As a kid, I always gravitated toward hanging out with the boys — I was what they used to call a “tomboy.” In fact, it makes me a little sad to think of how long it took me to see the value in female friendships. I just saw boys to be simpler, less drama, and I have always liked things simple.
It really wasn’t until my husband went to medical school and I found myself alone a lot, thousands of miles from home, that I realized that I was going to need my own social group for support if this California girl was going to get through four years in Nebraska. I ended up enticing about 10 wives and girlfriends of other medical students to start hanging out together.
For the next four years, these women became my family. They showed me the power and value of surrounding yourself with women who have your back, who want you to succeed in every area of your life. And even though next year will mark 20 years since our husbands graduated and we scattered all over the country, that connection has never wavered — not through kids, divorce, deaths, moves, career changes, you name it.
I may have been slow to catch on to the value of girl time, but I’m making up for lost time now! Not only do I work with almost all women (and have two girls of my own), I work out with all women (Girl Crush Fitness regularly kicks my butt) I take women-only sailing classes through Community Sailing’s Women in the Wind program and once a week I reclaim my sanity by making pottery with other women at Wrenworks Art Studio.
To help more women reap the advantages of female connections, I’m excited that this version of our annual women’s issue includes a guide to women’s professional organizations in our region. Cost, time commitment, benefits — you’ll find it all, and hopefully a new social outfit that will also benefit your career.
While it may not be a women-only organization, I was fortunate to meet the incredible Jasmine Brown DeRousselle through the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute (NORLI), and I met Annalisa Kelly when she was one of our New & Notables honorees in 2022. While they may have very different jobs, they’re united in their passion for economic development, and they are absolutely killing it, as you will read here.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mum and every other woman out there who mothers. May you get the rest and rejuvenation this month that you so deeply deserve.
Thanks for reading,
Kimberley Singletary, Editor
Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
