Luminary was founded by Cate Luzio, a visionary thinker with global perspective and entrepreneurial drive. After spending the last twenty years between financial services and high tech, she realized the gap in the market for professional women to connect, to network, and to collaborate across industries was growing. Further, the desire for professional growth was accelerating. Since most mentoring and networking happens in isolation, there was no physical place for professional women to assemble with access to coaching, mentoring and networking, to name a few, at an enterprise level.
Gender diversity has always been a priority in Cate’s career. Developing and leading various women’s networks within her organizations and outside, creating mentoring programs, and spearheading female leadership development initiatives have long been her passion. Climbing the ranks to prominent leadership positions within her industry, Cate realized there was far more to do.
While there are female-focused social clubs and coworking spaces, there didn’t seem to be a universal, all-inclusive setting for women, at all levels, across all professions to gather, learn, support and connect. The gap is wide and widening further as women are entering the workplace at record levels. In order to reach more women across industries with impact, value and effectiveness, what Cate calls the “the multiplier effect”, the idea of Luminary was born.
How many times have you been asked or have asked to have a coffee with someone for career advice? We can all fill our calendars with these requests but there has to be a better and more efficient way to get good advice.
We constantly find ourselves with no designated community space where we can go to learn, invest in ourselves, gather, recharge, celebrate and collaborate with one another. Today’s women are on the hunt for meaningful connections and personal growth.
We’re building a dynamic and diverse community of women who take control of their careers and invest in themselves and each other. Luminary is a refuge for the curious, the ambitious, the connectors, and the change agents. It is the ultimate career advocate for women providing the professional coaching and social community needed to thrive. We will open our doors in November of 2018!
Based in Nomad, Luminary has over 15,000 square feet of carefully designed communal work and social space with an emphasis on investing in self-development, wellness, flexibility and giving back. It’s a sanctuary of productivity, offering women flexible memberships that meet their economic and lifestyle needs. Combining innovative and accessible workspaces with tailored learning experiences, content and programming, Luminary seeks to enhance the greatest strengths of its members.
Luminary is a real meeting space and it fully occupies the entire 3rd and 4th floors of 1204 Broadway with an expansive rooftop deck. We’re creating a physical space where women can meet, develop, work and connect with other women. Luminary is an inclusive community of women working together and members have access to a vibrant space and a vast ecosystem of services, offerings, and perks.
Amenities include:
- Full fitness studio with express classes including barre, yoga, pilates and meditation for purchase
- Wellness space to relax, rejuvenate or pray
- Showers with towel service and a changing room equipped with lockers and carefully selected products
- Lactation room for pumping or nursing needs, complete with a refrigerator and comfortable seating
- Food and beverage for purchase provided by Ancolie, including breakfast, lunch and snack options
- Coffee/tea procured by Stumptown Coffee
- Free wine on tap (red, white and rose) provided by Gotham Project
- Private phone booths, six fully outfitted conference rooms, huddle rooms, printing, and Wi-Fi
- Opportunity to rent the space, conference rooms and the rooftop for private events and meetings
No one cares about your career more than you do. We provide guidance to members looking to package and brand themselves. Whether you are trying to broaden your skillset, chart your career path, or simply consider your options for your next move, Luminary is your career advocate. Our coaches and experts in residence have office hours to meet with members about navigating their professional futures. Most careers are linear but we help you step back, see what’s out there and look at the bigger picture.
Luminary is committed to giving its community access to a robust and exclusive event calendar. We do things differently and act beyond buzzwords. We cultivate the community and networks you have been looking for. We deliver engaging and relevant experiences with industry leaders focused on:
- Career development, advancement and transition
- Mentoring and coaching
- Leadership development
- Management skillsets
Luminary is re-examining traditional recruitment by working with dynamic corporate partners and becoming an extension of women's employee groups. We want to change how companies think about investing in women. Top corporations and organizations are looking for talent but they struggle to find and retain women. Recruiters often overlook candidates with transferable skills and Luminary will help match the powerful candidates within our walls to new opportunities with corporate partners.
At the center of our business is a 10-for-1 grant model offering Luminary membership to women in the community who meet specific socioeconomic needs, creating a truly diverse and inclusive environment. For every ten annual Collective memberships purchased, we will fund one full annual Community membership. These Illumination Grants will be based upon applications and recommendations from standing Luminary Members.
FOUNDING MEMBERS - $3,500
We’re offering a limited number of Founding Memberships at a $1,000+ discount off the normal Collective Membership rate. There are 150 Founding Memberships available only through iFundWomen. Once our Founding Memberships are gone, standard Collective Memberships increases to $4,800 annually. The Collective Membership includes full unlimited access to our space and services during operating hours, and base admission to all Luminary events and programming. Founding Membership comes with perks like a free month of unlimited classes in our in-house fitness studio offering barre, yoga, stretch and more, priority usage of conference rooms and heavily discounted private event space.
SIDE HUSTLES - $1,900
We’re offering a limited number of our Side Hustle Memberships at a $500 discount off the normal Side Hustle rate. There are 100 Side Hustle Memberships at this price available only through iFundWomen and until October 10th. Once the Luminary crowdfunding campaign ends, standard Side Hustles increases to $2,400 annually. The Side Hustle includes unlimited usage “after hours” for weekdays between 6-9PM, and all Saturday hours, as well as access to evening Luminary programs and workshops, discounted access to Luminary events and Special events as well as conference rooms and private event space.
SPECIFICS OF MEMBERSHIP
Luminary membership gives you access to programming scheduled in our space. Programming content varies and covers topics as wide and diverse as The Art of Negotiation to Our Seat at The Table to How to Disrupt Your Career. Our calendar is filled with 2+ events per week including a mix of:
- Networking and connectivity
- In-house classes on various subjects and topics
- Featured speakers and facilitators across all industries
- Professional workshops
- Speaker series
GIFT A MEMBERSHIP
Whether you want to join Luminary yourself, or you're thinking of a woman in your life that could benefit, our Founding Members or Side Hustles are also great gifts. Providing women access to our community is an opportunity for them to further develop, network and connect. Memberships also make great college or graduate school graduation gifts - help them start early! You're able to put any of our rewards in another person's name.
Luminary’s power lies with our Members and our community. We want our Members to feel as much a part of building who Luminary is as we do. We’ve partnered with iFundWomen, a female-only crowdfunding platform, to help get the job done. Funds secured through our crowdfunding campaign will be used to further accelerate the build out of our physical space, the most critical component of Luminary.