The 7th annual Women in Leadership conference will be taking place on March 3, 2020. To celebrate its 7th year involved with the conference, CCI would like to highlight 7 women that have been with the conference since the start. In today’s feature, meet Communication alumna Elizabeth “Ely” Rosario.
Ely is the Vice President of Jackson Properties, where she transformed the company’s operations to create a more efficient and streamlined workplace, created a new image for the company, supervised remodeling and construction projects, and developed new procedures to increase tenant retention.
We asked Ely about what leadership means to her.
1) Why is leadership important?
For me it is a way to provide the guidance I never had when younger. The ability to help other women in their journey while sharing my experiences, my failures, my successes and give them the ability, courage, and confidence to spread their wings and fly. It is important for me to be able to support and empower other women and encourage them to do the same for others.
2) What advice would you give to your younger self?
Always place yourself first and do not allow others to deviate you from what you want. You go first no matter what.
3) What challenges do you face as a female leader and how do you overcome them?
Looking younger and being a mom have been the hardest ones for me. I always had to find ways to prove I was older without divulging my age. I used my oldest daughter Nikki – who is 24 now – a lot for it as no one could believe her age with my looks. Being a mom has been the most challenging one as I had to realize that as a woman I truly cannot have it all, at least not until my children graduate from high school with the way our society is. I am incredibly fortunate that my boss allows me the ability to be a mom, gives me the flexibility to be present for my kids while providing me the freedom to work and run a company with an amazing team. He is not the norm in our society.
4) Name one way women can support one another.
Stop standing next to men and start protecting, helping, fighting, and standing next to women.
5) What is a goal of yours for 2020?
Self-publish my first book, “Own Your Fire,” that I am on the final stages of.
Join us for the Women in Leadership Conference on March 3rd at the Turnbull Conference Center from 3:30-8:15 pm. You can hear Ely speak at the “Work-Life Balance: Creating Personal Resilience” workshop from 4:45-5:45 pm. Register for FREE here.