Leading, inspiring the next generation
Local professionals, WiSH Education Foundation to speak to youth about future in business at forum
Three prominent local leaders hope to inspire the next generation of business professionals at today’s “Women and Girls in Business… Inspiration for the Future” forum, an inaugural event for the Santa Clarita Valley and College of the Canyons.
“Teenage girls will have a chance to listen to three successful and inspirational business women: Dr. Dianne Van Hook, Jeanna Crawford and Kristen Hedstrom,” according to district officials. The free event will celebrate the rise of young business women in the area by providing them with a forum to discuss ideas with some of the most powerful women in local business.
The forum will be held today in the University Center at College of the Canyons from 7-9 p.m. Guests will have a chance to chat with Van Hook, Crawford and Hedstrom during the first hour of the catered event before the first speaker of the night takes to the stage for her speech.
The WiSH Education Foundation, which provides quality public education for students in the William S. Hart Union High School District by funding educational programs when tax dollars can’t, is responsible for the creation of the event.
“With the number of women studying business at our institutions, it’s clear that our girls need mentors to help guide them in the world of business,” said Amy Daniels, the WiSH Education Foundation executive director. “For the inaugural event, WiSH wanted women who inspire their peers in different ways to speak.”
The idea for the forum was inspired by women in business club on the campus of Hart High School.
“Lizzy Masterson was the impetus behind all of this,” Daniels said. The club president and her will to succeed forced the educational foundation to provide a platform for young girls in the community to meet successful adults in business.
“The story of each speaker is unique, and their paths to the top are very different from each other,” Daniels said. “Each of these women are intelligent, interesting and remarkable in their respective fields.”
The goal is for the three women to provide insight to the many girls in the community who hope to achieve something that nobody has before, Daniels added.