Alumnae Symposium - Ursuline Academy

In 2019, we debuted the Alumnae Symposium, a professional evening for alumnae to enhance leadership skills, foster professional relationships, and share insights between women and across generations. In 2020, the Alumnae Symposium continued as a Lunch and Learn Webinar series to ensure the safety of our community and open up the opportunity to alumnae across the globe. The 3-part series focused on three highly relevant topics to support alumnae as they continue to learn not just for school, but for life.

In 2021, the Alumnae Symposium took place in-person on September 16, 2021 and focused on "Keeping Women in the Workforce". Over the past year and a half, women have been leaving the workforce in much larger numbers than men as a result of the pandemic. When deciding whether or not to leave the workplace, outdated workplace cultures and policies should not be a driving factor.

The evening started with the "Laurel Marketplace"—a chance to discover locally- and alumnae-owned businesses as alumnae ate, drank, and shopped. Then they headed into the Café to hear from an alumnae panel and take part in round table discussion. The following esteemed panelists shared their wisdom and insights on the issues and ways to work together to overcome gender barriers in the workplace and systemically across our society.

Rachel Bauer '05, Co-founder of Gild Collective, an organization focused on breaking down gender barriers in the workplace,
Emily Leverone Kendall '00, Founder and CEO of Industrious Marketing, and
Chris Xeil Lyons '92, Economic Development Director of the City of Middletown