High-Achieving Women Membership Group Launched By Loudoun Chamber Official

By day, Yasmeen Shields works as membership director at the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. By night, Shields is gathering executive women together to build connections and empower them.

Shields founded The Legacy League, a private membership alliance for female leaders in Northern Virginia and the rest of the D.C. region. Members take part in luxurious networking experiences as well as provide support for women pivoting in their careers. The group held its launch event in late August at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church.

Shields told Patch she saw an opportunity as she often works with "high-caliber women" through her work with the chamber.

"I really just felt that after the pandemic, there was a void missing for women who have climbed the corporate ladder, or have become CEOs, entrepreneurs or creatives themselves," said Shields. "It really was a space missing for them to really connect more deeply, take away the vast networking pools and opportunities that are out there. I wanted something that was more intentional, something more curated and more intimate for those women, and really to find out their journey, what it's been like to get where they are."

The group is for high-achieving women in a wide range of careers, from top-level executives and entrepreneurs to creatives, change makers and philanthropists. Its founding board members include executives and business owners to a doctor and lawyer. Shields says the women are not usually in the same professional circles but share the group's values.

"I think, universally, we are more alike than not alike," said Shields. "If I am bringing women together who are in different industries, so we may have an attorney, we may have someone who owns their own small business, we'll find that once we're having these conversations, that we may be facing the same hurdles, and how did we overcome them, and what were the things that got us through to persevere to the next step."

One main function of The Legacy League is providing grants through membership dues to support women starting new ventures in their careers. There will be an application process to choose three to five women for the grant.

"We wanted to create a space where not only are we able to connect and learn from each other, but then how are we giving back," said Shields. "That's how we came up with the Legacy grant, which will be for women that are in roles of pivoting. They could also be branching out to start their own ventures, and we want to be able to support that through a grant."

For all members, The Legacy League is holding occasional networking events featuring fireside chats with board members and other experts. At the launch event on Aug. 26, The Legacy League's panel included founding board members — Sabine Browne, founder of Browne Family Law, Erin Stevens, principal sales at Amazon Web Services and France Saunders, a franchisee with Nothing Bundt Cakes.

One of the topics the panel addressed was where they see women in their career fields in 25 years.

Stevens noted that tech remains a male-dominated industry and says it's time to seek the next generation of workers. She has seen managers hiring more women recently "because I think we are more understanding and eager to learn."

Saunders said owning larger restaurant clusters or corporations is similarly male dominated and would to see more visibly women-owned businesses in the future.

In the legal field, Browne noted that women sometimes are talked down to in court and wants to see a change.

"I want to see women standing strong and leading the courtroom," said Browne.

Participating panelists also shared pivotal moments in their careers and navigating challenges.

Saunders said a pivotal moment was "leaving my comfort zone having a paycheck" to open a business.

"It was truly a leaf of faith. I believed in it, but I had to pivot from being in a corporate world and doing more manually than what I was used to, and aching feet and back," said Saunders. "So it kind of affected me from all the way through personal not spending as much time at home as a family, to just working so many hours, to putting myself strenuously into the work in different ways."

Browne noted that opening her law practice was a pivotal moment and realizing she couldn't take on all the workload herself.

"I was dealing with it all, doing it all, doing the business end, focusing on my clients, and I was stressing myself out," said Browne. "I believed that did not have enough to hire anyone, and so the pivotal moment of my practice was when I decided I needed help. I hired staff, and income went higher. I was more available. My performance increased."

Shields added that a pivotal moment for her was not saying yes to everything, from work to home life.

"I think that was a moment for me that it's okay that I can't attend, but it's I still want it to be great, and so I still love you, I still support you, but I can't be at every place, and it helped me become better with my goals and my dreams that I want to focus on," said Shields.

Browne similarly shared support for a work-life balance.

"I take care of my mental health and physical health. I work out every day. I think there needs to be a work-life balance," said Browne. "I always say, work hard, play hard. I make sure I travel, I do the things that I enjoy doing. There's no point in making the money if you're not going to enjoy it as well."

Stevens navigated a change in her home life by taking a "big bet" with a career at Amazon and investing in real estate.

"For me, it's taking something that was really bad, but eight years later, I bought and sold and managed several properties, something I'm really proud of that I did on my own by the support
of a lot of women," said Stevens.

Along with getting advice from successful women, The Legacy League's members get a taste of luxurious experiences, too. The Legacy League's next member event will be at a Porsche dealership. Shields envisions making partnerships with luxury brands around the region to create opportunities for collaboration. Other events during the launch phase could include lunches, brunches, dinners and an awards gala for the Legacy grant.

Due to the workload of the members in their day jobs, Shields expects there to be about five curated events in the first year of The Legacy League. Membership is available in three levels, and applications are being accepted. For more information, visit thelegacyleaguewomen.com.