CFL Lunch & Lead: From Childhood Cult to Corporate Executive

Our 2021-22 Lunch & Lead series got off to a strong start with a fascinating presentation from Patricia Chadwick P ‘12. 

Chadwick immediately captivated the audience by opening with, “Until the age of 18, I had never read a newspaper nor perused the pages of a magazine. I had never eaten in a restaurant nor shopped in a grocery store…”. 

Reading from the prologue of her memoir, Little Sister, Chadwick told the remarkable story of what it was like to grow up in an excommunicated Roman Catholic cult-like community. After being expelled from the community just shy of her 18th birthday because of her interest in boys, she had to find her way in an unfamiliar world without any family support. She wound up getting a job as a receptionist at a Boston brokerage firm, and then doggedly worked her way toward significant leadership positions on Wall Street. At the height of her career, she served as the chief investment strategist at Invesco, before founding Ravengate Partners LLC, a financial markets and economic consulting firm, where she serves as president.

Co-hosted by the Feminism Club and the Center for Leadership, this first Lunch & Lead was enormously popular — with more than 50 Upper School students, faculty, and staff in attendance — and set the tone for what promises to be an exciting year of conversations with fascinating people. 

Up next is Ali Jaffe ‘10, who is a producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 

For photos from Chadwick’s Lunch & Lead, click here.