‘Dream, Girl’ to Set Up Dialogue at UMD’s Smith School

SEPT. 6, 2016 (College Park, Md.) — Students will discuss the power of the female economy and related topics following a “Dream, Girl” screening on Sept. 13 at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The event is part of a fall 2016 lineup of Smith School activities associated with 50/50 by 2020, an ongoing campaign to close the MBA gender enrollment gap.

“Women have more buying power than they realize,” said Sharon Strange Lewis, senior director of the school’s Women and Diversity Programs. “They drive the economy, which explains our urgency to get more women in leadership roles.”

The documentary, which tells the story of five women entrepreneurs, debuted on June 9 in New York. Smith will use the film to set up conversations among faculty, staff and students from all degree programs. “Everybody’s coming to the table,” Strange Lewis said. “When we come together we can make a larger impact, and the needle begins to move.”

Besides the power of the female economy, conversation topics will include women in leadership, funding for female entrepreneurs and “self-care and self-sabotage.” Strange Lewis said the fourth topic relates to women’s tendency to set an upper limit for themselves in terms of success, wealth, happiness and love. “Women must embrace their full potential and not talk themselves out of achieving or surpassing goals,” she said.  

Register here for the screening, which will start at 6 p.m. in Frank Auditorium at Van Munching Hall on UMD’s College Park campus. Partners with the school’s Office of Diversity Initiatives include the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, the Masters Program Office and the Office of Marketing Communications.

Other Smith School events designed to empower women in fall 2016 include:

Women Who Mean Business: Smith School dean Alexander Triantis will present an award at the annual gala, which will recognize the region’s most influential women on Oct. 13. The Smith School is a title sponsor of the event, organized by the Washington Business Journal at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.

National Association of Women MBAs Conference and Career Fair: An academic sponsor, Smith will host a panel discussion during the annual event Oct. 20-22, 2016, in Stamford, Conn. Strange Lewis will moderate the discussion, “You Have a Seat at the Table, but Is Your Voice Being Heard?” Participants will include Smith School MBA alumnae Sherika E. Ekpo, talent acquisition lead at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau; Martine M. Saint Vil, senior finance manager, digital, at Nickelodeon/Viacom; and Kristen Welch, senior vice president of global content operations at Discovery Communications.

Cookie College: Girl Scouts from local troops will visit campus on Dec. 10 to learn business skills that they can apply during the cookie sales season in 2017. Smith students will help train the trainers in November and then provide guidance during the main event. “We are feeding the pipeline of future business leaders,” Strange Lewis said.