Profile: Professional Women's Network

 

It started with lunch.  In the Spring of 1980, our founder Angela Joy Coppola wanted to organize a regular time and place to meet with women friends who faced business and  life balance issues similar to hers.  She started with inviting friends and professionals to an informal lunch.  The conversation there was so meaningful and well-received that it has become the format for all PWN meetings today.

In 1985, PWN established its first Board
of Directors and gained 501[c]7 non-profit association status.

Spirit of PWN Award

The Spirit of PWN Award is an annual honor, acknowledging a member that exemplifies the best qualities of our organization.  The award was created in 1988 in memory of the legacy of spirit left by founding member Nancy Loewenberg.  Each year, the Spirit of PWN Award is given to a PWN member representing the qualities our organization holds in the highest esteem, which are honesty, compassion, loyalty, and leadership.  These tenets are also reflected in our mission statement:

"Professional Women's Network facilitates business development by inspiring relationships among women in all professions."

Charles Lowenberg admired PWN, and its importance in his wife Nancy's life.  Charles shared his thoughts with us:

"For years Nancy enjoyed the camaraderie and support of an exceptional group of women with PWN.  She enjoyed a forum that allowed her to be:
▪  Outspoken -- in a responsible way
▪  Honest -- but with compassion
▪  Supportive -- of those she cared for and who cared for her
▪  Sharing -- of how she felt...from the heart
▪  In relationship -- with old and new friends and associates she cared about PWN allowed her to be herself -- without consideration!"

Past Spirit of PWN recipients include: 
Delia Ehrlich, Caral Gruskin Newman,
Kaye Kennedy, Janet Gallin, JR Nuerge,
Mary Ann Wetzork, Judy Seropan, and Charlotte Gaylord.