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On Saturday, September 17^th, Donna James will be the Keynote Speaker at the Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) Pathways to Leadership Conference.  Appearing in her role as the Chair of the National Women’s Business Council, Donna will be speaking about the objectives of the NWBC in identifying policies via research that will assist in the advancement of women entrerpeneurs and women owned small businesses

Ms. James spent 30 years of her career here in Central Ohio with Nationwide and others. She serves on the board of directors for Coca-Cola Enterprises, CNO Financial Group, Limitedbrands, and Time Warner Cable.  With her expertise in management and leadership experience, she is a trusted resource and advisor for business leaders in the public and private sector, ranging from entrepreneurs to C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies.  However, it was her recent appointment by President Barack Obama as Chair of the National Women’s Business Council that brings her to Central Ohio for WELD’s Leadership Conference to speak with women leaders and especially women business owners.  Following her Keynote Address, Donna will lead an interactive breakout session of a select group of Women Business Owners (WBO’s), in which she will provide an overview of her strategic vision and near-term priorities in her role as the chairwoman of the National Women’s Business Council.  The program format will be a highly interactive session with a diverse group of central Ohio women business owners.  Donna wants to know – what are the obstacles for being a female business owner or entrepreneur in 2011 and  how can the public sector help women surmount them?  What are the obstacles for starting, growing and selling your business?

 

Participants in this exciting interactive session will be chosen from registrants for the Pathways to Leadership Conference who indicate an interest in the session.  The goal is to choose approximately 50 diverse women business owners with companies of various sizes and in various industries.  Registration for the conference will open in June.  Attendance will be limited.  WELD is excited to host this great opportunity for Central Ohio Women Business Owners to be on the cutting edge of forming public policy that directly affects their interests.

On Saturday, September 17th, 2011, Women for Economic Leadership Development (WELD) is holding its inaugural Leadership Conference, "Pathways to Leadership," featuring Donna James, Chair of the National Women's Business Council, as its keynote speaker.  I interviewed Jennifer Battle, Committee Chair of this Event, to learn more about what WELD members can expect from this conference.
 
Jennifer, why are you excited about leading WELD's inaugural leadership conference?
This is a unique opportunity to help WELD bring the first ever leadership conference of its kind, dedicated specifically to the advancement of women in positions of leadership, to the Central Ohio community.  With the amazing work WELD has been doing all year to highlight the importance of this issue, from bringing Irene Natividad to speak at the Keynote event to collaborating with the Central Ohio Leadership Census to bring some research and data to help shape the dialogue around this issue, our Leadership Conference is poised to bring women from all types of leadership positions together to discuss concrete, meaningful solutions to the "shortage" of women in leadership in our community.  I'm just incredibly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to be part of that.
 
Who should attend this conference and what can they expect?
Anyone and everyone -- men and women -- who cares about the advancement of women in professional and public service should attend.  We're planning a wide range of programming at the Conference to address the diverse ways women can develop and apply leadership skills.  Our attendees can expect to come away with a strong sense not only of the urgent need to apply thought and creativity to increasing the number of women in leadership positions, but also -- we hope -- some very practical skills to help achieve that goal, whether in public service or the private sector, and regardless of whether they are students or CEOs.  
 
Tell me about the title "Pathways to Leadership".  How is this conference going to help women find those pathways in their career?
We're specifically designing a program that will bring women together on some core common issues, but will otherwise allow each attendee to pursue a course of programming that is best suited to his or her experience and needs.  For example, a programming track specifically dedicated to the skills needed for corporate board service is in the works, as well as a track designed especially for women business owners. Other programming will address leadership skills and opportunities in the public sector, through non-profit board service, and more.  Our hope is that each attendee will find a "pathway" through the conference that is tailored to where he or she sits -- or aspires to sit -- in our community, be that in the public sector, a private corporation, a woman-owned business, a professional partnership, a student, or something else. The goal is to provide practical skills and increase awareness of the many opportunities available to women, if we can find the way to seize them, to become leaders in new ways.
 
Over the next 5 months, we are going to be talking about different aspects of the conference in this blog including more about Donna James' participation, the Corporate Boards session, and other breakouts.  When will all of the conference plans be finalized and when should WELD members and non-members expect to register for this conference?
Keep checking the WELD website, as we will be rolling out new Leadership Conference information on a regular basis, but we expect registrations to open in June.  Space will be limited, so stay tuned and register early!
 
Anything else?
I just want to thank WELD and its sponsors, members and supporters for helping to bring this exciting Conference to life, and look forward to seeing all of you there on September 17th.
 
Thank you, Jennifer, for your time and we look forward to blogging more about the exciting conference details as the summer progresses.
**Guest post written by Vicki Frost, WELD marketing committee.  If you have a business blog or are interested in being a guest blogger on our WELD blog, contact Vicki Frost at frostvicki@gmail.com.

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