By: Nermin K. Ahmad
NFBPWC Secretary 2024-2026 

The transition is completed and I am preparing for the October Board meeting.  Remember to submit your Board Reports – I am not receiving many.  

In the interim I also am working through the Secretary’s files and inbox, learning all  that I can.  

I am very proud to represent all of your voices as a Delegate to the Triennial  Conference in St. Kitts. 

Dear Members:

I send greetings from Paducah, Kentucky!

My work as a photographer has led me here for a national event which will run through the beginning of October.  Shooting from dawn to dusk doesn’t leave much time for visiting the sites, but I managed to sneak a few hours over the past few weeks to not only visit the National Quilt Museum and meet a celebrity business owner in town, but to learn about one of the past local industries – button making from mussels.  Just gorgeous.

October!  How quickly time can fly? 

October 1^st will be my 60^th birthday.  I’ve never shied away from birthdays.  To me, celebrating the passage of time is a wonderous and awesome thing.  I look forward to my 60^th year and all the adventures it will bring. 

Speaking of adventures – BPW sure has a few coming up as we close out 2024. 

If October wasn’t busy enough with National Business Women’s Week, we are also preparing to participate in the International Congress in St. Kitts in November.  This year, there are many suggested changes for our Constitution, as well as election of the next Executive, Standing Committee Chairs and Regional Coordinators for the next triennium.  Lots to prepare for – and so excited that we (NFBPWC) will be presenting three workshops!  Whew!

Adding to the Delegates already selected in August:  Barbara Bozeman, Bessie Hironimus, and Nermin Ahmad, the alternate delegates for International Congress have been selected:

From New York City:  Emily VanVleck

From North Carolina:  Alice Gallup West

From Washington:  Rosalind Scott

Thank you all for agreeing to serve. 

More information regarding the International Congress is elsewhere in the magazine. 

By: Dr. Jo Naylor
NFBPWC Treasurer 2024-2026, treasurer@nfbpwc.org 

NEW NFBPWC TREASURER .... Hello! I am Dr. Jo Naylor, the NEW Treasurer. This  is my 20th year as a BPW member, and it is starting out in an exciting way! It is  wonderful to have a wonderful team to help me learn the processes involved to keep  accurate records and facilitate the success of NFBPWC.  

Please make sure you submit completed invoices in a timely manner, 14 days prior to  a request and provide receipts within 7 days of the complete activity. I look forward  to a wonderful two years! 

By: Megan Shellman-Rickard NBPWC Immediate Past-President (2020-2024)

Living the Biennial Theme 

President Barbara Bozeman’s 2024-26 theme: “Connecting  

Locally. Uniting Nationally. Igniting Globally.” is an inspiration  for my magazine article this month. 

Connecting Locally 

In early August I found myself traveling the 325 miles

 from Southwest Colorado to Northeast Colorado for a weekend festival with my husband to celebrate our anniversary. Many of our Colorado  members live in the Front Range area and although my time was limited and my plans were concrete, I missed my BPW sisters after our wonderful conference in Pennsylvania. As it happened, we had an extra backstage ticket for the entire weekend and I immediately thought of one member who adores live music AND was within 15 miles of the venue. Kathy Kelly and I found ourselves enjoying some great musicians together as we connected over the long weekend in Lyons, Colorado.  

We had so much fun connecting in person (outside of NFBPWC planned activities) and  we  likely drove my husband a little crazy talking about the ERA and women’s rights all weekend. We also enjoyed listening to powerful female vocalists like Brittany Howard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany_Howard) and Anais Mitchell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana%C3%AFs_Mitchell) both Grammy Award

 winners. The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (https://bluegrass.com/folks) often highlights strong women and we were definitely  in our element. (Pictured Left: Brittany Howard – Our view from backstage)   

As I embrace the role of Immediate Past  President, I want to connect locally with more of our members during this term. My gratitude for the local, national, and international network of friends and colleagues that I have found over the past 18 years as a member of his incredible organization. I look forward to seeing the friendships and successes that will come from this term with our newly elected executive committee, all phenomenal women. 

