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Women of the ���ϲ����� Entertainment Empire (WEEE) hosted its first in-person event in two years, presenting EmployHER at Second Home Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sept. 24. The event welcomed top industry leaders to discuss how the pandemic has negatively impacted women and ways to support each other professionally. Attendees, both current students and working professionals, had the opportunity to connect with recruiters, gain insights about LinkedIn, and learn how to ace their next interview.

“The idea for this event stemmed from the fact that 1.8 million women left the workforce as a result of the pandemic,” said Nneka Enurah ’11, global video partnerships lead at Amazon and a WEEE founding board member. “WEEE wants to help all women navigate the changing professional landscape and rejoin (or join) the labor force.”

As part of the half-day professional development event, attendees enjoyed brunch and mingled before participating in various workshops and listening to a panel discussion. Speakers and workshop leaders included:

• Joss Richard, senior content producer for Red Table Talk and founder of Margot Community
• Kelsey Wang, senior manager of finance at Hello Sunshine
• Denise Rodine, chief people officer at Madison Wells Media
• Nneka Enurah, global video partnerships lead at Amazon
• Kayla Dixon, marketing brand manager at TikTok
• Nancy Azcona, creative recruiter at Agency Worx

Senior Abbie Skladan, a sport management major, attended the EmployHER event because she wanted to connect with ���ϲ����� alumnae to hear their individual stories and gain some helpful insights before starting her own career journey. “We have an incredible network of alumni and Los Angeles is no exception,” Skladan said.

Skladan was able to connect to top industry professionals in addition to alumnae such as Enurah, Rachel Zain, Asha Wilson, Lauren Fisher, Madeline Carlin, Joyce Choi and Emily Merlin.

“The women I connected with were incredibly kind and were excited to hear our stories as well, which was both flattering and empowering,” Skladan said. “Simply having these invaluable connections will be something that helps in the future, both personally and professionally.”

The WEEE initiative creates opportunities and programming for female students and alumnae to work together and make connections. WEEE first began in Los Angeles and held its first on-campus event in spring 2019. The organization has continued to host additional gatherings with guest speakers and workshops over the past few years. The initiatives aims to help make connections across the university’s different schools, departments, and majors.

EmployHER was co-sponsored by Second Home, the ���ϲ����� in Los Angeles program’s new home.