Experience the Haverford Speaker Series for Women.The Series began more than a decade ago as an initiative to encourage women to take a seat at the table during financial discussions. I was there for the very first event, and like me and so many of our attendees, the Series has evolved and grown. The daughters and granddaughters of our inaugural attendees now sit with us, confidently leading conversations and sharing their perspectives. Our goal to provide educational opportunities and resources to help you succeed – professionally, financially, and personally – remains.

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Experience the Haverford Speaker Series for Women

Veronica McKee, The Haverford Trust Company

The Series began more than a decade ago as an initiative to encourage women to take a seat at the table during financial discussions. I was there for the very first event, and like me and so many of our attendees, the Series has evolved and grown. The daughters and granddaughters of our inaugural attendees now sit with us, confidently leading conversations and sharing their perspectives. Our goal to provide educational opportunities and resources to help you succeed – professionally, financially, and personally – remains.

Our SS4W provides in-person events, virtual tools, peer to peer networking opportunities, and a platform for shared experiences and diverse perspectives.

We hope to see you at a future event, and in the meantime, we invite you to explore our library of past programs and resources.

13

Years

44

Events

52

Speakers

5,240

Attendees

All statistics as of December 1, 2023.

SS4W EVENTS

2024

May

At the Table: Policy and Civics

September

Fraud Bingo

October

Tales from the Corporate Ladder

2024

SS4W EVENTS

May

At the Table: Policy and Civics

September

Fraud Bingo

October

Tales from the Corporate Ladder

Milestones in inspiration, education, and mentorship

The Haverford Speaker Series for Women® has evolved from a mission to a movement. Through educational and networking opportunities, the Series enhances the visibility of women in financial conversations and accelerates the path to professional and personal development.

Top of Page

2023

Planting the Seed of Wealth Planning Essentials

  • Gina Parissi, CFP®

Haverford Senior Wealth Planner Gina Parissi, CFP® discussed important wealth planning action steps, financial considerations for every stage of life, and why wealth planning should matter to everyone, regardless of age or net worth.

Investment Fundamentals

  • Lydia C. Holiat

Haverford Vice President & Portfolio Manager Lydia Holiat led a small group seminar about the equity and fixed income markets, asset allocation, and portfolio construction designed for individuals with an intermediate level of understanding about investments.

At the Table: Business Leadership Insights

  • Veronica McKee, CMP
  • Eileen D. Chambers, CTFA
  • Sandy Pfeffer
  • Devon Winter
  • Kim Wright

A panel of executives shared stories and ideas on balancing personal and professional lives - taking calculated risks, battling imposter syndrome, the impact of social media, and other considerations we may encounter in our multidimensional lives.

2022

The Art of Negotiating

  • Leigh Thompson, PhD

Leigh Thompson, PhD, Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at Northwestern University, shared principles and tactics for successful win-win negotiations. Attendees grew their negotiating confidence and learned how to maintain a critical edge in dynamic situations.

Spring Cleaning: Decluttering in Your Personal and Financial Life

  • Elissa Faraglia
  • Janet Bernstein, CPO®

Professional organizer Janet Bernstein, CPO®, shared methods for streamlining our belongings and maximizing our personal spaces, and Haverford Senior Investment Officer Elissa Faraglia spoke about accelerating order in our financial lives by decluttering our debt, consolidating important documents, and other financial housekeeping best practices.

Impossible is Nothing

  • Honorable Renée Cardwell Hughes

Haverford Trust board member Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes gave an inspirational presentation sharing her 5 keys to effective leadership. She spoke to attendees about achieving success on their own terms and going after their most audacious goals.

Making Winning Decisions

  • Annie Duke

Decision strategist and former world champion poker player Annie Duke led a conversation about the psychology behind decision making and the cognitive biases that can cause us to miss opportunities or hold on too long.

2021

Health and Wealth: Prioritizing Self-Care

  • Marisa C. Weiss, MD
  • Erin O’Malley Tysko, MD
  • Halie W. O’Shea

Vice President & Director of Research, Halie O’Shea, provided insights into healthcare industry investments, and guest speakers Dr. Marisa Weiss, Chief Medical Officer & Founder of Breastcancer.org, and Main Line Health Cardiologist Dr. Erin O’Malley Tysko led a discussion about the importance of taking care of yourself and why self-care isn’t selfish.

