RETHINKING HOW (AND WHY) WE GATHER, BY ANGELICA BENNER
January 5, 2026
I find myself writing this post during “the most wonderful time of the year,” or for those serving on nonprofit boards, the season of “hurry up and get your programs in line, budgets together, and chairs organized.” It’s an exciting time as new ideas and initiatives are plentiful, and at least on the WEN Greater Pittsburgh board, everyone is ready to dive in. You can genuinely feel the excitement in the air.
For years, I’ve been the person who asks the sometimes-uncomfortable questions: What is the purpose of this commitment? What is the goal of this gathering?
When I was Membership Director, I planned membership drives with a clear purpose - to introduce the board to new members and connect them to programs that would make WEN valuable to both their personal and professional lives. The goal was just as straightforward: attract new members and retain existing ones by getting them meaningfully engaged in our programming.
In 2026, as Co-Director of Member Retention and Programming, I’ve stepped into a role that keeps those questions spinning in my head almost constantly. My incredibly talented co-director and I will support several committee chairs as they plan their 2026 programs, including one-off and monthly events, all while managing a full-time job and planning my wedding.
This year has the potential to be incredibly stressful, and it would be easy to lose sight of the why amid the logistics, calendars, and endless details. If we’re not intentional and allow ourselves to get stuck there, we risk losing joy. And volunteering should be joyful. It should be fun.
That’s why the themes explored in The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker feel so relevant right now, and why these are conversations worth having, not only as board members, but as attendees and individuals in our personal lives as well. I could try to craft a witty summary that offers fresh insight, but I won’t, because the description on the book’s sales page truly says it best.
In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play.
Throughout the book, Parker walks us through the steps she uses to ensure she isn’t gathering in traditional ways simply because that’s how it’s always been done. Coming from two very different households, she began at a young age to question the purpose behind why things are done the way they are.
Parker explores this through eight core chapters, each offering principles for meaningful connection: 1) Decide Why You're Really Gathering, 2) Close Doors, 3) Don't Be a Chill Host, 4) Create a Temporary Alternative World, 5) Never Start a Funeral with Logistics, 6) Keep Your Best Self Out of My Gathering, 7) Cause Good Controversy, and 8) Accept That There Is an End, all emphasizing intentionality over mere socializing.
This feels especially relevant for organizations like WEN, where it would be easy to fall into routines and formulas simply because events have always been done a certain way and, in doing so, lose sight of the purpose behind our gatherings.
The Women’s Energy Network (WEN) is a global organization of professionals who work in the energy sector. WEN’s vision is to be the premier global organization that educates, attracts, retains, and develops professionals working across the energy value chain. Our mission is to provide networking and educational opportunities that foster the career and leadership development of women working in energy.
So let this be your challenge to join me in reading, or listening to, this transformational book and applying its ideas to the year ahead. Together, let’s approach this year with intention and purpose while keeping the joy and having fun!
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Angelica Benner
Director at Large, WEN Greater Pittsburgh
Land Administrator, Appalachian Mineral Partners.
Learn more about The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters the book, free resources, and Priya herself at: https://www.priyaparker.com/book-art-of-gathering
