The entry kit for the 2014 (11th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is now available and entries are being accepted.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, is July 23.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries. Startup of The Year is a new category this year, and the entry fees for the New Product and Services categories have been reduced significantly.

The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards. The final entry deadline is August 27, but late entries will be accepted through September 24 with payment of a late fee.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife, including

* Entrepreneur Awards
* Executive Awards
* Management Team Awards
* Company of the Year Awards
* PR Awards
* Marketing Awards
* New Product Awards
* Website & App Awards
   and More

Wondering how you or your company can benefit from entering the Stevie Awards for Women in Business? Past winners share their experiences:

Winning a Stevie "shone a bright light on Signature HomeStyles’ mission to make a difference … one home at time. The Stevie Awards helped create more awareness about our company with articles appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily Herald, and other news outlets."
--- Madolyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Signature HomeStyles

"The town where I lived at the time I received the award -- Davie, Florida --  was so proud of and impressed with my Stevie Award that they named a day after me!  I never could have anticipated that this type of recognition would elicit such a response from my community, and I am grateful that the judges acknowledged the importance of supporting those with autism.  Winning the Lifetime Achievement Stevie Award was one of the high points of my career."
--- Valerie Herskowitz, president of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

“I encourage every woman in business to explore the Stevie Awards program and consider nominating yourself or another worthy advocate for the awards. The Stevie Awards staff and community are incredibly supportive and insightful. Going through the nomination process is fun and generates powerful self-discovery. Take that step – find your voice!”
--- Liz Ryan, founder of Human Workplace

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and a new program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

What were we thinking??!  With the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads, we forgot to announce that the video clips of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business presentations are available! 

Watch the videos here.

The 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business were presented in New York on Friday, November 8.   More than 400 women and their guests from around the world gathered to recognize the achievements of amazing women entrepreneurs, executives, and employees who won this year's Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards.  See the complete list of winners here.

What will you learn by watching these videos?  You'll learn that

1. Some women are able to tell their whole life stories in under 30 seconds

2. Women give much better speeches than men do

3. Winning a Stevie Award can be a transformative experience for many people

Next year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries in May.  Join the mailing list so that you receive the entry kit as soon as it's available.  The program features executive awards categories, entrepreneur awards categories, marketing awards categories, PR awards categories, website awards categories, new product awards categories, and more.  All women and women-run or -owned organizations worldwide are eligible to be nominated.

♦ Download the awards dinner program book (6 MB PDF)
♦ Browse and download photographs of the awards presentations
♦ Watch video clips of interviews with Stevie Award winners

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2013 competition on Friday, November 8.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the prestigious International Business Awards and American Business Awards. The Stevie is widely considered to be the world’s premier business award.

With more than 400 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  Nations represented at the event include Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.  The presentations were broadcast live across the U.S.A. by the Business TalkRadio Network.

More than 1,200 nominations from organizations and individuals in 16 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Best New Company of the Year, among others.  More than 240 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

For the first time, Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to the five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients.  The Grand Stevie Award winners are, in descending order:

-          Melissa Sones Consulting, New York, NY U.S.A.

-          Accenture, Chicago, IL U.S.A.

-          Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Limited, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

-          VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA U.S.A.

-          Child’s Play Communications, New York, NY U.S.A.

Notable Gold Stevie Award winners from this year’s competition include:

-          Karen Drexler, Founder and Executive Chair, CellScape Corp., Newark, CA U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services – Up to 2,500 Employees

-          Giovanna Pozzi, VP Business Development and Energy Management, RTR Rete Rinnovabile, Rome, Italy- Female Executive of the Year – Business Products – Less Than 2,500 Employees

-             Carolyn McCall, Founder & CEO, easyJet,  Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom - Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa

-          Frieda Caplan, Founder, Frieda's Inc., Los Alamitos, CA, U.S.A. – Lifetime Achievement

-          Jamila Suliman Khanji, Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- Female Employee of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Procontent Sp. z.o.o., Warsaw, Poland and their campaign on behalf of Saxo Bank Poland- Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Reputation/Brand Management

-          RedBalloon, Sydney, Australia - Company of the Year – Consumer Products or Services

-          Women Presidents’ Organization, New York, NY U.S.A.- Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Eileen Martinson, CEO, Sparta Systems, Inc., Hamilton, NJ U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products – More Than 10 Employees

-          She Takes on the World Inc., Kitchener, ON, Canada- Website of the Year

-          Cenergy International, Houston, TX U.S.A.- Fastest Growing Company of the Year

-          Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT U.S.A. - Management Team of the Year – 10 or Less Employees

The 2013 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include Accenture, Child’s Play Communications, Final Salute Inc., CVS Caremark, FCi Federal, Influence and Co., Laserfiche, other, Pivot Communications, TalkSession, Inc., and VerticalResponse.

