On March 15th IPWS celebrated a monumental occasion – 25 years of connecting professional women in Shanghai. Held at the beautiful restaurant Colca, co-founder Diane Long, along with past Presidents, past and current board members, volunteers, supporters and members of the community all gathered to commemorate the anniversary and share stories of IPWS through the years.
Current IPWS President, Amanda Argentieri welcomed everyone to the celebration and gave an especially warm introduction to past Presidents who joined us for the evening both in person, and those who could not attend but sent in wonderful messages.
It was a special honor to have co-founder Diane Long attend, who gave a moving speech illustrating a Shanghai many of us would not recognize. Diane and co-founder Pamela Slutz saw the need for a professional women’s community, and the values they founded IPWS on still ring true today.
Pamela, who unfortunately was unable to attend in person, sent in this message;
Co-Founder – Pamela Slutz
United States Ambassador (ret)
Co founder of EPWS with Diane Long in 1993
I never imagined – but I should have expected – that the group of like-minded and dedicated women that Diane Long and I brought together in 1993 would evolve and grow into not only the “oldest” but also the most successful and prestigious group of expatriate professional women in China. For the past 25 years, you and your colleagues have demonstrated that women can and will succeed in China as professionals and as community leaders. When I recall the challenges of doing business in China – and for women in particular – in the early 1990s, you have all the more reason to be proud of your accomplishments.
In 1993, I was a mid-level female officer in the then overwhelmingly male-dominated U.S. Foreign Service, serving as the deputy consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. The camaraderie and mutual support I found among the early members of the EPWS helped me recognize my abilities and gave me the courage and confidence to pursue my career goals…right to the top. Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to serve again in Shanghai, but I was honored to be the first woman in the U.S. Foreign Service to serve as 1) the deputy director of the State Department’s Office of China and Mongolia Affairs (1995-7), 2) the deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan (2001-2003), and, finally, 3) the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia (2003-2006) and to Burundi (2009-2012).
I regret that I cannot be there to celebrate with you on this momentous 25th Anniversary, but thank you for reaching out to me and inviting me to convey my congratulations and appreciation through this short message.
And, if any of you are ever in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas (where I have retired), please contact me so we can keep the spirit alive!
Shanghai has seen unprecedented growth and innovation over the past 25 years, yet IPWS has remained a pillar in the professional community, empowering women to connect, share, grow and learn from each other.
Stéfanie Vallée, IPWS President 2011-2012 and current IPWS Ambassador, was in attendance and gave a moving speech about the changes IPWS went through during her time as President. During this time Stéfanie and fellow board members carefully evaluated how IPWS should continue to evolve in order to best serve the needs of the growing professional women’s community in Shanghai. As fast as technology and different industries have shaped the city we live in, so too have the needs of our members. Although the means in which we reach out to our community have changed, the quality of the connections made has remained strong, and we hope to continue to provide meaningful, high value events to the community for years to come.
Lucy Lei, who stepped into the role of IPWS President after Stéfanie, from 2012-2014, was also generous enough to attend Thursday and share her memories of how IPWS shaped not only her professional life, but her personal life as well.
Like the Presidents who came before her, and those who have served after her, Lucy made it a priority to ensure that IPWS continues to be relevant to the community it aims to serve.
“EPWS gave me opportunity to work with diverse, brilliant female minds from all walks of life. We had common vision to build EPWS an influential organization in Shanghai to provide international women a platform to truly connect and grow, meanwhile have fun. This vision inspired the board and our members, our program and schedules very much based on these principles. Today most of my friends are formed from my EPWS period. Am grateful to have the opportunity to serve EPWS.”
Lucy Lei
IPWS President 2012-2014
Below is a photo of Lucy Lei from the 2014 Gala Dinner.
In addition to Pamela’s message, we received messages from several other past IPWS Presidents who were unable to attend in person, but share their stories and well-wishes below;
Margie Chiang
Director, Business Development, Octave
EPWS President 1994-1996, Current Partnership Executive on the Board
Back in the 1990’s – Shanghai was experiencing its initial waves of the incoming int’l community against the backdrop of the city’s tremendous growth. Back then – we had no internet, no subway, used fax machines and rode bicycles (and I mean our own bicycles – not the community sharing version).
There were not too many working women living in Shanghai at the time which is why IPWS was a vital community to me as well as to the pioneering women it served.
IPWS was not only a professional network for women but a safe community where lasting friendships were built.
It is through IPWS that I have met one of my most treasured friends, Diane Long, who is like a sister to me as well as one of my most supportive mentors, former president, Tiziana Figliolia.
Happy 25th Anniversary to IPWS and all of the fabulous women who have evolved this group into one that wholeheartedly serves women.
Katherine Song
Managing Partner
Sky Vision Consulting Co. Ltd.
