Penny Abeywardena

Although advancements have been made through the years, the number of women in prominent leadership roles remains low. In fact, according to The Center for American Progress, “despite making up a majority of the U.S. population, women lag substantially behind men when it comes to their representation in leadership positions.” The numbers are even worse for women of color. One exception to the dismal numbers is Penny Abeywardena, former New York City Commissioner for International Affairs. In this talk, Penny shares her personal story and how it strengthened her leadership skills, including how to navigate in places of power when you are an anomaly. She also will tell you how you can take values related to women’s and human rights and bring them to work no matter where you are employed, as well as the changes you can make as an individual.

When it came to the COVID crisis in the U.S., no city was hit harder than New York. It was the epicenter of the pandemic at a time when no one knew a lot about this horrendous disease. For Penny Abeywardena, who was New York City Commissioner for International Affairs at the time, she knew great leadership was critical to get the city back on its feet. So Penny took a deep breath and led. She worked with the United Nations and foreign governments to procure necessary medical equipment. And her leadership and relationships led to an historic donation from the United Nations, as well as contributions from dozens of countries. In this talk, Penny shares stories of handling the COVID crisis during those perilous times and the lessons she learned, especially when inflexible bureaucracies—like New York City, the United Nations and foreign missions—have to become flexible to survive an unprecedented crisis.

COVID has changed the landscape of the traditional office—making now the most exciting time to change its dynamic and reshape it to become more inclusive. But in order to make these changes, says Penny Abeywardena, former New York City Commissioner for International Affairs, leaders and workers must be there—at least on a hybrid schedule. Going into the office at least two to three days a week is extremely important—especially for women and people of color, she says. In this talk, Penny discusses why it’s so valuable for people to return to the workplace and how both leaders and employees will benefit. She’ll also cover how employers can entice their staff to return and why everyone needs to be there to make a difference that will help everyone.

After Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012—one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history—Penny Abeywardena experienced how important it is to take climate change and climate action seriously. And she did just that for the entirety of her leadership as New York City Commissioner for International Affairs during the Bill de Blasio administration. She ensured that NYC’s groundbreaking efforts—including the Green New Deal, where the city committed to an ambitious plan to cut emissions by 40% by 2030—were at the center of a global platform her agency created to exchange best policies and practices with global partners. And she also led the creation of the global movement of the Voluntary Local Review, a way for local and regional governments to formally commit to sharing their Sustainable Development Goal progress on a global stage. Since then, over 300 subnational governments have signed onto the Declaration’s three commitments, representing nearly every region of the world. In this talk, Penny shares her personal story on fighting for sustainability, her leadership role and how cities and local governments can have a seat at the table, as well as how you can get your own voice heard in the halls of power.

As head of the Mayor's Office for International Affairs, Penny Abeywardena led New York City’s global platform for promoting its goals for a more just and accessible society, showcasing the diversity of New Yorkers and sharing policies and best practices with cities and states around the world. New York is also the host of the largest diplomatic corps in the world, which gave Penny even more leadership opportunities. In this talk, Penny shares how the soft power of diplomacy can be translated really effectively to businesses internally anywhere in the world. With her deep international experience –she was also co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow—Penny can frame any topic with an international emphasis.