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2014 edition of the awards will open next May.  Join the mailing list to receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's available.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

Jessica Eaves Mathews is CEO of Leverage a Lawyer LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA and chaired the final judging committee for the Company/Organization categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.  We talked to Jessica about judging, the law, and what motivates her day-to-day life.

Jessica Eaves Mathews was enthusiastic about the Stevies judging process.  “It was amazing to win several Stevie Awards last year, but an even greater honor to be asked to chair the final judging committee for the categories in which we were honored,” Jessica told us.

“It wasn’t until I did the judging this year that I realized how truly incredible it was that my company and I both won awards last year.  The caliber of companies and women who were Finalists in this year’s Women in Business Awards was staggering.  I found myself inspired to do more and make a bigger impact as a result of the work they are doing in the world.  What an accomplished, amazing group of women!”

Legal Advice

As the founder of Leverage a Lawyer, we couldn’t let Jessica go without asking for legal advice, specifically what working women should know about the law that could contribute to their success.

“I always say that addressing the legal foundation for your business makes a powerful and profound statement,” said Jessica.  “It is sending the message to the world that you are to be taken seriously, and it is honoring your hard work as a business owner or innovator.”

According to Jessica:  “Building a business without making sure your legal ducks are in a row is like building a house on sand.  It might looks nice for a while, but it isn’t sustainable.  Long-term and sustainable success requires attention to your legal foundation.  It is not something to be feared or avoided: it is something to embrace and celebrate.  Through Leverage a Lawyer and Leverage Legal Group, we have helped women business owners protect themselves and their companies for years, and we are very proud of that legacy.”

Winning Experience

Leverage A Lawyer was named New Company of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and Jessica won the Silver Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year-Business Services.  “Winning these Stevie Awards has been an incredible experience,” commented Jessica.  “It immediately gave us a national and international platform, and credibility in the marketplace. I know it has enabled us to grow as a business and a brand in ways we could not have done without the recognition.”

Travel Tips

Jessica travels a lot on business and tells us that the two business apps she can’t live without when on the road are Evernote, an app that helps you to remember everything across all your computers and devices; and Tripit, an all-in-one travel organizer.

Motivation and Inspiration

Finally, we asked Jessica what makes her hit the ground running in the morning.  Her response: “I know my why.  I know why I do what I do and for whom I do it, namely my little girl.  I have spent a lot of time getting clarity on my calling and what I am meant to do on this planet.  When you know your purpose, it is easy to jump out of bed each morning.”

Jessica’s two passions early in life were to become either a professional singer or an actor, but now Jessica wouldn’t change a thing. She has ended up doing exactly what she wants to be doing because she made some radical changes a few years ago that enabled her to follow her heart and her passion for the law.

Jessica concluded:  “I surround myself with incredible colleagues and friends who also are living their purpose.  It has been said that you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and I take that seriously.  By being in daily contact with people whom I admire and who inspire me, I can find motivation even on tough days.”

About Jessica Eaves Mathews
Jessica Eaves Mathews is America’s Advocate for Women in Business®, an award-winning entrepreneur, intellectual property and business lawyer, best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and leading authority on helping women entrepreneurs and executives step into their power and create a brilliant business, career and life on their own terms.

Jessica has spent her legal career representing all types of businesses, from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Before launching her own firm, she was the head of litigation and compliance for Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.   Jessica is the founder and CEO of Leverage Legal Group®, an intellectual property and business law firm.

Jessica is founder and CEO of several other companies, including Grace & Game® and Untoxicating Beauty®. She is an adjunct professor at University of New Mexico Law School, a member of the New Mexico Economic Development Council, co-founder and Chief Legal Officer for The Virtual Accelerator™, a virtual business accelerator for startups, and co-founder of Hautepreneurs™, the Premier Peer Network for New Mexico's Women Entrepreneurs.

