In 2020, it was our turn to visit Viña Del Mar, Chile. COVID had other plans for us, but we didn’t let that slow us down. We turned our focus directly to our relationship with AGEP, the women’s business organization in Viña Del Mar and Valparaiso that we have been mentoring since 2011.
Instead of traveling to see them, we instituted a series of Zoom meetings designed to provide ongoing mentoring, keep us in touch, inspire, and even have some fun! Some examples of our programs:
- In response to their lamenting the loss of in-person retail business, we reached out to Juli Viera, the CEO of the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce, who led a virtual workshop on how to sell online, including overviews of selling on Etsy, EBay, FaceBook and Instagram. As a result, a number of the women ramped up their online presence.
- In honor of International Women’s Day, we gave a presentation about our own Sally Stanford, former madam and one-time mayor of Sausalito. In turn, our sisters from AGEP introduced us to Gabriela Mistral, a revered and beloved poet from Chile.
Meeting on International Women’s Day 2021
- To minimize their feeling of isolation, we instigated several social programs, including a book group discussion of The Long Petal of the Sea, by renowned Chilean author (and current Marin County resident) Isabel Allende.
- We participated in the online launch of their new marketing platform, Vitrina Circular, created by the women of AGEP to showcase their makers and creators, and to foster the ideas of a circular economy: to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Our programs were so successful that we were honored with an Innovation Award from Sister Cities International, recognized in the category of Business, Trade and Professional Exchange, for cities with under 25,000 residents. We celebrated that award with an incredible luncheon held at Viña Del Mar Park on a beautiful August afternoon. The Consul General of Chile and his wife attended, as well as many local dignitaries, supporters and friends of our program.
Left to right: Ron Albert; Dana Cilmi, President Sausalito Sister Cities; Cathy Stierhoff, Viña del Mar, Secretary; Ray Withy, former Sausalito City Council; Consul General Jaime Alliende; Monica Finnegan, Chair Sausalito Sister Cities; Sausalito Mayor Jill Hoffman; Matías Alcalde, Director Chile-California.
Early this year, we met (on Zoom) with leaders and members of AGEP where we hatched the idea of one-on-one mentoring. Beginning in April 2022, we’re starting a series of meetings where just one member from AGEP will be coached by experts on our team. She’ll share with the group her goals and objectives for her business, and our experts will brainstorm, provide
feedback and new ideas that will help her implement her imperatives. All of the participants will benefit from the experience and be able to apply some of the ideas to their own businesses. We’re looking forward to coaching many different AGEP members during the coming months.
Learn more about our programs and relationship with AGEP in our recent report:
