Dining with Divas

I was invited to the annual lunch at the Apollo theater called Dining with Divas  There were many things about the event that just blew me away because it confirmed that New York City might be a small town but it is also a huge city. 

The room was filled with successful women from one end of the city to the other.  Each have made their own impact in NYC. I can honestly say that there were maybe two people in the room that I knew.  It was primarily an African American community celebrating the Apollo theater and the outreach that they have done for the community. 

Jonelle Procope, who has taken the lead of the Apollo board for the last 10 years has transformed the community.  She rebuilt the board, she rebuilt the structure, she created community outreach, she started evening events such as amateur night and she created TV shows promoting music that use the Apollo as the back drop for those performances.  An incredible woman who gets shit done.  Her husband gave a speech about her that did not leave a dry eye in the house. 

The events theme was about mentorship. What was the most impressive Carla Harris who is literally on ever top list in the country. She spoke about what it mean to be a mentor, an advisor and a sponsor and how you speak to each one.  She spoke about how important our journey is as woman to not make it all about us but remember it is important that we make our mark to open the door for women coming behind us.  I could not agree more. 

Here is what she said.  Advisors are people who give you advice about your business, your life or whatever it is.  They advise you and sometimes the best advisers are your peers.  Mentors are people who help you navigate your path by being honest about everything.  Giving advice that is sometimes difficult to hear and sometimes rewarding to hear.  A sponsor is someone who you only talk to about positive things because they are the people who are going to be your advocate. 

Really an inspiring day hearing women talk about other women role models and trust me there were some serious role models in that room who have broken every glass ceiling they have ever seen.