You’re almost registered.
In Other Words is a brand strategy firm based in the Bay Area that transforms business strategies into impactful stories and memorable narratives. We’re hyper-focused on positioning and messaging and have worked with over 200 companies—from startups to public companies. We are writer-MBAs who combine strong business backgrounds with a love for crisp and clear language.
As a small agency, we’ve learned to fit the process to the need. We get the right people in the room and adjust our scopes and budgets to be as streamlined as possible. We believe that the best brand strategy is simple, crisp, and compelling. We get your brand on one page; it’s accessible to your team and sets up designers to do great creative work. We also always create initial brand-level messaging that you can use right away. It serves as a jumping-off point for creating additional copy for more specific use cases. Whether your goal is to simplify your story, settle debates, excite talent, inform design, or enable consistency, our agile approach will help you develop and elevate your brand.
As a seasoned brand strategist, Sara Gaviser Leslie works with B2B (and occasionally consumer) hyper-growth startups as well as established companies that struggle to articulate their business clearly, both internally and externally. She uses brand positioning, brand architecture development, and strategic messaging to help companies, organizations, and institutions be better understood and matter more to their audiences.
Sara's proficiency extends beyond traditional branding domains, encompassing crucial aspects such as fundraising and sales pitches. She uses storytelling to capture attention and secure support.
Sara received her BA from Wellesley College and MBA from Columbia Business School. She has served on the boards of Opportunity Fund, the country’s largest microlender, and the Jewish Federation and Endowment Fund of San Francisco. She currently serves on the board of Oxfam-America.
Erin Essenmacher has 25 years of experience in media, education strategy and corporate governance. She has written, directed, and produced films for PBS, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, the History Channel, and CNN, and worked with brands like Sony, Apple, Acura, and The Gap.
Over the last decade Erin served on the executive leadership team National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) where she was responsible for the design and delivery of board member training, new product development, organizational strategy and thought leadership innovation. In her role, Erin focused on helping directors make sense of the changing role of the board and how it impacts their mandate, including a deeper understanding of ESG, cyber security, regulatory risk, geopolitical disruption, diversity, culture and digital transformation. During her tenure, Erin helped double NACD membership and drove a 400% growth in education revenue.
Her new venture, The Brigh Group helps organizations develop or reimagine content strategy, growth through partnership and better corporate governance. She is also the founder of Feisty Aphrodite, which focuses on original content creation and advising organizations and other makers on media and content strategy.
Erin has been a frequent speaker on corporate governance, strategy and risk oversight, presenting at industry meetings and conferences and as a regular contributor to Directors and Boards magazine. She has served on boards across sectors including as director for the iconic clothing retailer EILEEN FISHER where she chaired the People and Culture committee and helped lead design of the CEO succession plan. She currently sits on the board of Docs in Progress and the Advisory Board for the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University
To access this event, choose one of the options below.
Already a member? Log in here.
Click here to make a request.
Join a powerhouse community of executive women and gain support in every aspect of your senior leadership career.
LEARN MOREJoin us for a Salon or Meetup to get a peek inside our community! Peer Groups and Learning Circles are exclusively for members - log in here
A Look Inside Athena is held monthly for prospect members to come and understand how Athena works. They will learn more about the backstory of Athena, see a tour of our platform, and have the opportunity to discuss more of what they are interested in and ask questions about joining our community.
Learn about the most pressing topics facing executives today in an intimate, yet casual, virtual setting. Hosted by board directors and leaders from the world's top brands.
Gather with Athena members in your area for a casual, in-person Meetup. These are planned by request and hosted by Athena members in various cities. If you're interested in hosting and/or joining a meetup in the future, reach out to the Member Success Team and let them know.
We have an incredible community of female leaders at Athena and we want to bring you closer together! Join a Peer Group and build a network of peers you can engage with for guidance, lessons learned and insights around a shared interest. Choose a topic that most interests you or drop in and out of multiple peer groups as it suits you best. You’ll find at least one peer group available to join every week. Each live session goes for one hour, no preparation is needed, just show up as you are. We look forward to seeing you there!
A Learning Circle is an opportunity to connect with a small group of other Athena members in a focused yet casual setting, creating accountability around targeted learning to assist you in achieving your goals. Over the course of 6 sessions, club members will meet every 2 weeks to participate in an organic, peer-led discussion of the session's "chapters" consisting of 1-2 Athena salons which are to be reviewed on your own prior to the group session. When joining, members are committing to completing all 6 sessions.
Typically led by one of Athena's coaches, networking events provide members an opportunity to meet one another in a smaller intimate and virtual setting.
These are typically in-person events led by Coco and our partnering companies on topics that are relevant to the industry and audience of our business partners.
A workshop is an interactive session for members to actively practice something, such as their pitch. These sessions typically involve breakout rooms, member to member feedback and are not recorded.
For members new to Athena looking for ways to engage, these bi-weekly orientations led by an Athena Member Success Manager, provide a live tour of Athena, member success insights, and a chance to get questions answered.
Athena customizes virtual learning events with expert business leaders tailored to a unique company’s needs. These events cultivate cross-functional community, development, and learning across the partner organization.
Athena listens and we're always adding new event types and opportunities for members to engage. See what new events we are currently offering members.
No Upcoming Events Found.
Salon
Salon
Meetup
Meetup
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Salon
Peer Group
Salon
Meetup
Salon
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Meetup
Salon
Meetup
Meetup
A Look Inside Athena
Meetup
Meetup
Salon
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Salon
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Salon
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Salon
Meetup
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Salon
Salon
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Salon
Meetup
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Salon
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Salon
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Salon
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Salon
Orientation
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
A Look Inside Athena
Peer Group
Peer Group
Peer Group
Orientation
Athena Alliance is the premier executive development platform for senior-level women, offering a powerful networking community, resources, executive education, and coaching to help women advance and excel in their careers.
Invest in your senior leadership career and join our global, virtual community of the most influential women in business.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
By clicking “Sign me up!” you are agreeing to receiving marketing communications from Athena Alliance.