The next woman in the Women Who Wow series is my former colleague and friend Helena Lawrence. Based in Washington, DC, Helena is the Senior Marketing & Business Development Manager for Orrick’s Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation Practice. She works with lawyers across eight countries, on three continents to create go to market strategies, client retention and growth plans. Learn more about Helena below.
Why did you choose your profession?
I fell into it. I was in the professional services marketing field and had worked for The Council for Entrepreneurial Development in North Carolina. We supported the building and growth of high-tech entrepreneurial organizations. In that job I worked closely with the legal marketers of the law firms that supported us and the profession piqued my interest. A few years later I found myself in the Washington, DC metro region where there are many law firms, and I decided to give it a try.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
It is a time each year to focus on how far we have come and how far we still have to go regarding changing the gender equation.
Tell us about a woman you look up to and why.
Devry Boughner Vorwerk. She is courageous, has personal beliefs and a mission and has dedicated her life to drive her mission. She is focused on sustainable trade and investment strategies, so everyone wins – our land, the climate, economies, workers, and companies and their financial stakeholders, while simultaneously ultimately solving world hunger. This is coupled with advancing women advancing women into senior leadership roles and the follow-on success for all stakeholders.
Any advice to young women who want to succeed in the workplace?
Think long-term, not short-term, and what will help you get there. When taking a job, think about how it will advance you to your next job – in other words, where you want to go.
What do you wish you could tell your younger self?
Take care of yourself too. Work is not everything.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
This was recently in my Twitter feed and it is brilliant.
How do you achieve work/life balance?
I am now focusing on work life balance and taking time for myself and shutting off work and other commitments. I got here because my body “made me do it” and could no longer go at the pace my younger self could.