​ NAPW: What is your profession?Benbow-Fung: Entrepreneur of a full-service marketing and printing company.   NAPW: What led you to choose this career path? Benbow-Fung: I worked in the advertising industry for over 16 years and once I had kids, I decided to start my own business.  NAPW: What professional achievement are you most proud of?Benbow-Fung: Starting my own full-service marketing and printing company. There are so few women and minority-owned printing companies in New York that can offer everything needed to launch a brand/campaign, including printing items to promote that brand.       NAPW: How do you define success?  Benbow-Fung: Success in my opinion is realizing your true potential and bringing it to life!  I worked in a booming industry and made lots of money for many years, but my real success began the day I started to do what I enjoy!   NAPW: Where do you see yourself in five years?Benbow-Fung: Expanding my business and giving back to my community.  NAPW: How do you unwind?Benbow-Fung: With a glass of wine and a great date with my husband.  

​ NAPW: What is your profession?Chulla: Licensed Community Association Manager, independently working as a consultant to Boards of Directors for self-managed properties, commercial facilities, and homeowners’ associations to solve their maintenance or restoration issues. Over the last 13 years in managing properties such as high rises, low rises, mobile home parks, 55+ communities, homeowner’s associations, and commercial condos, I have developed my own Preferred Vendors List. I am the ‘conduit’ between the clients’ needs and the vendor I choose for their solution.  NAPW: What led you to choose this career path? Chulla: I have been an Assistant Project Manager for new construction, a licensed Real Estate Salesperson, passed the requirements and state exam for Real Estate Broker (but chose another path).  Therefore, it was a natural evolution of my years ‘in the trenches’ and ‘crisis management’ to use my skills for my own enterprise.    NAPW: Role models inspire us. Whom do you admire, and why? Chulla: I admire, to the fullest, Oprah!  She is the epitome of an enlightened woman. She helps and inspires others with every word she speaks and with
the individuals she introduces to the world.  Her words of wisdom, and those
of her guests, resonate within me and replay in my mind throughout my
problem-solving challenges.   NAPW: How do you unwind?Chulla: Sorry to play the "age card" again, but in five years I’ll be 73 and would like to mentor younger women to find their own path in life.  I do not plan on retiring, however, I plan on traveling to exotic places.    

At the Conference, NAPW members made connections and formed relationships that will help advance and enrich their lives professionally and personally. They connected not only with each other, but with our Host and NAPW National Spokesperson Star Jones, our extraordinarily successful and insightful Keynote Speakers Martha Stewart and Arianna Huffington, and the impressive array of panelists and workshop experts. All offered their advice and wisdom when it came to the most relevant issues facing women today, from how to achieve work/life balance to whether one should lean in or lean out to overcoming challenges in the workplace. Here, some highlights from the Conference:

What NAPW Members Think

Prior to the Conference, attendees had the opportunity to share their experiences as professional business women, on such topics as networking, mentoring, and more. Here’s what they said:

   • 71% found networking with their peers to be extremely valuable

   • Nearly 90% said mentoring has been instrumental in their success

   • While just over half said they felt they have attained a work-life balance, 98% 

      said it was something they are striving to change

   • More than 50% said they do, as women, feel fairly compensated at work

   • Over 70% feel that women have achieved equal access to leadership positions
      in the workforce

   • Nearly 80% said they feel their workplace values diversity

Star Jones: Conference Host

From the minute she walked onto the stage, Host Star Jones, one of the most accomplished and recognizable women in the country, electrified members with
her opening remarks, “We are here to spark debate, to start a dialogue, and to
own a tremendous sense of strength as professional women in the year 2013! NAPW is at the epicenter of enabling your personal and business agenda and network like never before.” Star kept members engaged, excited, and energized with her inspiring words of wisdom including “Star’s Simple Seven to Success,”
her candid one-on-one keynote interviews with Martha and Arianna, and her unique brain exercises.

Martha Stewart: Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

A role model for female entrepreneurs everywhere, Martha Stewart shared her personal insights about achieving success: “I knew the value of hard work. The advice my dad gave me and always gave us was, you’re smart enough, you can do anything if you work hard enough.” In a frank discussion with Star, Martha talked about the very public challenges she has faced and how she was able to overcome what she said was, “Just a bump in the road.”

Arianna Huffington: Media Savvy Professional

“What I’ve been adding is we also need to learn to lean back,” Arianna Huffington told the audience while discussing Sheryl Sandberg's new book Lean In, a book about women in the workplace. As Arianna spoke to Star about her experiences as a very successful business woman, she encouraged members to strike a balance between life and work. Arianna also discussed the importance of mentoring younger women. “It’s not just about ourselves; it’s about sharing what we’ve learned…” she said.

NAPW Power Panel

Members also heard the advice and wisdom from four high-powered, dynamic women as Host Star Jones moderated the NAPW Power Panel. Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor-in-Chief of MORE Magazine; Desirée Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing; Monique Nelson, CEO of Uniworld/a division of WPP; and Kim Garst, CEO of SOCIAL! BOOM, gave the room full of professional women plenty to think about as they discussed social media, personal branding and much more.

Networking and Workshops

Members participated in topical networking, visited the vendor showcase, and attended thought-provoking workshops, including The Transforming Leader, led by award winning entrepreneur and Forbes contributing writer Bonnie Marcus; Reinvention - The Journey is the Destination, led by Naked Branding creator Danielle Marcus; Igniting Your Personal Brand, led by award-winning leadership consultant Sue Stanek, Ph.D., and Striking a Balance, led by Kathleen Barton, Your Life Balance Coach.

Wrapping Up the Day

At the beginning of the Conference, Star Jones promised members that NAPW would give them the tools and resources they need to use the SPARK to Ignite their Network. With the help of our host, distinguished speakers, and generous sponsors, that’s just what NAPW did. A closing cocktail reception hosted by Star was the perfect way to wrap up NAPW’s Third Annual National Networking Conference.  It was a chance for members to discuss the insight and wisdom they gained from the array of outstanding speakers. And of course, members continued to connect with one another, inspire each other with their successes, and tap into the exclusive network of professional women that is NAPW.

NAPW ignites you and your network, helps build your business and guides you in the creation of the successes you’re seeking. We want you to feel inspired to create and conquer anything you want. – Star Jones, NAPW National Spokesperson

New Local Chapters and Their Presidents

San Diego, CA.......................................René Reyes

San Mateo, CA......................................Pamela S. Frazier

Long Beach, CA.....................................Tamara K. Greet

Olathe, KS.............................................Nickie L. McFarlane

Westlake Village, CA.............................Diana Naber

Simi Valley, CA.....................................Marian Gorman

Denton-Highland Village, TX...............Tammy S. Leonard

Nashville, TN........................................Jackie Swisher

Milwaukee, WI.....................................Lissa (Melissa) Rolenc

Longview-Tyler, TX..............................Robin (Foss) Ashworth

Arlington, VA........................................Sasha M. Evans

Providence, RI.......................................Tarah K. Johnson