Women in Business Conference Aims to Inspire Students

The student group Women in Business (WIB) hosted its second annual conference in the Spring 2016 semester. Titled "Building Your Personal Brand," the conference leaders hoped to inspire fellow students as they prepared to launch their careers and to promote awareness of important issues that leaders face.

Panel discussions focused on the power of networking and entrepreneurship, with successful alums sharing their work experiences and providing career advice.

Led by Steven L. Savino, who holds the John C. Swartley Jr. '24 Professorship in the department of marketing at Lehigh, the networking panel featured Ellen Stone '87, executive vice president of marketing for Bravo and Oxygen Media; and David Highhill '06 '08G, director of club business development for the National Football League.

The session on "Starting from Scratch: An Entrepreneurship Panel" featured four entrepreneurs who are also Lehigh grads: Alita Friedman '87, CEO of Alita's Brand Bar; Susan Yee '82, CEO of Active Data; and Amy Mazius '13 and Randi Tutelman '12 '13G, co-founders of the jewelry brand Eleanor Kalle LLC. The panel was moderated by Lisa Getzler, co-executive director of the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation.

Kim Rogoff '94 was keynote speaker.

Kelly Mayid '17

The finance and management double major was president of WIB in the 2015-16 school year. She said she was drawn to the group for the professional development it offers. As the lone woman in some classes, Mayid said, "I never want to feel intimidated for being the minority in the room."

Kiran Singh '18

As the current WIB president, Singh loves how the annual conference allows for strong student and alumni interactions. The purpose of the organization, which welcomes men, "is to build a strong community of business students," she said. Singh is a finance and management double major.

Yasemin Gulerman '18

The economics major manages the social media for the organization. She became interested in the organization after talking about the glass ceiling for women in one of her courses. She is minoring in marketing and entrepreneurship.