Women in Business Speakers
According to the latest U.S. Census data, women comprised 43.1% of all people working in “management, business and financial operations occupations” in 2011. Like all people, women from varied backgrounds and skill sets can add tremendous value to any finance-related company. Despite the rise in numbers, however, women in business still lack the resources and mentorship to develop and maintain their success in the industry. Fortunately, numerous GBS concentrate on women in business and are available for any school or organization-related speaking engagement. Browse through the list below to learn more about our speakers.
Dr. Raye Mitchell
Entertainment attorney, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author and social entrepreneur founder of I C HOPE
Dr. Raye Mitchell is an entertainment attorney, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, author and social entrepreneur founder of I C HOPE: The Making a New Reality Foundation. Dr. Mitchell is the Executive Producer of G.U.R.L.S. Rock Power TV (www.youtube.com/newhopenewreality), an Internet based TV program providing inspiration, training and leadership content for women and girls of color and G.U.R.L.S. Rock Global Leadership Summits (www.gurlsrock...
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Judy Smith
Real life inspiration behind ABC's hit show Scandal.
Judy A. SmithJudy A. Smith is the founder and President of Smith & Co, a leading strategic and crisis communications firm with offices in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Over the last 25 years, Ms. Smith has brought her unique combination of communication skills, media savvy, legal and political acumen to clients facing a wide array of issues and challenges throughout the United States and abroad. Ms. Smith honed her skills through her experien...
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Angela and Vanessa Simmons are the stars of 2 Hit MTV hit reality shows: Run’s House, executive produced by P. Diddy and their uncle, hip hop impresario Russell Simmons, the Founder of Def Jam Records, going strong for 6 years in which America gets an insider’s look at the lives of the first family of hip-hop, as well as their own MTV Reality Show Daddy’s Girls chronicling their jet-setting bicoastal lives as they navigate Hollywood and step out ...
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Marilyn Johnson
Global Ambassador and Retired IBM Executive
Marilyn JohnsonMarilyn Johnson was the IBM Vice President, Market Development based in Armonk, New York. In this capacity, she led an organization responsible for developing IBM’s strategy for (and marketing to) businesses owned or operated by Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Women in the Americas. In 2005 she expanded her mission to include women-owned and women-led businesses in selected markets around the globe; expanding IBM ma...
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A'Lelia Bundles
Author/Journalist/Nonprofit board chair/Madam Walker descendant. Blends current events, entrepreneurship & history into entertaining, informative mix.
A'Lelia BundlesAuthor and journalist A’Lelia Bundles currently is at work on her third book, Joy Goddess of Harlem: The Life and Times of A’Lelia Walker, a biography of her great-grandmother, to be published by Simon and Schuster. She also serves as president and chair of the Foundation for the National Archives, the private partner which provides funds and support for the exhibitions, programs and educational materials of the National Archives. ...
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Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP Diversity and Inclusion is a full-time focus, not just one topic among many for Lenora Billings-Harris. Lenora Billings-Harris’s ability to transform multifaceted diversity and inclusion concepts into immediately applicable "how to's" have enabled her to help organizations intentionally create and sustain inclusive work cultures that challenge each individual to accelerate their efforts toward achie...
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Lauren Maillian Bias
CEO, Luxury Market Branding
Lauren Maillian BiasLauren Maillian Bias is the Founder and CEO of Luxury Market Branding™, a strategic marketing company.A serial entrepreneur, at age 19, Lauren founded a boutique winery that quickly became an internationally recognized award-winning wine brand, making her the youngest self-made winery owner in the country. She served as the Chief Operating Officer of the company from inception through the brand’s acquisition in 2011.Lauren is ...
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Dr. Avis Jones DeWeever
Executive Director of The National Council for Negro Women
Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeeverAn authoritative voice on race, gender, politics, and the production of positive social change, Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever is widely regarded as one of the most engaging and informative political and social commentators in the US. Currently serving as the Executive Director of the National Council of Negro Women, the nation’s oldest organization devoted to the advancement of both civil rights and women’s rights, her work catal...
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Lisa Nicole Bell
Renaissance Woman 2.0 sharing secrets to personal branding, leadership, and business success
Lisa Nicole Bell is the personification of what happens when art and commerce collide. A passionate communicator, creative businesswoman, and relentless solution finder, Lisa is a unique hybrid of social change agent, on air personality and behind-the-scenes powerhouse. As an award winning filmmaker, media personality, international speaker, and media entrepreneur, Lisa sits at the helm of a burgeoning empire that includes business and media pro...
