Susanna E. Lachs, Esq., CW'74, ASC'76

Susanna E. Lachs, Esq., knows the power of leading by example. Her mother, Phyllis Seltzer Lachs, graduated from the College of Women in 1952 and went on to get her Ph.D. and become a professor of British history at Bryn Mawr College. Susanna herself earned a Master's from the Annenberg School for Communication, then got her law degree, specializing in trial law at a time when there were few female lawyers or judges. She is a working mother, a volunteer, a Penn Library Overseer, a Penn parent, and for the past two years has served as the chair of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women (TCPW). She has a lot of knowledge and advice to share, and she is not alone.

As TCPW's chair, Susanna has led efforts to multiply the availability of Penn women's knowledge and experience, bringing them together to mentor and learn from each other in any way possible. "Our members, senior faculty, young alumnae are all examples of women who make themselves available to give advice," she says. "They provide a network and a perspective based on their experience, to help other women at Penn."

During her tenure, TCPW has supplemented its annual fall career event with new summer events in New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. All bring students together with professional women who give them concrete information on careers and share their own stories about success and sacrifice.

Access the Penn Alumni Career Network to watch Career Advice Podcasts from TCPW members. You must be a member of QuakerNet, the alumni online community, to view these. Not a member yet? It takes only a few minutes to sign up!

TCPW has broadened its outreach to young alumnae, who are invited to the summer events to advise current students and receive counsel in turn from members. Other initiatives have included a panel of senior women professors talking to junior faculty about issues like tenure and work/life balance, and the campus-wide "Women in Science" conference coming in the fall.

TCPW now brings students and alumnae "face to face" electronically, as well. They have begun taping not just their conference speakers and panel discussions, but also individual members giving career advice. These are shared via podcasts, and TCPW is working with the University's Career Services office to make the videos available through the web to all Penn students and alumni on QuakerNet, our online community. Access career advice podcasts here.

Susanna can see the difference made by each event, and she sees the progression in the big picture as well. The effects of TCPW and a few decades of change are tangible in her daughter's experience on campus today, — "very different from mine, having many more female role models on campus." Anna, C'11, and her friends continue to inspire Susanna, and give her an additional insider perspective on the needs of the newest generation of Penn women.

TCPW is celebrating "20 Years of Women Making a Difference," but Susanna continues to look for new ways to expand and deepen the impact of individual members and the organization as a whole. "We want to be an active resource, for one another, too," she says. "We're still on our journey – we're not done yet."

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