WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY SUMMIT 2020

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) and international campaign #ChooseWOMEN is a non-governmental volunteer organization.

Our movement accelerates and educates the world on the importance of why it’s pivotal to empower women in business globally. WEDO convenes Business Leaders, Change Makers, Government Officials and Civil Society to collaborate and find solutions in critical areas of entrepreneurship eco-systems, education and policy creation to empower women in business. WEDO is celebrated at the United Nations and in 144 countries and 65 universities/colleges internationally. When women are elevated financially, communities, states, and countries prosper, this builds a global blueprint to alleviate and eradicate poverty. Our achievements this past year include funding 500 Syrian refugee girls to attend high school in Jordan. In New York at the United Nations, the WED Summit sponsored 75 students from Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code, Lalela, Rethink Academy, The Young Women’s Leadership School in Astoria, Yale, George Washington University, and Northeastern University. Their presence represents WED’s commitment to inspiring and uplifting the next generation of young women to become strong global leaders. The WED Summit granted 500 microloans to impoverished women to start their own business. In Oman, our WED ambassador announced an initiative to empower women and girls to use their vote against arranged marriage. In Uruguay, a partnership with a local university offered 20 scholarships to the girls present at the WED summit. Our Philippines team educated 1000 rural women with financial literacy – all over the world our Ambassador team is making an impact! Join our movement, and become a part of this driven and inspiring group of WEDO Change Makers, Social Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists, Major Fortune 500 C-Suite Executives, UN Senior Officials, Heads of International Organizations, Civil Society Leaders, CEOs, Celebrities, and Major News Media.


With a variety of calendar days dedicated to various causes across the globe, one might ask:

Why does the world need Women’s Entrepreneurship Day & ChooseWOMEN, and why should I support it?

Consider these basic facts:

Women account for 85 percent of consumer purchases and control $20 trillion in worldwide spending. Simultaneously, women perform 66 percent of the world’s work and only earn 10 percent of the world’s income.

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WEDO) is a movement that carries throughout the year in support of women in business globally. WED ignites 

women leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to initiate startups, drive economic expansion, and advance communities worldwide.

WEDO is passionately dedicated and committed to elevating the following six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to help make the world a better place:

Who Should Attend? Everyone interested in making a positive impact for women in business worldwide by joining an inspiring and powerful collective of WEDO Change Makers, Social Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists, Major Fortune 500 C-Suite Executives, UN Senior Officials, Heads of International Organizations, Ambassadors to the UN, Civil Society Leaders, CEOs, Celebrities, and Major News Media.


   


Anna Skaya
Founder/CEO BasePaws
Anna Skaya is the Founder and CEO of BasePaws, founded in February 2017, a provider of low-cost pet genomic products and services. Anna was the founder and former CEO of Read More
Anna SkayaFounder/CEO BasePaws

Anna Skaya is the Founder and CEO of BasePaws, founded in February 2017, a provider of low-cost pet genomic products and services. Anna was the founder and former CEO of visual DNA as well as Groupon Russia.

Jenny Abramson
Founder/Managing Partner Rethink Impact
Jenny Abramson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Rethink Impact, sitting on the boards of Ellevest, FutureFuel.io, Winnie, Sempre Health and as a board observer for Neurotrack. Previously, Jenny Read More
Jenny AbramsonFounder/Managing Partner Rethink Impact

Jenny Abramson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Rethink Impact, sitting on the boards of Ellevest, FutureFuel.io, Winnie, Sempre Health and as a board observer for Neurotrack. Previously, Jenny served as CEO of LiveSafe, a tech security company focused on preventing school shootings and sexual assaults. She also held leadership roles at The Washington Post, Personal (a data tech company), The Boston Consulting Group, D.C. Public Schools, and Teach for America.

Jenny is a board member of the NFL Players, Inc. and DC Prep. She is also an active member of All Raise, co-leading their data efforts. Finally, she is an Advisory Board member of the Camden Partners Nexus Fund (an early stage health focused VC fund).

Jenny has been covered in Forbes, on CNN, in The New York Times, and in The Washington Post, interviewed on Squawk Box, featured at the Code Conference, at the United Nations, at the G7, and on Capitol Hill, and was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Powerful Women and a DC Tech Titan. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors from Stanford University, an MBA with honors and the Dean’s Award from Harvard Business School (where she also served on the Investment Committee for Shareholder Responsibility for Harvard University) and was a Fulbright Scholar at The London School of Economics.

