Wharton Women elects new president

On Dec. 7, Wharton junior Lauren Fleischer was elected the Wharton Women president for 2010.

Fleischer spoke with The Daily Pennsylvanian about her excitement for filling the position and her goals to improve the organization.

The Daily Pennsylvanian: What are your goals for next year?

Lauren Fleischer: … A big part of our goal is to continue to fulfill our mission, which is … to help women transition into the business world. We would like to continue hosting high-caliber events for our members, and help them to interact with corporate sponsors, with faculty and with alumnae.

DP: Why did you run for a position on the Wharton Women board?

LF: In 2008, I served on the board as the Vice President of Publication and then in 2009, I served as the Vice President of University Relations. … Being on the board was something that I absolutely loved. … The opportunity to be president was something I was not willing to pass up.

DP: How would you describe the presence of Wharton Women at Penn?

LF: I think we have a established name, … a very established brand, especially within Wharton. Outside of Wharton, we’ve been really looking to branch out.

DP: What would you like to see Wharton Women do differently next year?

LF: First, I would really like us to deepen our membership base. I think as the largest paid-member organization on campus, we have a huge number of active members, … but I really would like to see that each member is more involved. … Wharton Women members are given a lot of opportunities and we’d really like to customize that experience for each member. So, if they’re interested in a career in marketing and are looking for internships this year, then I would like to offer them to opportunity to really explore that with an MBA mentor who is interested in marketing, by contacting an alumni who currently work in marketing, and by working with faculty.

Also, I would like to continue to bring in the top women in business. … But at the same time, I would like more interaction with those speakers. While Wharton Women is great at holding huge-scale events, it would be really wonderful if we could hold small dinners where select members could really interact with female CEOs or CFOs.

DP: Are there any big events that you and the new board will try to push?

LF: [On] January 22, we will be hosting the Wharton Women Business Conference sponsored by Ernst & Young, and … we’ll have Cathie Black [the president of Hearst Magazines] there. It will really be an experience to bring together our members along with women from other top business schools around the country.

DP: What plans do you have to work with other groups on campus?

LF: I’d say that Wharton Women has always had a very strong relationship with Wharton, as well as with other women’s community at Penn. We are an affiliated group with PCUW [Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women].

And I would say as a group with so many diverse women, we would love to interact with some of the women’s groups on campus, because regardless of what school they’re in or what their interests are, they should have the opportunity to advance their professional interests in their career.

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