More than 3,300 women attended the 7th annual Professional & Business Women's Conference held May 29 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Attendance climbed well over the previous year's record of 2,000 and the event sold out seven weeks in advance, causing the PBWC board to seek a larger venue for next year's event.
PBWC, Inc. is a non-profit educational association committed to women supporting women. The day long conference was founded in 1989 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier and has grown into the premier professional women's event in Northern California.
The annual conference is designed to assist women in gaining the tools, resources and information they need to meet the challenges of the future. It is attended by professional and business women from corporations, government, small business and non-profits from throughout the greater Bay Area.
A key to this year's success was the high caliber of the seminars and the professionalism of the seminar presenters and facilitators, said Gloria Minarik, president of PBWC. "We have improved the quality each year, and this year the content of the workshops was just outstanding. People walked out of there with professional and personal tools and skills they could use the next day."
The PBWC conference consisted of three tracks of nine 90-minute workshops, lead by women executives, entrepreneurs, community leaders and experts in a variety of fields on subjects including leadership development, negotiation skills, high tech marketing, starting a business, how to get on a board, conflict resolution, health issues, financial planning, personal development and many more.
Workshops were interspersed with keynote presentations from an outstanding group of widely recognized women leaders, including poet Maya Angelou; Dr. Nancy Snyderman, medical correspondent of ABC's Good Morning America; political columnist and reporter Molly Ivins and dinner speaker Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.
The conference also provided an impressive resource center, with booths and displays of products and services from local businesses, government agencies, non-profit groups and PBWC supporting organizations.
This year for the first time attendees were asked to respond to an electronic survey designed to register instant feedback on the conference and to learn more about the attendees. 63 percent of the respondents said they found the workshops and seminars the most valuable part of the conference professionally, and personally, 43 percent said Maya Angelou's opening presentation was most valuable. 68 percent of respondents indicated they would be interested if the conference expanded to two days--something the PBWC board will take under consideration. And 87 percent said they plan to attend again next year.
PBWC is supported by numerous corporations and supporting organizations. 1996 Conference co-chairs included Apple Computer, Inc.; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Levi Strauss & Co.; Pacific Bell and State Farm Insurance.
The 1997 PBWC conference will be Thursday, May 29 at the San Jose Convention Center. Capacity is 5,000, and a sellout is anticipated.
"We urge people to register early to avoid being turned away in the final weeks leading up to the conference," said Ruth Stergiou, executive director of PBWC. "Registrations for individual tickets and tables already are coming in at a good rate."
Cost to attend the 1997 conference is $125 for individuals and $1250 for tables of 10. PBWC is offering a discount on earlybird reservations--only $95 for individuals and $950 for tables of 10, with a deadline of July 31.
Booth space in the PBWC Resource Center is $475.
For registration information on the the 1997 PBWC conference on May 29 call 415-548-2424.
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