Daily News

Women’s Fund Announces Community Workshops on Leadership

EASTHAMPTON — On Nov. 8 and Dec. 6, the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM) will offer community workshops that address strategic negotiation, leadership, and conflict. The workshops are based on the WFWM’s popular Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact (LIPPI), a 10-month training program that equips women to become more involved as civic leaders in their communities; impact policy on the local, state, and national levels, serve on boards; and seek and hold on to elected positions.

The first workshop, scheduled for Nov. 8, from 9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bay Path University, will be led by Joshua Weiss, program director for Bay Path’s master’s degree program in Leadership and Negotiation. Weiss is a senior fellow at the Harvard Negotiation Project and co-founder of its Global Negotiation Initiative. He is also the founder of Negotiation Works Inc. and has consulted for a number of Fortune 500 companies, the United Nations, and the U.S. government. Participants will learn to broaden their concept of negotiation and learn a concrete negotiation framework applicable to most situations.

The second workshop, scheduled for Dec. 6 from 9:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Holyoke Community College, will address conflict from the starting point of understanding human behavior to the end goal of developing successful courses of action that will enhance leadership. This program will be led by Brenda and Debbie Oppermann. Brenda Oppermann is an advisor and senior program manager for several organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the U.S Army, the Multi-national Corps – Iraq, International Security and Assistance Force – Afghanistan, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and assorted NGOs. Debbie Oppermann is an administrator and consultant specializing in program development, implementation, and management in the nonprofit and government sectors.

Workshops are open to the public. Tickets start at $40 for small nonprofit professionals and students, while standard tickets are $60. Donations are also accepted above the $60 ticket price to help ensure the Women’s Fund is able to provide community workshops at discounted rates for small nonprofits and young professionals. Register online at www.womensfund.net or by contacting Julie Holt, office manager, at (413) 529-0087, ext. 10.