Our Central Valley Women’s Economic Impact Center held its seventh annual Women of Color Business Symposium on Thursday, encouraging women entrepreneurs in our area to look inside out for their power and find strength in the process of growing their businesses.
This year’s event featured sessions from Ivy McGregor, Beyoncé’s director of social responsibility, Grammy–nominated rapper MC Lyte and Dr. Deborah Egerton. (Check out their sessions on our Facebook page here and here.)
We also held a pitch contest for local business owners, sponsored by Access Plus Capital, and the winners were:
- 1st Place: Monisha Edwards – Scent and Fire Candle Co.
- 2nd Place: Candice Hill Troutman – Tour Guide Café
- 3rd Place: Elizabeth Rae – DOS Fashions
- Macy’s $500 Raffle Shopping Spree Winner: Brianna Knight
Other speakers included:
- Koren Stewart
- Dr. Lori Bennett (Clovis Community College)
- Cynthia Pollard (Aera Energy)
- Catrina Blair (California High-Speed Rail Authority)
- Emilia Reyes (Fresno EOC)
- Vera Moore (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
- Teri McClanahan