FHPW President's Letter
Find the Joy with Reconnection
2023 FHPW President's Message
April 21, 2023
Dear FHPW members,
I hope you are well. I am saddened and shocked to see the email to our members from the Federation of Professional Women Educational Foundation (The EF) regarding the Educational Foundation (The EF) board.
If you have not seen it, please know that The EF board resigned due to conflicting views with the Federation of Houston Professional Women (FHPW).
The upcoming Women of Excellence Gathering lunch hosted by the EF, originally scheduled for May 6th will be postponed and rescheduled for a later date.
Be comforted knowing that our leadership has just made an interim plan and we have ladies willing to step up to cover the remainder of the leadership year for The EF. Our theme for the year is 'Finding the Joy with Reconnection' and we will not lose sight of our focus.
We have many fun events planned for the year from our upcoming Houston Professional Women's Conference: Leading with Joy (April 28, 2023) to the Women of Excellence Gala (September 23, 2023), as well as social events scheduled in between. Our next social happy hour will be at Sable Gate Winery on May 18, 2023.
The EF was initially designed to provide an option for donors to give a tax-deductible gift, in addition to supporting scholarships for women. We will continue with the mission and press on to meet all goals.
I want to thank you for your continued support, as women need each other to grow through difficult situations. But, with every situation we learn and sharpen our skills as leaders. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or other board members of FHPW. I will do my best to respond as time permits. I will lead, as President of the Federation of Houston Professional Women, with transparency as best as I can.
All the best,
Haundong ‘Mary’ Faris, CPA, MBA
2023 FHPW President
Happy New Year to all member organizations and members!
I am honored to lead the Federation of Houston Professional Women in 2023. With approximately 10,000 members in the Greater Houston area, we are a diverse and strong organization focused on enrichment of personal and professional relationships and expanding leadership.
I would like to thank our member organizations and our 2022 FHPW Board of Directors for the tremendous achievement last year. The 2022 Women of Excellence Award Gala and the first CEO Executive Conference were extremely successful.
The theme for this year is Find the Joy with Reconnection. We have been going through three challenging years. It is time for all our organizations and members to reconnect. We need to surround ourselves with positive members while getting support. Despite working hard and taking care of family, we all need joy in our lives.
Each year, we provide our members with the opportunity to network and receive professional development. Members of FHPW are from different industries and backgrounds. I want to keep this tradition and culture and make it even better. My goal for 2023 is to re-connect members and member organizations while attracting new members. We will continue to have quarterly meetings, and we will add some special events (happy hours) to our activity list. I hope you all come to our quarterly meetings, continue supporting FHPW and find joy by doing it.
If you have an idea, suggestion, comment or would like to get involved, please contact me or any of our board of directors. We are open to feedback and enriching your experience as members. I’m looking forward to a fantastic 2023 and seeing you soon!
Warm regards,
Huandong ‘Mary’ Faris, CPA, MBA
2023 FHPW President
Our History
The Federation of Houston Professional Women began in September 1981 and was officially chartered by State of Texas in May 1982 as a non-profit, non-partisan business league. Our first Woman of Excellence Gala was held in 1982. We are in our 40th year as an organization and we have honored over 2, 400 Women of Excellence. Our history of connecting women in friendship, providing career and leadership opportunities, promoting networking and educational events, and unifying women’s organizations has enriched thousands of women’s lives.