Shannon Dellimore
CEO/Co-founder GlamGlow
GLAMGLOW was launched a little over 3 years ago by Shannon Dellimore on her coffee table at home, and has been featured in Forbes “Rise of an Empire” & other Read More
Shannon DellimoreCEO/Co-founder GlamGlow

GLAMGLOW was launched a little over 3 years ago by Shannon Dellimore on her coffee table at home, and has been featured in Forbes “Rise of an Empire” & other global media. GLAMGLOW ended 2013 at $106M in global retail sales with mainly 2 products.

GLAMGLOW is retailed in 84 countries & represented by some of the same distributors as Chanel, Hermes, La Prairie etc. Global prime retailers include Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Douglas, Harrods, Selfridges, Mecca, Space.NK, Joyce/Lane Crawford, Kicks, M&S Beauty, Dillard’s, Fred Segal, Bliss, Kitson, Duty Free Stores, Airlines In-Flight Travel Retail, Cruise Ships & is retailed in over 6,000 stores globally.

In Jan 2013 GLAMGLOW SUPERMUD launched & became the No.1 selling skincare product of all time in Sephora history for HOT NOW, was ranked the No.1 selling skincare product of the year for Sephora in 2013 & is the No.1 selling skincare product for 2014 year to date for Sephora. In it’s first 30 days of launch GLAMGLOW reached the No.1 in skincare for Sephora China, No.3 in Sephora France & is currently No.1 in M&S Beauty UK.

GLAMGLOW is Winner of the 2014 ELLE International Beauty Award in 44 countries for ‘World’s Best Mask’, is current Winner of the Marie Claire Beauty Awards, Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards, teen Vogue Beauty Awards, CEW Beauty Awards, Neiman Marcus Beauty Awards, NewBeauty Beauty Awards, Sephora China Beauty Awards.

Created for all skin types, all ages, men & women, designed to deliver targeted powerful Quick-Fix mud delivery treatments originally for professional back stage use by the World’s Most Notable Talent in the Entertainment, Music, Fashion & Award industries including, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Disney, WB & DreamWorks.

Dawn Dickson
Founder/CEO PopCom
Dawn W. Dickson is CEO of PopCom, an automated retail company that uses facial recognition, A.I, and blockchain technology to help retailers collect valuable customer insights. The first CRM, data, Read More
Dawn DicksonFounder/CEO PopCom

Dawn W. Dickson is CEO of PopCom, an automated retail company that uses facial recognition, A.I, and blockchain technology to help retailers collect valuable customer insights. The first CRM, data, and analytics software provider for unattended retail, PopCom has developed technology to make kiosks and vending machines intelligent through data and analytics at the point of purchase. As a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in marketing and business development, Dawn launched four successful cash flow positive companies since 2002. Her most recent ventures include Flat Out of Heels (rollable flats for women to get relief from painful heels), and PopCom, after identifying a need to make vending machines more intelligent.

Gale Wilkinson
Managing Partner Vitalize Venture Group
Gale Wilkinson founded IrishAngels in 2012 and VitalizeVC in 2017. Gale loves helping entrepreneurs take their startups to the next level. She believes in backing founders who have a big Read More
Gale WilkinsonManaging Partner Vitalize Venture Group

Gale Wilkinson founded IrishAngels in 2012 and VitalizeVC in 2017. Gale loves helping entrepreneurs take their startups to the next level. She believes in backing founders who have a big vision and a clear plan on how to execute that vision. Gale developed an early stage financing course that she taught for five years at Notre Dame, and she shares a lot of these insights in our VIA for Founders series. Her previous work experience includes forecasting and consulting for new product launches with Nielsen and corporate strategy with Orbitz. She received a BBA with honors from Notre Dame and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She was a founding Board member of the C200 Scholars Network, and she is currently a founding Board member of Chicago Blend, an organization focused on increasing diversity in Chicago VC and startups. Gale is a Kauffman Fellow in Class 23 and lives in Chicago with her husband Matt and very lovable yellow lab Samson.

Judith Heumann
International Disability Rights Advocate The Heumann Perspective
Judith Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the disability community and a lifelong civil rights advocate for disadvantaged people. She has been building an online presence under “The Heumann Read More
Judith HeumannInternational Disability Rights Advocate The Heumann Perspective

Judith Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the disability community and a lifelong civil rights advocate for disadvantaged people. She has been building an online presence under “The Heumann Perspective” through social media platforms to broaden and spur discussions on the intersectionality of disability rights.

