2019 Events

Montclair State hosted two Women Entrepreneurship Week events in 2019.

“Finding Success as Food Entrepreneurs” event on Oct. 21, 2019

Opening a restaurant or launching a food-related venture sounds like an enticing proposition. But what does it take to succeed as a food entrepreneur? Our female founders told their startup stories, and shared tips for making it in the food industry. Panelists included: Risa Magid Boyer, chef/owner at Vanillamore; Caroline Mak, director of Hot Bread Kitchen Incubates and co-founder of Brooklyn Soda Works; Christine Miller-Allen, founder/head baker at Mo’Pweeze Bakery; Kris Ohleth, founder/owner at Garden State Kitchen; S.M. Rogers, founder and head chef at Sandi’s SoulBites. The moderator was Rebecca King, food and dining writer at NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Event featured five sampling tables with tastes from women entrepreneurs, including Belle John’s Soul Food, Kurly Kürtősh, LilyLyte Vegan Snack, Three Daughters Baking Co., and Undercover Chocolate Co.

“Women Entrepreneurship Week Conference” on Oct. 23, 2019

Conference featured short TED-style talks from successful women entrepreneurs from a variety of industries, including Darlene Gillard, director of community and founding team member of digitalundivided; Lisa Hirsh, president of Accurate Box; Karen Kessler, president of Evergreen Partners; Betty Manetta, president & CEO of Argent Associates; Siqi Mou, co-founder and CEO of HelloAva; Abby Taylor, co-founder of Playa Bowls; Melissa Walker, president and founder, Jazz House Kids.

A panel of tech entrepreneurs offered advice about succeeding in a male-dominated industry. Panelists included Jessica Gonzalez, founder and CEO of InCharged; Rachel Lyubovitzky, co-founder and CEO of EverythingBenefits; Jeanne Pinder, CEO and founder of ClearHealthCosts; and Kathleen Coviello, VP of Technology & Life Sciences Investments at New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The moderator was Joelle Tramel, Head of Cross Video Sales Solutions, YouTube & Video Solutions, Google.

During lunch, Google’s #IamRemarkable Workshop was led by Jen Shap, Google Agency Business Lead. #IamRemarkable is a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond.

We offered free child care to attendees. Child care was provided by Lightbridge Academy, a longtime supporter of Women Entrepreneurship Week.