About Leverage a Lawyer and Leverage Legal Group
Leverage Legal Group® is a global intellectual property and business law firm for the new economy. Jessica’s team of exceptional, experienced attorneys provides world-class, flat fee legal services, virtual general counsel and in-sourced legal services to companies of all sizes. The firm’s award-winning, entry-level program, Leverage-a-Lawyer®, provides budget-friendly, flat-fee legal services, information, and education for first-time business owners or start-ups who don’t yet have the budget for full-blown legal counsel.  For more information go to www.leveragelegalgroup.com and www.leverage-a-lawyer.com.

The 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be held this coming Friday, November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  The event is a complete sell-out - we're adding names to a waiting list for available tickets at this point.

These are the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.  Almost 400 women - and men - from around the world will gather this Friday evening to celebrate the Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in this year's Stevies for Women.  Winners were selected by the scores of more than 240 judges around the world.

A PDF of the program book that all awards dinner attendees will receive is now available - get it here.

So who's coming to this celebration of the achievements of women in the workplace worldwide?  Here's the list of organizations that have confirmed their attendance.

ACADEMI LLC McLean VA USA
Accenture  Chicago  IL USA
Acxiom Corporation Foster City CA USA
Advice Interactive Group McKinney TX USA
Agency marketing services public relations and media Siegburg Germany
Aio Wireless Alpharetta GA USA
AIReS Pittsburgh PA USA
ALOM Technologies  Fremont  CA
Amadeus  Miami  FL USA
ARIIX Bountiful UT USA
At Media  Philadelphia  PA USA
A-T Solutions  Vienna VA USA
AT&T Dallas TX USA
Babesta New York NY USA
Barclays Jersey City NJ USA
Barnum Financial Group Shelton CT USA
Bluegreen Vacations Boca Raton FL USA
Bounce Consulting Maryborough VIC Australia
Brain Power Enrichment Programs: Language Arts Thornhill ON Canada
BrightLine  New York  NY  USA
Business TalkRadio Network Greenwich CT USA
bytes of knowledge Nashville TN USA
CardioDx Inc. Palo Alto CA USA
Cascades Tissue Group  Candiac QC Canada
Cass and Company  Kennett Square PA USA
CellScape Corp.  Newark CA USA
Cenergy International  Houston  TX USA
CFS2  Tulsa  OK  USA
CGI Inc. Toronto ON Canada
Child's Play Communications New York NY USA
Citrus Lane Mountain View CA USA
Clayton Kendall Inc. Monroeville PA USA
CMI Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
CoachingLabs LLC / LeBootCamp Los Altos CA USA
Colombian American Chamber of Commerce  Miami  FL  USA
CommonKindness Sausalito CA USA
Cross Country Home Services Sunrise FL USA
CSOFT International  Bejing China
CSSS.NET  Washington  DC  USA
CVS Caremark  Woonsocket  RI USA
Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd  Wolverhampton United Kingdom
DentaSpa Seminars N. Miami Beach FL USA
Designated Editor  Newport RI USA
EMC Corporation Hopkinton MA USA
Enterprise Community Partners Inc.  Columbia  MD  USA
ERA Environmental Management Solutions Belle Mina AL USA
Family Development Foundation Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
FCi Federal Leesburg VA USA
Final Salute Inc. Alexandria VA USA
Financial Voyages LLC Atlanta GA USA
Frank Frank Goldstein & Nager P.C. New York NY USA
Frieda's Inc.  Los Alamitos  CA  USA
gemaker Sutherland (Sydney) NSW Australia
Global Leaders in Law Beaconsfield United Kingdom
Goodwill Industries of Arkansas  Little Rock AR USA
GreyHawk Films  Charlotte  NC  USA
Happy Family Brands  New York  NY USA
Happy Family Brands New York NY USA
HIPA  Dubai  United Arab Emirates
Hitachi Data Systems Santa Clara CA USA
