Transitioning from a credit analyst to a commercial banker with Wells Fargo allowed Hanstad to view the monthly events in a new light.

"I'd moved to Fargo and started this new position and suddenly Women Connect became an opportunity to network with a large group of businesswomen," Hanstad says.

But she wanted an even deeper connection with the women she would meet each month in the large group setting.

That connection came in the form of a program called PUSH, which stands for "Pursue Dreams, Unite Women, Shatter Barriers, Have Heart."

The program is the brainchild of Carrie Carney and Chelsea Monda, two young professionals in the community who met through a mutual friend to discuss women's empowerment programs.

More than a year ago, Carney, marketing director at Eventide, and Monda, a senior client consultant at Sundog, began meeting monthly at a local coffee shop to share expertise and ideas for creating a network of women gathering in a smaller setting.

In January 2016, PUSH officially launched at the Women Connect event and soon after, Carney and Monda began receiving requests from women who wanted to be placed in a group.

Hanstad was one of those requesters. She reached out to Carney for the email addresses of individuals who'd expressed interest in a group, and eventually her group grew to include nine women.

"It was like we were long-lost friends," she says. "We all just got along so well and have connected to one another ... some of my very best friends in Fargo are people I met through this PUSH group."

Hanstad's experience is common, Carney and Monda say. The placement of women in the groups is entirely random, and the ideal size for a group is eight people. The idea of being placed randomly eliminates any preconceived notions so new relationships can be established, Monda says.

Since the program launched last year, 35 groups have been created with more than 200 women participating in them. Additionally, the PUSH Facebook group has nearly 400 members.

Once a group is formed, members are provided with rules of engagement. Monda says the rules are a guideline for helping the group begin developing relationships among the members and not actually rules.

Beyond the initial phrase of providing contact information and guidelines, Monda says PUSH groups are mostly self-managed and become a great outlet for women who want to achieve personal or professional goals.

Carney and Monda have each set and achieved a number of goals since they formed their PUSH group. "I've reached some goals I wouldn't have without this group," Carney says. For example, Monda set a goal to train for and run a 5K, and her PUSH group held her accountable to that goal. Carney changed jobs and used her PUSH group as a sounding board for issues associated with her new role.

Even though PUSH is a sub-committee of Women Connect, you don't have to be a Chamber member to be in a group, Carney says.

Women interested in joining can request to start a new group or be placed in an existing one.

"So many women are going out of their comfort zones and being placed randomly, but they have nothing to lose and everything to gain," Carney says.

Link:

Pushing past barriers: Program aims to foster empowering female relationships - West Central Tribune