March 16, 2007
Panel explores women's lives, careers
Panelists at the event were (from left to right) Aurora Sanfeliz, Cindy Mackenzie, moderator Celeste Daye, Amy Porter-Tacoronte, and Naoe Suzuki
A common theme turns individual stories into history. So it was that the career tales of four women of different backgrounds, skills, and ambitions became pieces of the mosaic of women's progress at a panel discussion at Dana-Farber on March 13.
The event, titled "Generations of Women Moving History Forward," featured four Dana-Farber staff members: Cindy Mackenzie, a locksmith in General Services; Amy Porter-Tacoronte, vice president of Adult Oncology Operations; Aurora Sanfeliz, EdD, a psychologist in Pediatric Psychosocial Services; and Naoe Suzuki, an administrative specialist in the Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services. Their presentations ranged from travelogues of their own careers, to reflections on the multiple pressures on women in the workforce, to descriptions of their creative pursuits, but the talks shared a sense of the trailblazing role women continue to play in society and the workplace more than three decades after the Women's Movement began.
One thread in the discussion, sponsored by Dana-Farber's Cultural Observances Committee, was the need to harmonize personal and professional lives. Sanfeliz spoke about attending a women's conference where audience members were asked to draw symbols of what womanhood meant to them. Most drew trees, describing how they represented nurture and giving.
Sanfeliz's "take" on that symbol, and its significance for women, was somewhat different. For her, the branches of a tree suggested balance. "The temptation to favor some branches over others can be immense," Sanfeliz said, describing how work at an institution like Dana-Farber can be so demanding and meaningful that "it can leave us feeling like we don't need or have energy for anything or anyone else in our lives." She then mentioned a tree's roots, its source of support, and said her own support is the courage her patients demonstrate and the backing of her family and coworkers.
Suzuki, who served for five years as an administrative assistant to Institute President Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, focused on her career as an artist, work that has led to numerous grants, awards, and exhibitions throughout the United States and Canada. "I'm on the so-called struggling working artist career track," she quipped. "Being an artist sounds very romantic, but in reality it takes a lot of discipline, patience, and good time-management skills... I knew I'd made the right decision to come to Dana-Farber," she said, "because my 'daytime job' became a very meaningful job."
She showed images of her drawings to the audience, sharing how her daily experience in the President's Office even influenced her choice for titles of her artwork. "I've been fortunate to be surrounded by very understanding and supportive people at Dana-Farber," she said, "I couldn't have shown you these drawings if it wasn't for them."
Breaking the mold
Mackenzie and Porter-Tacoronte chose careers in fields long reserved for men — the building trades and administration and operations, respectively. For both women, it was a matter of finding and following a passion, and not being deterred by other people's expectations.
Mackenzie discovered early, much to her parents' and teachers' consternation, that she was mechanically inclined. She makes no apologies: "This is the work I do. I can't help it, I'm handy," she said. As the first and only woman in the Local 877 operating engineers union at Dana-Farber and the only woman locksmith in the union, she has encountered her share of professional prejudice.
"The old paradigm was that a woman in a union environment is taking a man's job away and taking money away from his family," she remarked. "All I want is an opportunity to be treated as the Constitution says — with equality. I feel more powerful because of the paths Dana-Farber has blazed in diversity."
Porter-Tacoronte admitted that people sometimes laugh when she says, "I'm passionate about administration," but they may not appreciate its possibilities. "Administration is filled with challenges: How do you improve operations? How do you get people who work for you excited about showing up for work every day?"
She provided listeners with a primer on administrative advancement. "It's important to understand the goals and priorities of the people you work for," she said. "Ask yourself how you can help them, and they'll help you.
Self-branding is what people say about you after you leave the room," she said. "When I started my career, I wanted people to say about me, 'There's a committed, smart, energetic woman who's on her way.' Now I hope they talk about the difference I've made in the organization."
— Robert Levy
robert_levy@dfci.harvard.edu
