Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

WISE Unplugged to Inspire and Empower Women Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders

Monday, April 11, 2016, By Lindsay Wickham
Share
entrepreneurshipWhitman School of Management

Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE) is bringing powerhouse guest speakers to the 14th annual WISE Unplugged conference on Tuesday, April 19, to inspire an anticipated hundreds at SKY Armory in Syracuse. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and features a full day of speakers and opportunities for networking where women business leaders share insights, lessons and best practices that empower others to follow in their footsteps, or carve a path of their own. WISE Unplugged is a revamped format for the annual WISE Symposium and a collaboration between the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, The Events Company and SKY Armory.

WISE Unplugged logoWISE Unplugged benefits the WISE Women’s Business Center (WBC), which offers mentoring and consulting services to women entrepreneurs, as well as networking opportunities. The economic impact of women entrepreneurs continues to rise each year; in 2014-2015, the WISE WBC counseled 125 local clients (with a combined gross revenue of over $47 million), as well as trained 630 women entrepreneurs.

“I wish the WISE programs existed when I started my business 20 years ago,” says Nicole Samolis, CSEP, founder and creative director of The Events Co. and SKY Armory, who has been closely involved in WISE and the WBC. “Finding entrepreneurial start-up help was fairly non-existent at that time. I had to do it alone, finding resources and learning from my own mistakes. Operating a business can be a lonely role; being able to share and learn from people like me would have been so nice. I’m honored to be able to help other women dream, believe and pursue a venture.” The Events Co. has helped the Whitman School’s Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship produce the WISE symposium for 10 years.

This year, WISE is “unplugging” by creating a more intimate setting (attendance will be limited to 350 people) for learning and conversing with other entrepreneurs. In an updated format for this year, all of the program content will be shared as general sessions so attendees will have the opportunity to hear all speakers.

WISE Unplugged sessions:

  • Keynote Presentation “Leadership with an EDGE”
  • Dream, Believe, Pursue: Real life stories of local women entrepreneurs who turned their dream into million-dollar companies
  • Emotional Intelligence: Why it matters and why it’s critical to leadership success
  • Bootstrapping: Strategies for surviving startup and growth
  • WISE Latina workshop
  • Sales & Marketing interactive session

Some of the 2016 featured speakers include:

  • Pam Sherman, a nationally syndicated columnist (“The Suburban Outlaw”), actor, recovering lawyer and leadership consultant who was profiled in People Magazine about her career transition from attorney to actor. Sherman is a keynote speaker about finding your EDGE™ in the best possible way, to explore, dream, grow and excite.
  • Jill S. Tietjen, an author, national speaker and electrical engineer. Tietjen is one of the top historians in the country on scientific and technical women. A dynamic and energetic speaker who received the Daughters of the American Revolution History Award Medal for her bestselling book “Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America.”
  • Jeanette Sweet is the founder of HR-Max, which applies “talent management” techniques to the traditional human resource function. As the author and creator of ©Workfit 101, she takes business owners’ brains to the “gym” in order to increase their own effectiveness, reduce their employer cost by hiring, managing and keeping the right employees.
  • Mary Schechter is president and founder of theintuitiveorganization.com and is a consultant, trainer and leadership coach who pioneers organizations toward a fearless approach to performance management. Her expertise is in developing self-mastery and the interpersonal skill set that builds best practices using emotional intelligence training.

For a full list of speakers, click here.

An audience listens to a presentation at last year's WISE aerwer

An audience listens to a presentation at last year’s WISE conference.

Throughout the day, a business expo will be open with companies showcasing their products and services. The winners of the Ann Michel Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year and WISE Faces of Success (presented by Y94) will be honored at a brief ceremony following the keynote presentation.

For tickets, visit http://wise2016.eventbrite.com. Discounted pricing is available for students.

The WISE Symposium is organized in conjunction with the WISE Women’s Business Center and was launched by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, located in the Whitman School of Management, which has provided critical event support since its inception in 2003. WISE fosters the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities of women from all walks of life and sponsor events to promote entrepreneurial thinking among women in the Central New York region.

For more information, contact Lindsay Wickham, Falcone Center events and communications manager, at 315-443-3550 or lwickham@syr.edu.

  • Author

Lindsay Wickham

  • Recent
  • VPA Announces New Drama Department Chair
    Tuesday, July 1, 2025, By Erica Blust
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Tuesday, July 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Libraries Receives Grant for Book Repair Workshop
    Monday, June 30, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • First-Year Law Student to First-Year Dean: Lau Combines Law and Business to Continue College of Law’s Upward Trajectory
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • Student Innovations Shine at 2025 Invent@SU Presentations
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Alex Dunbar

More In Business & Economy

Calling All Alumni Entrepreneurs: Apply for ’CUSE50 Awards

Did you cultivate your entrepreneurial skills as a student at Syracuse University and either founded or currently own your own business as an Orange alumnus? If so, you’re encouraged to apply for the University’s third annual ’CUSE50 Alumni Entrepreneur Award,…

Whitman Honors Outstanding Alumni and Friends at 2025 Awards and Appreciation Event

Vice Chancellor and Whitman School of Management Executive Dean Mike Haynie and Interim Dean Alex McKelvie, along with other staff and faculty members of the Whitman School, gathered in New York City on May 15 to recognize a select group…

Libraries Innovation Scholar Launches Utopia, a Transparent Beauty Brand

Trey Augliano ’27, a rising junior in the Whitman School of Management majoring in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and marketing management, recently launched Utopia Beauty, a science-driven beauty retailer that promises to bring transparency and trust to the personal care…

Registration Open for Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference July 8-10 in Las Vegas  

The second annual Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon)—named by Zoomph as one of the best sports business conferences of 2025—will be held from July 8-10 at MGM’s iconic Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. SEICon is a partnership between UNLV…

Blackstone LaunchPad Student Start-Ups Win in the 2025 New York Business Plan Competition

Three Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) student start-up teams won prizes in the finals of the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC), powered by Upstate Capital Association of NY, held in Albany on April 24. Carolyn Fernandes G’25 (College…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.