Mission

 

Our mission is to promote and develop women leaders. We accomplish this goal by providing a platform for women in C-level and senior management positions and connecting them with high-potential women. The Women's Networking Community, host of POWER: Opening Doors for Women®, is a 501(c)(6).

Deirdre Joy Smith

 

Deirdre Joy Smith is the founder, president and visionary behind POWER: Opening Doors for Women®. The program provides a platform for women in C-level and senior management positions and connects them with high-potential women. Under her leadership, POWER® Chicago has grown from an evening of 12 dinners with 250 women participants to an evening of 19 simultaneous, theme-based dinners with more than 700 women from across the country participating in the organization’s latest Chicago event.
In September 2008, POWER® launched its inaugural program in Philadelphia, and 375 women participated in nine simultaneous dinners. By 2010, POWER® also will have launched in Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco.

More than 3,500 women from across the country have participated in the program. POWER® has garnered national support from Fortune 500 companies and some of the country’s premier law firms and civic organizations.

To continue connecting women across and within industries, the organization has developed POWERSurge, a newsletter which keeps women apprised of the latest professional development and networking opportunities. Believing that there must be a critical mass of women in order to change the corporate and civic structure, Deirdre is spearheading the development of POWERConnections, an online directory that will give women the opportunity to establish and sustain networking and mentoring circles.

As part of her extensive experience with the not-for-profit community, Deirdre has served on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Foundation for Women’s Board of Directors and was a member of their Board Development Committee. She also served as Director on the Board of Working in the Schools, a not-for-profit tutoring and mentoring program, as well as the Board of Mount Sinai Community Institute. Currently, she serves on the Advisory Board for WYCC-TV20, the Chicago Designated Market Area PBS station, is an ATHENA International Board Member and a member of Chicago Foundation for Women’s Alumni Council.

Deirdre won the Kimpton Group’s “Women Making History” award and was featured in the 2008 edition of Who’s Who in Black Chicago. She was also featured in the October 2008 “Power” issue of Today’s Chicago Woman. Recently, she received the “Women on the Rise” award at Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ “Smart Women, Smart Money” conference. In 2008, Deirdre delivered the keynote speech for Rohm and Haas’ Women’s Leadership Network in Philadelphia and has been featured on CNN Newsmakers and the April 2009 cover of GirlFriends Health Guide for Women of Color.

Prior to creating POWER®, Deirdre was principal of DJS Consulting LLC, a political and non-profit fundraising firm whose clients included Governor Edward G. Rendell, former New York Comptroller C. Carl McCall, the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence and the Chicago Humanities Festival. In 2000, she was the Midwest Finance Director for the Democratic National Committee, and was featured on the cover of N’Digo that year as an “emerging fundraising powerhouse”.

Deirdre received a bachelor of science from Purdue University, and has participated in international programs at the London School of Economics and Obirin University in Machida, Japan. She graduated from the entrepreneurial program at Joseph Business School in Forest Park, Ill., in June 2008. Subsequently the school has incorporated the POWER® program into its marketing plan, featuring Deirdre in its broadcast and print material.