women we love: Carla Rood

Best luncheon of the year award goes to the Emily Couric Leadership Forum. The forum’s 2009 Woman of the Year, CBS News foreign correspondent Kimberly Dozier was beyond inspiring (read about her book here). The forum’s ten scholarship winners and finalists, local high school women who have taken an active role in government, public issues, and leadership, are amazing and incredibly accomplished. Bonus points - the food was amazing and health-conscious (chilled mint and green pea soup, chicken and spinach salad entree, Albemarle Baking Co. bread, Cappellino’s cupcakes).

I had a blast chatting with Carla Rood over lunch, the 2005 winner who graduated from Virginia Tech last weekend. At Tech, Rood was active in a number of campus organizations, including Delta Zeta sorority, and philanthropic activities. She was named Tech’s Woman of the Year for her incredible accomplishments and contributions to the campus (read the whole list here). In a few days she’s heading to Manhattan to work as an executive assistant to Judith Glaser, the CEO and founer of Benchmark Communications, an organizational development and leadership consulting firm. Although Glaser already had a few unpaid interns and no open positions, Rood made an impression and convinced her to create a job. She’ll spend the next few months working with the Glaser’s next book in progress and two nonprofits. I’d wish her good luck in The Big Apple, but with her moxy and ambition I don’t think she’ll need it.

To learn more about the Emily Couric Leadership Forum visit www.emilycouricleadershipforum.org