Maryvale Mitchell Leadership Scholars, Alexandra D. '27 and Finley P. '28, attended the 2025 State of the Woman Conference at the Gaylord National Harbor in D.C. along with Maryvale's Experiential Learning Coordinator, Barbara Mantler. This event is for “women who have achieved significant milestones in their careers and are looking to build meaningful connections with peers and the next generation of leaders." The conference is organized by Dawn Letts of Letts Consult and featured acclaimed keynote speakers, inspiring panel discussions, and transformative workshops.
Maryvale was honored to be a part of this amazing group of women and is looking forward to taking students to more of these experiences. The Mitchell Leadership Institute, in addition to leadership classes and seminars on campus, is focusing on experiential learning opportunities for Maryvale students.
Alexandra stated, "the conference was a great mix of fun and impact. Many of the speakers like Dorothy Suskind kept me intrigued with their tone of voice, how they introduced themselves, and their presentations making everyone laugh or be silent in admiration.” Finley said one takeaway for her was the advice received to “focus on what you love and then figure out where you want to go next.”
We can’t wait to see where our student leaders go next! It was such an inspiring day.
Our students ran into two incredible alumnae working at the 2025 State of the Women Conference. Jordan Wolf Drumm '08 is the lead creative and business owner of Drumm Digital Media & Drumm Wedding Films (pictured left). Maria Linz O'Brien '01 is a Baltimore-based wedding, family, and event photographer who owns Maria Linz Photography. They were both capturing the day through a lens - Jordan with video and Maria with pictures. The picture of the two Maryvale engaged at the conference was taken by Maria.
