The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual “InfluenceHER” women’s leadership panel discussion and mixer at Kindred Spirits Wine Bar on Tuesday evening.
The panel consisted of four women: Brittany Barlog, Jenny Ketchepaw, Holly Schroeder and Dawn Abasta.
The panel answered questions about their experience of being on nonprofit or for-profit boards, how they got into the boardroom, if the panelists had misconceptions on being on a board, and if they had advice for women interested in doing boardroom work.
“Learn how to read financials. It’s very important, understanding financials and knowing how to read them. Understanding that transparency is the key,” Abasta said about advice she would give to women. “Those would be two of the most important, and to be present when you’re in the board meetings. It’s very important. You can get sued for not being present. That one right there, you could be sued for not being present.”
When asked what makes a good board member, Abasta talked about three different things – time, talent and treasure.
“Think about what you can contribute. Are you time? Are you talent, or are you treasure? So, are you somebody that is a lawyer and can help be advisory? Are you somebody that is affluent or has access to people who are affluent and can help fund different things?” Abasta added. “Or are you like me, somebody who’s more, I’m an event planner by nature, like what gives me energy. So, it’s my talent that I usually contribute to a board.”
Barlog said that during the social portion of the event, she spoke to other women who were not serving on any boards, and she thought that it was powerful because they could get some knowledge on how to start.
“They could capture something today, that they’re going to be inspired to try. And I think that the biggest piece of it is that there’s so much talent here in Santa Clarita. And there’s so much room at the top. It’s not limited,” Barlog said.
She added that having the event in a panel setting makes things easier to digest when making decisions on joining a board.
“Without feeling like you have to be given the pressure of, ‘I need to now join this board or to learn (or) what information is needed from somebody who serves on the board,’ it’s just the most educational-based setting to be able to absorb and learn what you need to learn before making an educated decision of joining a board of directors,” Barlog said.
After the panel discussion was over, attendees were able to ask the panelists more questions about the topics that were brought up.