HMA Associates Inc. Washington DC USA
iAcquire  Phoenix  AZ  USA
ICE Worldwide Portsmouth NH USA
iFinance Canada Inc.  Toronto ON Canada
InfiniEDGE Software. Inc Prairieville LA USA
Inspired to Health  Weehawken NJ USA
Interakt  New York  NY USA
Isagenix International LLC. Chandler AZ USA
Joy Lynn Inc. Roswell GA USA
JUMP Technology Services Oklahoma City OK USA
KC Projects Birmingham AL USA
Kennedy Austin TX USA
Kristen White TV  St. Louis MO USA
Lab42 Chicago Illinois USA
Little PINK Book  Atlanta GA USA
Management Consultancy International Sydney NSW Australia
Marketing 24/7  Birmingham AL USA
Marketing Maven Public Relations Camarillo CA USA
Marnie Homes Bethany Beach DE USA
MBX Systems  Libertyville IL USA
Melissa Sones Consulting New York NY USA
Metso Mining and Construction York PA USA
MHL Consortium Sunnyvale CA USA
Motional Multimedia Kansas City MO USA
MQ Enterprise LLC Anacortes WA USA
MS Derm Consulting  Bangalore India
MTS Allstream  Toronto ON Canada
MWW East Rutherford NJ USA
Nathalie Lussier Media Inc. Brooklyn NY USA
National Center for Documentation & Research  Abu Dhabi  United Arab Emirates
NEI Global Relocation  Omaha NE USA
NetApp Vienna VA USA
Network9  New York NY USA
Neustar, Inc. Sterling VA USA
NJVC LLC Chantilly VA USA
One Legacy Pty Ltd Gold Coast QLD Australia
Ontario Systems Muncie IN USA
Optum  Eden Prairie  MN  USA
other London United Kingdom
Performics Chicago IL USA
Pink Elephant Burlington Ontario Canada
Pivot Communications Salt Lake City UT USA
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP  New York NY USA
Primrose Schools Acworth GA USA
Proforma Amplified Detroit MI USA
ProgenyHealth Plymouth Meeting PA USA
Prosperity Organic Foods Inc. Boise ID USA
Rebecca Jean Alonzi San Francisco CA USA
Rhea Lana Inc. Conway AR USA
RTR Rete Rinnovabile Rome Italy
Sage Environmental Services Inc. Seattle WA USA
Sandra L. Leyva Inc. Plano TX USA
She Takes on the World Inc. Kitchener ON Canada
SPARK Publications Charlotte NC USA
Sparta Systems Inc. Hamilton NJ USA
Spellbinders Paper Arts LLC Phoenix AZ USA
SPLICE Software  Calgary  AB  Canada
Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. Phoenix AZ USA
Staff Management | SMX Chicago IL USA
Strategic Medical Orange County CA USA
Stratus Interactive  West Chester PA USA
sweetriot New York NY USA
TalkSession Inc. New York NY USA
Terri Bennett Enterprises Charlotte NC USA
The Assistance Fund  Inc.  Orlando  FL  USA
The Assistance Fund Inc. Orlando FL USA
The Avoca Group Princeton NJ USA
The Dr. Pat Show and The Transformation Network  Seattle WA USA
The S3 Agency Boonton NJ USA
The Suburban Jungle Realty Group Greenwich CT USA
The Thomas Collective  New York  NY  USA
The Volel Consulting Group  Washington  DC USA
Tobin Enterprises St. Thomas ON Canada
TravLynx, LLC  Hendersonville TN USA
Tugboat Brand & Business Development  Highwood IL USA
Utah Avalanche  Salt Lake City UT USA
Vaco Los Angeles  Los Angeles  CA  USA
Vantage PR San Francisco CA USA
Ventyx an ABB Company Atlanta GA USA
Verne Global Falls Church VA USA
VerticalResponse San Francisco CA USA
Visible Communication LLC Livonia MI USA
Wells Fargo Bank San Francisco CA USA
WhiteHat Security Santa Clara CA USA
Women Presidents' Organization  New York  NY USA
Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Boston MA USA
ZinePaak  New York NY USA

Join the mailing list for the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business and you'll be emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available next May.

The awards dinner of the 2013 (10th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, in New York on Friday, November 8, is sold out. Winners of the Grand, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards will be announced that night in the world's top honors for women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the organizations they run.

