2019 AGENDA

8:00-8:45 a.m. |  Registration, Continental Breakfast and Sponsor Showcase and Visitation

8:45-9:00 a.m. |  Welcome and Introductions

Emcee: Amy Castelli, President/Founder Castelli Media Group

Sponsor Thank Yous: Renée DeLuca Dolan, President/Founder, Contempo Design + Communications

9:00-10:00 a.m.  | Opportunity Zones and Investments for Female Entrepreneurs 

Panelists:  

• • Jane Campbell, Mayor of Cleveland 2001-5
  • Barb Smith, Senior Vice President, Director of Key4Women at KeyBank

10:00-11:00 a.m. |  Morning Keynote Speaker: A conversation with Nathalie Molina Niño. Join us for a lively talk as Nathalie shares her story and provides practical guidance, strategies on how to grow businesses and disrupting the status quo

• • Nathalie Molina Niño, Investor, Author, Serial Entrepreneur

11:00-11:45 a.m.  | BREAK OUT SESSION I: WBENC Certification: Looking for a way to promote your company to major corporations that are actively seeking to conduct business with a woman/women owned business(es)? Find out how during this session:

Facilitator: Sheila A. Mixon, Executive Director at Women’s Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley (WBEC ORV)

Panelists:

• • Gabrielle Christman, Founder & CEO of Hunter International Recruiting
  • Angela Morrow, President, LubriSource, Inc.
  • Joe McClain, Director, Supplier Diversity, Eaton Corporation
  • Janet Kendall White, Founder & CEO Berkshire Group, Inc.

11:00-11:45 a.m.  | BREAK OUT SESSION II: Top 10 Strategies to Improve Revenue and Profitability – an Interactive Workshop

Facilitator: Amy Castelli, President and Founder of Castelli Media Group

Panelists:

• • Dean Deborah Spake, Kent State University College of Business Administration
  • Tiffany Rankin, CPA, Shareholder, Maloney + Novotny 
  • Cyndie Schepis, Executive Vice President, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc.

11:00-11:45 p.m.  | BREAK OUT SESSION III: The Entrepreneurs Effective Transition!

Facilitator: Anne Richie, Venture Partner, JumpStart, Inc.

Panelists:  

• • Michael Ella, Key Private Bank Value Advisor
  • Dana G. Hastings, Luma Wealth Advisor 
  • Cheryl Strom, Principal, Origination, The Riverside Company

11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | Networking and Sponsor Showcase Visitation

12:15-1:15 p.m. | Lunch is served

Lunch Presenters: Hear from some of the best dessert makers in NEO

• • Shelley Pippin, Co-Owner, Brewnuts
  • Kelsey Smith, Founder & Owner, Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes
  • Loretta Paganini, Founder, Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, Inc

1:15-2:15 p.m.  |  Are you a necessity or opportunity entrepreneur? – Hear stories from five female entrepreneurs and we’ll let you (the audience) decide. Opportunity Entrepreneurs (those who start a business because they spot an opportunity in the market which they want to pursue) and Necessity Entrepreneurs (those who start a business as they do not have another means of generating income)

Panelists:

• • Denise A. Carkhuff, Partner, Jones Day, Founder, Adrenaline Monkey
  • Covesa K. Gragg, Entrepreneur/Event Planner/Speaker and Author
    Owner, Covesa Kelly Events
  • Constance Hill-Johnson MPA, Managing Director, Visiting Angels Senior Homecare
  • Valerie Mayen, Yellow Cake-Shop, Founder and Fashion Designer
  • Kate Volzer, Co-Founder and CEO of Wisr

2:15-3:15 p.m.  | Intentional Networking Session

Everyone Will Leave With A Lead

Facilitator: Patrice Blakemore, Executive Director Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses in Partnership with Cuyahoga Community College

3:15-3:30 p.m.  | Networking and Sponsor Showcase Visitation, Bar Opens and Cocktails Will Be Served

3:30-4:15 p.m. | Claire Coder, Aunt Flow, Founder  

4:15-4:30 p.m.  | Thank you’s, Raffle Prizes