NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Our students can discover each day how to become leaders by taking initiative, developing an idea, encouraging others, communicating persuasively, and acting with integrity. We offer many ways for the girls to learn about leadership.
On December 7, 2016, our seniors and juniors appreciated an inspiring presentation on leadership by Beth Cobert, Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington, DC. Ms. Cobert spoke about leadership qualities, drawing on her experiences in business and the public sector. She described for students the progress made in numbers of women rising to leadership roles in business, Congress, and science fields. She stirred the imagination of the students as she noted the accomplishments of women in the Senate, Ada Lovelace (who wrote the first computer program in the 19th century), the women who calculated flight trajectories for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight (featured in the new movie “Hidden Figures”), and Beyonce. Ms. Cobert encouraged students to become good leaders themselves, and detailed one model of leadership. She also offered practical advice to our future leaders.
Ms. Cobert was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co for 30 years, rising to Senior Partner and Director. In 2013 she was appointed by President Obama, and confirmed by the Senate, to the position of Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget. In 2015, she was tapped by the President to take over leadership of the Office of Personnel Management. We were thrilled that our students had the opportunity to learn from such a distinguished speaker!