Training Events

weVENTURE WBC is proud to partner with the ATHENA Leadership Institute for a ninth year! Today, the ATHENA Leadership Model® can help women transform their leadership skills and empower them to step up during these times of economic turmoil, and a worldwide movement for economic and racial justice, to be the leaders we need them to be. 

Based on the Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership™ identified by ATHENA International, this course is designed to help emerging female leaders grow in confidence and clarity of purpose. Each class session is a dedicated deep dive into one of the principles with engaging discussion and activities that cultivate women on their personal growth journey while inspiring them to connect and share with others. 

LIVE AUTHENTICALLY -  LEARN CONSTANTLY  - BUILD RELATIONSHIPS - FOSTER COLLABORATION -  ACT COURAGEOUSLY  - ADVOCATE FIERCELY  -  GIVE BACK - CELEBRATE

Now more than ever, businesses are looking for tangible ways to diversify their workforce and equip emerging leaders with the tools they need to rise into management roles.  Traditional leadership development is focused on teaching people management. However, we know management is very different than true leadership. Management-focused programs don’t teach individuals how to foster personal growth and development in themselves and others, or walk them through the process of self-discovery. ATHENA bridges this crucial gap.

Sponsoring an emerging leader from your business is a great way to invest in her career development and connect her to the weVENTURE WBC and ATHENA International network of women. This provides supplemental ongoing  enrichment opportunities during and after participants in the ATHENA Leadership Program learn core curriculum competencies. 

The ATHENA Leadership Program is designed to create stronger female leaders. Join a dynamic cohort of women from across all industries as we study the 8 principles of ATHENA leadership.  This program is an inspiring and uplifting series that will motivate you to connect, share and grow.

8-Month program, meets one time per month on the 4th Thursday of the month. Also includes registration fee for 2025 IMPACT Summit, date TBA.

2025 dates:  Jan. 23; Feb. 27; Mar. 27; Apr. 24; May 22; Jun. 26; Aug. 28; Sep. 25; Oct. TBD

All sessions are from 1:30pm-3:30pm. 

The Treasure Coast Cohort will alternate between meeting in St. Lucie and Martin Counties, to make the program accessible to women from both communities. We are finalizing locations, but the schedule will be the following:

January 23 - St. Lucie County - optional informational session for prospective participants

February 27th - Martin County - Session One:  Build Relationships

March 27th - St. Lucie County - Session Two:  Foster Collaboration

April 24th - Martin County - Session Three:  Act Courageously

May 22nd - St. Lucie County - Session Four:  Live Authentically

June 26th - VIRTUAL - Session Five:  Advocate Fiercely

August 28th - Martin County - Session Six:  Learn Constantly

September 25th - St. Lucie County - Session Seven:  Give Back

October - IMPACT Summit and/or class date TBD - Session Eight:  Celebrate

St. Lucie County location:  St. Lucie EDC Office, 1790 SW Gatlin Blvd, fl 202, Port St. Lucie, FL  34953

Martin County location:  Palm City Community Center, 2701 SW Cornell Ave, Palm City, FL  34990

Scholarship opportunities are available.  To apply, please email weventure@fit.edu.  If you are interested in sponsoring a woman through ATHENA, or sponsoring the program, email krudloff@fit.edu to discuss how your business can help bring this fantastic program to local women. 

Cost:  $1000.  An Early Registration discount of $100 is available up to one week before first session date.

QuickBooks for Small Businesses: Part 1

Learn the steps to start using QuickBooks for your small business and make it work for you. Managing your business finances and budget is key to your success. CPA Kathy Emerson will help you get everything you need in place in this informative, free, 2-part series!

weVENTURE WBC is proud to partner with the ATHENA Leadership Institute for a ninth year! Today, the ATHENA Leadership Model® can help women transform their leadership skills and empower them to step up during these times of economic turmoil, and a worldwide movement for economic and racial justice, to be the leaders we need them to be. 

Based on the Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership™ identified by ATHENA International, this course is designed to help emerging female leaders grow in confidence and clarity of purpose. Each class session is a dedicated deep dive into one of the principles with engaging discussion and activities that cultivate women on their personal growth journey while inspiring them to connect and share with others. 

