She is a seasoned C-suite executive with more than 25 years of experience steering major businesses through sweeping transformations and top line growth including Nextdoor, Hyatt, Gannett, NBCUniversal, and Univision. Throughout her career she has been an active member of the MPW community, serving as guest co-chair in 2023. She is best known as a purpose-driven change agent and community builder.
During the pandemic, she co-founded NYCNext, a nonprofit inspired to help New York City recover and rebuild. With a grassroots army of volunteers, NYCNext produced a series of community events including A Moment for Broadway and an Emmy award-winning rendition of Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind. She also launched the award-winning WE ❤️NYC campaign to mobilize New Yorkers post-pandemic. Today, NYCNext organizes The Longest Table, a free community potluck to build back our communities from the ground up.
The Fortune Most Powerful Women list is based on four criteria: the size and importance of the woman's business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman's career (résumé and runway ahead), and their influence outside their organization.
Now I think of power more broadly. You may not run a $1B business, and you can still have power and influence. To me a great conference, a great community, a great gathering of any kind is all about the mix. Bringing powerful women in business together with powerful women in many different worlds - fashion, government, non-profits, academia and more - leads to unprecedented innovation, collaboration + impact.
The most successful and fulfilled women are smart, hard working, lucky and kind. Don’t underestimate the power of kindness in your success in life… in the end jobs come and go, but your relationships and community are what see you through.
It all looks perfect and easy from the outside. Nothing is easy. Nothing is perfect. Life is a series of choices and chapters, and we’re all navigating many parts of our lives as we make our way through. To be successful you have to make trade offs, you have to work hard and you also have to have some luck.
We were organizing our first Longest Table in Chelsea – a free neighborhood potluck on an open street, where everyone is welcome. It was our first year and there were many risks and unknowns. Anyway, the night before we noticed a wedding being held at the hotel across the way. We went to find the person in charge and asked if we could have their leftover flowers. “No,” the man said, somewhat rudely. My neighbor Nathaniel who was with me, turned to me as we left and asked how I was feeling. “Not great, but I have six other problems to solve,” I told him. He laughed and said, “that felt awful and I want to go roll up like a ball. You know, you don’t see life as an obstacle, you see it as an obstacle course.” That insight, that way of reframing problems (and we all face many) is the tool I wanted to pass on. And today, our Longest Table now gets 1,000 New Yorkers to come together for this joyful 2 hour potluck lunch.
I’ve always tried to prioritize relationships over politics and often told myself and the team, focus on doing the right thing, no matter the politics.
My sister. She is an incredible journalist. She’s accomplished, smart, hardworking and the one I turn to all the time for advice.
My family, friends + cockapoo Charlie. Also since I don’t draw in the lines, I’m adding New York City.
There's an exciting trend of people coming together to rebuild our communities and create events that foster real-life connections. We're seeing initiatives like The Longest Table, The LayOut, and Reading Rhythms popping up across cities. These gatherings are all about breaking bread, sharing stories, and rediscovering the joy of face-to-face interactions. It's a beautiful reminder that in our digital world, nothing beats the power of in-person community building.
