The Charles River Regional Chamber (CRRC) hosted its first women’s conference, Momentum, connecting attendees and speakers from various fields to share knowledge and network on the Wellesley College campus on June 13.
Angela Pitter, CRRC board chair and founder and chief executive officer of LiveWire Collaborative, a Newton-based digital marketing consultancy, provided welcoming remarks, setting the tone for the day’s events: “Together let’s connect, empower, and inspire and leave here with the momentum to drive lasting change,” she said. In her speech, Pitter cited many women who are in leadership positions in Massachusetts, including Newton’s Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, Governor Maura Healey, and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll.
Keynote speaker, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, delivered remarks to the enthusiastic crowd of about 200 women in business. “[I’m] so pleased to be here as part of the first all-female team to lead the Commonwealth,” she said. Driscoll said that events like the conference promote the local economic ecosystem.
Driscoll highlighted that Massachusetts invests in and creates policy for families, education, and business such as the continuation of Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants, which support child care and education providers. These grants were initially introduced during the pandemic and continued afterwards “…so we could try and build a better pipeline for early child care. […] Because that’s important for working families and especially important for women,” she said.
Following the keynote address were six breakout sessions, all led by women who are leaders in their respective fields.
Kymberlee O’Brien, assistant professor of organizational leadership psychology at William James College, led the session, Boundaries & Balance: Creating Space for What Matters, where she discussed what happens to the body and mind during moments of stress and fear and how to navigate regulating those emotions.
In the second set of breakout sessions, Allison Yee, founder and chief executive officer of UpNext, a pop-up shop enterprise based in West Newton, and Erin Rathe, senior planner for economic development for Watertown, presented, Local Leverage: Building Community-Based Business Collaborations. The two discussed how local businesses and retailers can collaborate to create meaningful outcomes for the community, and they encouraged the audience to workshop their own ideas for how their businesses can make partnerships.
Lunch was provided following the breakout sessions. Catering for the event was provided by NaisLee Catering, a women-owned catering company based in West Newton also known for running Lavender Cafe.
The conference concluded with a discussion panel moderated by Tiziana Dearing, host of WBUR’s Morning Edition, on the topic of allyship. Panelists were Tracy Burns, chief executive officer of the Northeast HR Association, Gabrielle King Morse, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Women & Enterprise, and Enieda Roman, an attorney and president and chief executive officer of Amplify Latinx.
The discussion engaged the panelists in reflections of their experiences in their careers and transitioning to their current positions. Dearing asked the panelists what advice they would give to a 20-year-old today, to which Roman said, “Mindset is so powerful. So whatever you think you can become you can, or whatever you think you can do, you will.”
