Women As Veteran Entrepreneurs (WAVE) Announces The 5th Annual Veteran Woman Owned Small Business Seminar

The Woman As Veteran Entrepreneurs (WAVE) is celebrating their 5th year of providing business resources to veteran Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSB). Registration is NOW open for the 5th Annual Veteran Woman Owned Small Business Seminar on March 19, 2015 from 8:30am-4:30pm at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Registration, beginning at 8:30am, is $95 and includes breakfast and lunch. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the Women in Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc.

The event will include over 20 government agency, prime contractor, and small business exhibitors. This is an opportunity to network with other veteran WOSBs and meet potential teaming partners. Gain insight from a series of expert speakers from the veteran’s community, including:

· Teresa Lewis, Event Emcee, Director of the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

· Lisa Wolford, President/CEO of Constellation West

· Anne Altman, General Manager of US Government Industries, IBM

· Louisa Jaffe, President/CEO of TAPE

· Marylyn Harris, Women Veterans Business Center of Houston, Texas

· Elisa Basnight, Director of the Center for Women Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs

· Diane Dempsey, Director of Socio Economic Business Programs, BAE Systems

· Towan Isom, President/CEO of Isom Global Strategies

· Malda Brown, Former SBA Procurement Center Representative

· Emily McMahan, Director of Capitol Post

Capital One Bank will conduct a Breakout Session on “The Path to Becoming Loan Eligible.” Additionally, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will be on hand to help WOSBs certify their businesses and the Department of Veterans Affairs will be on-site with CVE Representatives to provide businesses with an update on the status of their CVE Verification application.

WAVE (Women As Veteran Entrepreneurs) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded by two Women Veteran Entrepreneurs, Harvetta Spann, a U.S. Army Veteran, and Stephanie Bolton James. WAVE organizes quarterly events to help Women & Veteran owned business owners network and learn more about how they can grow their businesses, through partnering with large government contractors and the federal government.

Havetta Spann is the President and Owner of the BLS Group, a full lifecycle project management and service provider company. She has extensive experience in providing operational and strategic project planning services to government, non-profit and commercial organizations. Harvetta, Co-Founder of WAVE, tells us in her own words, “After leaving military service, it is not easy to start a business of your own. We wanted to establish an organization that would help support Women Veterans as they launch their second careers and need help finding the right path. Creating WAVE has given us a way to give back and help create valuable networking opportunities for Women Veteran Entrepreneurs.

Stephanie Bolton James, also Co-Founder of WAVE, is a partner in Ken Bolton and Associates, a Marketing and Event Management Company. Stephanie has more than 25 years of experience in hotel and event management. She felt it was important to help Women Veteran Entrepreneurs. As Stephanie states, “We know the importance of strategic connections and meeting the right people for business growth. Through WAVE, we give Women Veteran Entrepreneurs opportunities to make the best connections and grow their businesses. Our experienced and knowledgeable speakers give advice and tips for best practices when looking for and acquiring government work. It has been rewarding to give back and help Women Veterans through the WAVE.”

The mission of the charitable group, WAVE is to provide a forum for Veteran Woman-Owned Small Businesses to promote success through:

· Creating the opportunity to meet prime contractors to discuss business teaming, sub-contracting and mentoring opportunities.

· Providing information detailing success strategies for doing business with the government.

· Creating quality targeted networking opportunities.

· Proving support by giving back to Women Veterans and organizations that support them.

For more information on the WAVE or the 5th Annual Veteran Women Owned Small Business Seminar, visit www.thewave.us.com. To set up an interview with the Co-Founders of WAVE or any of the speakers, or to obtain a press pass to the event on March 19th, please contact, Elysa Leonard with Splash Communications via email at [email protected] or by phone, 571-426-5145.