive to be better for all of its residents and push for growth and expansion in a way that benefi ts all not just some. We are each interconnected and de-pendent on the success and well-being of one another. As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

What are the key elements you see in eff ective leadership? I believe eff ective and positive leadership is being a Servant Leader. To encourage and empower those around you to excel, learn, grow and col-laborate in a way that is productive not destructive. It gives me great satisfaction to see others performing at their highest level possible and contributing to our agency thus ensuring its future goals. I also strongly believe in trying new ideas and initiatives and helping people learn to be OK with failure or setbacks ... that’s

how we move forward ultimately by being tenacious and experienced from our past. Promoting the well-being of others and developing their sense of self-confi dence and importance in the organization is key to our culture at YWCA.

What’s left to do (in terms of com-munity service)? YWCA Carlisle is cel-ebrating its 100th anniversary this year and while we spend 2019 honoring our past and expressing our gratitude for the solid foundation we are currently stand-ing on, we are also grateful for being so well poised for our next historic chapter in Cumberland County. We know we need to always be evaluating our relevancy of our programs and services for the com-munity and responding accordingly. We know we need to keep pushing ourselves to grow, expand and fi nd new ways to help the changing demographic in our county and foster our youth who have so much to give now not just in their future. Com-placency is not a plan; we must continue to harness our mission pillars of Elimi-nating Racism and Empowering Women and Girls so that everyone in our neigh-borhoods feel confi dent and supported to become the individuals they are destined to be.

Email Zack at [email protected].


Learnmore about our local, expert care and services.

Visit UPMCPinnacle.com/MyCarlisle.

When you need expert health care, UPMC Carlisle is here

for you— close to home.We’ve been growing and changing

to offer our community more advanced care and services.

At UPMC Carlisle, you’ll find high-quality hospital,

preventive, and specialty medical services, including:

Plus, we’re supported by the resources and expertise of

UPMC, giving us access to world-class researchers and

experts in fields like liver transplants and neurosurgery.

■ Expanded primary care■ Advanced surgical options■ Women’s Center■ Breast Care Center■ Endocrinology

■ Wound care■ Podiatry■ Inpatient rehab■ Imaging■ Lab services

NOMAPNECESSARY.Expert health careis close to home.



RONDA LAWRENCE

DANIEL WALMER

The Sentinel

Ronda Lawrence is a woman in a man’s world — and that’s good news for many of her custom-ers who feel the same way.

“There are plenty of women who come in who have re-

cently gone through a divorce or are re-cently widowed who are terrifi ed that somebody is going to try to take advantage of them,” Ronda Lawrence said. “And I do think that’s something I can bring to the table, in making them feel comfortable and non-threatened and help build trust.”

Lawrence is the second generation leader of family-owned Lawrence Chevrolet at 6445 Carlisle Pike, a business started by her father, Gary Lawrence, in 1980. She has lo-cal roots, graduating from Cedar Cliff High School and Kutztown University.

As president, dealer, and co-owner, she oversees the entire operation. That sounds complicated, but Lawrence pares it down to two tasks: keeping employees happy and keeping customers happy.

“If people are happy in the work envi-ronment, I think it really shows in how they treat customers,” she said.

As one of more than a dozen car dealer-ships along a 10-mile stretch of the Carlisle Pike, Lawrence Chevrolet faces stiff com-petition and needs something to diff eren-tiate itself. That’s why being a woman in male-dominated industry can be an asset for Scullen.

“From a woman’s perspective, I see things maybe a little diff erently and can possibly create a warmer environment for customers and employees than some of my corporate competition,” she said.

For Scullen, leadership also means do-ing whatever it takes to make something right—even if it wasn’t her fault or the dealership’s fault in the fi rst place.

“Somebody can get a good, reliable car up and down the Carlisle Pike. I don’t think they can be treated like a family member just everywhere,” she said. “People here are genuinely happy, and I think it shows.”

Ronda Lawrence Age: 52Family: 24-year-old son, 21-year-old

daughter and a goldendoodle named DixieProfession: Dealer and President of

Lawrence ChevroletBirthplace: HanoverWhere you live now: MechanicsburgWhat do you like best about what

you do?I love meeting people and helping them

have an honest and friendly experience when doing business with us.

What is the toughest challenge you

face?The saying, “it may not be my fault, but

it is my problem” can certainly ring true. I need to make things right no matter if it’s something out of my control or not.


