From the Great Resignation and quiet quitting to career cushioning and pay transparency, 2022 was a year of professional awakening. Throughout the year, we saw our members doing everything from sitting tight in their roles to completely shifting career paths. It’s clear more than ever that our members, and professionals at large, are looking for purpose and connection not just in their personal lives, but in their professional ones as well. At SALUTE, we are committed to facilitating more in-person connections, development programs, and learning opportunities for you.

In 2022, we are proud that the SALUTE community provided members with a space to find support and perspective. Our community grew to 100 members, and we launched multiple new initiatives such as the SALUTE Cafe Series, Power Circles, and Brew Chats. We also were lucky enough to have some powerhouse women engage with our community. And in 2022, we brought on our Board of Advisors of 5 amazing women: Alka Joshi, Jyothi Rao, Manisha Bharti, Priya Singh, and Rebecca Parekh. We are so proud of what we’ve achieved together and can’t thank everyone enough for their support. Community will always be at the heart of everything we do, and our priority for this next year will be YOU.

As we enter 2023, our purpose is to enrich the individual experiences of our members, with the support of the broader community. Here are some ways we plan to do so:

• SALUTE Summit. We’re hosting our inaugural Summit in person in NYC for members and supporters. Our theme for the first year’s Summit will be “collaboration over competition.”
• SALUTE Cafe Series. We kicked off our Cafe Series with Kinjil Mathur, CMO of Squarespace in December. Ten members shared an intimate lunch with Kinjil, allowing them to build a true connection with her and the other members at the table. We will continue to create intimate forums to engage directly and in person with trailblazers in different fields.
• SALUTE Labs. In addition to sharing the stories of trailblazers, we will help develop practical skills. SALUTE Labs will be a structured development program focused on specific leadership topics, led by guest experts and leaders. To put it simply, SALUTE Labs is our version of Masterclasses.
• SALUTE Power Circles. We launched Power Circles last year to create a safe space for members to discuss and reflect on relevant topics like burnout, managing up, and career moves — this year, we want to dig deeper. We’ll be launching member-led Power Circles around shared interests and identities. For example, SALUTE Members Meha Agrawal (Founder & CEO of Silk + Sonder) and Michelle Ranavat (Founder & CEO of Ranavat) will lead a Founders Circle for founders and entrepreneurs within our community.
• Coaching & Development. We will amplify our focus on professional development. This year, we will partner with coaching platforms to give members access to 1:1 coaching, in addition to group development. We will also launch a resource library that all members will have access to.

Our commitment is and always has been to support the power and diversity of South Asian female leadership. As we grow and evolve, we thank you for your support, and most importantly, patience as we figure out what works best for our community. Your feedback is invaluable and we can’t wait to achieve greater heights in 2023 with you.

Sincerely,

Era Ray & Neha Singh

SALUTE Founding Team