Noelle McGlynn

There were two qualities I took away from my experience at Whitman that I've applied to my business:

Think big. The beauty of Whitman is the ability of the faculty to teach small classes (which encourages individual thought) while encouraging students to think big. That is a practice I use in my company. I created a small, well-trained staff that isn't afraid to take on new challenges and tackle big projects.

Everyone matters! In my business, it is incredibly important to give everybody we deal with personal service — whether it's a head of state, the head of a corporation, or the head of the clean-up crew. Everyone makes a contribution to the success of a project. At Whitman, we were given the feeling that everyone in the class had a contribution to make.

Noelle McGlynn, '82

Potomac Event Productions

Noelle McGlynn, '82, is president of Potomac Event Productions, Inc., a conference planning, event management, and fund-raising firm. The company produces events ranging from international economic policy symposia to community festivals and sporting events. In addition, the firm has managed corporate functions and conferences, seminars, fund-raising events, corporate sponsorships, retail openings, and special cultural events such as concerts and art festivals.

In addition, McGlynn organized and managed a series of Policymaker of the Year award receptions, and from 1987 until 1994 she organized an annual Tokyo symposium of over 600 top international business executives.

Before forming Potomac Event Productions, Inc., McGlynn served as the first executive director of The G7 Council (G7C), a non-profit public policy foundation comprised of leaders in the international economic community.

She holds a master of arts degree from Duke University.