ALUMNI OF THE MONTH

Bahasa Indonesia
 

Elly Tjan is the Deputy Manager (Economic Middle Researcher) for Bank Indonesia’s Monetary and Economic Team in Medan. Her daily tasks relate to regional economic research for North Sumatra. She gathers, analyzes and disseminates business, economic and banking data for Indonesian stakeholders throughout the region.
In the early April 2009, the U.S. State Department invited Elly Tjan to participate in the Fortune-State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program held in the United States April 26 - May 22, 2009.

The program opened with a three day orientation in Washington D.C., which included visits to the White House, Capitol Building, and State Department. They also visited Vital Voices, the State Department’s partner organization which organized the program for women leaders from around the world.

While in D.C. the women discussed important issues with female politicians, met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and attended a gala dinner.
During the program’s second phase, Elly Tjan participated in a three week assignment at the office of Meredith Whitney, a well known financial consultant in New York City.  Meredith served as Elly’s mentor since they share a common professional interest in the financial sector. While Elly was in the U.S., Meredith received the prestigious Time 100 award and Elly was asked to accompany her on the red carpet during the award ceremony.

In the final phase, Elly Tjan joined her fellow program participants in the series of wrap up activities in New York City. These included: discussions on leadership, visits to a number of outstanding female figures, and media training.

What experiences did you have during your program in America that changed your perspective towards America?

The most valuable experience for me was to directly meet successful women from various fields and learn from their experiences.  I am so inspired by the American women I met and appreciative of their willingness to spend time, energy, and cost to act as mentors.  They were so eager to share their experiences with women from around the world, even though they had never met us before the Fortune-State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program.  

What experiences did you have during your program in America that changed your perspective on your daily life?

I was inspired by American women who were so eager to introduce us to the business process.  It has given me a new perspective in my life; there are many things that we can do to ensure women around us in the community are living a better life.

What was the most interesting part about your participation in the Fortune-State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program?

What I found most interesting during the Fortune-State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program was my internship at the office of my mentor, Meredith Whitney. As a young and successful woman in her field, Meredith Whitney helped me realize all women can achieve their dreams through hard work and serious effort. She believes that having a great career in a big office is nothing compared to establishing your own company with a smaller number of employees.  She says  having a smaller number of employees allows for much stronger inter-personal relationships.  

What were the lessons-learned from the Fortune-State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program that you can apply to your life and work now?

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