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Dr. Laquita Blockson
Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship Expert
Dr. Laquita C. Blockson, also known as the “Business Renaissance Guru,” is a business/organizational ethics expert as well as an entrepreneurship and urban economic development scholar. She has extensive experience providing lectures for, facilitating workshops for, and providing guidance to small businesses, community development corporations, executive education programs, affiliates of national nonprofit organizations, and aspiring minority an...
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Valerie Coleman Morris
Valerie Coleman Morris is your guide to a deep and emotionally intellectual understanding of individual financial responsibility from cradle to grave.
Valerie Coleman MorrisValerie Coleman Morris, a former CNN domestic and international correspondent/anchor is considered a northern California Bay Area native when it comes to television news. She began her career in the early 70s in San Francisco at KRON-TV as a reporter and then KGO-TV as a long time anchor.Valerie was an Air Force kid who lived in England, France, Scotland and Japan by the time she was a junior in high school. She’s a graduate...
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Ruth Brinkley
Frequent speaker on healthcare and broader leadership issues
Ruth W. BrinkleyRuth W. Brinkley is President and Chief Executive Officer of Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Arizona and West Ministry Market Leader for Ascension Health. She provides strategic and operation leadership for Carondelet while promoting alignment among Health Ministries within the Western Region and the System Office on issues related to Mission and Vision. Ms. Brinkley shares accountability for strategic positioning and operati...
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Debra LangfordDebra Langford is the CEO of The Langford Company, a business that provides brand activation to the multicultural audience, Diversity & Inclusion strategies and the development of top tier diverse candidate pipelines through exclusive events. A media and entertainment industry veteran, Langford was most recently the Vice President, Inclusion and Business Diversity, NBCUniversal, joining in 2009, and was responsible for creating, set...
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Gwen Webber-McLeod
You Can't Fail Because Your History Says You Can't
Gwen Webber-McLeodPresident and CEO of Gwen, Inc.Gwendolyn (Gwen) Webber-McLeod, MSM, has over 30 years experience in leadership development, facilitation, strategic planning and the development of effective coalitions/collaborations. In addition, Gwen is a frequently sought after lecturer and conference keynote speaker on the topic of leadership. Her clients are CEOs, executive and mid-level managers, and leadership teams in public, private, hea...
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Kaneisha Grayson
Founder of The Art of Applying and CEO of Crazy Girl Nation
Kaneisha Grayson is an entrepreneur, writer, and speaker who provides practical tips for achieving one’s dreams despite the odds. She founded her business “The Art of Applying” to coach non-traditional applicants as they apply to top MBA and other graduate programs. She uses the power of effective storytelling to propel people to achieve their most audacious goals and dreams. Kaneisha Grayson has been featured on MBAPodcaster as well as Vault.com...
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Jamilah Lemieux
News & Lifestyle Editor at Ebony.com
Jamilah Lemieux is the News & Lifestyle Editor for EBONY.com, a title that cleverly covers many hats. A Chicago native and graduate of Howard University, Jamilah describes herself as “a Hip-Hop Denise Huxtable, who dreams of growing up to be Claire.” In 2005, she created a blog, The Beautiful Struggler, where for more than six years, she galvanized a broad national audience with her meditations on race, relationships and her own less-than-ordin...
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Erica Nicole
Founder & CEO of YFS Magazine
Erica Nicole is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, acclaimed small business expert, dynamic speaker, syndicated columnist, philanthropist and Christian thought leader. As a renowned serial entrepreneur, Erica leads a diverse business portfolio across digital media, national speaking, global business development, and electronic equipment industries. Erica is best known by the entrepreneurial community as the Founder and CEO of YFS Magazine: ...
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Kimberly E. Stone
Model, Designer, and Mastermind behind POSHGLAM
Kimberly E. Stone Kimberly E. Stone, founder of POSHGLAM.com, is an entrepreneur with a knack for recognizing creative talent and pinpointing successful lines. POSHGLAM started out as a side venture while Stone attended school. During the growth stages of POSHGLAM, Stone worked as a weekend entrepreneur while working as a Relationship Manager for an IT Staffing Augmentation Firm. Stone pushed forward with the development of POSHGLAM and ...
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Dr. R. Kay Green
Award-winning Marketing, Management, and Distance Learning Expert
Dr. R. Kay Green is theCEO/President of RKG Marketing Solutions LLC. and author of “I’ve been called the B* Word…Now what do I do? 13 Rules for the “New-Age” Professional Women. For over 13 years, Dr. R. Kay Green, has devoted her existence to developing a greater understanding of the Marketing and Business disciplines. Dr. Kay is currently featured on Great Women Speakers, Great African-American Speakers, Marketing Experts, Black Experts, Gur...
