Log Off & Link Up at the Next Femme Circle
Founded and hosted by Nikki Vargas, Femme Circle is a conversation series inspired by New York’s historic Round Table and its “Vicious Circle,” where an informal group of influential creatives gathered regularly in the 1920s and 1930s. Each Femme Circle brings people together offline for a happy hour followed by a panel of professional and creative women discussing how their industries are evolving. An offshoot of the series, Femme Circle Icons, launched in July 2026 in partnership with Gloria Steinem and invites guests to an intimate gathering centered around one iconic woman.
The inaugural Femme Circle brought together women in media at the historic Algonquin Hotel’s Round Table, where editors and writers from major publications—including ELLE, AFAR, and New York Magazine—explored the changing media landscape and the importance of telling women’s stories. The second Femme Circle, held at Neuehouse, examined today’s literary landscape through the perspectives of a top literary agent, a bestselling YA novelist, a published essayist, a publishing industry veteran, and the founder of a Simon & Schuster imprint. The third Femme Circle, presented in partnership with The Pendry Manhattan West, convened women across the travel industry to discuss how travel—and the way we experience and tell stories about it—continues to evolve.
If you're interested in hosting an upcoming Femme Circle, please e-mail Nikki.
Founded and hosted by Nikki Vargas, Femme Circle is a conversation series inspired by New York’s historic Round Table and its “Vicious Circle,” where an informal group of influential creatives gathered regularly in the 1920s and 1930s. Each Femme Circle brings people together offline for a happy hour followed by a panel of professional and creative women discussing how their industries are evolving. An offshoot of the series, Femme Circle Icons, launched in July 2026 in partnership with Gloria Steinem and invites guests to an intimate gathering centered around one iconic woman.
The inaugural Femme Circle brought together women in media at the historic Algonquin Hotel’s Round Table, where editors and writers from major publications—including ELLE, AFAR, and New York Magazine—explored the changing media landscape and the importance of telling women’s stories. The second Femme Circle, held at Neuehouse, examined today’s literary landscape through the perspectives of a top literary agent, a bestselling YA novelist, a published essayist, a publishing industry veteran, and the founder of a Simon & Schuster imprint. The third Femme Circle, presented in partnership with The Pendry Manhattan West, convened women across the travel industry to discuss how travel—and the way we experience and tell stories about it—continues to evolve.
If you're interested in hosting an upcoming Femme Circle, please e-mail Nikki.
Follow @FemmeCircleNYC on Instagram for Femme Circle announcements.
Femme Circle Icons: Gloria Steinem
Summer 2026
In Collaboration with Gloria Steinem & Gloria's Foundation
In Collaboration with Gloria Steinem & Gloria's Foundation
Femme Circle Icons is an off-shoot of the Femme Circles concept, inviting women for a special evening centered around one iconic woman. To kick off the Femme Circle Icons events, I partnered with Gloria Steinem and the Gloria's Foundation to host a Talking Circle inside the beautiful home of Ms. Steinem.
For this Talking Circle-meets-Femme Circle event, I worked closely with Gloria’s Foundation to bring together a group of women connected by a shared interest in travel. Women like travel host Samantha Brown, whose Emmy-winning PBS show, Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, has been on-air for nine seasons; Emmy-winning storyteller and founder of the largest Black and Brown travel community, Nomadness, Evita Robinson; and co-owner of She Shapes Travel, Nikki Padilla, who pours her love of history into NYC walking tours that spotlight women’s stories.
What began with a question rooted in travel and the women we’ve met along the way led to more profound questions about the ethics of storytelling, who has the right to tell which story, and how we, as women, can better platform other women’s voices in today’s media landscape. Having lived in her brownstone since the 1960s, Gloria's history-soaked walls—lined with a lifetime of photos, achievements, and artwork— have borne witness to grassroots activism and world-shaping movements, and our Femme Circle Icons conversation became just one small part of that rich history.
Read About this Femme Circle Event in Fodor's Travel!
For this Talking Circle-meets-Femme Circle event, I worked closely with Gloria’s Foundation to bring together a group of women connected by a shared interest in travel. Women like travel host Samantha Brown, whose Emmy-winning PBS show, Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, has been on-air for nine seasons; Emmy-winning storyteller and founder of the largest Black and Brown travel community, Nomadness, Evita Robinson; and co-owner of She Shapes Travel, Nikki Padilla, who pours her love of history into NYC walking tours that spotlight women’s stories.
What began with a question rooted in travel and the women we’ve met along the way led to more profound questions about the ethics of storytelling, who has the right to tell which story, and how we, as women, can better platform other women’s voices in today’s media landscape. Having lived in her brownstone since the 1960s, Gloria's history-soaked walls—lined with a lifetime of photos, achievements, and artwork— have borne witness to grassroots activism and world-shaping movements, and our Femme Circle Icons conversation became just one small part of that rich history.
Read About this Femme Circle Event in Fodor's Travel!
