FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2021
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MEDIA CONTACT: Scott Pedowitz
Government Affairs Director
(703) 525-2400 ext. 203
Event photos available here. High resolution images available upon request. |
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Arlington Chamber's AWE Women in Business Summit
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ARLINGTON, Va. - The Arlington Chamber of Commerce hosted the AWE Women in Business Summit today. A diverse group of more than 100 participants joined the half-day, virtual professional development and networking event designed to help female entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals support one another in growing their businesses or enhancing their careers. Previously hosted by Awesome Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), today's was the first summit since AWE became part of the Chamber and the Chamber began introducing female-focused programming this past fall.
"Arlington is the third best location in the United States for successful women according to SmartAsset, and Greater Washington has the 10th highest percentage of female business owners of all large U.S. metropolitan areas, according to Citybizlist," said Kate Bates, President & CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. "We're proud to provide an environment at this summit and through all of our women in business programming where women can learn from, support, and inspire each other."
Sharmi Albrectsen, CEO and co-founder of SmartGurlz, led off the summit with a keynote in which she discussed how she started SmartGurlz in 2015 to create toys that would engage girls, like her daughter, in learning how to code. Building on her early success, including a successful pitch on SharkTank in 2017, SmartGirls is expanding through partnerships with schools, products targeted to both girls and boys, and a virtual STEM camp added during the COVID-19 pandemic. Albrechtsen offered advice on securing funding, as only 2% of venture capital funds go to woman-led businesses. "It's important as a female entrepreneur that you toot your own horn," said Albrechtsen. She also advised on the criticality of building a network, saying, "You can't do it all alone; it's important to have partners."
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Sharmi Albrechtsen, CEO & Co-Founder, SmartGurlz |
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"At the AWE Summit one year ago, we were thrilled to announce that AWE was becoming part of the Arlington Chamber," said AWE co-founder Karen Bate, founder of KB Concepts P.R. "The Chamber team has done an amazing job supporting all the awesome women in business in our community with fantastic programs and events throughout this incredibly challenging year, and we could not be happier to celebrate this anniversary with such a successful 2021 AWE Summit." |
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Kate Bates, President & CEO, Arlington Chamber of Commerce; Evelyn Powers, Founder, Design Powers; Karen Bate, Founder, KB Concepts P.R. (top-bottom) |
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The sessions included fireside chats on leading an inclusive organization by identifying and addressing unconscious bias, and demonstrating authentic leadership in changing times. Panels of female leaders shared best practices for juggling parenting and career, self-care for business leaders, and the basics of starting and running a business. Summit participants also attended expert presentations on self-confidence and self-awareness, building brands of conviction, developing mission-driven businesses, and marketing your mission.
"We women as a collective are the ‘secret sauce' to our own empowerment in business; we must look out for each other and continue to help each other build community," said AWE co-founder Evelyn Powers, founder of Design Powers. "The AWE Women in Business Summit is awe-inspiring and the Chamber, who has faced the challenges of this past year with perseverance, advocacy, and collaboration is a wonderful, worthy organization."
A full agenda detailing the sessions and the presenters' biographies is available here.
The AWE Women in Business Summit is made possible thanks to our sponsors, including our Grand Sponsor:
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ABOUT THE CHAMBER
Founded in 1924, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit membership organization of more than 700 businesses committed to strengthening businesses and the economic environment for those who work, live, and do business in Arlington. The Chamber supports our members through networking, advocacy, professional development, and community engagement. For more information or to become a member, visit www.arlingtonchamber.org.
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