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Charlotte Purvis
Professional speaker, communication coach, and customer service consultant who has successfully partnered with hundreds of clients in corporations, universities, and community organizations
INTRODUCING CHARLOTTE PURVISCharlotte Purvis has had a life-long interest in how people communicate with each other. She has been fortunate to be able to use her academic training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.S., M.S.) and her passion for communication to build her business, Purvis Communications Inc. CLIENT RELATIONS The Purvis Communications Inc. client list includes major corporations, small businesses, universities, community...
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Maisha Walker
Helping marketing executives and entrepreneurs understand how to leverage the Internet to build a brand and drive traffic and revenue.
Maisha is the president of message medium, a New York City Internet Strategy firm that uses Web site design, Internet marketing, and educational and strategic consulting to help small businesses create the greatest impact, the highest ROI, the biggest digital footprint and the most dynamic brand online. Maisha's firm has provided strategic, design, marketing and technical guidance for initiatives in every space of industry - editorial, political ...
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DaRhonda Williams
Professional Certified Life Coach for 12 years, Life Strategist, Branding Expert, Author, Motivational and Inspirational Speaker
ReNEW Life StrategistDaRhonda Williams has become the personal life coach for people around the world to help them cultivate the great intention for their lives. With her unique insight, she helps individuals discover new perspective by developing strategies for lasting transformation and exponential growth.Through her nonprofit, Where New Life Begins, DaRhonda has goals to offer the opportunity for men and women across the United States to inves...
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Selena Cuffe
Harvard MBA and Celebrated Expert on Global/Social Entrepreneurship, Wine, and African trade
Selena Cuffe is the President and CEO of Heritage Link Brands, LLC, the largest company in North America dedicated to importing and marketing wine produced by indigenous Africans. With wines that have been featured by media outlets including TIME and PBS, the company’s South African portfolio has won industry accolades from the International Wine Challenge, Decanter Magazine, and Wine Spectator, among others. Customers include household names lik...
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Karen King
Award Winning Producer and TV Network Executive
Karen KingKaren King is a member of Canada's Who's Who, as the first black woman in Canada to produce a dramatic feature film, and one of the elite group of international producers with a world premiere in the Official Cannes Film Festival. Karen is the first and so far only person to win the Academy's Canada Award twice. That award is presented to the television program that best exemplifies the multi-cultural nature of the country on and off ca...
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Lillian Lincoln Lambert
Uses her experiences to show others how to transform challenging circumstances into stepping stones to achievements.
Lillian Lincoln LambertWhen Lillian arrived at the Harvard Business School, (actually she arrived at Radcliffe College graduate dormitory because women were not allowed to live in the accommodations at the Business School), her first thought was “Why am I here!”. Background Born on a farm in the segregated South, at the age of 18 and fresh out of high school, she journeyed to New York City and Washington, DC to seek my fortune. After four years...
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Daria Burke
Daria Burke, Founder & CEO of Black MBA Women, is an Independent Strategic Marketing Consultant in New York City, helping luxury, beauty and entertainment clients with a range of marketing initiatives including Brand Strategy, Marketing Communication, etc
Daria BurkeDaria Burke is the Founder and CEO of Black MBA Women, the first media platform that delivers content, career development and community for black women from top-tier business schools. She is also an independent strategic marketing consultant in New York City, helping luxury, beauty and entertainment clients with a range of marketing initiatives including brand strategy, marketing communication, launch planning and digital marketing. M...
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TJ Haygood
Military Spouse & Award Winning Business Leader Inspires Professional Women & Others for Greater Success
TJ HaygoodMrs. TJ Haygood, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Confidential Search Solutions (CSS). TJ and her team represent some of the most prestigious companies in San Antonio, Texas and across the country. Their unique “triangular business perspective,” brings significant value to their clients.Professionally, TJ gained significant corporate, business, and government industry experience in the areas of accounting, business ownershi...
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Charell Star
Unconventional Entrepreneur | Driven PR & Events Planning Professional | Dynamic Motivational Speaker
Charell Star In 2012, Charell Star launched PA For A Day, a revolutionary service that provides affordable and quality personal assistants (PAs) and candidate searches to busy companies and over-committed professionals. Now available in three markets (New York City, Jersey City/Hoboken, NJ and Washington, DC), the ever-expanding service is redefining how people use on-demand help in their personal and professional lives. A public relations, eve...
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Quinn Conyers
Entrepreneur, Speaker & Media Mogul!
After being rejected by QVC, MTV’s “Mogul in the Making” and Oprah’s original Reality Show “The Big Give”, you would think Quinn Conyers would abandon her entrepreneurial dreams and quest to add style, sophistication and personality to television and social media. Born to teenage parents, both under the age of 17, Quinn decided early in life she wanted more than what her hometown could offer her. Originally from Lancaster PA, a small town known m...
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