May Speaker Series

Description

Join us for our quarterly speaker series. An event that invites community leaders to share inspiration and accomplishments. For our last Speaker Series of the 22-23, we will be creating a conversation about the Path to Entrepreneurship & Beyond.

Lesley Robinson (Kendra Scott's Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute & AU40 finalist) will moderate a conversation with Nelly Garcia (founder of Rochelli Patisserie & AU40 finalist),  Katie Fritts (found of Underclub & AU40 finalist) and Shana Rehwald (founder of the Me-est Me Journal) 

Event Timeline:

• 6:30pm - 6:50pm: Check in, food & drinks, mingling
• 6:50pm - 7:00pm: YWA Announcements 
• 7:00pm: 7:15pm: Intro: The Path to Entrepreneurship 
• 7:15pm - 8:00pm: Panel + Q&A

Learn more about our moderator and panel:

Lesley Robinson, KS WELI (AU40 finalist): Lesley Robinson is the founding director of the KS WELI at UT Austin, where she empowers students - especially women - to "take the world by the horns". Her passion is supporting students to find the best path to their own destination. Through the newly launched Women in Entrepreneurship specialization at UT, she is a Lecturer in the McCombs Schools of Business, where she co-created the Entrepreneurial LeadHERship course that takes student leaders on a journey to discover their personal values, strengths and authentic leadership styles through a gender-enlightened perspective. By being “foundHER” focused -- Lesley redefines leadership and entrepreneurship by: building a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community; encouraging creativity and innovation; representing that "if you can see her, you can be her"; challenging barriers women face; and growing the number of women-owned and -led businesses. A Ph.D. candidate in higher education leadership from Colorado State University, her dissertation work is focused on gender-aware approaches to teaching entrepreneurship education. 

Nelly Garcia , Rocheli Patisserie founder (AU40 finalist): Born in Monterrey, Mexico and immigrated to Austin, TX in 2002 at the age of 15. Having the influence of her mother, who is a Chef, and after working in several restaurants as waitress and then as a cook, Nelly realized that her passion was the culinary world. Shortly thereafter, Nelly founded Rocheli Patisserie with her mother and sister. They specialize in novelty cakes, wedding cakes, and international pastries. In 2013, they worked alongside with TLC’s Cake Boss Buddy Valastro and in 2014 they received the College Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Entrepreneur Magazine. Ever since then, Nelly has been featured several times in Univision’s Despierta Austin; KXAN News, Austin Business Journal, Periódico El Norte, Forbes Mexico, and several other publications. My mid 2014, Nelly was featured in Austin Monthly Magazine as one of Austin’s 20 In Their 20s who are changing the city. In 2015, Nelly received the honor to be chosen as one of Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30 in the category of food and wine. The trio is now planning the expansion of Rocheli until it becomes an international brand.

Katie Fritts, Underclub founder (AU40 finalist): Katie Fritts is the founder and CEO of Underclub, an intimates brand that's best known for its underwear subscription service that helps women feel their most confident, badass selves. Katie started her career in investment banking but always knew she wanted to build a company of her own. After getting her MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship and women's studies from UC Berkeley Haas, she founded Underclub with the goal of helping women feel confident every day. She is passionate about empowering women and building a sustainable venture. Underclub and Katie have been featured in Vogue Business,  Refinery29, Bustle and more. For more information, please visit: underclub.com.

Shana Rehwald, Me-est Me Journal founder: Throughout Shana’s decade-long career working in social media and marketing, she helped build brands like Alo Yoga and Grayson. At 30 years old, the dream life she built, while coveted by others, had started to burn her out. Pouring herself into a journey of self-discovery and purpose led to her leaving her marriage and an established career path in the same year and shortly after becoming an accidental entrepreneur. Her seminal product, the Me-est Me Journal launched in 2021 with high acclaim and has helped thousands build self-awareness, quiet the noise of the world, and embrace short-term discomfort to move towards their truest desires. The Me-est Me Journal has been featured in CNN, Who What Wear, NY Mag, and was voted one of the best-guided journals in Shape Magazine and SELF. A native Los Angeleno, Shana recently relocated to Austin where she resides with her partner. In addition to being an entrepreneur, she is also the FoundHER Program Coordinator at the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute where she helps cultivate current and future entrepreneurs out of UT Austin.

This event is free for YWA members and $15 for non-members.

*** In-Person Programming No-Show Policy***

In order to allow for better planning and to provide our members with higher quality programming, we are implementing a no-show policy. All events have limited capacity, so if you registered and are unable to attend we ask that you please unregister within 48h. All no-shows or late cancelations will be charged an automatic $15 no-show fee. Thank you for your understanding and collaboration as we work to provide you with the quality of programming you deserve!