By TIERNAN FOLEY
Contributing Writer
Nearly 100 people gathered in the Carl E. Touhey Forum last Thursday for the fourth annual William Randolph Hearst lecture, entitled “Navigating the Road to Change,” which was oriented around women’s leadership.
Saint Rose President Carolyn Stefanco welcomed the crowd at 5:30 p.m. by introducing the event and the guest of honor, Julie C. Seitz, who is the Director of Global Workplace Strategy and Operations for the Coca-Cola company.
Seitz discussed the ever-changing internal system as she helped institute a seven-step plan to foster a positive environment for Coca-Cola employees to thrive in. She powered through her presentation by demonstrating different strategies implemented by Coca-Cola, such as a library for employees to escape their desk.
Shortly after, Saint Rose trustee and publisher for the Albany Times Union, George R. Hearst III, introduced the women on the panel for the lecture. The women included Eve Burton, senior vice president and general counsel for Hearst; Ellen Levine, editorial director for Hearst magazines; the moderator, Rex Smith, vice president and editor for the Times Union; and Stefanco and Seitz.
The panel started off strong with Seitz relating to women’s leadership in the workplace.
“[Women] held ourselves back from not taking bold moves,” said Seitz.
As the discussion progressed, the women began sharing personal stories about how getting to a leadership role was a long and difficult process.
Burton said that it was not about the craft you learn in school, but how you learn to deal with real life situations.
Levine shared an anecdote when she applied to work for the Wall Street Journal and said their response read, “Dear Ellen, if your name were Allen, we would have hired you.”
She wished she had kept that letter, but said that it inspired her to thrive in the workplace.
The night began winding down as Smith asked the women for their final thoughts. After the fact, Seitz said it was “very inspiring being around all of these fantastic women and broadening my network.”
Lisa Haley Thomson, chief of staff for Stefanco, said that she helped plan this event in early summer through the office of Institutional Advancement. She noted that the event was fantastic and was one of the liveliest over her last 22 years working at the College. She said that the conversations were very authentic and honest; she had only wished that more students had come.
Seitz spoke to a management class earlier on Thursday, and said that she gave the class a “concrete homework assignment” by telling them to get on LinkedIn, and to have a professional photo.
The event was sponsored by the Times Union’s Women at Work, which according to representative Shelby Wadsworth, is the fastest and largest growing networking organization in the Capital Region.
“It is a great opportunity to bring women together in business,” said Wadsworth.