Stephanie Benedetto
Founder/CEO Queen of Raw – Turning Pollution Into Profit
Corporate attorney turned fashion tech and sustainability entrepreneur, Stephanie is the Co-Founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles, keeping them out of landfills and Read More
Stephanie BenedettoFounder/CEO Queen of Raw – Turning Pollution Into Profit

Corporate attorney turned fashion tech and sustainability entrepreneur, Stephanie is the Co-Founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles, keeping them out of landfills and turning pollution into profit. Prior to starting Queen of Raw, Stephanie worked as a lawyer in the fashion, media/entertainment, start-up, and technology industries and co-founded a sustainable textile manufacturing facility. An advocate for women in business and sustainability, her companies have been featured in NPR, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, WWD, ELLE, Cheddar, Parade, WCBS, United Nations, Fortune, Entrepreneur, WIRED, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Fast Company. Stephanie is a NASA/NIKE/IKEA/DELL LAUNCH.org Innovator, a Grand Prize WeWork Creator Awards Winner presented by Ashton Kutcher, a Cartier Women’s Initiative Laureate, an MIT – Solve Global Challenge Winner, a Climate Change Finalist in Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity, a Finalist for The Elevate Prize, a thredUP Circular Fashion Fund Recipient, and an LVMH Innovation Award Finalist. She is a Member of Pledge 1% and New York Circular City Initiative and Founding Member of Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, along with Aveda, Kering, and Stella McCartney.

Tabitha Salomon
Founder/CEO Dash Camp
Tabitha Salomon is the CEO and Founder of Dash Camp, an interactive online service that connects kids ages 3 to 11 with a vibrant world of creativity, movement, education, and Read More
Tabitha SalomonFounder/CEO Dash Camp

Tabitha Salomon is the CEO and Founder of Dash Camp, an interactive online service that connects kids ages 3 to 11 with a vibrant world of creativity, movement, education, and community for two hours each day. Tabitha received a B.A. from the University of North Florida, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Janki Lalani
Managing Director Goldman Sachs
Janki Lalani Gandhi is a managing director in Goldman Sachs’ Cross Markets Group (CMG), the firm’s middle market offering. Formed in 2019, the group allows Goldman Sachs to more effectively Read More
Janki LalaniManaging Director Goldman Sachs

Janki Lalani Gandhi is a managing director in Goldman Sachs’ Cross Markets Group (CMG), the firm’s middle market offering. Formed in 2019, the group allows Goldman Sachs to more effectively deliver their best-in-class platform to companies that are crucial contributors to local economies and communities. Within CMG, Gandhi is primarily focused on beauty and personal care, and also apparel and accessories.

Gandhi has been involved in the middle market consumer sector for over 15 years now. She has established herself through a number of notable transactions not only within the past year, but also throughout her prolific career in investment banking. Select deals from 2019 include: helping advise KJUS Management / Winona Capital (founder and private equity-owned) in the sale of KJUS to Acushnet; and advising Alex Apparel (private equity-owned, Atlantic Street Capital) in its sale to Versa. Gandhi also sits on the Los Angeles Women’s Entrepreneurship Day committee.

Kathy Hochul
57th & FIRST female Governor of New York State
Governor Kathy Hochul began her career in public service on her local Town Board before serving as Erie County Clerk, and then as a member of Congress for New York’s 26th Congressional Read More
Kathy Hochul57th & FIRST female Governor of New York State

Governor Kathy Hochul began her career in public service on her local Town Board before serving as Erie County Clerk, and then as a member of Congress for New York’s 26th Congressional District. She more recently served in statewide office as Lieutenant Governor and now as the first female Governor of the State of New York.
Lieutenant Governor
As Lieutenant Governor from 2015 to 2021, Hochul successfully spearheaded numerous initiatives and lead the administration’s economic development and job creation efforts across the state, working every day to advocate for policies that help all New Yorkers make ends meet.
She also helped New York State manage the COVID-19 pandemic response, while focusing on a recovery that builds back better and more inclusive.
Hochul chaired the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils that have transformed the state’s economy by building upon regional strengths through long-term strategic plans.
She also served as co-chair of the state’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force to hear from experts and community members in search of answers to the opioid crisis and develop a comprehensive strategy for New York.
As Lieutenant Governor, she championed the ‘Enough is Enough’ law to prevent sexual assault on college campuses, spearheaded the state’s Paid Family Leave program, and worked to eliminate the gender wage gap, expand access to affordable child care, and combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and beyond.
She served as chair of the State’s Women’s Suffrage Commission and co-chair of the state’s Child Care Availability Task Force.




NOVEMBER 19, 2020!

We hope you will join us and rally your colleagues, family, and friends to celebrate this monumental movement to empower women in business! WE WELCOME DIVERSITY! All Races, All Genders, All LGBT, All Classes, All Ages- So Become A Member and Join Us!






Be a part of the WED movement to EMPOWER, SUPPORT & CELEBRATE women in business and uplift girls by attending Women’s Entrepreneurship Day!