Presented By:
Entrepreneura Summit
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs on Their Journey
Attend panel discussions, and working sessions administered by successful entrepreneurs, community leaders, and faculty. Our Inspiring speakers will share their experiences, offer guidance and explore how women can excel in their careers, and empower one another.
Free Virtual Event: March 8-11th
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March 8th, 2-3pm PST
Fundraising for Female Founders
The U.S. startup ecosystem going to female-led firms was just 2.8% in 2019, access to capital is a struggle for women entrepreneurs. Learn about funding resources and opportunities available to female founders
Xandra Laskowski (Moderator)
Angel Investor and Startup Advisor
Xandra Laskowski is an angel investor and startup advisor with over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience with large multinational tech companies as well as startups as founder, investor, advisor and board member.
Rhonda Shrader (Speaker)
Executive Director of the Bay Area Node for NSF I-Corps as well as the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program
Rhonda Shrader is the Executive Director of the Bay Area Node for NSF I-Corps as well as the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program. As an entrepreneur, she was an early team member of MIT spinout Organogenesis, one of the first publicly traded regenerative medicine companies.
Molly B. Schmid (Speaker)
SBDC consultant with the SBDC at UCI Beall Applied Innovation
Molly Schmid, Ph.D. has had significant careers in both academia and in the life science industry. She has several patents and numerous technical publications. She has held a variety of senior leadership roles in pharmaceutical discovery, bioinformatics and biochemical technology companies. Currently Dr. Schmid serves as an SBDC consultant with the SBDC at UCI Beall Applied Innovation, where she is focused on providing customized solutions for life science businesses facing growth challenges.
March 9th, 2-3pm PST
Social Impact
Speakers will share their experiences and their journeys of starting, running, and growing social impact ventures
Mihai Patru (Moderator)
Executive Director and Co-Founder of Caravanserai Project
Mihai Patru is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Caravanserai Project, a social impact venture supporting mission-driven leaders and organizations along their journeys. He also serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence on Social Entrepreneurship at University of California in Riverside.
Ashley Hill (Speaker)
Founder of Magdalena’s Daughters
Ashley Hill is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has experience working with intense foster dependent youth. She has provided intensive therapy and case management services for foster youth in group homes and foster homes for over the past four years.
Marylou Adriatico (Speaker)
Co-Founder and Program Director of The Seed Program
Marylou Adriatico, MSW is the Co-Founder and Program Director of The Seed Program, a support program for youth in foster care that supports their social, emotional, and educational development. Marylou holds a B.A. in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Social Welfare (MSW) from UCLA.
Susie Gomez (Speaker)
President and CEO Inland Empire Community Collaborative
The President/CEO of the Inland Empire Community Collaborative (IECC). The IECC is the result of nine years and 87 non-profit agencies working together to strengthen our organizations and improve outcomes for individuals and communities throughout San Bernardino & Riverside County.
Katie Estrella (Moderator)
Program Coordinator at the Women's Resource Center
Katie Estrella (she/her) is a Program Coordinator at the Women’s Resource Center where she oversees the internship program, the Graduate Mentoring Program, Campus Safety Escort Service, and general WRC programs. Prior to joining the Highlander family, Katie earned her Master’s degree in Postsecondary Educational Leadership-Student Affairs from San Diego State University.
Leidy Macias (Speaker)
UCR student and Business Owner
Leidy Macias (they/she) is currently a 4th year UCR student, double majoring in U.S History and Political Science International Affairs. They work at the Women’s Resource Center in a student staff position, serve on the Referendum Student Advisory Committee, and co-own a small business called Kaleidoscope Cultured.
Ankita Ahluwalia (Speaker)
UCR student and Startup Founder
Ankita Ahluwalia is a freshman at UC Riverside majoring in Computer Science with Business Applications and is the Founder and Administrative Leader of the POWAN Initiative, where college students support K-12 students along their educational journeys through our various tutorial assistance and mentoring programs.
Halle Sam-Boudreau (Speaker)
UCR student and Entrepreneur
Halle Sam-Boudreau is in her final year at UCR as a Economic Administration major with a concentration in Marketing and French Literature Minor. She is currently the president of BRIDGE, an Entrepreneurship resource for the black community at UCR. Halle is also the founder of UNJADED Official which helps men and women heal from traumatic experiences such as sexual assault.
March 10th, 2-3pm PST
Possibilities for Women in STEM
Discussing the challenges women face in entering and staying in STEM, and outline strategies to overcome those barriers
Professor Mona Eskandari (Moderator)
Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Mona Eskandari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and associated faculty of the BREATHE Center in the School of Medicine at UC-Riverside. Her area of expertise is experimental and computational biomechanics, focusing on lung mechanics. Prior to her postdoctoral fellowship at UC-Berkeley, she received her doctorate from Stanford University, where she was also a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow.
