Join ALLRISE DC on Tuesday, April 21st from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for "The Next Chapter: Designing Your Second Act", a roundtable discussion about how women leaders can build their most meaningful, flexible, and powerful chapter—without starting over. This discussion, led by Melissa Netram, Global Head of Policy Impact and Strategic Advocacy at Block, brings together exceptional DC-area women leaders who have successfully navigated a major reinvention—from government to boards, from corporate to nonprofit, from operator to founder, from full-time to portfolio careers—to share practical, honest, tactical guidance on designing what comes next.
Roundtable speakers:
Dawn Stump, principal of Stump Strategic and former CFTC Commissioner
Jennifer Choi, independent director of Morningstar mutual funds, adjunct law professor and former chief counsel of ICI Global
Shannon Kelly, independent director of Celtic Bank, consultant on model risk management and AI governance, and former bank risk management executive and senior regulator.
Background: Women in their 40s and 50s reach a rare and powerful inflection point. They have accumulated experience, credibility, and influence—but many are quietly asking:
- Do I want to keep doing this?
- What do I want my next chapter to look like?
- How do I design the next 10–20 years intentionally—before someone else does it for me?
Recent research shows that around 60% of senior-level women report frequent burnout, significantly more than men in similar roles and that women’s interest in promotions is now lower than men’s for the first time in over a decade. This suggests many women are rethinking traditional career ladders and exploring alternatives, not just advancement.
Despite the size and importance of this life stage, there are almost no dedicated spaces for women to think strategically about their “second act" or mentors to help them navigate. Most leadership programming focuses either on early-career growth or late-career legacy. The critical transition phase in between is underserved.
What to Expect: Attendees will leave with real-world examples of how reinvention actually works and tactical insights into skill building for the next chapter, building optionality before you need it, financial and identity transitions, and moving from "title-based success" to "designed success".
This program is aimed at mid-to-senior level women professionals, executives, partners, and leaders. The room will be configured to encourage conversation between the speakers and attendees.
The roundtable and reception immediately following will be held at Paul Hastings, 2050 M Street, NW, Washington, DC. As with all of our programs, this is open to financial services professionals from the government and private sector and is intended to comply with the reception exception to the Congressional gift rules and the de minimis exception under the federal banking agencies' ethics rules.
To register, please click on this link no later than April 17th. To facilitate an interactive program, attendance will be limited to the first 25 people who register.