LIVE AUTHENTICALLY -  LEARN CONSTANTLY  - BUILD RELATIONSHIPS - FOSTER COLLABORATION -  ACT COURAGEOUSLY  - ADVOCATE FIERCELY  -  GIVE BACK - CELEBRATE

Now more than ever, businesses are looking for tangible ways to diversify their workforce and equip emerging leaders with the tools they need to rise into management roles.  Traditional leadership development is focused on teaching people management. However, we know management is very different than true leadership. Management-focused programs don’t teach individuals how to foster personal growth and development in themselves and others, or walk them through the process of self-discovery. ATHENA bridges this crucial gap.

Sponsoring an emerging leader from your business is a great way to invest in her career development and connect her to the weVENTURE WBC and ATHENA International network of women. This provides supplemental ongoing  enrichment opportunities during and after participants in the ATHENA Leadership Program learn core curriculum competencies. 

The ATHENA Leadership Program is designed to create stronger female leaders. Join a dynamic cohort of women from across all industries as we study the 8 principles of ATHENA leadership.  This program is an inspiring and uplifting series that will motivate you to connect, share and grow.

8 Month program, meets one time per month on the 4th Thursday of the month. Also includes registration fee for 2025 IMPACT Summit, date TBA.

2025 dates: Apr. 24; May 22; Jun. 26; Jul. 24; Aug. 28; Sep. 25; Oct. 23 and Nov. 20.

All sessions are from 8:30am-10:30am at Florida Tech's Center for Aeronautics and Innovation, 1050 W. Nasa Blvd, Melbourne. Breakfast and networking available at 8:00am. 

Scholarship opportunities are available.  To apply, please email weventure@fit.edu.  If you are interested in sponsoring a woman through ATHENA, or sponsoring the program, email krudloff@fit.edu to discuss how your business can help bring this fantastic program to local women. 

Cost:  $1000  - Discount for $100 OFF available up to one month before first session date.

Join weVENTURE Women's Business Center for a Strong Coffee Strong Women purposeful networking event. Enjoy coffee and light breakfast with other ambitious women in our network. Let us fill your cup with coffee and inspiration!  

This event is FREE to attend and we're thrilled to host it at the new Dave & Buster’s in Port St. Lucie.  We appreciate them opening early to accomodate our group, but sorry ladies, no games will be operational. You'll just have to come back another time!

Agenda:

8:30-9:00 AM Networking and Coffee

9:00 AM Welcome Remarks

9:15-10:00 AM Panel Discussion on Women & Wealth: Managing Your Financial Assets

Wealth is not a dirty word! weVENTURE Women's Business Center wants to empower you to embrace your role as breadwinner and learn how to plan for your future by managing and leveraging your assets.  Four expert panelists will discuss how to add value and generate more revenue via your business, property, and financial assets. 

Did you know that more women than ever before are designated as the "head of household," meaning they are the primary breadwinner?  In 1990, only 32.5 percent households were headed by women. Over the next three decades, the share of households headed by women increased 17 percentage points, and by 2019, households headed by women accounted for half of all households. This trend holds across all racial and ethnic groups, with Black households having the highest share of households headed by women (60 percent). Further, as marriage rates have declined and divorce rates have increased, so has the number of single women who are household heads. From 1990 to 2019, the share of households headed by single women increased from 17.6 percent to 22.6 percent.

Ladies, you will not want to miss this discussion and opportunity to ask questions in a safe and supportive environment. We are here to support you, as you support your family! 

Meet The Panelists

• Diana Miret, The Business Profit Coach
• Nancy Ferraro, Owner of Ferraro Law, Estate Planning
• Katey Bourgeois, Florida Licensed Real Estate Broker and Owner of Bourgeois Real Estate Group
• Tracy Sorzano, J.D. LL.M., PNC Bank, SVP, Wealth Strategy and Fiduciary Solutions Regional Manager

Learn how to overcome anxiety in networking and sales situations by learning how to leverage the principles of improv to respond confidently and make positive connections.