I love the people in our area. We are for-tunate to live and work around so many good people in our community.

What are the key elements you see in

eff ective leadership?Being a good listener. Being honest and

fair. And following up and doing what you said you would do.

What’s left to do?It never stops! There is always more to

learn! Technology and the needs of both employees and customers continue to change. It’s important to constantly have an open mind about new ways to improve everyone’s experience.

daniel Walmer covers public safety for the Sentinel. you can reach him by email at [email protected] or by phone at 717-218-0021.

Female leadership is an asset

“Being a good listener. Being honest and fair. And following

up and doing what you said you would do.”

— Ronda Lawrence

ronda Lawrence serves as the dealer and president of Lawrence Chevrolet.



LINDSAY VARNER

JOSEPH CRESS

The Sentinel

Lindsay Varner is not the type of person who tells people what to do.

She sees herself more as a facilitator for volunteers and staff members to carry out with

passion the mission of the Cumberland County Historical Society.

“For me, leadership is letting people do what they do best,” said Varner, commu-nity outreach director. “It’s important just to have an open door for people to come in, share ideas and see if we can make it happen. Let people do what they love to do and run with it.”

Born in Chambersburg, Varner moved with her family to Dickinson Township when she was in kindergarten. She grad-uated from Carlisle High School in 2004 before earning a bachelor’s degree in his-tory and government/political aff airs from Millersville University in 2008.

Varner took a year off during which she married her high school sweetheart before heading to England to study at Durham University. There, she earned masters and doctorate degrees in history. The couple returned to Carlisle in 2015.

Her association with the historical so-ciety began when Varner became direc-tor of the Heart and Soul Project, which collects stories from residents to gain an understanding of what is important to the community. An outgrowth of the Or-ton Family Foundation, the local project receives its funding from the Pennsylvania

Humanities Council and South Mountain Partnership.

“As project director, I learned it’s in-credibly important sometimes just to sit and listen, to let people have their say and a voice in something,” Varner said. “I’ve found just being able to be open we seem to be getting a lot done.”

A collection of stories from Mount Holly Springs uncovered the plight of the old AME Zion Church on Cedar Street that was a ramshackle remnant of a once-thriving black neighborhood. Today, the church is the focal point of a unifi ed eff ort to bring to the forefront and preserve what was mostly forgotten history.

Though Heart and Soul revealed that local residents value history and cultural heritage, it also identifi ed a gap that the historical society fi lled with the creation of its community outreach department in January 2018. One goal is to focus atten-tion on events and preservation activities. The role of the department will expand in the near future to include marketing and membership initiatives.

In recent years, CCHS has developed a Preservation Opportunities Watch List to highlight endangered historic landmarks and landscapes. CCHS has also introduced annual preservation awards to recognize the eff orts of individuals and organiza-tions.

When volunteers suggested shaping an event around the theme of a speakeasy, Var-ner gave them the fl exibility to coordinate

Leadership is allowing people to pursue a passion

anne Couldridge serves as the executive director of the arc of Cumberland and Perry Counties.



Lindsay Varner serves as the community outreach director for the Cumberland County Historical Society.

“For me, leadership is letting people do what they do best.

It’s important just to have an open door for people to come

in, share ideas and see if we can make it happen.”

— Lindsay Varner

Please see VARNER, Page 20

We are a Full ServiceSalon for your entire familyincluding ourIn-House Barbers.

We offer services for men& women with specialneeds including a privateconsultation area forwig fittings.

235 YORK ROAD,

CARLISLE

717-243-9929• Handicapped accessible• Convienient Under-Roof Parking

Inspire Someone Today!

To GodBe The Glory


the whole thing. “I’m very much ‘go with the fl ow,’” she said. “We’ve had some great success in terms of events just by letting our volunteers and staff members have fun and do what they see best.”

Lindsay Varner Age: 32Family: Husband, two cats and a dogProfession: community outreach di-

rector for the Cumberland County His-torical Society

Birth place: Chambersburg, grew up in

Dickinson TownshipWhere you live now: CarlisleWhat do you like best about what

you do?There are so many things that I love

about what I do. I like the fact that I get to be out in the community and see lots of fun places across Cumberland County. I get to meet a lot of people doing fantastic preservation and historical work who are really invested in the cultural heritage of Cumberland County and the surrounding region.


