CREW Convention 2016 - New York City, by Krista Nauss

Tuesday, Nov 22, 2016

I just returned from the CREW Network 2016 Convention in the amazing NEW YORK CITY!

There were 16 ladies from Calgary that represented us well, in addition to 16 from Edmonton and over 20 from Toronto. Hello Canadian Presence!

I signed up for every tour that was possible. My first was on the Hudson Yards, and the panel discussed the excitement and magnitude of the project.  After the panel, a few of us walked the site; nothing beats seeing this with your own eyes. Imagine a 20 million square foot complex being built on what was previously a train station.  Built ON. Only in New York!!

The entire downtown of Calgary is 40 million square feet so that puts it in a bit of perspective.

I also attended the Architectural Boat Tour, a tour of the Highline (a former elevated train track, now elevated walking park) and finally a tour of the humble beginnings of real estate in New York in Chinatown and Little Italy. It offered an amazing alternate perspective after seeing so much grandeur.   

The conference was a real eye opener for me. It was well organized, the attendees had a lot of passion, there was such a wide variety of speakers and co many Chapters. I connected with some lawyers from New Jersey, loved chatting with the New Yorkers and made some friendships with other members from Indianapolis, Hawaii, Phoenix, Toronto and Edmonton.

One of the highlights for me were the speakers; I especially enjoyed Amy Cuddy and MaryAnn Tighe.  Both were amazing and shared completely different talks. Amy Cuddy is very popular on Ted Talks and taught the attendees about body position and presence. It was so enlightening that I think I teared up for moment thinking about other women and how we need to help each other, push forward, and ask for more! MaryAnn Tighe offered a fresh perspective on believing in yourself in a "man’s" world and I would love to see her again. . . or just take her for a glass of wine.

New York has such an exciting vibe. Being there during the US Presidential Election was interesting, because it started such passionate conversations about the US. Gaining a new perspective is always valuable. There is no price to learning about others, making a connection with women in similar roles and cities, and discussing how they are moving their careers ahead as well. I look forward to being more involved in CREW Calgary and hope to attend another convention in the near future. 

Thank you again CREW Calgary, for this incredible opportunity.

Krista Nauss