MHI Vision Statement     MHI Board

History

Murray Hill Institute was founded in 2000 by a group of professional women committed to helping women integrate ethical standards into their personal and professional lives.  The Institute affirms women in the unique role they play in promoting a more just and harmonious workplace.  In 2001, the Institute formed  a Board of Directors and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. 

In October 2000 Murray Hill Institute held its inaugural conference, Women Transforming Culture.   Over 200 women attended, from the United States, Europe, South America and Asia, representing 25 different professions.  The conference examined views of women within their historical context, the impact that women’s changing roles have had on society, and ways to better channel the contributions women are making in the workplace.  Encouraged by the enthusiastic reactions from conference participants, the Institute adopted “Women Transforming Culture” as the motto for its programs.  Since that time the Institute has sponsored five additional Conferences, on a wide range of topics that relate to women and the world of work. 

Each conference has spawned further initiatives, including follow-up lectures, publications on the MHI website, and profession-specific discussion groups.  Three ongoing series of evening events are currently in place.  The first, Evenings of Conversation for Young Professionals, began in 2003.  These sessions afford young women starting their profession opportunities to hear and share experiences with professionals from various fields.  The following year, 2004, the Institute launched “Culture and Core Beliefs,” a scholarly lecture series that examines in depth broad topics such as the relationship between science and faith, political theory, and natural law.  On February 15, 2007, the Institute held its first profession-specific conference for women in media featuring Soledad O’Brien as guest speaker.  Following the success of “Conversations with Soledad,” the Institute began a series of Evenings of Conversation for Women in Media. 

The Evenings of Conversation for Young Professionals are an activity of the MHI Mentoring Program which partners professional women in the first years of their career with experienced professional women who espouse and exemplify the mission of the Institute.  The MHI program is designed to supplement any mentoring that takes place in the workplace.

Since its beginning, MHI has served as a kind of clearing house for linking women up with appropriate Volunteer opportunities.  The Institute is in partnership with the Rosedale Center, a supplementary educational center for girls in the South Bronx.  Through the Institute, women can help with tutoring, be a guest speaker, or help with development and fund-raising.  Other volunteers help with Fashion Forum, an advocacy and educational group begun by college interns who worked at our Women, Beauty, and Image conference in 2005.  Fashion Forum encourages the fashion and advertising industries to focus on a dignified and respectful image of women. 

Although Murray Hill Institute is based in New York City, it maintains a worldwide outreach through its website, which includes a resource center containing talks from the conferences, the Culture and Core beliefs series, and papers that have been published on-line by the Institute.  Since the fall of 2003, the Institute has published a biannual online Newsletter.

As Murray Hill Institute approaches the end of its first decade, a new seriers of seminars was launched in November 2011. Designed for current and aspiring women leaders who strive to live personal and professional integrity in the workplace. The seminars titled, Bring Out the Leader in You, explore competencies and skills that will help women increase their effectiveness, build relationships, set and manage priorities, project confidence, and how to focus their time and energy on important tasks and events in their daily lives. Each seminar consist of a presentation, a facilitated discussion, a work session, and a wrap-up activity.