I’ve blogged on SheInTheCLE before – when I first realized that a small conference I had created was actually much bigger in scope and impact than I had anticipated. I remember the day that Amy Martin encouraged me to write about it – because “it was important for women to hear what you are doing.” That was one of the turning points for me – we were a part of something big enough that we had an obligation to get the word out in a thoughtful and aggressive manner.

Now, here I am – three years later and we are a little more than a week away from our biggest and most anticipated conference to date. And it’s a milestone for me personally – one that means more than I ever thought it would.  It’s caused me to rethink how I introduce myself when I meet people.

“Hello, my name is Robin Doerschuk and I’m an entrepreneur and the founder of the Women’s Leadership Conference of Northeast Ohio.”

Don’t laugh – this took me some time. It was an entire identity process. I was reared in corporate America and while I did join a startup many years back – I struggled with identifying with the “entrepreneurs” in the room. It was a mindset that was tough for me. Until I started this conference.

I started this conference for all the reasons you would think:

1. I knew there were insanely talented women in our region who deserved a strong platform.
2. I know women need to see successful women in action to understand the opportunities that they need to continue to fight for.
3. I knew a place was needed for like minded business women to network and have a day that is just for them
4. And most importantly, I wanted to build something from the ground up, with other amazing women standing right beside me.

But never did I feel like this work would become a part of me – like it is today. It’s a year long process planning this event and I love every minute of it.  We packed in more than 400 women last year to our one-day conference and if the trends are correct, we are on track to top it this year. And the women speakers we have lined up are enough to draw people from neighboring towns and states.

Our Keynote Speakers:

• ​Justine Siegal: First Woman to Coach for Major League Baseball organization (Cleveland Indians)
• Deloras Pressley: International Keynote Motivational Speaker, CEO, Author, TV Show Host
• Kristen Baird Adams: Chief Operating Officer for PNC Regional Presidents interviewed by Paul Clark Regional President of PNC Bank, Cleveland

Session speakers:

• ​​Corey Minor Smith: General Counsel for Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority and Canton City Council Elect she has been featured on TV Radio as a highly sought after thought leader on education, housing and mental health.
• Amy Sullivan:  Director of Behavioral Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic who will host a workshop on how to navigate through the mental health of women
• Maureen Thune:  VP and General Auditor at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
• Yolanda Armstrong:  President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland, a 25 year veteran in social services who is constantly giving back as a huge community supporter and as a servant leader on multiple boards
• Barb Singer: Founder & CEO of Executive Core: Over the last 15 years Barbara has worked with thousands of high-potential leaders around the globe at critical turning points in their careers
• Courtney Gras:  Executive Director of Launch League, award recipient of Forbes 30 under 30 and co-founder of startup Design Flux Technologies
• Linda Roman:  Vice President of Business Development for HumanArc Corporation: Also as an entrepreneur, she was the founder and President of two healthcare companies
• Mel McGee:  Founder and CEO of We Can Code IT, who is a software engineer and architect.  Mel has been featured in many books for her innovation and development in the early wearable computer and web development

So, I guess you can say I have finally rounded that bend – I know we have something great here. This is no longer a conference – this is a movement. A big step in the right direction for women. I’m proud of what we have built, my growing team and for finding a bit more of myself in this process.

To register for the conference please click here.