When Women Lost the Vote: The Complex History of Female Property Ownership

  • Marcela Micucci, PhD
  • Maxine Cuffe, CFA

Dr. Marcela Micucci, Curatorial Fellow in Women’s History, led a private tour of The Museum of the American Revolution exhibition, When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776 – 1807, highlighting the role property ownership played in the story of voting rights in the U.S. for women and people of color. Vice President and Director of Global Strategies Maxine Cuffe, CFA then presented on female property ownership in the present day, including things to know before purchasing a home, considerations for property inheritance, and a snapshot of women and property ownership globally.

The Psychology of Money

  • Morgan Housel
  • Binney H.C. Wietlisbach

Binney Wietlisbach, President at The Haverford Trust Company, was joined by Morgan Housel, former finance columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal, to discuss his book The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness.

2020

Growing Up Together is Like the Stock Market: Highs, Lows, and a Long-term Commitment

  • Francesca Serritella
  • Lisa Scottoline

Best-selling authors, columnists, and co-authors Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella spoke about the relationships that form us, change us, and teach us about life, for the first ever virtual Haverford Speaker Series for Women® event.

2019

Behavioral Finance: What Affects Our Decisions?

  • Maxine Cuffe, CFA

Maxine Cuffe, CFA, Senior Research Analyst at Haverford, led a thought-provoking discussion delving into the common biases, irrational investment behaviors and decision-trap situations which can affect investors’ behaviors and, subsequently, the markets – and how to identify and course correct when decisions become influenced by biases.

Working the Room: Networking with P.A.S.S.I.O.N.

  • Shelley Potente

Shelly Potente, Executive Vice President of Client Relations at The Leaders Edge/ Leaders By Design, introduced attendees to P.A.S.S.I.O.N., an acronym that explains the networking cycle, and provided tips to confidently and successfully work a room, from prepping an impactful introduction to fostering conversation.

What’s My Number? How to Best Plan to Save for Retirement

  • Cynthia Zickel, ChFC, CFP®

Cynthia A. Zickel, ChFc, CFP®, Vice President & Portfolio Manager at Haverford, helped attendees tackle critical questions that will shape how they save for and live in retirement. With exercises ranging from projecting how much money to save before and during retirement, determing the right age to retire, identifying an appropriate savings withdrawal rate, and how much income will be received from other sources, this workshop helped attendees gain a better perspective of their retirement goals.

2018

Finding your Path to Success: Seeing Change, Transformation, and Reinvention as Opportunities to Take a Leap

  • Christine Duffy

Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Lines, provided an empowering presentation sharing what could happen while remaining open to life’s journey, even when things didn’t work out as planned. Through her personal experiences, Christine explained how reinvention can occur in unconventional ways.

The Power of Mentorship: Making the most of a Mentor/Mentee Relationship to Navigate Professional Success

  • Binney H.C. Wietlisbach
  • P. Sue Perrotty
  • Lisa M. Penn

Binney Wietlisbach, relived her own mentee experience with her mentor, Sue Perrotty of BAC Services. Afterward, Lisa M. Penn, an executive coach for SEI Investments, provided the framework for a successful mentor/ mentee relationship.

Advancing Civic Engagement: Developing the Combination of Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Motivation to Make a Difference

  • Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell

The Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, offered her insight into the combined qualities that position women to advance a civic agenda for good and make a difference in today’s society.

2017

Making a Difference: Sharing Your Time, Talents, and Treasures

  • Lisa Tierney
  • Tami Caesar
  • Monica Taylor Lotty
  • Linda Mantai
  • Daphne Rowe
  • Dana Spain

Certified Life Strategies Coach Lisa Tierney of Tierney Coaching & Consulting, Inc. moderated a panel discussion with: Tami Caesar, Chief Financial Officer of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Monica Taylor Lotty, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Linda Mantai, Vice President of Flyers Charities; Daphne Rowe, President & Founder of Pembroke Philanthropy Advisors; and Dana Spain, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist & Managing Partner of McSpain Properties. This dynamic panel of women shared their nonprofit experience to speak about finding passion, ways to give back at all levels, and becoming active in the local community.

