Step Up Women’s Network

I think there’s more to Step Up than networking events, and if that’s the only reason you join, you’re sort of missing the point.
Step Up is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to connecting and advancing women and girls through mentorship and networking. It’s a great organization to join no matter where you currently are in your career. It gives professional women who are at the top of their fields the opportunity to connect with other women who are still climbing. Step Up also has a professional mentorship program for which you can apply once a year. I don’t have any personal experience with that particular program but I’ve heard some great things about it, especially from people in the entertainment field. Most importantly, the organization also gives you the opportunity to work with underserved teens and help them build a bright, successful future.
To get the most out of your experience, you should of course go to all the networking events, which might be anything from a red carpet event with Hollywood celebrities to a small «power breakfast» with one focused speaker to a casual members-​only hike through Griffith Park. But you should also volunteer your time with some of the kids. There are tons of different types of opportunities to pitch in on a regular basis — you can tutor girls for their SATs, teach them how to write a script in a filmmaking class, help them learn to use a camera in a photojournalism class, chaperon a college tour, and so on. I recently volunteered once a week in an afterschool filmmaking program at a high school in downtown LA. The kids were amazing and had so much fun with their project. Their creativity and enthusiasm was inspiring and a wonderful reminder of what it’s all about.
There is lots of information on the organization’s official web site (
), so definitely check it out if you’re thinking about joining. They regularly update their online calendar so you can get information about upcoming events there and sign up online if you see something you like. My experience has been that all the ladies that work for the organization full-​time are delighted to answer any questions you might have via email or over the phone. I also know they are pretty receptive to new ideas if you have a project (be it a networking event, a sponsorship opportunity, or an interactive experience with the girls) that you want to develop with them.
Step Up is what you make of it. It’s up to you to really take initiative and milk the most out of your experience.

My friend and I were members of Step Up for awhile and were impressed with their cool networking events at places like spas and a new housing project in Malibu… then all of the sudden the events tapered off and they didn’t notify us about anything. We were pretty miffed, since we’d paid for yearlong memberships and after the cool Malibu event… nothing. We wondered if we weren’t getting the emails and even signed up for them again on the site. Still nothing. We felt excluded! Maybe Step Up didn’t like us any more? Were we not Westside enough? Needless to say, when my membership expired a few weeks ago I didn’t bother renewing it. It was disappointing, because I love the concept of the group– but I guess they are taking a different direction or just failed to inform us about their events. Buh-​bye!