The Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia is hosting its first-ever Social Entrepreneurship Conference.

Many women become entrepreneurs because they want their work to be purpose-driven. More and more socially conscious entrepreneurs are using market-based strategies as a way to address social problems in addition to profit.

This smart approach to business aligns with the fact that customers are being a lot more socially conscious when it comes to where they spend their money. Millennials, who have $200 billion in buying power, care about products and services that will leave a lasting, positive impact on the environment, on families and on communities. With women making up half of the social entrepreneur population and millennials having all of the necessary characteristics to start these ventures, millennial women are a force to be reckoned with.

Come learn how to do business with this influential generation. Whether you’re a new or an established business, you will walk away inspired and ready to plant your brand deeper.

Speakers Include:

Bethany Rubin Henderson, award-winning social entrepreneur and professor at George Mason University

Topic: Social Entrepreneurship 101

Jessica Smith, mission-minded business counselor at the Women's Business Center of Northern Virginia

Topic: Collecting Change: How to Crowdfund Projects with Impact

Dr. Leelannee Malin, owner of Malin PR and professor at Howard University Cathy Hughes School of Communication

Topic: How to Build Your Social Media Constituent Base

Karlene Sinclair-Robinson, managing member of KSR Solutions, LLC and bestselling author of Spank the Bank: The Guide to Alternative Business Financing

Key Note Speaker: It's Not about You! Getting over Personal Blockages that Hinder Business Success

Connie Russell Gorum,

Panelist: Military Social Entrepreneurs

Meghan Ogilive, CEO of Dog Tag Bakery Inc.

Panelist: Military Social Entrepreneurs

Kezia Williams, Founder of The Black upStart

Panelist: Millennial Social Entrepreneurs

Cortni Grange, Founder of Future Leaders &Young Entrepreneurs (FLYE)

Panelist: Millennial Social Entrepreneurs

A special thanks to our Sponsors