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"It was in a coffee shop in El Calafate, the glacier capital of Argentina, over a latte and a croissant with Carolyn Golding of the Washington Forum, that IWF had its greatest influence on my life. I told my friend and travelling companion that I felt ready to take a one-year sabbatical to consider doing work in the international arena, when she paused, smiled and like an oracle said calmly, "The Fellows Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard -- IWF has an affiliation. Every year, we can put forward one of our members as a candidate for Fellowship. That's what you will do next." And so it was.

"There are many stories like mine in the IWF community. We all have busy lives and crowded agendas, but if you haven't yet expanded your involvement beyond your own chapter, you're missing one of the greatest benefits of membership.
- Michele Stanners, IWFC Board Director and EVP Membership, during the Cornerstone Conference, Buenos Aires, 2008.

 

"Where else would I find myself sitting around a dining room table with a former attorney-general of the Bahamas, the founder of a publicly traded company with a stellar reputation in the retirement homes business, the United States' first black woman senior bank executive, a Jordanian health-care executive and a Wisconsin art dealer?"
- Pauline Couture, past director, IWFC Board and VP Communications, on attending the Chicago World Leadership Conference, Women who change the World: Shaping the Future.

 

"Rich conversation with new and old friends from all over the world, extraordinary learning opportunities and unforgettable sights…the World Conference had it all."
- Diana Burke, past Toronto Chapter Chair on the 2008 Madrid Cornerstone Conference.

 

"My number one impression was this: a country steeped in history and close family values. Everything the people do is with their family's or tribe's well being in mind. Families live together, stay together and nurture together, unlike our culture of moving out as soon as you are old enough and putting our elderly in nursing homes. All North Americans can learn from their way of doing things. I certainly did."
- Robin Howlings on the 2007 Cornerstone Conference in Amman, Jordan: Building Bridges – Breaking Walls.