Please continue to reach out to me personally or professionally as we continue to our work to make NFBPWC a better organization, because together we are stronger. 

Best Personal Wishes, 

Megan Shellman-Rickard 
NBPWC Immediate Past-President (2020-2024)

By: Nermin K. Ahmad
NFBPWC Secretary 2024-2026 

I am proud to serve the organization as Secretary. We are still completing the transition, which is taking its time during the summer holidays, and which will soon be completed.  

It was finally possible to take time for myself, and take part in adventures, such as horseback riding – which I have not done in decades. 

Ambling through a Gaillac Vineyard was a perfect way to restart the experience.  

Read more about these Adventures in the NYC submission! 

By: Emily VanVleck
2^nd Vice President of Advocacy, NFBPWC 2024-2026 

Hello BPW sisters!  

The 2024-2026 advocacy term is off to a very strong start! We held our very first  program of the term on August 24th, ‘The Path to Equality’, in honor of Women's  Equality Day. We were joined by three expert panelists who took us on a journey  through the 19th Amendment through the current fight to get the Equal Rights  Amendment published as the 28th Amendment. This event would not have been  possible without Kathy Telban who organized and moderated the event. THANK YOU,  KATHY! 

Our first advocacy meeting of the term was held on Thursday the 22nd and we had a robust conversation on  how to actualize our advocacy platform. There are some very exciting plans coming out of the advocacy  committee, and we hope you can join us at our next meeting on September 19th.  

I know that life is busy and with so many great events happening across the organization and, let’s be real,  outside of the organization in our everyday lives, it’s hard to attend everything. I have no doubt that even if  you aren’t regularly attending advocacy committee meetings and events that you are engaging in advocacy  initiatives - and I want to see it! Maybe you went to a rally for an elected official, or a luncheon or fundraiser  for another organization - maybe it was a picket! Whatever it was, share your advocacy in action moment with  us!  

For example - thanks to NYC member Francesca Burack, I was introduced to the PowHer New York Leaders  for Equity, Advocacy, and Progress (LEAP) program. A few weeks ago, we had our in person summer  networking mixer where I was able to connect with fellow women activists. It was a fantastic night out and  has led to some powerful collaborations which I’m looking forward to sharing about in our next monthly  magazine. I hope you feel inspired to share your Advocacy In Action moments!

By: Maria Cecilia DeSousa, 1st Vice President of Membership, NFBPWC 2024-2026 Dear Presidents of State Federations, Districts and Clubs 

Beginning September 2024, the membership committee will be meeting once a month on  the 1^st Monday of the month at 5:00 pm PST. 

The dates through the end of 2024 are as follows: 

Monday September 9, 2024 (delayed a week due to Labor Day) 

Monday October 7, 2024 

Monday November 4, 2024 

Monday December 2, 2024 

Please ensure your membership chairs are provided with this information, and you email me their names and  email addresses. Also, any additional members you would like to serve on the committee are welcome. Simply  provide me with their contact information. 

Looking forward to a successful year. 

Information submitted by Michele Guarino, NFBPWC Magazine Editor (2017-2026) 

Welcome New and Renewing Members 

New Jeannette Feldner Virtual - Maryland 

New Katelyn Riccardi Michigan 

New Kathryn Rivest Michigan 

New Kathy Schmaltz Michigan 

New Bridget Myers Colorado 

New Sara Shalls Colorado 

Dear Members:

With just over thirty days since the GA, August has been a great month.  

Though not surprised, I am impressed daily by the enthusiasm and passion our officers, committees and members show for BPW.  Already, we have made good on our intentions of

Connecting Locally ~ Uniting Nationally ~ Igniting Globally

Barely an hour after being announced as the incoming president, I was approached by a member who wanted to do a project event for Women’s Equality Day.  As she began to lay out her idea – I admit – I deflected.  Her idea was interesting – but it fell under the purview of our VP of Advocacy, Emily VanVleck, so I said, “that’s Emily’s department.”  While I did participate and assist (minimally) – both our new VP Advocacy and Kathy Telban, the project lead, presented a terrific program on August 24^th. 

