Community Corner
Elkridge Nonprofit to Pack Conference with Power Women
The director of Howard County's Economic Development Authority, plus a leader in cyber warfare, are featured speakers at the first annual Women's Empowerment Conference.
On Friday, more than 100 women will trade the regular 9-to-5 for a day of empowerment.
As of Thursday, organizers of the said that 120 women had registered for the first-of-its-kind event in Howard County.
“Most [attendees] are from Howard but we do have a good number from Anne Arundel, particularly from the Fort Meade area,” said organizer Heather Comstock, executive director of Pinnacle Empowerment Center, a nonprofit career services center in Elkridge that founded the event.
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The workshop is designed to remove stumbling blocks that women encounter on their way to success.
Pinnacle Empowerment Center is hosting the conference in conjunction with financial wellness firm makingCHANGE in Columbia.
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“The primary motivator was to bring career and finance together because the two are inextricably linked,” said Comstock.
The issues of career and finance aren’t particular to any particular group, she added: “The women coming [to] this conference are young, older, military spouses, divorcees, single women...”
The day's agenda includes coaching sessions and speakers to help attendees move forward.
"The experience, in essence, is designed to help women stop living their lives 'backwards,' and encourage them to turn around and seize the great opportunities that lie ahead," said an entry on the conference's blog.
On the Women's Empowerment Conference agenda:
- Nine workshop sessions, led by women who've appeared on CNN, PBS and other major networks; topics range from volunteering to getting out of debt
- Lunch with keynote speaker Col. Karen Gibson, a leader in cyber warfare
- Closing remarks from Laura Neuman, director of Howard County’s Economic Development Authority
“We hope that the women who attend will come away inspired and with some concrete information and plans for increasing their earning potential and building financial assets,” said Comstock.
The will be held at the from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.
Elkridge Patch will be there live blogging, using the hashtag #empowermentevnt.
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