Lyons Network Hosts Conference, Encourages Students' Creative Ideas
By: Marlena Hubley
Issue date: 4/14/06 Section: News
On Saturday, April 8, Mount Holyoke hosted the first New England Undergraduate Women's Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This conference focused on educating undergraduate women about opportunities for professional success and leadership in business entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and innovation. The event was hosted by the Lyons Network, an organization of Mount Holyoke alumnae and students that is affiliated with the Alumnae Association.
The conference featured several prominent speakers: Jory DesJardins, co-founder of BlogHer, an organization that creates opportunities for women bloggers to pursue exposure, education and community; Amy Jaffe Barzach, founder of the National Center for Boundless Playgrounds, the first national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary playgrounds for children with and without disabilities; and a Mount Holyoke graduate, Adrienne W. Skinner, vice president of eastern region sales at Centro and former strategic account director of Yahoo. Attendees found Barzach's story of turning her personal loss into a positive catalyst for change particularly inspiring.
The keynote speeches were followed by workshops and panels with speakers like Kathy Charlton, owner of Olympic Cellars and creator of Working Girl Wines, and Yeng Felipe, currently Co-CEO and Executive Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN-Worldwide, Inc). Smith student Noreen Shaikh '07 said of the speakers, "These women are inspirational. The conference has been very informative. I'll definitely be at the next one!"
Lynda M. Applegate, the Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, taught a workshop on "Getting Started: Ideas, Emerging Fields, Do's and Don'ts" that focused on raising capital, marketing and legal resources. She energized the audience by sharing practical business advice and walking animatedly up and down the aisles. She described common mistakes and analyzed what worked and what didn't, offering specific examples and resources from her venture capital experiences.
The conference featured several prominent speakers: Jory DesJardins, co-founder of BlogHer, an organization that creates opportunities for women bloggers to pursue exposure, education and community; Amy Jaffe Barzach, founder of the National Center for Boundless Playgrounds, the first national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary playgrounds for children with and without disabilities; and a Mount Holyoke graduate, Adrienne W. Skinner, vice president of eastern region sales at Centro and former strategic account director of Yahoo. Attendees found Barzach's story of turning her personal loss into a positive catalyst for change particularly inspiring.
The keynote speeches were followed by workshops and panels with speakers like Kathy Charlton, owner of Olympic Cellars and creator of Working Girl Wines, and Yeng Felipe, currently Co-CEO and Executive Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN-Worldwide, Inc). Smith student Noreen Shaikh '07 said of the speakers, "These women are inspirational. The conference has been very informative. I'll definitely be at the next one!"
Lynda M. Applegate, the Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, taught a workshop on "Getting Started: Ideas, Emerging Fields, Do's and Don'ts" that focused on raising capital, marketing and legal resources. She energized the audience by sharing practical business advice and walking animatedly up and down the aisles. She described common mistakes and analyzed what worked and what didn't, offering specific examples and resources from her venture capital experiences.