Femme Circle: Women in Travel ✈️
Spring 2026
Hosted by Pendry Manhattan West
Hosted by Pendry Manhattan West
In partnership with Pendry Manhattan West, this Femme Circle invited attendees to an elegant evening at the Pendry Manhattan West property. The event kicked off with a complimentary happy hour taking place at the hotel's event space and outdoor terrace, followed by a panel discussion uniting women in the travel industry. From business experts to storytellers to editors, this panel offered a mini 360-degree view of a rapidly evolving industry through the lens of the women who are defining it. This Femme Circle event saw 93 RSVPs and 70+ confirmed attendees.
Meet the Panel
Senior Vice President of Communications, Montage International, Kacey Bruno.
Renowned Travel Expert and EMMY-Winning Television Host of ‘Places to Love,’ Samantha Brown.
Contributing Editor of Conde Nast Traveler, Author of the Assouline book ‘Mystic Mist: The Rituals of Huqqa’, and an Award-Winning Journalist, Sarah Khan.
Vice President, Finn Partners, a Travel, Tourism & Lifestyle Marketing and PR agency, Christina Gnozzo.
Writer, Creative Consultant, and Deputy Print Editor of Dossier Magazine, Sophie Yun Mancini.
Moderated by Senior Editor of Fodor's Travel, author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
Read About this Femme Circle Event in Fodor's Travel!
Meet the Panel
Senior Vice President of Communications, Montage International, Kacey Bruno.
Renowned Travel Expert and EMMY-Winning Television Host of ‘Places to Love,’ Samantha Brown.
Contributing Editor of Conde Nast Traveler, Author of the Assouline book ‘Mystic Mist: The Rituals of Huqqa’, and an Award-Winning Journalist, Sarah Khan.
Vice President, Finn Partners, a Travel, Tourism & Lifestyle Marketing and PR agency, Christina Gnozzo.
Writer, Creative Consultant, and Deputy Print Editor of Dossier Magazine, Sophie Yun Mancini.
Moderated by Senior Editor of Fodor's Travel, author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
Read About this Femme Circle Event in Fodor's Travel!
Femme Circle: Women in Book Publishing 📚
Summer 2025
Hosted by Neuehouse
Hosted by Neuehouse
The second Femme Circle focused on women in the literary space, bringing together a panel of bestselling authors, literary agents, and publishing veterans to offer unique perspectives on the evolving book publishing landscape. In partnership with Neuehouse, the Femme Circle had over 80 RSVPs and 60 confirmed attendees and kicked off with a happy hour with complimentary prosecco before inviting guests to sit on Neuehouse's beautiful "Spanish steps" for a live panel discussion about today's literary world.
Meet the Panel
USA Today bestselling YA novelist of The Rebel Girls of Rome, The Paper Girl of Paris, and The Revenge Game, Jordyn Taylor.
Literary Agent of the Paradigm Talent Agency, Katelyn Dougherty.
Author of A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out, Shenequa Golding.
Founder of Regalo Press and Former VP and Executive Editor of Grand Central Publishing, Gretchen Young.
Moderated by author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
Meet the Panel
USA Today bestselling YA novelist of The Rebel Girls of Rome, The Paper Girl of Paris, and The Revenge Game, Jordyn Taylor.
Literary Agent of the Paradigm Talent Agency, Katelyn Dougherty.
Author of A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out, Shenequa Golding.
Founder of Regalo Press and Former VP and Executive Editor of Grand Central Publishing, Gretchen Young.
Moderated by author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
Femme Circle: Women in Media ✏️
Spring 2025
Hosted by The Algonquin Hotel
Hosted by The Algonquin Hotel
For the first Femme Circle, a panel of writers and editors across the media industry gathered at the iconic Round Table inside the historic Algonquin Hotel. This first sold-out event focused on bringing together women in media for a candid discussion on the shifting media landscape, the importance of telling women's stories, how women are represented across media genres, and the stories behind each of the panelists' own impressive careers.
Meet the Panel
AFAR's Editorial Director, Billie Cohen.
Freelance Journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Full Time Travel, Esme Benjamin, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, New York Magazine, and more.
Author of This Might Be Too Personal (St. Martin's Griffin, 2022), New York Magazine contributor, and The Cut Columnist, Alyssa Shelasky.
ELLE's Staff Culture Writer, Lauren Puckett-Pope.
Moderated by Fodor's Travel Senior Editor, author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
Meet the Panel
AFAR's Editorial Director, Billie Cohen.
Freelance Journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Full Time Travel, Esme Benjamin, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, New York Magazine, and more.
Author of This Might Be Too Personal (St. Martin's Griffin, 2022), New York Magazine contributor, and The Cut Columnist, Alyssa Shelasky.
ELLE's Staff Culture Writer, Lauren Puckett-Pope.
Moderated by Fodor's Travel Senior Editor, author of Call You When I Land (HarperCollins, 2023) and Wanderess (Penguin Random House, 2022), Nikki Vargas.