Financial Literacy Workshop

  • Maxine Cuffe, CFA
  • Lydia C. Holiat
  • Christine E. Walker Nerney, CFP®, CIMA®
  • Larissa Whitman, Esquire

Presenters for this workshop included Maxine Cuffe, CFA, a Senior Research Analyst at Haverford; Lydia Holiat, MBA, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager at Haverford; Christine Walker, CFP®, CIMA®, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager at Haverford; and Larissa Whitman, Esq., a Partner at Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP. The workshop offered multiple sessions from which attendees could select based on their level of knowledge and interest. Topics included: Stock Market Basics; Understanding Investments; Ages, Stages, and Essential Pages: Estate Planning at Every Age & Stage of Life; and The 3 Rs of Respecting Your Money.

Financial Literacy Workshop II

  • Maxine Cuffe, CFA
  • Lydia C. Holiat
  • Christine E. Walker Nerney, CFP®, CIMA®
  • Suzanne M. Hecht, Esquire

Maxine, Lydia, Christine and Suzanne Hect, a Partner with Haney & Hect, reprised the original educational workshop from June 2017 in order to accommodate attendees who live and work outside the city and provided guests with the opportunity to attend the sessions they missed in the Spring.

2016

Investing in your Health: Tips for a Better Lifetime

  • Marisa C. Weiss, MD

Dr. Marisa C. Weiss, a renowned breast oncologist and the president and founder of Breastcancer.org, combined her dual perspectives as patient and doctor to inform and inspire attendees in an engaging discussion about remaining focused and motivated while navigating life’s challenges.

Investing in your future: Simplifying Social Security

  • Kara Kessinger, CPA, PFS, MTAX

Social Security expert Kara Kessinger, CPA, PFS, MTAX, a Principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, helped attendees gain a better understanding of how to maximize social security benfits and offered tips on developing a succesful strategy for a variety of claimants.

Investing in Yourself: Finding your Inner Hero

  • Elizabeth McCormick

Elizabeth McCormick, former United States Army Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot and Chief Warrant Officer, revealed her formula for achieving business success based on her best-selling book The P.I.L.O.T Method: The 5 Elemental Truths to Leading Yourself in Life.

2015

Ages, Stages, & Essential Pages: Estate Planning at Every Age and Stage of Life

  • Larissa Whitman, Esquire

Larissa Whitman, Esq., a Partner at Drinker Biddle & Reach LLP, introduced attendees to the essential estate planning documents recommended at each stage of life.

Self-Promotion in Motion: Understanding Strategic Networking

  • Shelley Potente

In this engaging interactive session, Shelley Potente, Vice President & Marketing Director with The Leader's Edge/ Leaders By Design, highlighted the importance of strategic networking, and how to artfully weave accomplishments into professional conversations to "self-promote" - a behavior which can impact career success.

Female Leadership: The Tale of Three Companies

  • Sue Rocco
  • Madeline Bell
  • Binney H.C. Wietlisbach
  • Amanda Steinberg

Moderated by Women to Watch™ radio host Sue Rocco, a dynamic panel of Madeline Bell, President & CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Binney Wietlisbach, President of Haverford Trust, and Amanda Steinberg, Founder of DailyWorth, discussed their very different career paths, why they pursued leadership roles, what kept them motivated, and advice for becoming successful, confident female leaders.

Simplici-Tea: Simplifying Social Security & Medicare Benefits

  • Susan Kavanagh

Susan Kavanagh, Insurance Consultant & President of Kavanaugh Solutions, shared the most common questions asked of her clients and helped ready attendees for retirement by educating them on things to avoid and strategies to maximize their Medicare benefits.

2014

Wine, Women & Wall Street

  • Marnie Old

Nationally-renowned sommelier, author, and wine educator Marine Old walked through the principles that govern pairing wine with foods and how the senses really operate. Attendees learned simple pointers for optimal pairings of food and wine.

Investments 201: Beyond the Basics

  • Lydia C. Holiat
  • Jeanne Pattalino

Building Stocks and Bonds 101 to further expand attendees' investment knowledge, Lydia Holiat, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager with Haverford, discussed how stocks are traded and examined the differences between Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and mutual funds, and Jeanne Pattalino, a Fixed Income Investment Officer at Haverford, discussed the multiple ways fixed income portfolios can be constructed and unique characteristics of fixed income instruments.

