Women Empowered - Professional Development Luncheon

Event Sponsors

Lead(her)ship: Making a Profound Difference
Join us at this luncheon focused on talking about intentional leadership, cultivating your community, and building your brand. We will also discuss avoiding burnout and the power of coaching. Our lineup of inspirational, articulate and empowering women will dig into these topics together. Our hope is for women to see leadership and professional development from the eyes of other strong, empowering women and leave YOU feeling empowered to make an impact on your families, businesses, and OUR community.

What to expect at the event:
Be ready for great speakers, vendor booths, amazing food, and our non-profit spotlight--Positive Paths. Positive Paths provides services to support women to achieve their goals for economic stability and independence through enhanced education, mentoring, and personal and professional development. Women Empowered will be collecting supplies for Positive Paths at this event to provide to women as they return to their educational programs.

Suggested donations include:

USB drives
portable chargers
batteries
staplers
scissors
note cards
post-it notes
pads of lined paper
file folders or pocket folders
highlighters
gift cards to Target, Walmart, or Amazon

About the Speakers:
Keynote Speaker: Elaine Kessler, Owner of Elaine Kessler Photography
Elaine Kessler was raised in a military family and after living on 3 continents, she now lives a full life in Gilbert with her spouse, 2 kids, 2 cats, and 4 dogs. Elaine is a graduate of the Master's in Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership Program at ASU. She also completed graduate work in Southeast Asian Studies and Performance Studies. She holds a BA in English Literature from the College of William and Mary. She owns and operates Elaine Kessler Photography, a portrait and commercial studio based in Gilbert. Elaine also produces interactive art exhibits and is faculty in the arts and in business for both graduate and undergraduate students. She is a Flinn-Brown Fellow and Gilbert, Arizona's 2019 Business Woman of the Year.

Panelists:

Yira Brimage, Vice President, Gilbert Campus Park University
Yira Brimage was appointed Vice President of Park University's Gilbert Campus in November 2021. In
her role as Vice President, Brimage holds the top leadership position for the University's Gilbert Campus
and is responsible for leading the strategic growth and operations of the campus. Most recently, Brimage
has been the principal and owner of Brimage Consulting in Tucson, Arizona, which specializes in working
with educational, health care and small businesses to prepare their workforces with competency-based
skill development. Brimage is not a stranger to higher education in Arizona. For four years she served as Vice President of Student Affairs and Engagement at Pima Community College's downtown campus in Tucson. She also served a variety of roles with Maricopa Community Colleges for 14 years. Brimage is working to earn her Doctorate of Education (ABD ) degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. She earned a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and policy studies from NAU and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Communications from Arizona State University.

Kerri Ann Ronquist- NPRA, PASRS, Owner of All About You Placement and Senior Resources
Kerri Ann Ronquist is the owner of All About You Placement and Senior Resources. She is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate, a Certified Placement and Referral Specialist, a Certified Dementia and Alzheimer’s Practitioner and a Certified Senior Advisor®. Her early career with seniors included helping build a hospice company from the ground up and working for home health agencies and mobile physician groups to reach underserved communities. To honor her late father, Kerri Ann founded All About You in order to support, advocate for and educate those who “don’t know what they don’t know” without any restraints. A proud graduate of Gilbert Leadership Class 27, she remains an enthusiastic and active participant in her community. She is married to her best friend and together they have 2 sons, 2 daughters and a smart, strong and sassy 5 year old granddaughter.

Gayle Schmidt, Owner of Buffalo Wild Wings
Gayle is currently a Franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings. However, her passion for 30 years before this was as a Dental Hygienist for her husband's dental practice in San Jose, CA. During that time she developed an intense Dental Hygiene Program that awarded her the Preventative Practice of the Year Award in 1999 . She also wrote and published a dental marketing book while lecturing around the country. Buffalo Wild Wings came to be when Gayle attended her son's college graduation. In 2002, she decided to move to bring the first Buffalo Wild Wings to Arizona. BWW Gilbert has been here for 18 years with the same GM. Gayle's BWW has been awarded many awards through the years such as Family Business of the Year, Businesswoman of the Year and just recently Large Business of the Year.

Kim Yonda-Lead, Owner of Wrapped With Ribbon, LLC.
Kim Yonda-Lead is setting a new standard for the gift giving experience. Her commitment to celebrating everyday and spreading joy to others is changing the way people shop. As owner of Wrapped With Ribbon she specializes in curating gifts, creating positive shopping experiences and designing employment opportunities for today’s teenagers whom shall be our future female business leaders.

Opening Activity:

Nicole Fonovich, Owner of Nicole Anne Yoga
Nicole is a graduate of the Southwest Institute of Holistic Arts in Tempe, Arizona where she received her Holistic Practitioner degree, specializing in Advanced Yoga Training (500 hour certified), Integral Breath Therapy, Yoga Nidra, Sound Healing, Restorative Yoga, Holistic Nutrition, and Life Coaching. In addition to a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Business/Leadership & Advocacy, Nicole also has a Master's Degree in Education from Marquette University. Nicole was initially drawn to yoga because she was born with a weak back and learning yoga helped her to fight back and make the rest of her body as strong as she could make it