Breaking Biases: Women in Entrepreneurship
In the first "Amplifying Voices" webinar, these leading women discuss entrepreneurship.
MARGO CARLOCK
(Moderator)
Executive Director (Retired)
National Association for Interpretation
Margo retired at the end of 2020 as Executive Director of NAI. Prior to her almost 8 years with NAI, she served as executive director of the Virginia Association of Museums for 19 years. Before her work in association management, she held several quite different positions in state and federal government - as a foreign service officer she served in Dakar, Senegal and Warsaw, Poland in addition to stints in Washington DC. For the state of Missouri, she served as Special Projects Coordinator and Legislative Liaison for the Division of Aging, and International Marketing Specialist for the Department of Agriculture. She is keeping busy in retirement as a member of the Fort Collins Historic Preservation Commission and as a volunteer mentor/counselor for small businesses and nonprofits through the national SCORE network - Service Corps of Retired Executives.
BETTY BRENNAN
Founder
Taylor Studios
Betty has been leading the Taylor Studios team since 1991, creating timeless exhibits for museums and nature centers across the country. With her oversight, Taylor Studios has completed over 750 projects in the last 32 years ranging from $500 to over $3 million each. As president, she implemented the strategic goals and objectives of the company while giving direction and leadership toward the achievement of the company’s philosophy, mission, and strategy. She also oversaw all departments ensuring the entire organization runs in accordance with Taylor Studios’ high standards.
An active contributor, Betty stays highly involved in the nature and business communities. She’ been recognized by Inc. Magazine’s Female Founders 100 list in 2020, nationally recognized on the Inc. 500 and twice on the Inc. 5,000, regionally famed as an Outstanding Woman You Should Know by local media and published in a confetti of other resources. Under her leadership, Taylor Studios thrives in the exhibition industry.
In December of 2021 Betty sold Taylor Studios, Inc. to Reginald Binford. She remained President through August of 2022. Now direction has been passed on to the leadership team Betty built. The future looks bright for Taylor Studios with Reggie’s infusion of expertise and capital and the same commitment as always to inspire people through exhibits. Betty will continue to be an ambassador for Taylor Studios, Inc. as she moves into a sabbatical period.
Agriculture is the foundation of Betty’s life. From early life on the farm to owning and managing acres of land with horses, she understands the importance and impact of agriculture. Her current farm project involves removing invasive species and planting native plants.
ANNE KETZ
CEO & Services Director
106 Group
Anne’s career in cultural resources interpretation, management, and planning extends over 40 years. Anne has witnessed the field of cultural heritage and interpretive planning change significantly and has been instrumental in its establishment as a vital part of planning. Today, Anne is honored to serve as Vice President for the International Committee on Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (ICIP) for International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Since founding the 106 Group in 1992, she has worked with a broad range of stakeholders, including community activists, planners, and Native American leaders. She is skilled at seeking creative solutions to challenging problems and has authored numerous interpretive plans.
JANET LABRECK
Founder
Janet LaBreck Consulting LLC
Dr. Janet LaBreck, is a national thought leader committed to results-driven outcomes with strong, practical expertise and a passion for helping clients leverage partnerships, manage stakeholders, and design innovative strategies that align and promote meaningful, sustainable organizational success for the public and private sector. In 2013 Dr. Labreck was nominated by president Barack Obama and then confirmed by the senate to be Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration(RSA) to provide national leadership to assist state and other agencies providing vocational rehabilitation services(VR) to individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence, and integration into the community and workforce. Following her tenure as RSA Commissioner, Dr. LaBreck co founded Synergy Consulting Partners and Janet LaBreck Consulting. Janet represents the less than three percent of people with disabilities who are successfully self-employed.
Dr. LaBreck serves on the board of several organizations and institutions, including The National Braille Press, The New England College of Optometry (from which she received an honorary doctorate), WellSky Healthcare, and RespectAbility.
MARY CLARK
CEO
Agents of Discovery
Mary is a dynamic leader with a passion for creating education technologies that change the world. A visionary entrepreneur who brings a unique perspective to product development, Mary brings years of experience as a teacher and science textbook writer to her executive role. She holds a B.Sc. (Honors) and B.Ed. from the University of Alberta, as well as an M.Ed. (with a focus on education technology) from the University of British Columbia.
Mary has been the recipient of numerous awards, ranging from the Louise McKinney Award for Top Student at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Education, Edwin Parr Teacher Award for Best First Year Teacher in Alberta, and Canada’s Top 50 women in STEM. Check out Mary Clark’s interview with Okanagan Edge discussing Kelowna Chamber of Commerce’s Top 40 Over 40 program
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KESHIA CHAMBERS
Founder
This is BLK CLE
Keshia Chambers is an engineer from Texas with a curiosity for history. In Texas, Keshia grew up celebrating Juneteenth and went to an HBCU - being connected to black history and culture is important to her. Ms Chambers moved to Cleveland, Oh and wanted to learn about the local African American history, but it was not readily accessible so gathered that info on her own. After finding out that many who are native to Cleveland had never heard much of this hstory, Keshia was motivated to develop tours to share the truth about Cleveland’s African American history.