A Journey to Leadership

  • Honorable Renée Cardwell Hughes
  • Kim Sajet
  • Stacy R. Sauchuk, PhD

The Honorable Renée Cardwell Hughes, former Chief Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, Kim Sajet, Director of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and Dr. Stacey R. Sauchuk, former President of Valley Forge Military Academy & College sat down with Binney Wietlisbach, President, Haverford Trust, for an insightful conversation exploring the challenges each panelist faced in their quest for leadership positions, the decisions they made, and what guided them on their individual journeys.

2013

Financial Planning Concepts

  • Eileen D. Chambers, CTFA

Eileen Chambers, CTFA, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager with Haverford, delved into the financial planning process to provide a better understanding of what it entails and why it's an important piece of one's financial picture. She discussed insurance, investments, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation.

Bonds 101

  • Binney H.C. Wietlisbach

Binney Wietlisbach, President, outlined the basics of investing in bonds and other fixed income securities while providing a better understanding of bond characteristics and the role that bonds play in the portfolio.

Take Control of your Life!

  • Mel Robbins

Mel Robbins, a life and career coach, syndicated radio and TV personality, Ivy League-educated trial lawyer, married working mom of three school-age children, best-selling author and internationally recognized social media influencer, used her quick wit and no-nonsense approach to help attendees take control of their day, to-do list, household, ‘in’ box, boss and their life.

Stocks 101

  • Cynthia Zickel, ChFC, CFP®

Cynthia Zickel, ChFC, CFP®, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager at Haverford, explored the basic components of stocks and provided a general guide to understanding the stock market.

Regaining Independence: Financial Considerations for Women Going through Separation or Divorce

  • Jacqueline Segal, Esquire
  • Christine Palmer Hennigan

Jacqueline Segal, Esq., Partner at Fox Rothschild, and Christine Palmer Hennigan, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst & Charted Financial Consultant, provided insights into financial situations and setting priorities throughout the divorce process. Whether attendees were contemplating the process, already in the midst of it, or supporting a loved one going through the process, this event provided thoughtful discussions to help navigate an often difficult path.

Surviving to Thriving: Financial Considerations for Widows

  • Stephanie Kalogredis
  • Christine Palmer Hennigan

Stephanie Kalogredis, Esquire, of Counsel at Lamb McErlane PC, and Christine Palmer Hennigan, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst & Chartered Financial Consultant, discussed some of the important legal and financial decisions one might face after losing a spouse. Whether attendees were recently widowed or supporting a loved one that had been widowed, this event provided a thoughtful insight into addressing the financial matters that can arise after a spouse's death.

2012

Personal Responsibility

  • Lisa Scottoline

Best-selling author and columnist, Lisa Scottoline, led a discussion on personal responsibility followed by a book signing.

Respecting your Money

  • Eileen D. Chambers, CTFA

Eillen Chambers, CTFA, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager with Haverford, presented the 3 Rs of Respecting Your Money: Reading your monthly statement, Rebalancing your portfolio, and Reviewing questions to ask your advisor. Attendees walked away with a plan for understanding and taking control of their finances.

Budgeting Boot Camp Basics

  • Cynthia Zickel, ChFC, CFP®

Cynthia Zickel, ChFC, CFP®, a Vice President & Portfolio Manager with Haverford, covered the fundamentals of budgeting, including the basics of managing debt and the essentials of saving. Attendees were given specific action items to put to use in their budget right away.

Networking in Stilettos

  • Neen James, MBA, CSP

Neen James, MBA, CSP, President & CEO of Neen James Communications, guided attendees through proactive networking techniques in a fun and dynamic speed networking experience where they learned strategies to help build relationships and increase connections.

2011

Journey to the C-Suite

  • Eileen McDonnell

Eileen McDonnell, President and then incoming Chief Executive Officer of Penn Mutual, spoke about her personal journey to becoming CEO and some of the challenges she faced along the way.

The Power of Dividends

  • Binney H.C. Wietlisbach

Binney Wietlisbach engaged women in a conversation about investment basics.

Visualize Yourself as a Leader

  • Lynne Abraham

Lynne Abraham, Partner with Archer (formerly Archer & Greiner) and former District Attorney of the City of Philadelphia, spoke about leadership and how she built her personal network, as well as developing networking skills and conveying personal confidence through networking exercises.

Using Trusts to Address Life’s Challenges

  • Stephanie Kalogredis

Stephanie Kalogredis, of Counsel with Lamb McErlane PC, explored how trusts can be crafted to address challenging situations including the death of a spouse, aging, second marriages, creditors, and the future medical care of a beneficiary.