New panelists and a more student-friendly location highlight the second annual Furman University Women\u2019s Networking Event (WNE), but the goal to inspire and connect women in the Greenville community with each other and Furman students remains unchanged.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone that attends will either learn something new from the panel or meet at least one person that they can follow up with as a connection,\u201d said organizer Betsy Rice \u201920.<\/p>\n
Slated for Monday, Sept. 23, in the Watkins Room of the Trone Student Center, the WNE begins at 5:30 p.m. and will feature a panel headlined once again by Furman President Elizabeth Davis. Also on the panel are former Furman Board of Trustees member Francie Heller, Sheryl Higgins, Shelby Dodson and Dr. Betsy Bloodworth \u201992.<\/p>\n
Heller<\/a>, director of Arabesque Asset Management, is the daughter of Max and Trude Heller, the namesakes of Furman\u2019s Heller Service Corps<\/a>. Higgins is the first female captain<\/a> in Furman’s police department, while Bloodworth is a pediatrician in Greenville and Dodson is first vice president of Greenville commercial real estate company CBRE.<\/p>\n Joanie Martin ’90, Michelin North America\u2019s Chief Administrative Officer, will serve as moderator.<\/p>\n Rice, an urban studies major who hopes to work in the male-dominated field of commercial real estate, was inspired by her relationship with Dodson\u00a0to bring the first Women\u2019s Networking Event<\/a> to Furman in September of 2018. Rice worked as an intern in Dodson\u2019s office and considers her to be a mentor.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s doing what I want to do, and seeing someone do that is really empowering,\u201d Rice said last year.<\/p>\n Approximately 250 people attended the inaugural WNE, which was held in the Younts Conference Center. Rice is expecting more than 300 this time, in part because Trone is a more convenient location for students. Gold sponsors include the Malone Center for Career Engagement, The Riley Institute, CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Upstate, and the Furman economics, business and accounting, and computer science departments.<\/p>\n