EPWS President 2007-2008
Congratulations on IPWS 25th anniversary! For the past 25 years, IPWS has supported and inspired many women in their professional development and personal growth. I want to thank each IPWS member for her involvement and contribution. My special thank you to all the board members. Without you IPWS would not have developed and thrived as of its today. I hope IPWS continues to be an influential and dynamic society that brings people together and fosters a culture of women helping each other, mentoring each other and supporting each other. See you all soon. Happy Anniversary!
K. Beate Richter
President for 6 months in 2010
EPWS has helped me tremendously to re-invent myself and feel connected in a foreign country. Before coming to Shanghai I was self-employed and I was still struggling with my new role as a trailing spouse, feeling like an appendix, when I was invited to my first EPWS meeting. And suddenly I felt alive again because I was welcomed so warmly and it did not matter that I “only” was working as a volunteer.
After successfully re-inventing myself and starting to work as a Confidence Coach EPWS was one of the three big networks that helped me to build my practice (Toastmasters and Lifeline Shanghai were the other two). Had I to describe this wonderful network in three words I would choose: empowerment, opportunity, support. In 2010, when nobody was ready to run for president I stepped up because I wanted to give back and wanted to make sure that this wonderful network would be kept alive. It was a bold decision as I did not know if I could fill this role, but I trusted that my Leadership experience from Toastmasters would serve me well. I had a lovely board with women from all continents. Only half a year later I chose to step down because my personal situation did not allow me any more to commit as much as this role deserved. And my wonderful and amazing vice-president Stefanie Vallée became president and took EPWS to new heights. My biggest learning from serving as president of EPWS: follow your heart and trust that it will all work out fine. It did. And it always does when you align head and heart.
Mit bestem Gruß/Best regards/Cheers/Love + Light
Kerstin Hinterholtzer
IPWS President 2010
Dear IPWS members,
I was very pleased to get the invitation to the 25th Anniversary celebration of IPWS and I would have loved to join you all at tonight’s party.
Looking back to my stay in Shanghai, joining EPWS was one of the best things to do. All the members were very openminded and welcomed me right from the start. They shared their experiences with me, what it means to work and live in Shanghai as a woman. The offered programs (for example the mentoring program) and workshops helped a lot, too, to find my way in this new life in China. For me it was an honor to be president of EPWS and I enjoyed working together with the other board members. Every woman made a lot of efforts and came up with many new ideas in order to guarantee the high quality of the program and to increase the number of members.
All these experiences still have a positive effect on my life now, back in Germany. I am a member of BPW (Business Professional Women, a worldwide network of professional women) and realize almost every day how important it is that we stand together as professional women in order to reach our goals.
Now I wish you all the best for your stay in Shanghai. Enjoy the party and cheers to the next 25 years of IPWS.
Tiziana Figliolia
Senior Vice President, Global Business Operations & Finance, PTC Inc.
IPWS President 2014-2017
Dear all,
I am really sorry I cannot be there with you to celebrate the 25th anniversary of IPWS.
What an amazing milestone for a transient community of professional women that started with 12 expats, and is now recognized as one of the leading communities of professional women in Shanghai and China.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone that has participated to the life of IPWS over the years!
What I think made IPWS so successful is that it always stayed true to its mission and cradled a place for ideas to converge, people to connect and support each other. The results are visible in the success of our growing purposeful community of professional women from all walk of life, nationalities, ages and professional background. The diversity that is so much debated around and sought after is a reality with our community, and I believe what makes the IPWS community so special.
I had the privilege to serve in the Board for four years. In this time, together with more then 50+ other board members, we had the opportunity to design and execute some significant initiatives, such as:
- The re-branding of EPWS to IPWS, and expanding our reach beyond expats and women only, expanding the reach from 1000 to over 5000 people
- Curated and launched the very first IPWS Leadership Summit, establishing IPWS as a thought leader in the women leadership and empowerment space
- Modernized and increased visibility to the Women Leadership Awards across China and internationally
- Co-launched the Shanghai Chapter of Mentor Walks Asia
- Developed clear channels for young professionals & senior executives to gather and share experiences through focused, roundtable events.
I am confident that all this meaningful work led the basis for the next generation of the IPWS community.
Personally, the most rewarding aspect of my work with IPWS is that I could see the impact of connecting and being empowered to do something. I saw each person, and story, that I came across as a single act that stemmed from IPWS social network and community members finding each other’s. Each story being about power though social practices, and at the same time about empathy, giving, and being grateful. My hope is that through the courage to engage and act, we made a contribution in building a better and more equal world!
See you all in May at the IPWS Leadership Summit!
Thank you to all who attended both in person and in spirit, Colca for hosting us at their beautiful restaurant, and Chris Giles for the amazing photos. We had a wonderful time celebrating with you and hope to see you at our upcoming events!
