FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Media Contact:
Brenda Wishart, Co-Director
Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation Entrepreneurship Initiative
(413) 467-9020
bwishart@comcast.net
 
October 24, 2006

Day-long conference: Empowering a New Generation of Entrepreneurs
November 3, 2006
Registrations still available
 
SPRINGFIELD - Hampshire College graduate Cynthia Carr Gardner will share her experiences as a Glamour Magazine editor, a Hollywood stylist, and a successful entrepreneur during the day-long conference Empowering a New Generation of Entrepreneurs, November 3 at the Mass Mutual Center, 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
 
Organized by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, this conference is held annually to encourage young entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into businesses. More than 250 undergraduate and graduate students from 13 area colleges are expected at the event, which will include presentations on several topics, among them: “The Importance of a Business Plan,” “Ten Paths to More Successful Entrepreneurship,” and “Small Business Regulations: A Small Business Owner’s ‘Crash Course’ in Regulatory Compliance.”
 
Businesses interested in attending this conference may register by contacting Brenda Wishart at (413) 467-9020 or bwishart@comcast.net. The admission fee is $100. Students who attend one of the institutions participating in the HGCF Entrepreneurship Initiative receive full scholarships, but they must register with their school advisors in advance. 
 
In addition to Gardner, who will speak at 12:45 p.m., there will be several local business leaders presenting their experience, including Mary Ellen Scott, Founder of United Personnel Services, Inc.; Dave Ratner, Founder and Chief “Instigating” Officer at Dave’s Soda and Pet City; Paul Kozub, Founder and President of Valley Vodka (V-One); and Sue Kaplan, Founder and President of Go Fit.
 
Gardner is a stylist and costume designer whose 27-year career was inspired while a student at Hampshire College. She has parlayed her love of style, fashion, and design into a wide-ranging career that has included stints at Walt Disney studios, Glamour Magazine, and, most recently at ESPN, where she was hired to do image consulting for five NFL anchor/hosts.  She was recently featured in the September issues of The Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated.
 
Also headlining this conference will be Joanna Alberti, the founder and creative director of philoSophies Stationary and Greetings, a whimsical greeting card line that features a can-do career woman named Sophie. Alberti will speak at 9:15 a.m. The Rochester, NY native began her career as the assistant media planner for Hill Holiday, one of Boston’s most prestigious advertising firms. She was recently named One of the Top Five Entrepreneurs Under 25 by Business Week Magazine. 
 
Sponsored by philoSophie’s, TD Banknorth and Westbank, the Entrepreneurship Conference is open to undergraduate and graduate students who attend institutions participating in the HGCF Entrepreneurship Initiative, including: American International College, Bay Path College, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Hampshire College, Holyoke Community College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, University of Massachusetts, Western New England College and Westfield State.