Several of Host’s female employees were among the more than 600 hospitality professionals who attended AHLA ForWard and the more than 1,000 attendees of The New York Women’s Foundation Celebrating Women® Breakfast. 

AHLA FORWARD 
Host proudly sponsored and supported the fourth AHLA ForWard conference this year, which drew more than 600 hospitality professionals from across the country to Chicago and was held at our very own Swissôtel Chicago. ForWard: Women Advancing Hospitality is an AHLA platform aimed at mentoring, educating and leading women to the next level of their career. Female colleagues from Host were joined by two of our women general managers and the executive director from the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard University, one of our partner organizations, along with two Marriott-Sorenson Scholars. 

The conference featured a number of inspiring speakers including Sheila Johnson, founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts; LaVerne Council, CEO of Emerald One, LLC, a business and technology consulting firm; Rebecca Bender, founder and CEO of Rebecca Bender Initiative and human trafficking survivor who works to equip leaders and elevate survivors; and Jessica Matthews, founder and CEO of Uncharted, a sustainable infrastructure company working to raise the public standard of living. Attendees also participated in six engaging breakout sessions led by industry experts on topics including hotel ownership, personal finance, workplace culture and driving diversity.  

NEW YORK WOMEN’S FOUNDATION CELEBRATING WOMEN® BREAKFAST 
A group of Host women, along with Board Members Mary Hogan Preusse and Mary Baglivo, recently visited one of our iconic assets, the New York Marriott Marquis, to attend the New York Women’s Foundation Celebrating Women Breakfast, which Host proudly sponsored. The event was co-chaired by Board Member Mary Baglivo and brought together the foundation’s grantees and its supporters to recognize the “critical engineers of solutions” to issues faced by women in New York and beyond. Honorees included Huma Abedin, Chief of Staff for Hillary Rodham Clinton; Lynn Nottage, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Loretta J. Ross, an activist, intellectual and professor; and a number of grantee organizations including Women’s Community Justice Association.  

For both events, we received a great response from our Host women employees in attendance who enjoyed connecting with colleagues from all levels of our company; networking with industry colleagues; learning from inspiring speakers and gaining perspectives on having a broader view and focus on the endless possibilities ahead for career development.