The Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at Syracuse University is celebrating Women’s History Month with a dynamic, accomplished and inspiring speaker, Dr. Kimberly Townsend, author of Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary. She will share her story, along with lessons from her book, at a very special Fireside Chat, Friday, March 22 at noon at the LaunchPad in Bird Library. The free event is open to the campus community. A light luncheon will be served, and reservations are requested: LaunchPad@syr.edu
Dr. Townsend is an exceptional SU alumna, with a BS in accounting and MBA in accounting from the Whitman School of Management, an executive masters of public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs , and a JD from the Syracuse University College of Law as well as a EdD from St. John Fisher College.
Dr. Townsend is a prolific speaker and writer whose work has been published in industry journals and business publications. Her book, Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary, was released by Advantage Media Group in Fall, 2018. In it, she explores how we can increase the bottom line and succeed personally and professionally, all while making lives better for the people around us.
Lifecircle Leadership is more than a leadership style, according to Dr. Townsend. It’s a philosophy that embraces the power of work-life balance, the value in going the extra mile in everything you do, and the recognition that being your best self allows you to better serve others.
The key tenet of Lifecircle Leadership is pragmatic altruism, which believes that there is almost always a solution to the problem that benefits every party involved, and that working with the common good in mind returns personal rewards.
Dr. Townsend embraces this philosophy. She’s lived it, working her way from being a 35-year-old single mother with a high school diploma to President and CEO of a multi-million-dollar company with five advanced degrees to her name. She shows how pragmatic altruism has made a difference in her community and her company, and you can use it to make profound changes in your own.
She is a role model for anyone who wants to make positive change in the world. Like many women, she’s juggling the demands of family and the pressures of a full-time job as President & CEO of Loretto, while still finding time to volunteer and better the community. She’s inspired by making a sustainable difference in people’s lives and seeing her company and her community prosper.
Her personal story is inspiring. Growing up in Windham, NH, near Boston, Dr. Townsend went to Boston University for two years before leaving school to marry and have a family. After several years as a stay-at-home mom, she decided it was time to act on her dream of earning a law degree to help others. Dr. Townsend went back to school in her early 30s. Her passion for learning led her to earn five degrees, including a law degree, an MBA, and a doctorate in education. She worked throughout her schooling, supporting her children, sometimes as a single mother. She has since remarried and is now a mother of six and grandmother of three.
Before joining Loretto, Dr. Townsend spent 13 years at Welch Allyn, a medical devices and software company, working her way from Attorney to Associate General Counsel to Senior Director of Government Affairs. Previous work includes positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Ernst & Young LLP.
In addition to being an attorney admitted to the New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. Bars, Dr. Townsend is a Certified Public Accountant and is SHRM-certified in Global Professional Human Resources. She was Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University from 2001-2011, and was the recipient of the 2010 President’s Award-Customer First at Welch Allyn, Inc.
Nonprofit is a huge force in Dr. Townsend’s life. She’s affiliated with many professional and civic organizations, including the New York State Workforce Investment Board, HealtheConnections, WISE, and United Way of Central New York. She got involved with the Go Red Campaign of the American Heart Association in 2012 and was Chairwoman of the campaign in 2015-2016, raising over $350,000 to fight heart disease in women.
Dr. Townsend is passionate about living a purposeful, connected life. She is driven by a deep desire to improve herself personally, her company, and her community, through her philosophy of Lifecircle Leadership and pragmatic altruism. She invites others to reconsider their approach to business and life and hopes they discover, as she did, that being and doing good is good for business.
Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary is part inspiration, part actionable advice, and part memoir from an exceptional woman who proves that with drive, passion, and compassion, one person can make a big difference in the world. It is a must-read for leaders at all levels, and anyone who believes in giving back to the community through dynamic leadership. Buy it now online.