She Owns It She Biz Conference, in partnership with UIC CHANCE Program, returns to empower Black Women for a second year in Chicago. The conference, sponsored by Wintrust Bank, will be held during Women’s History Month on Friday, March 24, 2023, at the UIC Forum,1213 S. Halsted. It is created and produced by Black women, specifically for Black women, with the support of Black men, making it a comfortable outlet to discuss issues important to them and their community. Anyone who supports or has a genuine interest in working towards inclusion and equity as they celebrate the Black woman is welcome to participate.
Christi Love, Founder of With an Eye PR and Conference Co-Producer with Kiela Wilson of The Lea Pearl Group Inc., saw the need for clients and friends who work with purpose to build businesses and careers to inspire the next generation of Black women in leadership. The first year of the conference focused on business owners and those who had a goal to start a business. However, the vision has expanded to include women looking to grow their careers in corporate spaces and community leaders working to make a difference in the world.
Christi Love says she was inspired to create this conference as a celebration of black women. “We had our first conference in 2021 on national entrepreneurs’ day because I wanted to celebrate my clients that were female entrepreneurs that made it through the pandemic because we were tired. It was a beautiful day of networking and learning and fellowshipping. After the event, other women asked me when we were going to do it again. So, my team and I got together and said let's do it again and then from there, our conference committee was birthed”.
In commemoration of National Entrepreneurs Day (November 15, 2022), a Black Woman Magic Round Table was held to discuss Black Women in Society and the goals for this year’s conference. The full-day event will be an exchange of ideas, sharing opportunities, and socializing as we grow an authentic business sisterhood. The day will feature panel discussions, workshops, networking, entertainment, the chance to speak with experts one-on-one, and an expo component highlighting business resources and brands selling their products and services. The She Owns It She Biz Conference is growing to be an impactful event reaching beyond the walls of discussion.
This year’s conference features 6-panel discussions with industry experts and leaders. The topics discussed this year are “She’s the Executive”, “She Takes Care”, “She’s the Business”, “She Creates”, “She Reports the Culture” and “She Uses her Voice”. In addition to the panel discussions, the conference will also feature workshops covering a variety of topics including, self-care, public speaking, healing, meditation, goal setting, and more.
Motivational speaker, actor, author and life coach, Simeon Henderson says he’s honored to participate in a conference that celebrates the strength, intelligence and resilience of black women. “I was really close to the black women in my family and that showed me the importance of the woman, how to respect the woman and protect the one that protected me. So, everything that I've ever done in life, from a successful standpoint, was rooted in everything my mother taught me. I am going to show these women just how strong black men can be, and how much we appreciate them. To be able to stand up, and not only encourage my sisters but let them know how much they mean to us is everything to me.”
The keynote speaker for this year is Dr. Gena Jones, founder of Business Boss LLC, a successful attorney, CPA, certified tax resolution specialist, and author of “Legacy Made Simple.”
This year the conference also honors trailblazers, Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Chicago Crusader publisher, Dorothy R. Leavell, N’Digo publisher, Hermene Hartman, Community Advocate, Miracle Boyd, Dr. Carol Adams, and Jeanette Foreman.
Honoree, Jeanette Foreman says receiving this recognition is special. “It’s a crowning honor. I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 40 years. When I began my career working in my purpose as an attorney, it was about taking care of Black people through my law practice. We have a power that still simmers in our community, no matter how is this expressed, but we are the centerpiece of our communities, the matriarchs.”
Fellow honoree, Carol Adams agreed saying, "Women bring value to businesses. It is important for us to be able to go to places like this to see what kind of businesses there are, what kind of opportunities there are for us to work with those businesses, and how certain businesses should be run ethically so that it keeps the pipeline open for the rest of us. So, I think that the beauty of this conference is that it opens the minds of people who want to move into entrepreneurship to come network and learn.”
Tickets for the She Owns It/She Biz conference are available on EventBrite.com. https://sheownsitshebiz2023.eventbrite.com. Attendees can participate in person or virtually. Chicago News Weekly and rollingout.com are the conference media sponsors.
Danielle Sanders is a multimedia professional with over 20 years of experience as a writer, journalist, and editor. Danielle frequently covers politics, local news, and entertainment.