Portland Metro Chamber honored the 2023 Place With No Ceiling Award winners in a sold-out event at OMSI on Sept. 28, where the Portland business community gathered to celebrate and recognize Portland’s inspirational female leadership. Arnerich Massena Co-CEO Reegan Rae, CPWA®, accepted the Sandra K. McDonough Leadership Award; Lane Powell was awarded the large business Ceiling Breaker; and Quinn Thomas was recognized as the small business Ceiling Breaker.

Each honoree took the stage to share a few words about their journey and insight. Reegan told the story of meeting Sandra McDonough, for whom her award is named, and shared with the audience some of Sandra’s advice for women in leadership positions and how they resonated for her. “The first piece of advice she shared with me was: ‘you don’t have to be like the men,’” Reegan explained. After a period of trying to dress like and emulate male leaders, Sandra realized that “she could create her own style, in her voice, in her dress, and in her leadership style.” For Reegan, “in a society where we were creating new norms every day,” finding her own style meant evolving and bringing the best parts forward, particularly during a time of drastic and constant change.

“The second thing Sandra said to me was ‘always look back and see who needs to be pulled forward.’” The statistics of women in the investment industry are daunting: only 16% of advisors are women, only 19% of senior-level positions are held by women, and only 6% of investment company CEOs are female. But Reegan is dedicated to being part of changing that. She shared her experience launching a partnership with non-profit Rock the Street, Wall Street, which delivers financial and investment literacy and professional development to high school girls to inspire their interest in careers in finance. “And it’s working,” Reegan notes: “Rock the Street has enrolled over 6,000 girls in the U.S., and their alumni are five times more likely to choose a degree that can ultimately land them in the finance industry. I am deeply passionate about closing the gender and racial gap in my industry while also building a really strong bench of future talent.”

Thank you to the Portland business community for coming out to celebrate and recognize Portland’s powerful female leaders. Check out some photos from the event below; you can view all the event photos at https://portlandmetrochamber.com/resources/badass-women-celebrated-and-honored-at-the-2023-a-place-with-no-ceiling/