Deconstructing Development
Facing the Career Challenge of the Involuntary Exit
Thursday, October 14, 2021
12:00 p.m.
WID Members: $15 | Non-Members: $20
Featured Guest:
Robin Merle, CFRE
Co-Hosted By:
Yolanda F. Johnson and Jill Slattery
Being fired from your job is not an easy thing to talk about, but WID is here to help you tackle all aspects of your career in development - even the most uncomfortable. Join us for a very special session of Deconstructing Development where we delve into the difficult-yet-empowering topic of what to do when you are fired from your job. This session will prepare you to move up and forward following any unexpected career changes with the advice and insights of Robin Merle – development pioneer, WID Woman of Achievement 2017, and author of Involuntary Exit: A Woman’s Guide to Thriving After Being Fired. There will be a giveaway of signed copies of Robin’s book during the broadcast. You won't want to miss this!
Featured Guest:
Robin Merle, CFRE
Author
Robin Merle, CFRE has been a senior executive for health care, higher education, and other non-profit organizations. She has raised more than a half-billion dollars in philanthropy during her nearly forty years working with prominent institutions, including the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, New York University, Hospital for Special Surgery affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Rutgers University Foundation. She has served as a board member for three non-profits in New York City, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, New York City Chapter; the New York Women’s Agenda; and Women In Development, New York (WID). She also has been a vice chair of National Philanthropy Day in New York. In 2017, she was named Woman of Achievement by WID for her leadership in fundraising and commitment to supporting women in the field. Robin is proud to be a graduate of the first class of women at Rutgers College. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and went on to earn a Master of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University and publish short fiction in various literary magazines. Robin is the author of Involuntary Exit: A Woman’s Guide to Thriving After Being Fired (She Writes Press, 10/19/21), which received a 5-star review from Foreward Clarion Reviews andKirkus Reviews. She is the founder of The Professional Guide, a witty, honest resource for professional women who are navigating their careers. Check out her book and her blog @theprofessionalguide.com.
Involuntary Exit, A Woman’s Guide to Thriving After Being Fired
Published by She Writes Press
Releasing October 19, 2021
Available Now on Amazon
Click here to view the Press Release
It can take less than a minute to get fired. Less than a minute to hear the words that change your life as you’ve known it. You’re stunned, shocked, humiliated because your career has defined your life and you’ve been blindsided. You’re a company Loyalist with a capital L, and you’ve been sucker punched professionally. How do you even talk about this?
With advice for every unexpected twist, turn, and emotional trigger, this book is based on author Robin Merle’s experience at the top of billion-dollar organizations, as well as her interviews with accomplished women who were suddenly severed from their organizations and navigated their way back to success. The real-life examples she offers in these pages prove that readers are not alone and that they, too, can get through this. Whether being fired or needing to move on, Involuntary Exit will help readers rediscover their value and emerge as stronger leaders on their own terms.
Co-Hosts
Yolanda F. Johnson - President, YFJ Consulting, LLC and President, Women In Development, NY
With a wealth of experience in the non-profit sector, Yolanda F. Johnson is both a philanthropy and fundraising expert, successfully led fundraising operations for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, launching creative event, sponsorship and marketing initiatives that produced new streams of both contributed and earned income. Her fundraising expertise includes securing foundation, corporate, and government funding and cultivating a diverse major gifts portfolio. Her philanthropic work includes counseling philanthropists on where to direct their funds, and through her own YFJ Philanthropies, she personally gives back to causes supporting racial and gender equity, those with disabilities and the arts.
In addition to leading YFJ Consulting, LLC, Yolanda is the Founder of WOC, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy® and Founder of Allies in Action Membership Network. Yolanda has also had an outstanding career as a performing artist, as a composer, as a producer, as an educator, and she has used her background as a performer to become a sought-after fundraising and philanthropy expert.
Her leadership roles include: serving as an International Advisory Board member and the former Representative for the Foundation for Post Conflict Development to the United Nations; a member of the board of directors of the Lehman College Art Gallery; a member of the board of trustees of the Hudson River Museum and a member of the PowHerNY board of directors. A trailblazing figure on the national fundraising landscape, Yolanda is the first African American President in the 40-year history of WID. She co-established the WID Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and is often a featured expert on incorporating DEI initiatives into organizational culture. Her public speaking portfolio includes keynote presenter, panel expert and panel moderator in addition to an array of powerful workshops created through YFJ Consulting. Yolanda is also a member of the Chronicle of Philanthropy Advisory Committee of national leaders in the non-profit sector.
Crafting her life as a successful performing artist together with her prowess as a non-profit leader, she developed All the World's A Stage, a special workshop using performance practice for getting what one wants out of fundraising, philanthropy and life. She presents All the World's A Stage to audiences across the country. Yolanda is the Worship Leader/Music Director at the church she attends, a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Women’s Music Fraternity and is on the artist roster for Random Access Music/Queens New Music Festival and the Westchester Chamber Soloists Orchestra. She holds a B.A. in Voice (Music Performance) and an M.A. in Arts Administration with a focus on Fundraising and Events and is the author of various publications and articles on topics in fundraising and philanthropy.
Jill Slattery - Director of Principal Gifts for the Americas, London School of Economics Foundation and Member, Women In Development, NY Board of Directors
With 28 years of experience in higher education fundraising Jill Slattery has contributed to major and principal gift programs at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a graduate of Hamilton College and the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. In addition to her dedication to the development profession Jill enjoys time spent with family, friends, and travel.
Women In Development, New York (WID) accepts refund requests made in writing at least five (5) business days prior to the event. Registration fees are not refundable after this date. Nonrefundable ticket purchases may not be used as credits towards future WID events.
By registering for this Women In Development, New York event, I give consent for my photograph to be taken and possibly used on the organization’s intranet, internet, newsletters, board reports, and other organizational materials as needed. I understand that I am not eligible for compensation for use of my photo and I may not be informed in advance of the specific use of those images.
