RHS Hosts Women's Leadership Summit

Every year, on a Saturday morning in April, young women from all backgrounds, with diverse hopes and ambitions, gather in the Ridge High School auditorium to hear speeches from successful female leaders. They come from many walks of life--some are Emmy-nominated musicians and former State Supreme Court justices, others are directors of Fortune 500 companies and Ridge High alumnae turned notable author--but these leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries unite in a single purpose: to inspire and empower a new generation of leaders to pursue their dreams.

The event, formally known as the Women’s Leadership Summit, is a student-led conference, hosted by Ridge’s Alliance for Young Social Entrepreneurs (AYSE), a club advised by Italian teacher Ms. Fiorella Bologno and directed by AYSE’s President, Jennifer Huang. The Women’s Leadership Summit welcomes all audiences, from young children to adults seeking career advice. In TedTalk-esque speeches, each honorable speaker discusses her journey to success, the obstacles she faced, the ways she overcame, and her personal anecdotes. She offers advice to the aspiring young women, answers their questions, and guides them towards personal success.

This year’s Women’s Leadership Summit will take place on Saturday, April 28th, from 10:00am-12:00pm, in Ridge High School’s Performing Arts Center, and will feature two inspiring speakers:
Ms. Mei-Mei Tuan, who founded and currently serves as a Managing Partner at Notch Partners. As an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, BankAmerica and BankAustria, Mei-Mei led domestic and international transactions in project finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, syndications and sale leasebacks. Mei-Mei’s operating experience includes serving as chief financial officer and chief operating officer at two nationally prominent nonprofit organizations. Prior to founding Notch Partners, Mei-Mei ran a thriving independent consulting practice, completing assignments for over 20 clients, including several private equity-backed companies, private equity funds and large corporations. Her current client relationships represent a range of industries, including media, apparel, consumer products, publishing, medical technology, telecommunications and enterprise software. A frequent speaker at events and on panels that promote and support women business leaders and managers, Mei-Mei is an active board member of the Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), the Clara Maass Medical Center Foundation, the Harvard Business School Asian-American Association (HBS4A), and Montclair Kimberley Academy. She has also served recently on boards for the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, New Jersey Women’s Forum, New Jersey Network (NJN), Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation and New Jersey Wellesley Club, where she was president. Mei-Mei is a member of Business Leadership Council (BLC) at Wellesley, New Jersey Women’s Forum, and the Committee of 100—an international, nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that brings Chinese-American perspective to issues concerning U.S.-China relations.

Ms. Samantha Bruno, who works as a Manager of Client Relations at PepperComm. In 2011, Samantha began her career at Janine Gordon Associates, where she represented luxury consumer, lifestyle and non-profit brands, before Peppercomm acquired the agency in 2013. Since starting in the industry, she has handled accounts in publishing, fine dining, consumer goods, industrial and international business. From restaurant openings to product announcements to unveiling the newest clothing collection, her agency experience includes consumer clients such as The Capital Grille, Texas de Brazil, Indagare, Holland & Holland and more. Over the years, she has also worked on a number of non-profits, including her current work on Peppercomm’s pro bono account Youth About Business, and B2B clients such as Honeywell SM, AdvanSix and Wilbur-Ellis. Samantha’s energy, attention to detail and publicity skills have helped her to generate meaningful publicity and increase brand awareness for clients. Beyond traditional media relations, Samantha has organized strategic partnerships, created brand positioning, planned and executed social media campaigns, events, digital marketing tactics and more. Samantha sits over Peppercomm’s Intern Committee as Intern Co-Coordinator, participating in the hiring, mentoring and advising of interns.

The Alliance for Young Social Entrepreneurs cordially welcomes all to join us for a morning of lively discussion and exciting speeches. As leaders of the future, we must unite to change the world.