Sirina Nabhan (Speaker)
Project Data Systems Engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Sirina graduated UC Riverside with a B.S. in Electrical Engineer in 2017. During her junior year she had the opportunity to intern at JPL through the FIELDS program on campus. This paved the way for a career in space exploration. Today Sirina works as a Systems Engineer for the Deep Space Network which enables mission who visit the moon and beyond to communicate with the various space agencies operating them.
Jill Finlayson (Speaker)
Director, Women in Tech Initiative
Jill Finlayson is passionate about leadership and innovation for all. As Director of the Women in Tech Initiative at UC, she supports research and initiatives to promote equitable participation of women in tech. Prior to Berkeley, she led mentorship and incubator
programs for Singularity University Ventures, the Toys category at eBay, an online community for Skoll Foundation, marketing at startups, and the World Bank’s Striking Poverty site.
Professor Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz (Speaker)
Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department at the University of California, Riverside. She joined the University in 2018, after receiving her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining UC Riverside, she was a Provost postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where she developed procedures for synthesizing heterogeneous catalysts using atomic layer deposition.
March 10th, 3-4pm PST
Virtual Discussion
Possibilities for Women in STEM
(Zoom Discussion)
Kartavi Shah (Moderator)
UCR Alum
Kartavi Shah graduated from UCR in June 2020 as a chemical engineer with an emphasis in biochemical engineering. She’s passionate about STEM and entrepreneurship and has created an Instagram and Youtube (@itskartavi) dedicated to sharing her advice, learnings, and journey in STEM/business.
Maricela Argueta (Speaker)
UCR MRB Incubator Manager
Maricela received her Bachelor Degree in Biology from UCR in 2000. She worked in academic laboratories at City of Hope and Loma Linda Veterans Hospital before moving to industry. Prior to re-joining UCR, Maricela was an Field Application Scientist for companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific and Affymetrix.
Jasmine Moreno (Speaker)
Computer Vision Software Engineer at Relativity
Jasmine Moreno graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at UCR 2017 and with a M.S. in Electrical and Computer Science at UCLA 2019. She is currently a Computer Vision Software Engineer at Relativity Space, a 3D printing rocket company. She works closely with the robotic printers to make them autonomous.
Sirina Nabhan (Speaker)
Project Data Systems Engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Sirina graduated UC Riverside with a B.S. in Electrical Engineer in 2017. During her junior year she had the opportunity to intern at JPL through the FIELDS program on campus. This paved the way for a career in space exploration. Today Sirina works as a Systems Engineer for the Deep Space Network which enables mission who visit the moon and beyond to communicate with the various space agencies operating them.
March 11th, 2-3pm PST
Leadership and Professional Development
Discussing skills and career strategies to improve your future possibilities
Guadalupe Saldivar (Moderator)
UCR Career Center Business Career Specialist
Guadalupe Saldivar, UCR Career Center Business Career Specialist, earned her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Management from New Mexico State University and a Master of Arts degree in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University. Guadalupe has six years of experience specializing in career services.
Heidi Chen (Speaker)
Lead Digital Strategist at Free Logic Inc.
Heidi Chen is an international student from Singapore. She graduated from UCR with a Bachelor’s in Business, Information Systems, and became the first full-time hire at Free Logic Inc. (a digital consultancy) as a Digital Strategist. As somebody with high expectations of herself, she finds herself being challenged time and again being an international student, working in the startup world, and giving herself grace. She values empathy, mental health, and a growth mindset.
Ashley Zepek (Speaker)
UCR Alum and Startup Founder
Ashley Zepek is a recent UCR college graduate navigating the so-called real world. Like many other recent graduates, she had to try out many different areas before she was able to set her life direction on course. It only took several internships, a full-time job, and some stents in the start-up world to figure out her calling – entrepreneurship!
Professor Kyle Ingram (Speaker)
Assistant Professor of Teaching, Faculty Director of Professional Development, UCR School of Business
Dr. Ingram completed his PhD in Organizational Behavior at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science in 2012. Subsequently, he has held Assistant Professor positions at three British Institutions – including King’s College London. Administratively, he has served as program director for the Bachelors in Organizational Psychology and is currently the Faculty Director of Professional Development at UCR.
March 11th, 3-4pm PST
Virtual Working Session
Personal branding and job applications
(Zoom Discussion)
Heidi Chen (Speaker)
Lead Digital Strategist at Free Logic Inc.
Heidi Chen is an international student from Singapore. She graduated from UCR with a Bachelor’s in Business, Information Systems, and became the first full-time hire at Free Logic Inc. (a digital consultancy) as a Digital Strategist. As somebody with high expectations of herself, she finds herself being challenged time and again being an international student, working in the startup world, and giving herself grace. She values empathy, mental health, and a growth mindset.
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