GEORGETTE BENNETT, Founder, Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, would like to update interested members that in little more than two years, the Multifaith Alliance for Refugees has delivered more than $125 million in humanitarian relief. Of particular interest to the Forum, Georgette believes, is the MFA’s Women’s Relief Program to address numerous problems facing women in Syria, including lack of access to healthcare through the targeting of medical facilities and professionals; sexual/gender-based assaults; unsafe living conditions and underage arranged marriages. MFA is dramatically expanding its shipment of women-specific products. She encourages members to share this important information with their friends, colleagues, foundations and media contacts.

AMY BUTTE, Corporate Director & Advisor, has joined the Board of Directors of Tuscan Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: THCBU).  The Company went public on March 5, 2019.  Tuscan Holdings Corp. is a blank check company organized for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, with an initial focus on target businesses in the cannabis industry.

ANNETTE GREEN, President Emeritus, The Fragrance Foundation, is thrilled to announce that her book, “Spritzing To Success With the Woman Who Brought An Industry To Its Senses” will receive the 2019 Perfumed Plume Awards Fragrance Book of the Year at an awards ceremony in April at The Society of Illustrators in NYC.

NADINE B. HACK, CEO, beCause Global Consulting, gave the keynote address on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2019, hosted by Gerald Mathieu, Head of Barclays Private Bank Geneva. Barclays’ senior teams from Geneva, Monaco and Dubai were in attendance. Nadine was also honored at the 2019 Enterprising Women of the Year, 17th Annual Awards ceremony in Fort, Lauderdale FL on March 24-26.

LIZ HAMBURG, President & CEO, Upstart Ventures LLP, is excited to share the launch of the website for her newest business – Candoo Tech – tech support and training for older people. Liz is offering Forum colleagues a chance to use the Candoo services for a free trial. Use promo code: Free Visit, HERE.

RUTH ANN HARNISCH, President, Harnisch Family Foundation, was featured in the, “Love your age” column in Woman’s Day magazine, speaking about her work with Funny Girls, the program that centers around exposing girls ages 8-13 to improv comedy to help them build self-confidence. To see the feature, click HERE.

ANN KAPLAN, Chair, Circle Financial Group, in her role as Chair of the Columbia University: Women Creating Change Initiative, hosted a panel on March 13th entitled “Corporate Feminism and It’s Discontents,” exploring gender and racial disparities in the corporate sector and the backlash of certain policies and strategies.

ANNE-CLAIRE LEGENDRE, Consul General of France in New York, BARBARA VAN ALLEN, President, Economic Club of New York and PHYLLIS YAFFE, Consul General in New York, Government of Canada, were co-hosts of the Women in Business – Return on Investment Summit, building on the work launched under Canada’s G7 Presidency.

BARBARA MARCUS, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books, is excited to be named the 2019 Graham Windham Gala Honoree. The event will take place on Thursday, May 16th at the American Museum of Natural History and benefits their important child-welfare programs. For more information or to purchase ticket/sponsorships for the event, click HERE.

LIZ NEUMARK, CEO, Great Performances, is excited to announce a partnership with the Empire State Development agency to move their offices from Manhattan to the South Bronx creating 181 new jobs in the process. The offices will also provide space for The Sylvia Center, a nonprofit that provides nutrition and cooking instruction in high-need communities. To read the full press release click HERE.

MARISSA SHORENSTEIN, Regional President – Northeast, AT&T, was recently named Chair of the Board, Girls Who Code, which strives for gender parity in the fields of computer science and software engineering.

ELLEN SILLS-LEVY, Founder & Client Insights Director, ESL Insights, LLC, was thrilled and honored to be the Keynote Speaker at the Spears School of Business/Oklahoma State University 28^th Annual Women’s Business Leadership Conference. Oklahoma IWF founded the conference with the Spears School of Business and is a major supporter.

ALICIA SYRETT, Founder & CEO, Pantegrion Capital, served as a Judge at the Wharton Club of NJ’s Annual Entrepreneur Showcase and Pitch Event. On International Women’s Day, she spoke in the morning as a Panelist for WOW (Women at Oliver Wyman) representing WomenCorporateDirectors (alongside fellow Women’s Forum member DAVIA TEMIN) and at a UBS event in the afternoon entitled “Angels Unplugged.” She presented at the Republic Academy to entrepreneurs on “Securing Mentors and Building an Advisory Board.” She was also featured in Diversity in Action magazine in their “Innovators’ Insights” section, and her Point 25 Initiative was also featured in the same issue.

KAY UNGER, President, Kay Unger Design, is excited to announce the 71st Annual Parsons Benefit Gala will be honoring the performer, Pharrell Williams, Founder and CEO, The RealReal, Julie Wainwright and Founder & CEO, Stitch Fix, Katrina Lake on Monday, May 20th beginning at 6pm. To read about ticket & sponsorship opportunities for the event, click HERE.

Please submit newsletter content before April 20th to be included in the next edition. Submissions and corresponding media/links can be submitted below or in your “My Participation” section of your member portal HERE.