Duxbury consultant takes the helm of new chapter

Women professionals on the South Shore have a new place to turn to for advice on handling office politics, landing corporate board positions and improving their golf swing.

The Boston-based Downtown Women’s Club has opened a South Shore chapter and has tapped Paula Harris of Duxbury to be its director.

The group aims to provide support to help women advance in their careers.

Harris, who runs WH Cornerstone Investments with her husband from their home, has been a member of the Boston chapter for a year and a half. Satellite chapters had opened in Andover and in the MetroWest area, so when a South Shore chapter was suggested, “Paula stepped up and said ‘I’ll do it!’” Diane Danielson, executive director of the parent group, said.

Downtown Women’s Club started seven years ago. Its membership has grown to include chapters in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and Worcester, Mass.

Harris has been a member of the Boston chapter for a year and a half, and was one of several members who traveled more than an hour to attend events, said Diane K. Danielson, the organization’s executive director.

Satellite chapters had opened in Andover and the Metrowest area, so when a South Shore chapter was suggested, “Paula stepped up and said ‘I’ll do it!’” Danielson said.

“She was a perfect fit,” Danielson said. “She knows the business community down there.”

Although the South Shore chapter is just starting, “we are quickly building our presence,” Harris said. In the past six weeks, membership has grown to 75. More than 1,800 belong to the Boston chapter.

The first networking event planned for the South Shore chapter is tonight’s “Cocktail Conversations”thurs. held at the Blackfin Chop House and Raw Bar in Hingham. It will be a monthly event.

Danielson said some people have cross-registered for the Boston and South Shore chapters.

“Even the business types who work in Boston and live down here” are making a stop on their commute home for the sake of cocktails and networking, she said. “It’s a fabulous way to meet people who live around them.”

Although the Hingham-based South Shore Women’s Business Network has been active since 1991, that group’s executive director, Debbie Anders, said the two organizations can be assets to each other.

“We’re always pleased when new opportunities are presented for women in business in the South Shore, and we think they can be a great complement to what already exists here,” she said.

Anders’ group is different from the Downtown Women’s Club in that it is open to men and does not address women’s issues, Anders said.

Anders said many of her group’s more than 300 members have attended Downtown Women’s Club events on the South Shore. She added said that Harris is also a member of the South Shore Women’s Business Network, and Danielson will be speaking at one of its September events.

This marks the seventh year for the Downtown Women’s Club, which also has chapters in Worcester, New York, Washington and Pittsburgh.

For more information:
Downtown Women’s Club: downtownwomensclub.com
South Shore Women’s Business Network: sswbn.org

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