ANAHEIM—The Institute for Women Entrepreneurs (IWE) presented the second annual Leaders of Distinction Awards on June 18 at the Sheraton Hotel. The awards were established in 2008 to celebrate the unwavering commitment of women whose vision and leadership advance the growth and fulfilment of women, the communities they serve, and the small businesses they impact every day. The recognition took place as part of its Women’s Summit 2009, "The Power Within" with a keynote presentation by Susan Solovic.
Event organizers strive to make it the largest cross-cultural statewide gathering of women in Southern California. The summit is a culmination of IWE’s work with more than 6,200 business owners and its collaboration with their partner organizations. As a new partner, members of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County were in attendance and participated in the event for the very first time. FACCOC has recently collaborated with IWE and agreed to support each other’s events.
The Leaders of Distinction honorees include: Lidia S. Martinez - Corporate Community Affairs Manager of Southwest Airlines, Jan Norman - Award-winning Reporter, Columnist and Author from The Orange County Register, Susan Solovic - CEO and Chairman of SBTV, Michelle Steel - Board Member of California State Board of Equalization, Third District. The Entrepreneurs of Distinction honorees include: Teresa Christopher – President of TC’s Warriors in Motion, Nina Craft, Ph.D., M.B.A., CEO of VisionFocus, Carla and Andrea Sancho - Chief Executive Officers of WeddingCollectibles.com and Haydee Vandendriessche - Founder and Owner of Haydee’s Skin and Body Care.
The IWE, an economic development program of the Rancho Santiago Community College District Foundation, holds the distinction of being the first and only women’s business center in Orange County funded in part through a grant from the US Small Business Administration (SBA). The mission of IWE is to empower women entrepreneurs in all stages of business development through technical assistance, business counseling, mentoring, access to resources and networking. IWE broadens the reach of business training and consulting to help women start, grow and expand their small businesses. The IWE supports local businesses through one-on-one business consulting services, key business workshops geared to the needs of women entrepreneurs and network-building opportunities. While welcoming men to its programs, the IWE caters to the needs of women entrepreneurs.
This summit was made possible through the generous support of sponsors including: Aetna, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce/Latina Development Council, Center of Excellence, Chevron, Citibank, Comerica Bank, Orange County One-Stop Center, Orange County Workforce Investment Board, Todos, and VisualRS Designs. (April Tiamzon)
( Published on June 26, 2009 in Asian Journal Orange County p. 1 )
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