Welcome to WAM New York!
We are a professional organization established to bring together women and men in the microfinance industry in the New York area. Our mission is to advance the field of microfinance and to support women and men with an interest and passion for microfinance, social entrepreneurship and development. WAM New York helps members reach their full potential by promoting their professional and personal growth, providing leadership opportunities, expanding professional and social networks, and inspiring them to achieve and share their successes while maintaining a work and life balance.
We are affiliated with WAM International, a global network of professionals in microfinance from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East to advance microfinance, women's leadership and development.
Our Recent Fundraiser
On Thursday, October 6th 2011 we hosted our Second Annual Scholarship Fundraiser at Moore Brothers Wine Company here in NYC. The funds raised are going to women microfinance practitioners from the Global South to attend specialized training programs and conferences to strengthen their skills and leadership opportunities. We had many friends and supporters join us for the festivities, and the crowd swelled to capacity. Testimonials from our five 2010 scholarship recipients were read. We were very excited to have Ms. Donna Katzin, CEO of Shared Interest as our keynote speaker. Donna spoke about the importance of supporting women in the field of microfinance, citing many firsthand examples from her extensive work experience. All in all, it was a terrific event!
We had an ambitious goal to outdo from last year, and topped that! We raised just shy of $12,780--of which $5,130 came from ticket sales, $2,630 from our raffle, $3,039 from our silent auction, and the remainder from donations. We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our supporters.
Scholarship Recipient Selection Process
The WAM-NY Steering Committee formed a Scholarship Committee in October to spearhead the process of selecting training programs to fund and to review (and revise, if needed) the scholarship recipient selection process applied last year. Our goal is to maximize the use of the funds raised, while extending as wide a reach across the globe as possible. Ideally, in 2012 we would like to fund women to attend skill-building training programs and workshops from each of 5 regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and South Asia). We will keep you apprised of our progress and decisions along the way, so keep checking back.
Our Events
WAM New York maintains an active schedule of events designed to advance our mission of serving the microfinance industry and meeting our members' needs.
Click here to see some of the events we have planned for the future.
Click here to read about some of our past events.
Our Leadership
Archana Shah (Co-Chair)
Praveen Prasad (Co-Chair)
Rebecca Feinberg (Secretary)
Jennifer Thomson (Treasurer)
Robin Wilson (Membership)
Danielle LeBlanc (Marketing)
Denitza Andjelic (Marketing)
Susan Salerno (Sister Chapter Liaison)
Rebecca Ruf (Event Advisory)
Sarah Leshner (Event Advisory)
Stacey Rivers (Fundraising)
Alicia Delia
Anna Kanze (Secretary)
Emily Allen
|
Chapters 
