142 posts

A Q&A with Chief Financial Officer Martha Ferry

Those who know her only by her cheerfully pragmatic presentations at Annual Conference or Winter Leadership, might be surprised to learn that AJLI Chief Financial Officer Martha Ferry is an intrepid traveler to some of the world’s more remote locales (the state seals of Burma, Botswana, Libya, and Laos, and many others can be found among the stamps in her passport), an able and adventurous amateur chef who once studied at La Varenne in Paris, and a devotee of alternative theater on New York’s vibrant Off-Broadway scene.
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AJLI Joins Vision 2020 Gender Equality Initiative

In February, AJLI joined the Vision 2020 Gender Equality Initiative, a project of the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership® at Drexel University’s College of Medicine, which was conceived to stimulate dialogue about women and leadership in advance of the 100th anniversary, in 2020, of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
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Even If Your Kid’s Not a Bully, We Bet She Knows One

It often seems the only time most of us worry about bullying is when it happens to one of our kids – or when something goes deeply wrong with someone else’s kid, as happened recently in South Hadley, MA, where 15-year-old Phoebe Prince hanged herself.

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, surveys indicate that as many as half of all children are bullied at some time during their school years, and at least 10% are bullied on a regular basis. The Junior Leaguestake this problem seriously. In fact, supporting the welfare of our children has been a central focus across our 109-year-history.

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Helping Kids Walk Away from Fast Food

There’s a lot of talk about childhood obesity. And no one seriously doubts the link between fat-filled fast food grabbed at take-out restaurants and weight problems. But how do you begin to break the cycle that locks kids – particularly disadvantaged children in urban areas – into a fast food diet for life?

We believe education has to begin at home – but schools and communities also play a critical role.

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Making A Difference: Kay Hagan

Kay Hagan knows that you do not make a difference standing on the sideline. And she thanks her experience with the Junior League for teaching her the skills necessary to become a US Senator.

Kay goes to work every day focused solely on what is best for North Carolina – building on what works, eliminating what doesn’t. She has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense legislator who knows good ideas do not come with a party label

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Help Wanted: 78,000 New Managers

Ever see that headline before? Maybe not. That’s because, compared to Corporate America, Nonprofit America gets a whole lot less attention from the business media. But, according to industry estimates, American nonprofits of all sizes will require 78,000 new senior managers in 2016, up from 56,000 in 2006 and up four-fold since 1996. In fact, according to the same source, 10-12% of the country’s nonprofit organizations are experiencing leadership transitions at any one time.

Maybe it’s time for women to step up to the plate.

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The CRC @ 20

CRC. It’s not one of those acronyms that rolls off your tongue. But the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – which, 20 years ago this month, became the first legally binding international convention to affirm human rights for all children – really did make a difference.

Looking back on this landmark action, we also see the value in small steps made by volunteer advocacy groups like The Junior League in advance of big steps made by international bodies like United Nations, with the CRC, or governmental organizations. Because, as we see it, passionate volunteer groups – wherever they are – can set the stage for policy solutions to tough issues.

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