Learn how to apply the rules of improv to energize your sales meetings—and become more confident at networking events.

Improv “rules” can help train you to approach every conversation as a positive opportunity to engage with others.

For example,

• Rule #1: Say "YES, AND" ... learn how to further the conversation.
• Rule #2: Build up, don't block conversations. Foster positive interactions!  
• Rule #3: There Are No Wrong Answers. Learn to make the best out of any conversation!
• Rule #4: Make Space For Everyone to Participate. Learn to really engage with new contacts and have meaningful interactions

Anybody interested in improving their communication skills or becoming more comfortable at networking is welcome to register.

A class for the reluctant networker!

Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited to 15 attendees. This is a FREE event!

Led and hosted by Kelly Swartz of Widerman Malek and Funky Dog Improv. This informal training will be located at the Widerman Malek office, 1990 W New Haven Ave #201, Melbourne, FL 32904.

QuickBooks for Small Businesses: Part 2

Continue to learn the steps to using QuickBooks for your small business and make it work for you. Managing your business finances and budget is key to your success. CPA Kathy Emerson will help you get everything you need in place in this informative, free, 2-part series!

Have you heard about weVENTURE Women's Business Center's partnership with Verizon's Small Business Digital Readiness Program, but aren't sure what it is?  This is a short introduction to the program, its value for you, for weVENTURE and how to unlock your ability to apply for a $10K grant.

Executive Director Kathryn Rudloff will explain the new partnership and how to access the VSBDR learning platform. We'll share some of the top classes that other WBC clients have raved about and some of our coaches favorites as well. 

Check out https://weventure.fit.edu/programs-services/vsbdr/ to learn more. 

Come network with the weVENTURE Women's Business Center community for a one of a kind networking event! When is the last time you and your girlfriends got to go out dancing? This event will start with networking and then we will dominate the dance floor, busting our moves with our business besties. 

Thank you to Presenting Sponsor: Clevens Face & Body Specialists!

DJ Brittany Traxler, AKA 'Salt Shaker' will be spinning our favorite dance music.

This event is for girls who just wanna have fun, but have important sh*t to do in the morning and want to be in bed by 10!

💃 Theme: Professional Chic Meets Dance Floor
🎶 Music: Throwback hits (80s, 90s, early 2000s), diva anthems, and pop dance hits
🍸 Signature Drink
✨ Power Pose Photo Op

 Tickets:

• $20
• Register and pay online ahead of time or $20 cash at the door. Preregistration is appreciated!
• Includes (1) drink ticket for either the Power Moves signature cocktail or limited wine/beer option. Light appetizers provided.
• Sponsorships available at $150 or $250. Email weventure@fit.edu to have your business be part of this fabulous new networking event in Brevard.

 Special thanks to our venue host, Nomads Canteen! Their full food and drinks menu will be available for purchase.

Sponsorship opportunities are available, if your business would like to be a part of this UNIQUE event and market to an audience of energetic women. Email weventure@fit.edu to claim a sponsorship today!

In-kind door prize donations welcome! Perfect for small businesses to get a quick shout out to the crowd!

$150 - Dance Floor Sponsors: Business logo on screen, a rotating slide show during the dance party.

$250 – Entertainment Sponsor: 2 song set sponsored by “your business”. Logo on screen the entire time during those 2 songs. Pick your favs!!

$500 – Entertainment Sponsor: 4 song set sponsored by “your Business”. Logo on screen the entire time during those 4 songs.

$1,000 Snack Attack Sponsor: Signage and marketing materials at the food station and logo included in dance party slide show.

$1,500 Signature Drink Sponsor: Signage and marketing materials at/near bar or drink stations.

OR check out this sponsor mashup, $2,500 Event Presenting Sponsor will cover snacks & drinks, and offers more branding during event promotions and stage time to speak at the event! SOLD!! 

All proceeds from Power Moves event support weVENTURE Women's Business Center and our FREE business coaching, low and no-cost business education, and leadership development programs. Sponsorships should be paid for online via our givng page HERE. 

We will see you on the dance floor!