Training Events

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. 

2023 dates: Apr. 27; May 25; Jun. 22; Jul. 27; Aug. 24; Sep. 28; Oct. 6*; Nov. 16 and Dec. TBD.  *IMPACT Summit - October 6

All sessions are from 8:30am-10:00am 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 thanks to Zonta Club of Melbourne.  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. 

More about the program: 

The ATHENA Leadership Model can help women transform their leadership skills and empower them to step up during these times of economic turmoil, a pandemic, and a worldwide movement for economic and racial justice to be the leaders we need them to be. 

Based on the eight ATHENA principles of enlightened leadership identified by ATHENA International, this course is designed to help emerging female leaders grow in confidence and clarity of purpose. Participants read and discuss the book, Becoming ATHENA by Martha Mertz, and each class session is a dedicated deep dive on one of the principles. They also have access to all of ATHENA International's virtual programming and online resources for one year.  

This program aims to cultivate women on their personal growth journey while inspiring them to connect and share with others. Sessions are led by weVENTURE Executive Director, Kathryn Rudloff, and feature a diverse group of successful women business leaders from the Space and Treasure Coasts as guest speakers and panelists. Participants learn from these inspiring women as they share their own stories and leadership lessons. Women are encouraged to share their life experiences to learn from and support each other. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Small Businesses 

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. 

Sponsoring an emerging leader from your business is a great way to invest in her career development and connect her to the local weVENTURE WBC and global ATHENA network of women.   The program provides supplemental experiential learning and enrichment opportunities during and after the monthly meetings.  

weVENTURE Women's Business Center in the Florida Tech Bisk College of Business strives to be the leading resource for professional women on the Space and Treasure Coasts.  Each year, weVENTURE WBC hosts a leadership development conference, the IMPACT Summit, as an opportunity for professional women and entrepreneurs to invest some time in personal and professional development.

This will be an in-person conference, creating space for women to come together to network, to be inspired and to learn tangible techniques they can apply to their work and personal lives.  The opening session features a keynote address from Laura DiBella, Secretary of Commerce, President and CEO at Enterprise Florida.  Participants can then pick which breakout sessions to attend, based on three tracts:  Personal Development, Communication or Business Strategy.   

Sponsors and their guests are invited to stay for a VIP lunch with the speakers. A limited number of tickets will also be available for purchase by guests already registered for the IMPACT Summit. They will be released in September.  For information about sponsoring this event, visit: https://weventure.fit.edu/events/impact-summit/ 

Detailed Agenda

8:00am    Check in and Networking

8:45am    Opening Remarks

9:00am    Keynote Address

9:45am    IMPACT Grant Pitch Panel 

10:15am  Breakout Session A

11:15am  Breakout Session B

12:15pm  Announce IMPACT Grant Award Winners

12:30pm  Closing Remarks/Networking

1:00pm    VIP Luncheon

 

Keynote Speaker

  • Laura DiBella, immediate past Florida Secretary of Commerce, and current President and CEO of Enterprise Florida

Speakers

  • Kelly Swartz, Partner, Widerman Malek, PL - "Intellectual Property: Adding Value to Your Business"
  • Dawn Mays, CEO, Call One, Inc. - "The Future of Work Productivity and Communication"
  • Diana Miret, CEO, The Business Profit Coach - "Profit First Management"
  • Shavonne Mariscal, Owner, Proclaim Communication and Rehabilitation Services - "Intergenerational Communication in the Workplace"
  • Alex Rudloff, CTO, GMTM - "AI Uses for Small Business Communication"
  • Dr. Jorge Campos, Chiropractor, TotalChiropractic Care - "AI Uses for Small Business Communication"
  • Kyle Graham, President, Millefiori Skin Rejuvenation Spa - "AI Uses for Small Business Communication"
  • Bill West, President, West Advisory, "How to Determine Your Business Valuation"

Panelists

Jamara Wilson, CEO of Progressive Cleaning, will lead a panel discussion on "Embracing Your Duality: Strong Feminine Leadership" with panelists Jarin Eisenberg, CEO Groundswell Startups, Wendy Romeu, President, Alluvionic Inc., and Angela Glover, Director, Patient Care Services, Health First.

Kristin Woodling, CEO, Pamper Your Mind, will lead a panel discussion about dealing with mental health in the workplace, joined by Cindy Wooten, CEO, Twin Rivers Insurance, and Charlene Morris, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Mental Health First Aid.

This webinar discusses the multiple sources of capital for starting and growing a small business. The pros and cons of the funding sources are also reviewed. Topics to be discussed include familiar options such as self-financing, funding from friends and family, and partnerships. Other sources are reviewed such as:

  • Small Business Loans
  • SBA Loan Guaranty Program
  • Microloans

Some less conventional financing sources along with their pros and cons are also discussed, including selling equity (shares), venture capital, angel investors, and crowd funding.

 

Robert Green, ICC Project Design Leader, Business Strategy Advisor and CEO of Melbourne Business Advisors will present three webinars on Pricing Strategies for Your Business.  June 12, July 17 and August 14, 12:00pm-1:00pm.  

Pricing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them (June 12)

In this webinar, Robert will discuss what is the function of Price, why pricing strategy is important to your business, the 7 most common pricing mistakes in setting prices, and how to calculate prices using a formula that doesn't cut into your expected margins, calculating the break-even, while touching on price elasticity and the concern that higher prices might impact customers.

Pricing to Value (July 17)

In this webinar, Robert will discuss shifting your thoughts on the value of Value, comparison shopping your competition, and how you can consider the value proposition across Time, Identity, Money (or other benefits), Energy, and Reputation, as well as basic formulas to increase prices of your product, programs, or services.

Discounting Strategies that Preserve Profits (August 14)

Robert will discuss the benefits and costs of discounting, and devising a way to package up your value proposition in such a way that you are not losing earnings when someone has a desire to buy at a lower price point, and allows you to have a way to promote a customer to a higher class of products, programs, or services.