Although the materials she works with have changed over the years, Dorian Webb ’91 maintains that her desire to build community through her work has not. As an architecture student at Yale, Dorian dreamed of creating spaces that complemented their environment and of welcoming architecture that embraced its inhabitants. Now she creates jewelry that encourages conversation, furthers cultural understanding, and makes women feel seen. In this show, she will discuss her career path, which began with the company she launched in her junior year, included selling to most major department stores, and involved time living in Italy, as well as the development of a home décor collection. She also will discuss closing that business, moving to the West coast, teaching low-income women entrepreneurial skills, relaunching her business, and finding her new focus: crafting intentional jewelry that fosters connection.
To register, please visit here
Author Talk - Jennifer L Freed: “How to Turn Your Journal Entries, Free-Writes (And Rants) Into a Coherent Work.” Writer and educator Jennifer L Freed, author of the memoir-in-poems 
Author Talk – Judith Sanders (BK’77): “Finding the Time: How to Write When the Sink is Full of Dishes.” Many of us struggle with the age-old problem of finding time to write. Judith Sanders draws on her years of experience as a writer, teacher, and writing coach to propose an array of strategies. Whether you are a novice, a seasoned professional, or in between, you will come away with some new approaches to try.
Special Guest Speaker: Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist and a writer. She's the editor of THE LONELY STORIES, a cathartic collection of personal essays from 22 celebrated writers (including two Yale Women) exploring the joys and struggles of being alone, out now from Catapult. She's also the editor of EAT JOY (Catapult, 2019), a collection of stories exploring how food can help us cope in dark times, and THE ARTISTS' AND WRITERS' COOKBOOK (pH Books, 2016). A graduate of Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design, Natalie lives with her husband and two children in a town just outside DC, along the Potomac River.
Author Talk: Creating and Self-Publishing a Cook Book, a talk by member Rosette Nguyen, who recently launched her book Wholesome Vietnamese Cooking as the #1 new release in Vietnamese / Pacific Rim cooking on Amazon. This is Rosette’s first book, and it has been quite an adventure! She plans to share with the YaleWomen Writers Group key takeaways from her book journey along with a couple of her favorite recipes. The book is now available in Kindle, hardcover, and paperback at 
Dr. Inginia Genao is a graduate of Marymount College and attended medical school and residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester. She is an Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine where she has been for the last 14 years, initially as the Medical Director of the Adult Primary Care Center and for the last three years as the Associate Chair for Diversity and Inclusion, Department of Medicine, and GME Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In these roles, Dr. Genao has created a new visiting program for underrepresented minority (URM) students. She is the recipient of various awards among them the Department of Internal Medicine Yale School of Medicine Faculty Award for Achievement in Clinical Care, the Georgia Hospital Association Community Leadership Award, the National Association of Public Hospitals “Safety Net” Award, and the National Hispanic Medical Association Health Leadership Award.
Denise Page Hood '74 presently serves as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Hood currently serves on the Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee for the 6th Circuit and the Criminal Rules Advisory Committee of the United States Judicial Conference. She is Chair of the U.S. District Court's Pro Bono Committee, Co-chair of the Ad Hoc Jury Committee, and also serves on the Rules, Clerk's Office and Criminal Law committees of the Court. Judge Hood has been honored with several awards, including the 2019 Michigan Lawyers Weekly Woman of the Year Award; the 2019 Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award; the 2019 Judge Kaye Tertzag Purple Sport Coat Award; the 2016 Michigan Chronicle’s “Woman of Excellence” award, and the 2016 Damon J. Keith Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award. She was named one of UPN’s 2006 Black History Month “Hometown Heroes” and she received the 1999 Alternatives for Girls’ Role Model Award.
Ranji Nagaswami '86 MBA is a Chief Executive Officer/Chief Investment Officer with 30+ years of investment, business and government leadership. She is currently Senior Advisor at SVP Global, the leading distressed debt focused private equity and hedge fund manager. Ranji was an inaugural recipient of the Leadership in Business and Society Award presented by the Yale School of Management New York City Alumni Chapter. She has served as trustee and member of several boards including the Yale University Investment Committee, Yale School of Management Advisory Board, Yale International Center for Finance Advisory Board. Ranji is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and the Founder/Lead Moderator of the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship program. She graduated from Mumbai University with a Bachelor of Commerce, received her MBA from Yale University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Akosua Barthwell Evans ‘90 JD is an attorney and a strategic organizational innovator whose career spans leadership in management consulting, asset management and securities/corporate law. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Detroit-based The Barthwell Group, a boutique management consulting firm that provides strategic planning, diversity training, assessments and other services to Fortune 500 corporations, institutions of higher education and the military. Dr. Evans holds a JD from Yale Law School, a PhD and MPhil in Political Science from Columbia University, and an AB in Government from Barnard College. She previously served a 3-year term on the YAA Board of Governors (2016-19).
Dr. Seyma Aslan leads a team of scientists for innovation in product formulation at L’Oréal Research & Innovation Laboratories and responsible for a Global Innovation Platform which focuses on North America, South America & Africa Zone. She received her PhD, Masters of Science, Masters of Philosophy, and Postdoctoral Training from Yale University and a bachelor of science degree from Drexel University in Chemical Engineering. She had worked at large chemical companies including DuPont, Sunoco, and Saint-Gobain. She teaches Innovation courses in Engineering School at Yale University. Dr. Aslan works with many non-profit organizations including “Well Spring Educational Foundation”, “Society of Women Engineers” and was the recipient of “Community Service Award” from Yale Univ. and Harvard Univ. for her work in advancing women in education. She serves in the board of trustees at YaleWomen, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, NEICC, and Peace Islands Institute NY.
YaleWomen Connecticut is happy to announce our next stop on the Museum Trail – the Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury, CT. Join us on Saturday, September 29 as we visit the home of New England’s first educational academy for African-American women (1833-1834). The museum is a National Historic Landmark and a State Archaeological Preserve. We will take in the general museum offerings and also enjoy a guided tour of the museum’s newest exhibit, “The Story Outlives the Canvas,” which explores the history and legacy of the famous portrait of Prudence Crandall. Our interpreter for this portion of the visit will be Lisa Joseph, the curator of the exhibit.
