Women Who Lead: Carolyn Cool

November 15, 2018

 Carolyn Cool, Bank of the WestOn Tuesday, November 12, the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) and the Berkeley Haas Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL) co-hosted this year’s Alumnae Career Advancement series, an event providing space for career-driven alumnae and community members to pursue professional development, discuss career advancement, and build relationships.

This year’s event entitled “Women Who Lead: A Storytelling Salon” focused on engaging conversation with three notable Cal alumnae. The panel included Carolyn Cool (class of ‘82) vice president and community ambassador with Bank of the West; Owatha “Tootie” Tatum (MBA ‘15) founder and CEO of Blackhawk Genomics; and Laura Teclemariam (MBA ‘18) lead product manager at  Electronic Arts. The panel was moderated by Kellie A. McElhaney, founding director of EGAL.

Panelists took turns sharing their personal stories, advice, and wisdom about leadership, career, and inclusion. Carolyn Cool, who started her career in the credit card industry, was "fortunate enough to step away for a few years" to focus on her family, but discovered that it was much harder to get back into the industry.

“I wanted to make a shift on my own terms and what I felt worked at the time for my family,” said Cool. “I only wanted to work during school hours. I did not want to work far away. I didn’t want a long commute.”  Through relationships she maintained with old colleagues, she returned to the credit card industry, joining Bank of the West

This past year, after having been with the bank a little over seven years, Cool was presented with yet another transition. This one a unique opportunity to work in a nonprofit organization doing more community development work. She would remain a Bank of the West employee, but would embed herself into Working Solutions, a nonprofit that provides affordable microloans and business consulting to underserved entrepreneurial groups including women, people of color, and low-income individuals.

During the event, Kellie McElhaney highlighted an underlying theme of the night – transition. In reference to a comment by Sheryl Sandberg, McElhaney noted how “men’s careers tend to be more of a ladder, and women’s careers tend to be more of a jungle gym” implying the up, down, and side moves women experience over the course of their careers.

Although Cool enjoys her current position, she hinted at another upcoming transition and shared her feelings with the audience, “I’m excited, a little nervous. I’m not exactly sure where I’ll land, but I know I will land.”

Visit the Cal Alumni Association to learn more about the Alumnae Career Advancement series and other upcoming events.

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