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Continued from previous page
New York Club Explores
‘Slash’ Careers During
Author Speaker Series
 After a long day in their offices, on
October 4, 2007, a group of about 20
people, including three men and 17
women of all ages and career choices,
came to the 15th floor of J.H. Cohn to
network over sandwiches and wraps and
prepare for an interactive question–andanswer
session with Marci Alboher,
C’88, and Dale Kramer Cohen, W’76.
Alboher, author of One Person/Multiple
Careers, sat down for a candid interview
with Dale.
Alboher, who left the practice of law
to become a freelance journalist, now
writes the Shifting Careers column and
blog for The New York Times. She is
also a sought-after speaker and a coach
to aspiring writers and professionals.
Cohen is the chief marketing officer
of the Leaders Edge and president of
PennNYC.
 Some in the audience came because
they were feeling overworked and wanted
to find a balance in their careers.
Others came because they were burned
out and wanted to be inspired to follow
their passions. Still others came because
they have read Alboher’s book or articles
in The New York Times and wanted to
know firsthand if multiple professions
and multiple identities are possible and
how they can be achieved.
Alboher began the evening going
around the table asking participants to
introduce themselves, revealing a “slash”
in their description — something beyond
their day jobs. The results were
quite interesting: Some were gourmet
cooks; one, a race car driver; another,
an army reservist. Still others said they
have come for the session in search of a
slash. After this interactive roundtable,
Cohen began to question Alboher on a
wide range of topics, from leaving the
practice of law to embarking on a career
in journalism to the inspiration for
her book and lastly to her latest project — a daily blog and bimonthly column,
exploring the changing landscape of careers
for The New York Times.
After about 40 minutes of questions
and answers, Alboher again went
around the room asking all participants
to recall something from their
youth that they did habitually, whether
it was constantly talking as Alboher
confessed, or perhaps sewing or acting. These activities, suggested Alboher,
might contain the seeds of a future slash
or identity
By 8:30 p.m., all headed off to Penn
Station, Metro North, or their apartments.
They took with them thoughts
planted that evening on how their chosen
paths could accommodate new
identities and become more fulfilling,
and how can this slash concept might
play out in their own lives.
– Jennifer Gregoriou, W’78
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