Today, I am very excited to announce the launch of our latest endeavor, SacWomen. SacWomen is a great new website, dedicated to amplifying the voices of women in Sacramento. SacWomen is also a networking group that will periodically bring together women in Sacramento to meet and support each other through referrals and mentoring. Once in a while we will even throw in a speaker on a topic important to women in Sacramento.

Many of you will remember WebGrrls, a remarkable group in Sacramento a few years ago, founded by Vicky Blocker. It was a place that so many long-lasting valuable connections, both personal and business, were made between women in town. Personally, I still have strong relationships with many of the women I met. I am still a mentor to one of the younger women in the group and take great pride is seeing her career advance as I continue to provide advice. I have invested in a company of one of the women I met during that time and watch as she moves ever closer to being a force to be reckoned with on the national stage. My book club, an important support structure in my life, was formed by members of WebGrrls. Some of the members went on to work on a bond measure in 2004 that won by a remarkable percentage. And lastly, an amazing organization, Sacramento Advocates for Girls Empowerment (SAGE), entirely devoted to the encouragement and empowerment of middle-school and high-school girls in pursuit of careers in computer-related technology, life sciences, engineering, science, math and law, was formed under the auspices of WebGrrls and continues to flourish and grow and make a huge difference in the lives of girls in Sacramento. WebGrrls Sacramento was a magical organization that affected, and continues to affect, so many in a very positive way. SacWomen hopes to recreate that special bond between women in Sacramento.

So, keep an eye on this site for news of our first event –coming in October. Send an email with your name and email address to join our mailing list. Tell your friends. Submit blogs of interest. Comment on the blogs we publish. Be a sponsor. Send ideas for speakers, venues, great philanthropic causes looking for smart women, etc. etc.

Let’s get a buzz going in this town. Let’s be a strong voice in the future of Sacramento. And let’s not forget to support, mentor and nurture the women in our lives.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen