Women in Business (WIB) is hosting its third annual Powerful Women Paving the Way Conference on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20, 2012. This conference will be a professional development opportunity, focused on our four pillars: Leadership, Professional Development, Networking, and Community Service. It will consist of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and workshops, which will provide attendees with the opportunity to gain insights and knowledge into the current issues surrounding leadership and the female business community. This event is an opportunity to bring together members of the Penn State community—students, faculty, and staff—with successful women and leaders in today's business world.
2012 Conference Committee
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To find out how you or your organization can get involved, please contact Jennifer Kelly, University Relations Director, at jmk5594@psu.edu.
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2012 Conference Keynote Speaker Bios
Russ Rose
From 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on April 19, 2012, the Powerful Women Paving the Way Conference will feature a kickoff dinner with keynote speaker Coach Russ Rose.
Monica Haslip
From 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. the Powerful Women Paving the Way conference will feature a breakfast with keynote speaker Monica Haslip.Monica Haslip is Founder and Executive Director of the Little Black Pearl Workshop, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. Monica's love affair with visual arts began while attending the Alabama School of Fine Arts. In pursuit of her passion, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she continued her studies at Atlanta College of Art. Monica’s exploration north to Chicago led her to Johnson Publishing Company where she worked in the photography department and from there her desire to expose people to the importance of positive images of African-Americans in our society landed her a position with Black Entertainment Television as Senior Marketing Manager for the Midwestern region.
However, Monica’s passion for art never ceased and her desire to highlight the importance of African-Americans in every aspect of life, especially in the arts, was very profound. Her mission resulted in the creation of Little Black Pearl Workshop. The organization, founded in 1994, is an innovative neighborhood arts program designed to expose children and youth to the vast contributions that African-Americans have made to the arts. The primary vision is to create an avenue for exposure to art and culture while teaching the profitable connection between art and business.
As Founder and Executive Director of Little Black Pearl, Monica has received recognition from a great number of individuals and organizations that include United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Essence Magazine (December 2002 & Special Collector’s Edition 2004/05), Black Enterprise Magazine (May 2008), Crain’s Business Magazine, African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. Monica has also received the prestigious recognition as one of the six 2004 Chicagoans of the Year by Chicago Magazine (January 2005 issue). Most recently, she was honored as one of 30 Community Hero’s by LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program, awarded the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 2009 “Woman of Power” award and the Xi Mu Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. 2009 “Women of the Year.” In addition to the phenomenal leadership that Monica provides to the staff of Little Black Pearl, she contributes her time to boards and committees representing various important causes such as Board of Directors for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where she serves as Chairman for the Missions and Programs Committee. In addition, Monica currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for HyPa (Hyde Park Alliance for Arts and Culture). Lastly, in honor of Black History Month 2011, Monica Haslip was recognized as one of “TheGrio’s 100: History Makers In The Making.”
Farnoosh Torabi
From 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. the Powerful Women Paving the Way Conference will feature a luncheon with keynote speaker Farnoosh Torabi. Opening remarks and the introduction will be provided by Katie Boscoe and Kate Beck of Kohl's.
Farnoosh Torabi is a personal finance expert, author and speaker. She is a frequent financial contributor to “The Today Show” and host of the most popular financial series on the web, "Financially Fit", which airs weekly on Yahoo!Finance. She's also the resident financial coach on a new web series entitled Remake America, where a team of experts help struggling families rebuild their lives in this critical election year. The show also airs on Yahoo!
Farnoosh was also the resident money guru on SOAPnet's Bank of Mom & Dad, where she helped young women pay down debt and regain their financial independence, as well as the resident financial expert on TLC's Real Simple. Real Life, where she taught busy moms and families to how to better manage their finances. Torabi's work and advice has been featured in Real Simple, Glamour, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. She is the author of two books: You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not, and Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset & Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life.
She is a 2002 finance and international studies graduate of the Smeal College of Business and a Schreyer Honors Scholar.
Ellen Gustafson
From 3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m., the Powerful Women Paving the Way Conference will feature the event's closing keynote speaker, Ellen Gustafson.
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For more information, go to our conference website at http://www.smeal.psu.edu/powerfulwomen