Dale Kramer Cohen, W'76

"We are doing community service, not just community engagement," explains PennNYC president Dale Kramer Cohen, W'76. During her four-year tenure, Dale has passionately shaped a vibrant club that is bringing together Penn alumni in unique — and useful — ways.

Dale's top priorities when she became president were to build a working Board, develop a robust website, and learn what would make the club most relevant and valuable to its 20,000 area alumni. She conducted an online survey, and used the results to focus the Club's limited resources in the most effective way. "We needed to deliver activities and events of Penn quality that were also meaningful to the local community."

She discovered wide-ranging interests, including business and real estate. That focus served her well as she and a small team of Board members quickly reacted to the current economic crisis by creating the Executives in Transition Series, to help alumni manage and consider their careers during the uncertain times.

"We are striving to provide tangible ideas, skills, and tools so that alumni who attend our events can leave with a clear plan of action," says Dale. The programs have been tremendously popular. On March 3, over 100 alumni attended the third installment of the Series to hear panelists ranging from career advisors to image consultants discuss "Your Next Career Move and How to Market Yourself." The panels are followed by receptions so alumni have an opportunity to network with one another.

As a marketing and communications strategist and an active member of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women (TCPW), Dale looks for ways to partner with other Penn groups and get additional mileage from her programs. She collaborates with Penn's Alumni Relations office to video the events so that those who are unable to attend can still benefit. The second program, "Navigating Your Career through Stormy Financial Times," co-sponsored by TCPW, is currently available on Penn Alumni's YouTube website along with other career-related videos. "I really think we could be doing this in other communities, so if PennNYC can serve as a helpful model, that's great," she says.

Dale is currently working to develop new programming for the coming months, including: "How To's For Leaving a Job and Starting a New One" in June; "Career Opportunities in '09 in the Fields of Education, Government and Environment," date TBD; and a special program in the fall featuring fellow alumna and financial consultant Jean Chatzky, C'86, discussing her latest book, The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper Even in the Toughest Times.

Whether through a local club or via the Penn website, alumni have a network at their disposal that is larger than they may realize. "I'm proud to be supporting the Penn family," Dale says.

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