There is so much to do. If you look at a countywide organization in terms of com-

munity outreach, there are a lot of diff erent places to reach out to and diff erent aspects to the position. There is some program. There is some preservation work. The events and rentals fall within my depart-ment as well. It’s a lot of diff erent things to juggle. It does take a lot of work to pull them all together.


I love the history of the area. It’s such a privilege to work for the Historical Society and get to not only share that history but research it.


For me, it’s about being willing to listen

to other people’s ideas and thoughts, espe-cially when dealing with community out-reach. I’m working with a lot of diff erent community members and everybody has their own feelings, thoughts and opinions on certain projects and things that are hap-pening in their community.

What’s left to do?I would really like to see the county as a

whole have a much more active preserva-tion stance. On May 4, CCHS added two more properties to its Preservation Oppor-tunities Watch List. My hope is one day we will not need a watch list, that everyone will see the value of these spaces.

Email Joseph Cress at [email protected].

VarnerFrom 19

Lindsay Varner serves as the community outreach director for the Cumberland County Historical Society.



Introducing News+ Membership,a program for our subscribers,dedicated to offering perks and

benefits that are only available to

you as a member. News+ Members

will continue to get the stories and

information that makes a difference

to them, plus more coupons, offers,

and perks that only you as amember

can get.

Convenient Home Delivery

Unlimited Digital Access

Members Only E-Newsletters

Access to Newspaper Archives

Faster Browsing Experience

No Survey Interruptions

30-Day Gift Subscriptions

E-Replica Digital Newspaper

Special Discounts & Promotions

Select Classified Ad Packages

Enhanced Digital News Content

No Paper Statement Fees

Access to AffiliatedWebsites









Special Discounts & Promotions

Select Classified Ad Package









Special Discounts & Promotion













30-Day Gift Subscription

digital PLUS

digital BASIC

PlatiNUM gOld SilVER

giveaways Sharing Classifieds Plus MoredealsEvents

Learn more at cumberlink.com/members

INTRODUCING

Benefits & Perks for Our Subscribers


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

In American politics, 2018 was a peak year for women, with more women running for office and participating in the political process than ever before in the country’s history.

According to a report from the Brook-ings Institution, 255 women ran for of-fice in one of the two major parties, with Democratic women winning almost half of the positions they ran for at the fed-eral level. Women also continued to vote in higher numbers than men.

According to Roll Call, women make up almost a quarter of the U.S. Congress,

the highest it’s ever been, though still far below the makeup of the American popu-lation. There are 102 women representa-tives and 25 senators. Arizona became the sixth state to have two women senators. Nancy Pelosi returned as speaker of the House, becoming only the second speaker to hold the gavel twice.

Nevada is the first state in the nation’s history to have women make up a majority of its state legislature and nine states have women governors, which ties the record.

What does this representation in pol-itics mean? The Brookings Institution says more women in lawmaking positions

likely means more legislation that affects women and families. It could also mean more coalition-building and reaching across the aisle.

Making politics a little more personal, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth became the first senator to give birth while in of-fice and got the laws changed so she could bring her baby on the floor of the Senate, allowing her to participate and breast-feed. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern because the first elected leader to take maternity leave while in office.

Around the world, women also took

charge. According to Vox, Spain’s new cabinet is almost two-thirds women, having the highest female cabinet rep-resentation in Europe.

Canadian physicist Donna Strickland received the Nobel Prize in Physics, be-coming the first woman to win the award in more than a century and only the third in its history. Vox also listed the Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by Nadia Murad, and Iraqi woman captured by ISIS who now is an activist and advocate for victims of sex trafficking, and Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege, who treats rape victims.

2018: YEAR OF THE WOMAN


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

The election of 2018 ushered an unprecedented number of women into elected positions.

Many of these women on both sides of the aisle were supported by organizations that have popped up in the last few years to encour-age first-time candidates and es-pecially women to run for office, offering mentorship, organiza-tional support, information and financial help. Women who have thought about running, from the local school board all the way to a federal position, should check them out.

VoteRunLead voterunlead.orgVoteRunLead’s goal is to train

30,000 women to run for office between now and 2020. The non-profit works with women who are considering a run for office to an-

swer questions, including factors to consider while thinking about a run for office and how to get a campaign off the ground. Training resources, campaign resources, political experts, social media and other tools are available for women who want to run. Since it started, 70 percent of first-time candidates who sought help from VoteRunLead won their races.

