This past weekend, two of our team members attended a unique forum specifically for women in banking hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Denver Branch.
Event topics included:
- A regional economic update
- Regional banking conditions
- Cybersecurity
- Creating and cultivating diverse networks, teams and boards
This conference was the first of its kind and was truly an incredible event. The speakers provided great information on regulatory changes, monetary policy, economic condition, and future endeavors. Our team found this particularly interesting because supervisory and regulatory sight shapes our daily jobs, but ultimately the policies impact our entire economy. Two speakers that particularly stood out were Esther George and Lilly Marks.
Esther George is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. She spoke about the US economy, monetary policy, and also about an ambitious undertaking for our national payment system. She candidly discussed the meeting they had in September where they decided not to raise rates. Keynote speaker George was captivating, charismatic and had great points about the process and where the economy is today.
Lilly Marks is the Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of Colorado, Executive Vice Chancellor for Anschutz Medical Campus, a part of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Board of Directors and sits on other various boards. Her presentation at the forum was incredibly motivating. Marks spoke of advancement strategies for women leaders as well as her experiences and struggles, which our team members found particularly meaningful and encouraging. Marks’ high level of involvement with so many different organization is incredibly impressive; however, we were mostly blown away by her presentation skills.
In addition to having the opportunity to listen to such influential people, we also received information about Federal Reserve resources available to bankers and had the chance to develop a professional network with Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City staff and other attendees. The Points West team looks forward to returning to the forum again next year.