Bryant College plans to cap off March, which is Women’s History Month, with its second Women’s Summit.
The conference is designed to provide female students and business women from around the region with successful role models, as well as to help them explore the realities of being an entrepreneur. It is the second Women’s Summit held at the Smithfield business college. The first one was held in September 1997, but organizers and school officials decided to change the date to coincide with Women’s History Month, which is observed in March.
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One factor behind the school’s decision to hold such an event was declining numbers of women enrolling in business majors in the late 1980s, according to Kati Machtley, who is one of the summit organizers. Machtley, who is a nurse, is married to Ronald Machtley, president of the college. “We just wanted to provide an opportunity for people in this area to recognize there is still a market for women in business, and that there are many successful entrepreneurs in the community and this area,” she said.
This year’s summit is titled “Women at the Helm: Navigating Change Through Effective Leadership.” More than 425 people are expected to attend the March 30 event. In 1997 there were 470 registrants. Three keynote speakers scheduled along with a series of breakout sessions.
A session on trend-riding, which features an analyst from trend watcher Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve company, is expected to be among the conference’s highlights, according to Machtley.
Many of the session topics were developed with the assistance of Bryant faculty members. Teachers were asked to come up with sessions that could offer assistance to business owners, as well as help out people exploring career options.
A session entitled “Can the Internet Make You More Efficient?” will be run mostly by college staff members, including technical experts from the school’s telecommunications center.
Several other sessions will explore the good points of entering business, as well as the pitfalls. “Keeping the Fire Burning Staying Positive and Motivated in Your Work,” is designed to help participants identify the telltale signs of job burnout and offer strategies for combating on-the-job malaise.
Since there are also numerous family owned businesses in the state, Machtley said there are two sessions designed to address such issues. One session, designed by Bryant’s executive-in-residence Jack Keigwin, will deal with husbands and wives who are partners in business. The second such session explores issues faced by women working in a family owned business. Three women who run a business with their father will share their personal story.
Keynote speakers are: Orit Gadiesh, chairman of the global strategy consulting firm Bain & Co.; B.Smith, who owns restaurants in New York and Washington, D.C., and hosts a syndicated television show; and Judy George who founded Domain Home Fashions, which posted $48 million in sales last year.
The Women’s Summit is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30, from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be held on Bryant College’s campus. The conference fee is $5.