RightNOW rightnownetworks.orgRightNOW is a nonprofit that

wants to connect and promote women who want to take the lead in promoting limited government, fiscal responsibility, free markets and national defense, elevating those women to positions in gov-ernment and other sectors. The local chapters offer networking events, education and mentor-ing to help women get the tools

needed to become politically en-gaged and active.

Higher Heights higherheightsforamerica.

orgHigher Heights is focused

on providing support for black women who are running for office or otherwise engaging in politics, including registering women to vote and getting them to the polls and participate in politics. They began a #BlackWomenVote cam-paign and provide online training, research, communications work and digital campaign resources.

Emerge America emergeamerica.orgEmerge America recruits, trains

and provides a network for sup-port for Democratic women who want to run for office. The nonprofit offers a six-month,

70-hour program through a na-tionwide network. Twenty-five states have local affiliates; there also are regional boot camps and support for alumnae of the pro-gram. The group has trained more than 4,000 women since 2002, with 500 alums in elected office and 700 supported candidates on the ballot last year.

GETTING WOMEN ELECTED

501 N Baltimore Avenue, Mount Holly Springs | 717-486-3433Eric L. Hollinger, Supervisor LFD

411 Zion Road, Carlisle | 717-486-8986M. Annan Hollinger and Eric L. Hollinger, Owners

VISIT US ATHOLLINGERFUNERALHOME.COM

A Name You Can Trust.

Traditional Burials | On-Site Cremation & Cemetery Memorials

We bring 80 years of experience serving families

in Mt. Holly Springs & surrounding areas.

Eric L.HollingerSupervisor

M.AnnanHollingerLicensed Funeral Director

RobertA.Filburn IIILicensed Funeral Director

BlakeR.WorleyFuneral Intern

A full service funeral home meeting the needs of every family, regardless of the service chosen, faith or tradition.

• The arrangements youmake will reflect your exact wishes and desires

• Ease the burden of loved ones

• Protects you from rising cost of prices

• Will not be a financial burden on your loved ones

• Arrangements can bemade in the comfort of your own home or online

We understand that petsare family, too

Offering private cremation for your pet

Prearrange your own Service


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

Systemic inequality for decades has led to a shortage of women in leadership positions. According to the Center for American Progress, women are

well-represented in undergraduate, gradu-ate and professional programs, including law and medical school, and make up about half of the workforce. Yet they are not equitably represented in upper echelons of business, education or politics.

In the S&P 500, 25 percent of executive and senior-level managers, 20 percent of board members and 6 percent of CEOs are women. In financial services companies in the same index, 29 percent of executives and 2 percent of CEOs are women.

In law firms, 22 percent of partners and 18 percent of equity partners are women, despite making up 45 percent of associates.

More than a third of doctors are women,

but only 16 percent of medical school deans are women.

Less than a third of full professors and about a quarter of college presidents are women.

In high-tech industries, 20 percent of ex-ecutives and senior managers were women. In 2016, almost half of the 150 highest-earn-ing public companies in Silicon Valley didn’t have any women in their executive offices.

Overcoming these hurdles is even harder for women of color, who made up less than 4 percent of executive and less than half a percent of women CEOs in 2015.

But the benefits are worth it. A 2017 re-port on gender equality showed diversity in a corporation is directly correlated with a better bottom line. According to The Balance Careers, a recent study showed Fortune 500 companies with at least three women on the executive team outperform companies with

fewer women — 53 percent greater returns on equities, 42 percent greater return on sales and 66 percent more return invested capital. Despite those astounding numbers, however, women make up only 6 percent of chief executives at the top 100 tech compa-nies.

The Center for American Progress re-ported that when movie studies have more as directors, producers or editors, the repre-sentation of women is better; studies show more women have speaking roles when women write and direct.

Morgan Stanley found companies with high gender diversity deliver better returns with less volatility. Over six years, compa-nies with greater gender diversity reported better returns on equity, greater productiv-ity and innovation, better products, better decision-making and improved employee retention and satisfaction.

Women in leadership:

By the numbers


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

Numerous studies have shown that women make up about half of the workforce, in-cluding in professional roles. However, that women aren’t promoted at the same

rates, meaning only a fraction to upper-level management and executive officers are women.

The Balance Careers talked to Global Chief Executive Officer Susan Lucas-Conwell of Great Place to work about how she had reached that point and what managers can do to ensure women are getting a chance at higher-up positions.

