Last week I went to Washington DC for the American Optometry Association, invited to give the keynote for their Women Of Vision women’s networking group. I gave my seminar: Building a Life that Works for Your Family, Your Career, and You, reworked for this audience. I love giving this talk–most recently to the Cleveland Bar Association’s Women in Law section, and the Midwest Veterinary Conference for which I had to learn all about pregnancy in veterinarians, including anesthetic gas exposure effects and veterinary infections! For the optometrists I talked about when is the perfect time to have a baby, and while we all know there isn’t any, we did talk about factors that can guide that difficult decision. We also talked about when and how to disclose the pregnancy at your workplace, maternity leave laws and policies, adjusting to your new job as a parent, communicating with work after the baby, breastfeeding, returning to work, and most importantly work-life balance challenges.

The most fun and satisfying aspect of this seminar for me is always the conversations that develop between the participants. My favorite story this time was from an optometrist who had her office downstairs from her home. She used to run up and nurse her baby between clients but she was running behind one day and was torn about what to do. She finally told her patient that she needed to ask her to wait a bit longer while she ran up to nurse, and the woman invited her to bring the baby down and nurse while they had their appointment…and she did! I love how this seminar opens up discussion for the more seasoned professionals to mentor their juniors in aspects of life outside traditional career mentoring.

After the seminar I did a book signing and got to talk individually with some of the attendees. I received a lovely thank you note from the executive director:

Marge – Please excuse the informality of this THANK YOU!

Thank you for the outstanding presentation at the Women of Vision reception.  The topic was ‘spot on’ and the entire audience was able to relate to your terrific discussion as was evident in the lively post interchange.  I don’t think anyone minded about the ‘Standing Room only’!! Thank you again and we all look forward to your next book.

I hope that our paths will cross again – I enjoyed having the opportunity to visit with you.

Warm regards,                                                                                                                                                                                               Siu G. Wong, OD, MPH                                                                                                                                                                       Executive Director, Women of Vision

This talk seems to be a great ice-breaker for young professional women, and also provides a start to conversation between young members and potential mentors. So if you know of any professional women’s networking events, think of me! I can be reached at mgreenfieldmd@aol.com.