What Women Want - Champagne, Chocolate & Shoes

We had a great turn out this year for "Champagne, Chocolate, and Shopping", an alumnae extravaganza held at Saks Fifth Avenue on Thursday, February 5th. This was a great precursor to the Annual SWIB Conference held on Friday, February 6th. With a few champagnes, some chocolate, discounted shopping, and an exclusive makeover by Christian Dior, the women were prepared for an amazing day at the conference. On this remarkable evening, we hosted more than 150 SWIB members, with a large majority being alumni who expressed tremendous gratitude at the opportunity to reunite with so many of their classmates at such a unique event. The event was held from 6-9pm, enabling the group to enjoy Saks "after hours" and giving all attendees the chance to shop to their hearts' content. As a special treat, we had the brand new shoe salon all to ourselves! Furthermore, we enjoyed a fabulous chocolate tasting experience by Charbonnel et Walker, which featured the Pink Champagne and Dusted Lemon truffles.

Alumnae and students alike truly enjoyed the chance to get together in a social setting to reconnect, meet new members, enjoy the food and cocktails, and shop. A special alumna and also the first recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, Mary Tanaskovic Bitting, loved everything about the event; "I love meeting new people and seeing old friends." A current SWIB member and class of 2010, Pakhi Eder, thought "the event was wonderful, a perfect blend of smart women, chocolate and shopping." We all agreed that the evening was exceptional because of all the accomplished women who attended to share their stories and experiences. Christina Mahna and Lauren Mermel, current Vice Presidents of Alumnae Relations on the SWIB board, both agreed, "we couldn't have been more pleased seeing so many great alumnae connect with the current student body. We are looking forward to many more great events this year." Another alumna from the class of 2008, Jen Smith, asks "champagne and chocolate, what more could you want?" For the Stern Women in Business, current or not, we couldn't have asked for anything more that night!