Workplace challenges Both women and men struggle to balance work

life with home life, parenting in an increasingly busy world and keeping up with changes in the workplace, though statistically women still take on the bigger parenting role, even when both part-ners work full time, and women are more likely to prioritize work-life balance than men. Women also still face a wage gap, earning on average 73 cents for every dollar a man makes, and they are more likely to face sexual harassment at work.

There also are fewer female mentors and advo-cates, simply because fewer women are at the top.

What women should do The first thing Lucas-Conwell tells women in

leadership is to be who they are as leaders. Some women feel pressured to lead as men, even if that is not their innate leadership style. Don’t, she says. Women leaders should highlight their leadership styles, be it creative and collaborative or direct. This allows other women to see their traits reflected in their leaders and imagine a path to the top.

Women at all levels should hone their skills, take opportunities for professional development and make their voices heard. Women in leader-ship and organizations should ensure women are able to speak up and that they’re listened to and respected.

What companies should do Companies who seek gender equity in leader-

ship and boards of directors pay significant atten-tion, and put significant resources toward hiring, retaining and developing women leaders.

This means using a toolbox as diverse as a good benefits package that includes things like mater-nity leave, onsite or subsidized child care and good health care to professional development opportu-nities like mentoring and networking programs. These companies have been proactive in imple-menting policies to ensure equal rights of women in the workplace and to correct past imbalances.

Propelling women into leadership


WOMEN IN VENTURE CAPITALGREENSHOOT MEDIA

Did you know that only 9 percent of decision-makers at Amer-ican venture capital firms are women? Or that three-quar-ters of VC firms have no women

investors? It’s almost no surprise, then, that only 15 percent of VC money given away in 2017 went to firms with a woman founder.

Even as the tech industry is taking over the world, women are being shunted to the side or left out of the game entirely. All Raise, a nonprofit organization ded-icated to raising venture capital money and then invest in women, talked about how people from all industries can get involved in leveling the VC playing field and ensuring good ideas have the chance to go to market.

Where we are now VC firms provide money to projects

that are riskier than a typical invest-ment, which means getting VC money is already a challenge. Research has shown that the lack of diversity on VC boards is connected to a lack of diversity in the people and companies VC firms choose to invest in. Most firms have no women on the board; of those that day, 78 per-

cent have just one woman. Only 5 per-cent have equal representation between men and women. Only a small percent-age of VC-funded firms have a woman founder, and despite the gains women are making in different industries, the VC investment in woman-founded companies has remained steady the last few years.

What All Raise does The organization works to connect

women with venture capital firms, including higher-ups in those firms who make decisions not only about hiring but also about which ideas and companies get investment money. They offer mentoring, connect-ing women with general and limited partners in the firms (both men and women can be men-tors), and office hours for women who have founded companies and are looking for VC money. The focus is on building the relation-ships that are critical to breaking into VC.

What VCs can do Break away from using personal

networks for hiring. Too often, relying solely on current employees’ relation-ships leads to a homogeneous work-place. Instead, All Raise recommends opening up the hiring

process and using their job board or otherwise actively seeking out diverse candidates. Going to networking events and getting face time with women in-terested either in a job or in getting funding from a VC firm helps to break

those walls down.


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

STEM fields face an even greater gap between women and men than many other industries, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t role models for girls and women look-

ing to break in or move up in Silicon Valley tech companies or academic research or taking on the world’s problems.

Microbiologist Barkissa Fofana Thirty-year-old Barkissa Fofana works

for the Institute for Environmental and Agricultural Research in Burkina Faso, and Mashable reports that she’s looking for ways to use microorganisms to combat climate change and help restore damaged lands in the northern Sahel region of Af-

rica; one project includes researching how acacia trees respond to bacteria and fungi, which can indicate how the trees overcome drought.

NASA Mathematician

Katherine Johnson

At 100 years old, Katherine Johnson may not still be actively working in STEM, but her contributions are well-known. Using trajectory analysis, she was a pivotal part of the team that sent astronaut Alan Shep-ard to space in 1961, with her journey com-memorated in the book and movie “Hidden Figures.” For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UN Women shared Johnson’s thoughts on her experiences and

success: “I ask questions: I wanted to know why. They got used to me asking questions and being the only woman there.”

