Get to know some of our ladies who lead!
Amy Tam, Public Relations Co Chair
How do you define a Spinster, specifically Spinsters of SF (SOSF)? Back in October 25, 1929, SOSF formed with a commitment to create a social network of strong, independent young women. Later, the group developed a passion for making a difference in the Bay Area through volunteering and fundraising. 90 years later, SOSF has continued to evolve. Spinsters are traditional with a progressive twist, nurturing and rebellious in nature, and leaders in advocating for a bigger voice for women in the community. Today SOSF is made up of a diverse group of 200+ unmarried women, ages 21-35 who lead different lives outside of the organization. What is life like outside of SOSF for Spinsters? We asked three of our members to tell us about the lives they lead and share their advice with us.
SOSF Member, Cynthia Miranda
“You’re young. Slow down.” “Pay your dues” before trying to rise ahead. These were common remarks Cynthia Miranda, a third-year member of SOSF and a first-generation minority, heard throughout her career. Cynthia is a communication analyst at the Judicial Council of California. What Cynthia is most passionate about in her career is pushing for more female leaders in her field. In her own experience, Cynthia's female peers have advocated for her while she learns to navigate her male-dominated workplace. She feels that recognition for skilled women’s contributions and opportunities to grow should start at the top with senior leadership. SOSF is proud to have women like Cynthia pushing for more female representation in government in our ranks! Outside of work, Cynthia strives to find balance in her life by traveling, reading for fun, dancing, especially salsa, listening to music, and eating all the delicious food SF has to offer. She hopes to be able to travel more and manage her own schedule as a communications consultant in the future.
SOSF Member, Amber Bissell
Another one of our “ladies who lead” is Amber Bissell, a second-year member of SOSF and one of the Co-Chairs of Professional Development of SOSF. At just 31 years old, Amber is a Partner at Bain Mazza & Debski LLP, a law firm that specializes in labor and employment in California. Although she has always known she wanted to become a lawyer, she decided to pursue her Master of Science in Gender and Social Policy before going to law school. Off the beaten path of what most would advise her not to do, pursuing her masters actually helped her specialize her law practice. Amber started her law career working at a small law firm in a male-dominated field. Afterward, she worked at another law firm founded by women before becoming a Partner at her current law firm. So far in her career, she witnessed a few challenges for women in particular; women sometimes did not support other women in the field. The older generation held onto their positions of power and did not act as mentors to build up future legal leaders. Further, it was hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Currently at her law firm, Amber is grateful that her colleagues embrace cooperation and collaboration while supporting a healthy work-life balance. Apart from her stressful yet fulfilling career, she enjoys fine dining, traveling, hiking, cooking, hosting, and getting creative with ceramics and writing. Something Amber hopes to share with other women is to trust yourself because there will be many people who will tell you that you should not pursue what you want to do. Thank you for encouraging us all to use our intrinsic motivation to achieve our goals!
SOSF Member, Xanadu Bruggers
“Don’t turn down opportunities to meet someone new,” said Xanadu Bruggers. Xanadu is a fifth-year in SOSF who served as Vice President and Philanthropy Director over the course of two years. She is currently a Board Member of the San Francisco Opera BRAVO! Club and longtime volunteer at Muttville. Coming from a musical theater education and career background, Xanadu always felt her path was clear, but after a decade in performance, she lost her identity and wasn’t sure what would come next. After parting ways with theater, Xanadu began her career as an Executive Assistant (EA) at Pixar Animation Studios. Today she is an EA at the gaming live streaming platform, Twitch. Joining SOSF initially seemed foreign to Xanadu as she was never in a sorority and did not know much of what the organization was about. But after a former President of SOSF encouraged her to join the organization, Xanadu found a community of women that has helped her find a new life purpose: volunteerism and nonprofit work. Currently, Xanadu is exploring graduate programs in nonprofit administration and aspires to work in nonprofit management to contribute every day to the causes she is most passionate about.
Interviewing Cynthia, Amber, and Xanadu, I learned that we are not that different in this organization. While we all have different stories, challenges, and passions, we are able to create a powerful learning community with each other through SOSF. Personally, SOSF has allowed me (Amy) to expand upon my creative ideas and foster leadership skills. In my non creative career, I rarely have opportunities to pitch an idea and see it unfold. It gives me a lot of joy contributing to this organization because I’m able to see the end result of something I’ve worked hard on. Further, this organization has provided a safe space for me to feel loved, valued, and to be vulnerable. A big city seems less lonely when you have a community that you’re a part of. Even though I’m not sure what everyone’s story is in joining, I can confidently say that there is a community for any women in their walk of life with SOSF. As Melinda Gates wrote in her book, “The Moment of Lift”, “maybe our best selves are not our polished selves.” Looking at our members like Cynthia, Amber, and Xanadu, it’s clear that our best selves appear when we are able to share our passions, doubts, challenges, and advice with each other.
Interested in learning more about SOSF and becoming a member? Email recruitment@sfspinsters.com and we’ll keep you in the loop. Save the date for our new member info session on February 5th! Check back for more details and other meet and greet events here!.