ATLANTAN TO OPEN LONDON UNIT OF WOMEN’S NETWORK

MARIE TENAGLIA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE ATLANTA WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE(AWIT), PLANS TO OPEN A CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION IN LONDON DURING HER YEAR-LONG STAY THERE, SHE TOLD GLOBALFAX IN AN INTERVIEW SHORTLY BEFORE HER DEPARTURE AT THE END OF JUNE FROM HER POSITION AS VICE-PRESIDENT AT SUNTRUST BANK.

WHILE HER HUSBAND, BRIAN OLASOV, AN ATTORNEY AT LONG, ALDRIDGE & NORMAN, WORKS ON A PROJECT FOR HIS LAW FIRM, MS. TENAGLIA WILL STUDY IN THE CORPORATE FINANCE PROGRAM AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS.

DEBORAH TEMPLES, AN ATTORNEY AT SANDLER, TRAVIS & ROSENBERG, WAS ELECTED TO REPLACE MS. TENAGLIA IN APRIL.

MS. TENAGLIA WAS INVOLVED WITH THE FOUNDING OF BOTH AWIT IN 1988 AND IT’S UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION, THE ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE (OWIT) IN WASHINGTON D.C. IN

1989, ALTHOUGH SHE CREDITS LYNNE WENDT, ALSO AN ATTORNEY AT SANDLER, TRAVIS & ROSENBERG,  AS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND BOTH GROUPS.

OWIT NOW HAS 20 CHAPTERS IN THE U.S., SHE SAID, AS WELL AS UNITS IN MEXICO AND BERMUDA.

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT COORDINATING A CHAPTER IN LONDON, MS. TENAGLIA SAID.  MARJORIE SCARDINO, PRESIDENT OF THE LONDON ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER GROUP, WAS THE SPEAKER AT OWIT’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE LAST YEAR, AND SHE EXPRESSED SOME INTEREST ABOUT IT THEN, SHE ADDED.

OWIT’S GOAL, SAID MS. TENAGLIA, IS TO ENHANCE THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT OF A WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF CONTACTS, THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND THROUGH AN EXCHANGE OF VIEWS, IDEAS AND INFORMATION CONCERNING FOREIGN COMMERCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. “ THIS IS A STEP IN THAT DIRECTION,” SHE SAID.

IN ITS EIGHT YEARS IN ATLANTA, AWIT HAS DEVELOPED A REPUTATION FOR INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, MS. TENAGLIA SAID, INCLUDING A 1992 EXCHANGE OF VIEWS BETWEEN FORMER U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE CARLA HILLS AND LAURA D’ANDREA TYSON, WHO IS NOW THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION’S CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER.

ALTHOUGH THE ORGANIZATION IS CONCERNED PRIMARILY WITH PROMOTING THE INTERESTS OF WOMEN, SAID MS. TENAGLIA, MEN ARE ALWAYS ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THESE PROGRAMS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL AWIT AT (770) 621-2519.

BY  BRIANA  PEHLMAN