Over 100 people signed up for the event.  If you were there – you know.  IT WAS AWESOME!  If you couldn’t join us, fear not – the event was recorded and will be made available when the edits are complete.   

An off-hand comment during a chat with our International Liaison, Larisa Miller, led to our first Global Oasis, held on August 10^th.  Meeting with members from around the world was quite inspiring and has led to soft plans to collaborate and scheduling the next Global Oasis very soon. 

The Entrepreneur and Small Business team, led by Marsha Riibner-Cady, kicked off a long-term project for future monthly meetings, with the project manager of a Pitch Contest from West Virginia and one of the contestants.  We learned so much and look forward to seeing more from this upcoming program.

And if that weren’t enough for Igniting Globally - These days there is a lot of activity leading up the International Congress for BPW International, being held in St. Kitts in November. 

At the last Executive Committee meeting – the primary delegates for the Congress, representing NFBPWC were selected:

Barbara Bozeman (President), Nermin Ahmad (Secretary) and Bessie Hironimus (California)

At the next Executive Committee meeting – September 3^rd, we will be discussing / deciding on the 3 alternate delegates.  

More information regarding the International Congress is elsewhere in the magazine. 

Welcome to September, my friends!

Barbara Bozeman

President, NFBPWC

By: Daneene Monroe Rusnak
Outgoing 2^nd Vice President of Advocacy, NFBPWC 2020-2024 

Being your VP of Advocacy has been an incredible honor and privilege. They say that time flies when you’re having fun and I believe that. Apparently, it’s also true that time flies when you’re advocating! I am eternally grateful to the beloved A-Team for the consistent support and contribution to the advocacy work of this organization. Thank you all for helping to keep NFBPWC at the forefront of education, awareness, advocacy, and action. The advocacy future of NFBPWC is undoubtedly in good hands. I am excited to see where this committee goes under the leadership of VP VanVleck.  

To my fellow EC members, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your unshakeable 

faith in each other and this organization. Your support and friendship means the world to me.  With gratitude beyond measure,  

Daneene 

About Megan Shellman-Rickard 

Megan Shellman-Rickard earned a Master of Science, organizational leadership major, from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Arts, communication major, from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ms. ShellmanRickard is a 2024 graduate of the annual Leadership LaPlata Program sponsored by the LaPlata County Chamber of Commerce.  

Megan has more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of disciplines. She brings her former experience in the entertainment industry, strategic and green event planning, advertising sales, print and digital marketing, retail sales, publication and book production, nonprofit leadership, business development, and operations management to bear as the owner of her own company: Simple Synergy Consulting. She offers concierge business consulting services to nonprofits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. Megan is an accomplished change agent with a skill for connecting people in the face of adversity. 

Finding that volunteering can help expand your viewpoints and skills, Megan has served in many leadership positions throughout her career. She also believes that volunteering can allow you to gain experience in roles that might not otherwise be available to you in the workforce. 

Megan is the Immediate Past President of NFBPWC and serves as an advisor for the BPW International N. America and Caribbean Region. She served President of NFBPWC from 2020-2024 and 1^st Vice President of Membership from 2016-2020. She continues to serve as a member of committees at the international, national, state, and local level. She has served in leadership positions for the National Federation of Business and Professional Women and the Business and Professional Women of Colorado (BPW/Colorado) since 2008. As she grew with BPW, Megan served as the BPW/Boulder President for 2 years, the BPW/Colorado President for 2 years, the BPW/International Sub-Regional Coordinator for Canada and the United States for the N. American and Caribbean Region, the BPW/Colorado Vice President of Membership for 1 year. Ms. ShellmanRickard was a Delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) representing BPW/International in 2018 and representing BPW Canada in 2024. 

Megan lives in Durango, Colorado with a packed household: husband, two children, two cats, one dog, many houseplants and an organic vegetable garden. She was born and raised in Southern Colorado, but has found homes in Boulder, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, France and Sanborn Western Camps. Kind Regards, 

Megan Shellman-Rickard, NBPWC Immediate Past-President (2020-2024)