Business Women's Forum (BWF) This Friday, Oct. 21, at the Aqua Turf Club to Feature Keynote Speeches, Workshops and Much More

This Friday’s Business Women’s Forum (BWF) “Strategies for Success”, will feature crisis management expert Judy Smith, whose clients have included Angelina Jolie, Monica Lewinsky and Wesley Snipes, and who is the real life inspiration for television’s “Scandal.”

This full-day leadership conference will be held at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville and will begin at 8:15 a.m. The BWF will also include breakfast and motivational speaker, Christine Cashen, author of “The Good Stuff: Quips and Tips on Life, Love, Work and Happiness”, dynamic morning and afternoon workshops with nationally-known presenters, and a closing reception featuring hors d’oeuvres, wine, door prizes and raffle.

The BWF, a thriving organization comprised of female executives dedicated to the professional and personal growth of working women, is a program of the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The Forum’s goal is to inform and educate the attendees of their annual conference, by focusing on issues of interest to women, fostering networking, and awarding a scholarship for female students pursuing a degree in business at Post University. Over the past 33 years, over $200,000 in scholarships has been granted.

This year’s scholarship recipients are Brianna Root of Bristol, Conn. and Sijia Sun of Shanghai, China, both students in the Post University Malcolm Baldrige School of Business, who will each be presented with a $3,000 scholarship from the BWF.

Judy Smith, the 2016 BWF’s luncheon keynote speaker, is founder and president of Smith & Company, a leading strategic and crisis communications firm with offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Recently her services were secured by the divorce team of Oscar Award-winning actress and director Angelina Jolie to assist with public matters surrounding her divorce from Oscar Award-winning actor and director, Brad Pitt.

Smith is known to uniquely combine her communication skills, media savvy, and legal and political acumen to serve clients worldwide. As the ‘real life’ inspiration behind the hit TV show “Scandal”, she is co-executive producer and advisor to the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes. Smith is also author of “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis”, and an advisor to Fortune 500 companies and celebrity personalities. She frequently appears on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC, and CBS-TV to provide her insights into crisis management, and writes regularly for the “Daily Beast” and “The Huffington Post.”

The BWF morning’s motivational speaker, Christine Cashen, is a recognized authority on sparking innovative ideas, handling conflict, reducing stress and energizing employees. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and she is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). In 2014 she was inducted into the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame® and received a lifetime award and recognition for speaking excellence and professionalism. Cashen’s “The Good Stuff” was named motivational book of the year by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and she has produced several motivational DVDs and CDs.

“For 33 years,” commented 2016 BWF Chairwoman Virginia O’Rourke, owner of O’Rourke and Birch Florist in Waterbury, “the BWF has provided thousands of attendees with access to phenomenal speakers, networking opportunities and diverse training during a full day of activities. BWF conferences have featured such prominent speakers as Leeza Gibbons, Barbara Corcoran, Kathy Ireland, Elizabeth Vargas, Paula Abdul, Robin Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Suze Orman, Jane Seymour, Chris Madden, and Susan Saint James.”

Attendees to the 2016 BWF will also be invited to select two of the six educational workshops being presented during the conference. The ambition of the workshops is for attendees to bring new knowledge and expertise back to their workplace and to personally meet the individual workshop presenters. Workshops include Power of Buying Local, Legal Issues in the Workplace, Real Relationships and the LinkedIn Connection, Managing Today’s Intergenerational Workforce, Avoid Burnout: Get More Done While Taking Less of a Toll, and Permission to Use Your Voice – Building Internal Leadership for Grit and Resilience in the Workplace.

The cost for this full-day professional development conference is $195. For more information or to register for the 2016 BWF, visit www.2016bwf.com, or call the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation at 203-757-0701.