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

GoldieBlox Founder

Debbie Sterling

Engineer Debbie Sterling has made a name for herself as the founder of a toy company that aims to get girls away from princesses and dolls with her interactive book series and construction sets. Their commercials showcase a girl who invents machines to solve everyday problems. Ster-ling told DreamBox she got the idea when she was studying engineering at Stanford

and was one of just a few women in her program.

Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist

Donna Strickland

According to The Guardian, Donna Strickland was one of the foremost laser physics in the world well before she won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018. The re-search for which she won the prize — cre-ating ultrashort high-intensity laser pulses that didn’t destroy the amplifying mate-rial — she did in 1985 as a doctoral student at the University of Rochester. She is the third woman to win this prize, joining the company of Marie Curie (1903) and Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1963).

Women and STEM have long history


GREENSHOOT MEDIA

One woman on a company’s ex-ecutive board is good, and two women on board is better. But it turns out three is the magic (minimum) number to have on a

company’s team. In a nutshell, that number normalizes women on the executive team, allowing them to contribute fully.

The Wellesley Center for Women pub-lished a research and action report based on a study done after the very public failures of Enron and WorldCom in the early 2000s that laid out this research.

The study reinforced previous research that found women in the boardroom have a collaborative leadership style that helps to increase listening, social-support and problem-solving that benefits all parties, yet they still take on the difficult issues and ask tough questions. The study showed that having three or more women on a board get the maximum benefit from their con-tributions. Having three or more women creates what the study called a critical mass in which women are not seen as outsiders or outliers but simply part of the team, al-lowing them to contribute more freely and

be better able to influence discussions in a meaningful way. It also means men are more likely to listen with open minds.

The researchers also looked at the qual-ifications of people on Fortune 1,000 boards, asking whether there are enough qualified women to be on the boards con-sidering so few women have been CEOs or other high-level executives. They found that most boards, although they include some CEOs, are not entirely made up of these executives. In fact, boards shouldn’t be all CEOs, they argue; that automatically limits diversity and narrows the views and

expertise in the boardroom. In lieu of pre-vious boardroom experience, women on boards should bring the knowledge, skills and abilities gained from other experiences into this work.

Additionally, the researchers suggesting corporate nominating committees should not be gender-blind when filling board va-cancies; in theory this is a good idea, but in practice if often leads to candidates with atypical but still relevant experiences be-ing rejected. Instead, committees need to make a concerted effort to seek out qual-ified women applicants to fill these roles.

WOMEN AND THE CORPORATE BOARD


TAMMIE GITT

The Sentinel

Kim Phipps admits she may have overprepared for the Middle Atlantic Conference meetings she had to attend in her role as president of Messiah College

when she fi rst stepped into the position 14 years ago.

She wanted to do her best for her stu-dents, but she wasn’t an athlete, didn’t

have a natural sports background and, perhaps most obviously, was the only woman in the room for the 17-member NCAA Division III athletic conference meeting.

“I had to work to insert myself into con-versations and social settings. I knew it was important because I wanted to repre-sent our students and our athletic teams,” she said.

Now, Phipps says she is one of four or

fi ve female presidents in the room when the athletic conference meets because the landscape for women in the upper levels of academia is evolving.

In 2006, two years after Phipps became president, 23 percent of college presidents were women. Now, that number sits at 30 percent.

Cumberland County is home to four colleges and universities. Each of them is led by a woman.

Phipps has served as the president at Messiah College for 14 years, making her the longest-tenured of the four. Margee Ensign came to Dickinson College in July 2017, Laurie Carter arrived at Shippens-burg University a month later in August 2017, and Linda Fedrizzi-Williams took over as president at Central Penn College in June 2018.

Women climb to pinnacle of higher education in county

Messiah College President Kim Phipps.


Please see PRESIDENTS, Page 30

TAKING THE LEAD


Why here? Theories differ as to what makes Cum-

berland County so open to women in lead-ership roles at academic institutions. It may start with the individual nature and values of the colleges they have been se-lected to represent.

Dickinson College, for example, has been revolutionary from its founding, Ensign said.

“Look at our founder. He was the only one running around saying slavery is wrong and women should go to school,” she said.

It’s uncertain how those values play out 200 years later, but the school is always innovating and ahead of the curve, Ensign said.

Just as the values of Dickinson founder Benjamin Rush have worked their way into the college’s DNA, Messiah College is shaped by the values of its founding denomination, Brethren in Christ, which Phipps said has a history of ordaining women and placing women in leadership positions within the church.

