Listen to 3 unique speakers and stories, get an opportunity to ask questions and meet & network with like-minded people.
March 31, 2023
Chareice White
Regional Business Development Officer for Community Investment Fund of Indiana and
Founder and Chairman of the Board of ECIER Foundation
Chareice White is the Regional Business Development Officer
for Community Investment Fund of Indiana (CIFI)
which provides Business Development Services to clients.
Chareice is also the Founder and Chairman of the Board of ECIER Foundation which provides a structured educational program
empowering young people to become innovative entrepreneurs and scholarships to high school seniors.
Chareice is a photojournalist with the Times Media group, featuring a weekly celebrity and society column in Northwest Indiana. She is also the owner of Reice Communications, a full-service strategic partnership and community relations company.
She is very active in the community: an integral board member for the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (Secretary);
Methodist Hospital Foundation, Northwest Indiana Reinvestment
Alliance (NIWRA), Horizon Bank Advisory Committee, founding member of Diverse Women in Business Initiative (DWIBI), member of the Community Action Board for NBC Chicago, and a member of NIPSCO’s CAP program (Community Advisory Panel).
Her community service and leadership has been recognized locally
and nationally and has earned many prestigious awards: 2021 Advocate for Youth Entrepreneurship by the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development for her outstanding contribution to youth entrepreneurship, 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Marcher Award presented by the Gary Frontiers Service Club, 2017 Role Model of the Year Award, 2017 Distinguished Service Award presented by the Mayors Committee on Disabilities for the City of Gary, 2012 Influential Woman of the Year Award of Northwest Indiana, and many more!
Adela Ortega
Founder & President
Professional Locomotive Services, Inc.
Adela Ortega is the President, founder and sole owner of Professional Locomotive Services, Inc. (aka
PLS). PLS is a company whose specialty
is anything locomotives: from maintenance, service, repair,
build,
to rebuild and/or provide locomotive components.
Prior to graduating from DePaul University in 1992, Adela worked for various companies in downtown Chicago while attending school
giving her a strong background in administration and
leadership.
Her last employer was in the railroad industry. It is where her
knowledge and love for
locomotives began.
Adela started her own company (PLS) in 1996 with a small office in a basement with one
mechanic, one electrician, one customer, one service vehicle, and a great deal of passion for
locomotives. The company continued to grow, and in 2007, relocated in East Chicago, Indiana where she has her own
70,000 sq. ft. locomotive shop.
PLS has earned a strong reputation in the railroad industry and in the community. Adela is still
running PLS after 27 years.
Michelle Wainwright
Founder and President
Cute as a Cupcake
Michelle Wainwright is the owner and founder of Cute as a Cupcake! Cupcakery & Bake Shop based in Merrillville, Indiana.
Michelle is a native of Terre Haute, Indiana and a 1998 graduate of Indiana University, earning a B.S. degree in public and environmental affairs. in 2005, she earned her MBA from Indiana University-Northwest. After years of success in the pharmaceutical industry came to an end, she decided to turn her talents to entrepreneurship. Owning her own company has always been a dream and now in her 8th year with 13 employees, her mission remains the same; to create an inclusive environment so everyone can experience the passion, quality and love in her cupcakes.
Michelle is the board president of an independent school in Northwest Indiana, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Michelle and her husband Arthur have three children, two boys and one girl.
March 31, 2023
Come listen to unique speakers and stories, get an opportunity to ask questions and meet & network with like-minded people.
– South Shore CVA –
7770 Corinne Dr, Hammond, IN 46323
(80/94 and Kennedy Ave)
The thing that most often keeps us all up at night is the thought of failing and the shaming that is associated with failure. But, nothing great in history was ever achieved without failure! It’s one of the key ingredient for success.
Many of the F*ups that we face however are often repeated and can be avoided if those before us would have the courage to share their mistakes.
IKANSTART thinks it’s time that we get together and share our F*ups openly to help each other understand what went wrong and how to avoid mistakes when possible. But more importantly, it’s time to show people that F*ups are not fatal but part of every great success story.
It’s time that we get together and share our F*ups openly
with others to help them understand what went wrong
and how to avoid mistakes when possible.
But more
importantly, it’s time to show people that F*ups are not
fatal but part of every great success story.
Do you have a story and want to share it at one of our upcoming events?
Previous Speakers
We are grateful to have had the following she speakers at one of our previous events!
Dr. Harry
Kunelis
HK Creative Investments
Carol Podolak &
Joy Thompkins
bNutty
Dwyane Walker
Chicagoland Popcorn
Kenneth Whisenton
Huntington National Bank – New York City
Rockland Page
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