Hyde Parker Kali Evans-Raoul, president of The Image Studios in
the West Loop, receives the 2009 Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Rising
Star Award from the Women's Business Dev-elopment Center at its 23rd Annual
Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference, the oldest and largest women's business
confab in the country, today at noon, at Navy Pier. With more than 25 years in
the personal care product and service industry and experi-ence in both creating
and running a business, Evans-Raoul, founder of The Image Studios in 2000 as
part of a commitment to help others understand, define and present their own
message, works with companies and individual clients.
Evans-Raoul holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Carnegie
Mellon University and has worked in research and development, marketing and
consumer education for a range of companies, including Soft Sheen (L'Oreal),
Kraft Foods and the boutique hair care and beauty company Dudley Products.
While in undergrad she helped finance her education by setting up and managing
an investor-backed beauty salon in Pittsburgh. She's also consulted in the
development of cosmetic lines. Additionally, she's married to State Sen. Kwame
Raoul (13th) and they have a son, Che, 7, and a daughter Mizan, 5.
"The women business owners we honor as Entrepreneurs of the
Year are extremely successful business owners who have a proven passion for
their business and a commitment to supporting other women," says Hedy M.
Ratner, WBDC co-president. Penny S. Pritzker, innovative business builder,
civic leader and philanthropist, will keynote.
Dee Robinson Reid, founder and president of Robinson-Hill Group
Inc., keynotes the conference's Women's Business & Buyers Mart. It features
more than 200 government and corporate buyers who are committed to purchasing
products and services from women business owners, as well as, access to top
business experts and resources, contract opportunities, networking and business
collaboration.
Reid will join several other nationally recognized wo-men business
owners who will headline a Breakfast Forum moderated by Sun-Times financial
columnist Terry Savage. Always a lively, candid discussion, speakers will share
personal stories of business success, as well as the greatest challenges they
have faced and offer advice for overcoming those challenges.
Robinson-Hill Group is the parent company for Ben & Jerry's
Super Premium Ice and Yogurt franchises at Midway Airport and Navy Pier. In
addition, the company is a franchisee of Cheeburger Cheeburger, Jamba Juice and
Johnny Rockets and is the managing partner of Hudson News ORD JV, which owns
over 25 news and gift locations at O'Hare International Airport. Reid is vice
president and COO of OTG DCA and OTG ORD that owns full-service restaurants and
gourmet markets at Reagan and O'Hare Airports. Late registration is available
online at www.wbdc.org or call (312) 853-3477, ext. 24. It includes all
conference events. Individual tickets for the Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon,
Women's Business & Buyers Mart and Forum Breakfast are also available. At
the Podium - Dr. Maya Angelou, celebrated poet, author, playwright, actress,
professor and civil rights activist, addresses the Chicago Foundation for
Women's 24th Annual Luncheon on Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel.
The event celebrates the achievements of women and girls, and raises funds for
the Foundation's grants and advocacy throughout the Chicagoland area. Expected:
a diverse audience of more than 2,000 guests who represent business,
philanthropy, government, nonprofit, media and other Foundation supporters.
Since 1986, the Foundation has awarded more than 2,700 grants
totaling nearly $17 million to hundreds of organizations that make life better
for women and girls in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Foundation's core
values include equality, empowerment, diversity, collaboration and integrity.
Its work is rooted in three principles of women's human rights: economic
security, freedom from violence, and access to health services and information.
Visit www.cfw.org.
Board Biz - John W. Rogers Jr., CEO of Ariel Investments,
addresses strategies for serving on public and private boards as well as the
importance of developing a diverse board in a global society, when he addresses
Diversity MBA Magazine's 2009 Management Leadership Forum on Thursday morning
at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel. Pamela McElvane, an African American woman,
publishes the internationally distributed publication targeting multicultural
professionals in corporations, government, entrepreneurship and graduate
business schools. Other presenters will include Rev. Dennis Holtschneider,
president of DePaul Univ., and Michael Critelli, retired chair and CEO of
Pitney Bowes.
Following the presentation, McElvane is inviting the media to
participate in a Q&A and Fireside Chat. For more, visit
www.diversitymbamagazine. com or call Redessa Harris at (773) 536-4230.
Happy B'Day - to media bro Ron Childs (Flowers Communications); a
special "daughter," Jan Hooks; Otis Wilson, Roz Atchison, who
celebrated with over 30-gal pals (senoritas) at Zapatista's, Denise Gresham
Rawls and Tamron Hall.
Whazup! Whazup! - Chicago NABJ (Nat'l Association of Black Journalists)
presents "How to Use Social Media to Get a Job and Advance Your
Career" (or just make yourself more valuable at your current job), a
workshop to learn how to use Twitter, Facebook, blogging, MySpace, etc. on
Sept. 30, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., at Utopia Restaurant. Panelists: blogtrentrepeur and
former Milwaukee Journal columnist Tannette Johnson-Elie, Red- Eye digital
editor Scott Kleinberg and Silicon Valley's C Cole Dillon.
Magic Mood - Dr. Arthur Brazier, of the Apostolic Church of God;
Dr. Carol Adams, secretary of the Ill. Dept. of Human Services; and Chicago
Transit Authority Commissioner Deverra Beverly received awards "for
contributions and services to people who live in Chicago's inner city
neighborhoods" during the Inaugural Gala hosted by the Metropolitan Area
Group for Igniting Civilization Inc. Genealogist Dr. Rick Kittles accepted the
MAGIC Award for Dr. Eric Whitaker of the University of Chicago, who along with
his family was vacationing with President Obama and the "first
family" on Martha's Vineyard in Cape Cod, Mass. Terry Cummings, retired
NBA forward, serenaded guests with songs he recently recorded, and Freddie
Jackson, who rocked the house for old times' sake, provided entertainment.
The mission of MAGIC, headed by Dr. Joseph Strickland and located
in Woodlawn, is to organize and mobilize residents of the community and the
surrounding areas to create and stimulate social change.
Attn: Jazz Junkies - Cassandra Wilson, '09 Grammy winner "for
best jazz vocal album," performs Sept. 25, 8 p.m., at Rockefeller Chapel
to kick-start the Hyde Park Jazz Festival which begins Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. and
continues through 2 a.m.with worldclass headliners and local emerging artists
performing at some 100 indoor and outdoor neighborhood stages in Hyde Park for
15 hours of free nonstop jazz. Among performers: Ernie Adams, Dee Alexander,
Ari Brown, Tammy McCann, Maggie Brown, Alan Burroughs, Ken Chaney's Awakening,
Corey Wilkes, Ernie Adams, T.S. Galloway, Pharez Whitted, Ray Silkman, Audley
Reid, James Perkins, Naomi Millender, Willie Pickens, Yoko Noge, Skin-ny
Williams, Ryan Cohan, Richie Cole, Orbert Davis, Ernest Dawkins, Miguel and
Sylvia De La Cerna, Jimmy Ellis, Jon Faddiss, Von Freeman, Julia Huff, Kenwood
Academy's Jazz at the Wood, Jazz Me Blues Band and John Wright. For a schedule,
log on www.hydeparkjazzfestival. org.
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