Pam Lenehan
Pam Lenehan first got involved with the Center for Women & Enterprise in 2002 when CWE was the local host of a venture capital boot camp called Springboard New England and Pam was a coach and co-chair of the event. Pam said, “Seeing the passion of the volunteers and staff impressed me, and I wanted to know more about CWE.” Soon after she joined the board of directors.
As Pam discovered, helping women access capital was just part of CWE’s mission. She learned that CWE provided classes to help women (and men) start and grow their businesses, offering advice on everything from legal organization to business planning and financial training. Over the years, CWE’s offerings have expanded to include marketing in the digital age, the use of social media to grow a business, and microlending.
“I met a woman in one class who had been in banking and was starting a new career. She understood financials well but had no experience in marketing. She not only listened to the instructor, but the others in her class who shared their ideas. Her classmates were also lucky because she could lend her banker’s perspective to their business plans.”
“CWE provides that intangible confidence that every business owner needs as she starts a business. By helping people develop skills (competence) and surrounding her with smart peers and coaches (connections), CWE takes a broad view of what it takes to be successful.”
Why CWE?
Pam spent most of her career in the financial services industry, a male-dominated field at the time. “We all have limited time and resources and I decided I wanted to focus my volunteer and philanthropic activities on helping women be successful. I know my contributions are well used by CWE which offers women business owners a wonderful balance of skills and relationships to allow them to achieve their goals.”