PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — New Ventures Maine will present its 8th annual ALL for Women conference on Friday, May 31, with a full day of presentations and workshops aimed at bringing women together and sharing advice regarding professional and personal growth.
ALL for Women will be held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The day will begin with a keynote address from New Ventures Maine executive director and Presque Isle native Gilda Nardone and a leadership panel moderated by WAGM-TV anchor Shawn Cunningham. The scheduled panelists are Theresa Berry, owner of Miss Theresa’s Daycare in Patten; Sarah Bosse, program analyst for MMG Insurance; Rachel Swartz, obstetrics and gynecology specialist for Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital; and Christie Wolf, behavioral health nurse practitioner for Northern Light’s Fort Fairfield clinic.
“The panel primarily focuses on leadership and is an opportunity for women to talk about their journeys as professionals, what challenges they’ve faced and moments that have impacted them,” said Karin Petrin, micro enterprise specialist for New Ventures Maine’s northern region.
Both the morning and afternoon workshops will be broken into five “breakout sessions” based on the topics of assets, business, career, empowerment and leadership, which are also the main components of New Ventures Maine’s services. Workshops will focus on areas such as finding a balance between professional and personal lives, the benefits of health savings accounts, building supportive relationships with colleagues, and self-actualization.
This year, New Ventures Maine has added four, 30-minute “mini sessions” that will occur during the conference’s lunch period from 12:15 to 1:15. Participants can choose between attending a meditation session or a dance and movement activity for the first mini session and between a hands-on art project or open recovery meeting for their second session.
The conference also will highlight the recent 40th anniversary of New Ventures Maine, which began in 1978 as the Maine Displaced Homeworkers Program with a focus on helping recently divorced or widowed women homemakers re-enter the workforce. In 1994, the organization became Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community and shifted its mission toward online and in-person classes on business, financial literacy and leadership.
Starting in 2015, the organization changed to New Ventures Maine and has since reached out to both women and men in Maine communities and offered courses on business, financial literacy and leadership.
During the ALL for Women conference, officials from New Ventures Maine will display a timeline to celebrate the organization’s history. They will invite attendees to write down key moments that have occurred in their own professional careers and attach those pieces of paper to the timeline.
“We have a lot of really cool things going on this year and we hope women can join us,” Petrin said. “When women are able to get together and learn from each other’s experiences, it’s very powerful and moving.”
Though ALL for Women is typically held in March, New Ventures Maine decided to set the conference date for May to avoid possible setbacks due to winter weather. Community members have until Friday, May 17, to register and can do so on New Ventures Maine’s website or Facebook page or by sending a completed registration form to the northern office of the organization at New Ventures Maine, University of Maine at Presque Isle, 181 Main Street, Preble Hall 239, Presque Isle, ME 04769
Anyone wishing to obtain more information about the conference can contact Petrin at (207) 768-9468 or karin.petrin@maine.edu.