“I think that helped create this space that certainly we could have a woman president,” Phipps said.

The skills of the candidates for the presidency themselves can’t be underes-timated.

There are now four women serving as presidents at Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education colleges and univer-sities like Shippensburg, Carter said. As the councils of trustees and boards of gov-ernors consider applicants for the presi-dency of institutions, they identify skills that will lead those schools into the future.

“So it’s becoming less about the gender of the person and more about the skill set, as it should be,” she said.

Phipps said the surrounding Harris-burg-area community also features many women in leadership roles in a variety of contexts. Women have, at various times, been part of the leadership of the YWCA, the Harrisburg Symphony board and the Susquehanna Art Museum board, among others.

“In my tenure here since 1998 there have always been women, strong women, in-volved, I would say, especially in the non-profit sector, leading those organizations or leading those boards,” Phipps said.

Evolving attitudes The number of women serving as pres-

idents of colleges and universities across the nation has steadily increased. Accord-

ing to the American College Presidential Survey, 21 percent of colleges were led by women in 2001. That rose to 23 percent in 2006 and to 26 percent in 2011.

“In a couple of decades, things have im-proved. Do we have a long way to go? Yes,” Ensign said.

While working at Columbia University, Ensign said she became pregnant with her daughter. The dean flatly told her he would not have hired her if he knew she would become pregnant.

“I had to go in and argue for my posi-tion, and I also had to continue to teach my courses,” she said.

Because of problems with the preg-nancy, Ensign had to teach seminars and classes using the technology of the day, a speakerphone.

“It was crazy, but you do what you have to do,” she said.

The choice between family and career continues to affect the professional path of potential college leaders. According to the American College President Survey 2017, 32 percent of the women who serve as col-lege presidents had to alter their career progression to care for a family member.

Carter said her path diverted at the Juil-

liard School when her mother suffered severe injuries in a car crash. She left her leadership position at Juilliard to take a position closer to home at a New Jersey performing arts center to help her mother recover from a traumatic brain injury.

Fedrizzi-Williams’ sons were 2 and 4 years old when she enrolled in an online program to complete her doctorate. The classes included residencies in Chicago once or twice a year.

“It was probably the most difficult time of my entire life being a full-time mother, and full-time student, and full-time em-ployee supporting my family,” she said. “It was a struggle for our family.”

Into the future The American College President Survey

predicts that gender parity in the role of college president will be achieved by 2030, based on annual growth of 3.9 percent.

Even with parity a decade away, aca-demia is in a better position than the pri-vate sector.

According to a Pew Research study from April 2018, 5.1 percent of the companies in the S&P Composite 1500 have women as their CEO, and 11.5 percent of top-level

executive positions are held by women.Those statistics could affect the shape

of the presidency in the future as colleges and universities are increasingly turning to the corporate world and media. This trend comes as the challenges and com-plexities of the position change, pushing boards to opt for “something different,” Ensign said.

Student recruitment objectives could also be fueling the trend toward hiring col-lege presidents from the business sector.

“Higher education is becoming in-creasingly competitive in terms of the competition for students, especially in the northeast, the mid-Atlantic where the demographics for traditional students are not in favor of growth,” Phipps said.

Even those presidents who come from a more traditional academic background have to develop a strong business sense to deal with the realities of financial chal-lenges facing institutions.

“People talk about the president as a guardian of the college mission, and that’s absolutely true, but you can’t have mission without margin. You’ve got to be able to actually work with your team and your campus to manage the financial challenges

PresidentsFrom 29


Central Penn College President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams


well in order to be able to fulfill your mis-sion,” Phipps said.

Academia, in general, is far more aware of issues like gender and minority pay gaps and promoting diversity and inclusivity, Ensign said.

“These are our values,” she said. “We talk about it all the time. We deliberate. The way decisions are made in a univer-sity, in general, are different. It’s not top down. It’s collaborative.”

In society as a whole, though, Ensign said there will always be differences un-til public policy focus is brought more squarely on health care and child care. That may require more women in deci-sion-making roles, she said, and the coun-try may be starting on that path given the number of women who ran for office in the recent midterm elections.

“Public policy doesn’t change at the na-tional level until women are more involved in making public policy. We might be at a real turning point,” she said.

The women who head local colleges look, in many cases, to their students for a vision of the future of women leadership roles.

