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A weekend Leadership Development Conference is an important part of each year's
program. If you are selected for a 2010 Emerging Leaders internship, you will be
expected to attend the annual Leadership Development Conference which is being planned
for late June 2010 in New York City.
2009 Leadership Development Conference
The 2009 Leadership Development Conference took place Saturday, June 27 - Monday,
June 29, 2009, in New York City.
Felipe Botero, VP, Technology & Operations, MetLife, (second from far left) with
Emerging Leaders Class of 2009 at the Emerging Leaders Leadership Development Conference,
at MetLife in New York, NY
Felipe Botero, VP, Technology & Operations, MetLife, (second from far left) with
Emerging Leaders Class of 2009 at the Emerging Leaders Leadership Development Conference,
at MetLife in New York, NY Last month, the Emerging Leaders Class of 2009 gathered
in New York City for this year's Emerging Leaders Leadership Development Conference.
The weekend began on Saturday, June 27th with an overview of the program. Lana Smart
of Just One Break, Inc. / NBDC summarized the weekend's events and introduced all
participants. Camille Valentin, Emerging Leader Alumni of Class of 2007 and 2008
was first to present. Ms. Valentin candidly spoke to interns providing them with
valuable tips while including the Do's and Don'ts of an intern, preparing
students to make the most of their internship in a short period of time. She reminded
students that accepting internships is a serious commitment and that it is their
responsibility to be at their very best. 'Treat your internship as if it's an 8-week
interview!' Good Tip!!!!!
After a short break, Robin Adelstein of UBS walked the students through resume writing
and interviewing techniques. Some important reminders included tips such as, Do Not be late for you interview,
dress professionally ' first impressions matter',
Do Not list anything on your resume that is not true, etc. Following
UBS was a presentation by Judy Young of NBDC on 'Your Rights and Responsibilities
under the ADA and Dealing with Issues of Disclosure and Reasonable Accommodations'.
Ms. Young educated interns on the importance of understanding their rights and responsibilities,
knowing when and how to disclose if they decide to do so and what employers should
not ask. After lunch, Antoinette Hamilton of L'Oreal presented an interactive activity
to attendees on a comprehensive personality survey to help them understand their
individuality and traits and those of others. The purpose of this activity is to
gain additional insights, and to get an idea of how others might see you. Student
reactions were enthusiastic and surprising after learning results of their 'True
Colors'. Following Ms. Hamilton's activity, Tina Caterino of Lifecare (sponsored
by Prudential), provided students with tips on how to Plan, Prioritize and Organize
Your Time. Special attention was given on topics like how to implement tips
for organizing workspace and managing e-mail, Identifying 'time-wasters' and how
to beat them, learning how to use travel time to your advantage, how to overcome
procrastination, how and when to apply time management tips to your personal life,
and understanding that taking care of yourself makes you more effective in all areas
of life.
Next on the conference agenda was an interesting presentation by Heidi Remak of
Prudential on how to deal with difficult people in the workplace "You're Difficult:
I'm Not." This discussion included information students could apply to everyday
life such as understanding the general rules about difficult people, who is difficult
for you, and why, what makes people difficult, the mistakes people make dealing
with difficult people, and what they teach us. After an afternoon break,
Felipe Botero of MetLife joined the students to provide them with the basics when
Delivering an Effective Presentation. Topics he covered included the Basics
of presenting, Overcoming the fear, Things to avoid and Best practices.
At end of day one, staff discussed the case studies that would form the basis for
Sunday's group work and interns' subsequent presentations to business, college/university,
government and community leaders at MetLife on Monday. Interns concluded this very
full day with an enjoyable dinner hosted by Booz Allen Hamilton at Mustang Harry's
Restaurant in mid-town Manhattan at which they were joined by Emerging Leader alumni,
some of whom date back to the Class of 2001.
On Sunday, Judy Young of NBDC facilitated the day-long case study activity. Interns
met in groups, discussed their objectives and prepared presentations. Throughout
the day, Ms. Young and NBDC staff consulted with each group to ensure that they
were on task to prepare and present a powerful and sophisticated presentation appropriate
to their audience.
(far left) Myra Mass, Internal Communications, MetLife, Felipe Botero, VP, Technology
& Operations, MetLife, Audrey Meggs, Employee Relations Consultant, MetLife, Edmund
L. Cortez, President, Just One Break, Inc. (JOB) and President and CEO, Abilities!
and Lana Smart, Executive Director, Just One Break, Inc.
Monday, the final day of the Emerging Leaders Development Conference, was hosted
by MetLife at their New York City location. Welcoming remarks began with Felipe
Botero, Vice President, Technology & Operations, MetLife and Edmund L. Cortez,
President, Just One Break, Inc. and President and CEO, Abilities! Motivational messages
were delivered by Michael Fields of Booz Allen Hamilton and Michael Conway of Mutual
of America, representing two Corporate Partners. The highlights of the morning's
event were the case study presentations delivered by the Emerging Leader Class of
2009 and the encouraging words from the Emerging Leader Alumni. Using PowerPoint
presentations, the interns presented the results of the human resources and marketing
case studies on which they had worked on the day before. Following their presentations,
interns responded to questions and comments from the audience. Emerging Leader Alumni,
Meredith Dedona (Class of 2001), Wen Stephens (Class of 2005), Dan Devine (Class
of 2006) and Benjamin Gravley (Class of 2006) candidly shared their experiences
as interns and how they have proved beneficial in launching their careers. To end
the event, each Emerging Leader received a certificate confirming their participation
in the Leadership Development Conference.
Special thinks to MetLife for hosting this event and for their ongoing support of
the National Business & Disability Council and the Emerging Leaders program.
 Click to
see the highlights of the 2009 Conference
Past conference highlights:
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