By Michelle Moskowitz
Sentinel Correspondent
It’s all about “you.”
“How can I inspire and motivate you to live your best, most authentic life and then pay it forward?” asks Toni Sabia DeMauro, founder of “you.,” a new women’s empowerment organization in Greenwich.
“You.” is an exclusive membership group, created in response to the many educated and involved women in the Greenwich community who are on a quest for personal growth, inspiration, and female networking.
The company’s premiere event, “The Science of Being Happy,” was held on April 6 at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club. Guests entered the venue to soft piano playing, a selection of wines and passed hors d’oeuvres as the sun glistened on the harbor.
The event drew 65 guests; each attendee was greeted warmly by name and presented with a name tag that read “Ask Me About…” The playful nature of these name tags created a relaxed atmosphere right away. Most guests filled in their professional association, but some simply wrote down their passions or a bit of humor.
Over the next hour, guests mingled with one another, and DeMauro, with her infectious smile and enthusiasm for her premiere event, introduced women whom she knew would truly connect.
In attendance were women such as Debbie Nigro, a talk show radio host at Greenwich’s WGCH 1490 AM station; Carrie Brudner, a consultant for 40-Day Reset, and founder of Healthy Guru; Brett Galley, director of special events for Hollywood Pop Gallery, which has produced events in Greenwich since 1993 (when her mother started the agency).
Also among the guests was Judith Jackson, a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety, body image and parenting, who recently moved her practice to Greenwich full-time from New York City. “I’m here tonight in order to connect with more women in town and get to know the community better,” Jackson said.
The featured speaker of the event was Megan McDonough, a former top executive at DuPont Pharmaceuticals, who transformed herself into becoming a “happiness” expert, an author, and a co-founder and CEO of The Whole Being Institute, which she created along with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, famed professor and author who taught a popular class at Harvard on positive psychology.
McDonough’s 90-minute workshop showcased her “living deliberately” philosophy called SPIRE—how to live life to its fullest—spiritually, physically, intellectually, relationally and emotionally.
“The overall goal of ‘you.’ is to provide real solutions to real life issues that matter most to women in our community—relationships, work, health, etc., and ‘you.’ will help women get connected on the right paths for them in an uplifting and positive way, starting tonight with our featured guest, Ms. McDonough,” said DeMauro.
McDonough incorporated “mindfulness exercises,” such as relaxation techniques and light massage, with the person seated next to them in order to create a feeling of safety and trust with one another. “Who we think we are is the story we tell ourselves,” says McDonough. “Women need to re-story themselves to live the life they want.”
McDonough also talked about how being grateful leads to more happiness in our lives. Notecards were distributed among each guest so they could write a “gratitude letter” to the one person they cherished most.
Throughout her presentation, McDonough quoted early philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates, but she also quoted Ben-Shahar: “If we begin looking for what’s good in our lives, it builds.”
DeMauro, dressed in black and adorned by inspirational jewelry, admitted that it’s hard for her to be the face of the company for a change, as she has always been the one promoting everyone else. But “you.” is essentially all of her work over the years combined.
“Many Greenwich women that I know want to feel more connected, whether it be to one another, to their former careers, to city life again,” she said. “We want to bring those elements together in one place through workshops and networking forums that can have a positive impact in their own lives and the lives of others.”
DeMauro is an Emmy-winning television producer with more than 15 years of experience at NBC and ABC, where she wore many hats, including operations, production, publicity, news promotions; she eventually became a creative director at NBC.
When she finally created her own production company, Color the World Entertainment, she produced music videos for kids educating them about the planet. At the time, she was living in Detroit with her husband (who is currently vice president at Discovery Network) and was then hired to spearhead the Oprah Winfrey Spiritual Growth Seminar, the first outreach program focused on happiness and spiritual well-being.
Once back in the area, she went on to launch the Greenwich Equinox health club, where she surpassed membership records at the club opening.
After breaking barriers at Equinox, DeMauro worked as director of development at the Greenwich Film Festival, where she met her current business partner, Michael Coty, an independent film festival producer. The two collaborated seamlessly on “you.,” and after long, passion-fueled discussions, Coty felt that DeMauro needed a real platform for her ability to deliver “service and promotion” for women of all backgrounds and ages.
The ultimate goal of the organization is to provide a series of high-caliber workshops covering a wide range of life-enhancing topics, from nutrition, finance, fashion, re-branding, breast cancer, and much more. And the caliber of speakers and moderators will be nationally recognizable leaders of industry, coupled with local Greenwich talent.
DeMauro and Coty would like to customize these workshops based on feedback they receive from members. “We want to create a fluid ebb and flow from our constituents so they want to keep coming back to our events,” says Coty.
On deck for future seminars are high-powered attorney Marilyn Chinitz, who wrote the book “How Not to Get Divorced”; Dr. Erika Schwartz, who specializes in hormone replacement therapy; and longtime headhunter Claudia Kelly, who will discuss re-branding oneself in today’s ever-changing job market.
In the midst of planning upcoming seminars, DeMauro and Coty have been recruited by local companies to help re-energize their brands and help create an open dialogue with staff members on how to work better, smarter, and happier.
Stay tuned for upcoming events: greenwichinteractive.com.