Phipps said she was with a group of women students in an informal situation when they brought up how much it means to have her as their college president and asked how she managed it all.

“You try to answer those questions with a lot of honesty and a lot of humility, but I also want to really inspire them to use all of their gifts,” she said.

Carter said she talks to young women about developing a sense of comfort with discomfort. When you are the only woman in the room, you have to be comfortable with who you are to know you can stand in that position and still command a level of authority and respect that you need to get the job done, she said.

It’s important that young people un-derstand they really can do anything they want as long as they are willing to work hard, Carter said.

“That’s why I talk about things like sac-rifice and compromise, so that you have the balances that you need so that you can get the skills that you want,” she said.

Fedrizzi-Williams said it is important to identify young women at colleges and universities who have leadership poten-tial, and then give them additional roles to develop that potential. She said she was fortunate in that the president at the State University of New York-Orange saw her leadership potential as did a vice president of academic affairs.

“They knew to get me on certain com-mittees,” she said. “They pushed me out of my comfort zone.”

The women also stressed how vital it is to learn from experiences.

“Take advantage of the opportunities when offered,” Carter said.

She looks to her own journey as proof of concept. Had she not agreed to setting up a legal office when she had just grad-uated from law school or running a jazz program when she didn’t know anything about jazz or moving to Kentucky when she had never lived in the South, she may

not be where she is today.“All of those would have placed me in a

very different position,” she said. “Being able to take reasonable risks is going to be really important, and making the sacri-fice.”

Fedrizzi-Williams said a number of re-tirements are likely to happen in the next few years to open more doors for women at institutions than ever before. Many have made their way through the ranks to the

position of vice president of academic af-fairs or provost and are now ready to take the next step.

“Now that many of us have come through the ranks and we’ve been through some of those vice presidential positions, you’re going to see more women leading institutions,” she said.


SUBMITTED

Shippensburg university President Laurie Carter

SENTINEL FILE

dickinson College President Margee Ensign

At a Glance

a look at the female presidents of Cum-berland County’s four major colleges or universities:

Laurie Carter—Shippensburg University

� appointed: aug. 7, 2017 � Education: B.S. in communications from Clarion State College, now Clar-ion university of Pennsylvania, M.a. in communications from William Pater-son College, J.d. from rutgers School of Law-Newark

Margee Ensign—Dickinson College

� appointed: July 1, 2017 � Education: B.a. in peace studies and international relations from New College of Florida, M.a. in political science from university of Maryland, Ph.d in international politics and eco-nomics from university of Maryland.

Linda Fedrizzi-Williams—Central Penn College

� appointed: June 18, 2018 � Education: a.a. from SuNy Orange, B.a. in communication (tV/radio/film) from Marist College, M.a. in organizational communication from Marist College, Ed.d from Benedictine university.

� Previous positions: Interim co-presi-dent at Central Penn, vice president for academic affairs and provost at Central Penn, associate vice president for liberal arts at SuNy Orange, asso-ciate professor of communication at SuNy Orange.

Kim Phipps—Messiah College

� appointed: dec. 14, 2004 � Education: B.a. in biblical studies with English and history minors at Ken-tucky Christian College, M.a. in speech communication from Morehead State university, Ph.d. in communication studies (rhetoric) from Kent State university.

32 | INSPIRE: WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP | Saturday, May 18, 2019 THE SENTINEL tHE SENtINEL

to care for you in Shippensburg

posit ionedOB/GYN Cardiology Pulmonology| |

Walnut Bottom Rd.I-81

(Exit 29)

Carlisle

Walmart

46WalnutBottom Rd.

Progress Blvd.

Conestoga Dr.

97ProgressBlvd.11

174

BurgerKing

46WALNUTBOTTOMROAD

·Urgent Care

· FamilyMedicine

· Lab/Imaging

· Rehabilitation (Physical, Hand,and Occupational Therapy)

·OrthopedicsMoving to 97 Progress Blvd.·General SurgeryMoving to 97 Progress Blvd.

97 PROGRESSBOULEVARD

·MRI Services

·OB/GYN Coming soon!·Cardiology Coming soon!· Pulmonology Coming soon!

SummitHealth.org/Shippensburg Formerly Summit Health

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP - TownNews...women in leadership Inside this edition Wher e to ﬁ nd the Inspire proﬁ les inside this edition: Page 4 Cheri Bechtel Page 6 Ann Couldridge Page

Documents