The Stevie Award placements were determined from among the finalists by 90 members of five final judging committees during online judging from October 14-23.  Their average scores determined the Stevie-winner placements.  (Finalists were determined by the average scores of 150 preliminary judges over six weeks starting in early September.)

We can't thank these great professionals enough for their help in determining this year's women in business awards winners.  Here are the members of the five final judging committees.

(One quick aside first.  If you'd like to apply to participate in the judging process for the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, apply here.)

Communications & Marketing Awards Categories Final Judging Committee       

Committee Chair
Ruwena Healy, CEO and President
Marketing 24/7, Inc.
Trussville, AL, United States

Beth Blake, Director of Operations, Enterprising Women, Cary, NC, United States
Carol Blanton, APR, Director of Communications, Mississippi Public Universities, Jackson, MS, United States
Kathleen Bouldin, Vice President, Digital Marketing, PrimsWorks, Inc., Landenberg, PA, United States
Deborah V. Bowie, CCE, IOM, Vice President, Chamber Development, Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Gainesville, FL, United States
Annie Castellano, Chief Creative Officer, Switch: Liberate Your Brand, St Louis, MO, United States
Dale E Gerstenslager, Communications Manager, Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Co., Ltd, Quang Ngai, Vietnam
Alice M.Gordon, CEO & Executive Problem Solver, Skye Connect, Inc., Birmingham, AL, United States
Kristina Hendrix, APR, Internal Communications Strategist, Analytical Services, Inc. for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Madison, AL, United States
Karin Hopkins, Vice President of Communications, k2 MediaMax, Tuskagee, AL, United States
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, United States
Joanne Meredith, Senior Associate Director, Direct Response Marketing, Johns Hopkins University/Office of Annual Giving, Baltimore, MD, United States
Davie Rickey, APR, Senior Vice President-Communications, birminghambusinessalliance, The Chamber for Regional Prosperity, Birmingham, AL, United States
Monica Smiley, Publisher/CEO, Enterprising Women, Cary, NC, United States
Carla Spain, Communications Specialist, Patelco Credit Union, Pleasanton, CA, United States
Kim Stiglitz, Content Marketing Director, VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA, United States
Dawn Walker, Executive Director of Internal Communications & Public Relations, Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Julia Zamorska, Communications Specialist, New York, NY, United States

Company/Organization & New Product Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Jessica Eaves Mathews, CEO
Leverage a Lawyer LLC
Albuquerque, NM, United States

Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, United States
Eline Altenburg-van den Broek, Director, Quid Novi Foundation, The Hague,  Netherlands
Susie Andrade, Managing Director, Channel Islands Skills Academy, St Peter Port, Guernsey, United Kingdom
Niamh Barker, Managing Director, The Travelwrap Company, New Milton, United Kingdom
Maureen Borzacchiello , CEO, Creative Display Solutions, Bensalem, PA, United States
Larry Broughton, CEO, broughtonHOTELS / BROUGHTONadvisory, Newport Beach, CA, United States
Phil Dyer, CEO, Dyer Financial Advisory, Baldwin, MD, United States
Kiyla Fenell, CEO, Fenell International LLC, Tulsa, OK, United States
Tina Forsyth, CEO, Automate Your Growth, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Linda Ginac, CEO, TalentGuard, Austin, TX, United States
Jennifer Longmore, CEO, Soul Journeys Corporation, Burlington, ON, Canada
Sizile Mabaso, Managing Director, SM Business, Sandton, South Africa
Scott Maloney, Chief Business Officer, Seed Worthy LLC, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Leith Mitchell, IBM Growth Markets Diversity Recruitment Lead, IBM, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Ray Quinana, General Partner, Cottonwood Technology Fund, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Doreen Rainey, CEO, Radical Success institute, Bowie, MD, United States
Katie Sczcepaniak Rice, Senior Associate, Epic Ventures, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Tim Weil, Managing Partner, Providence Capital, Dallas, TX, United States
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and Public Relations, Overland Park, KS, United States
Kris Wittenberg, CEO, Be Good to People, Eagle, CO, United States

Entrepreneur Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Kristen White, CEO
Creative Catapult, LLC/Instant Celebrity Academy
St. Louis, MO, United States

Gloria Buono-Daly, Founder, AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com, Yonkers, NY, United States
Saskia Chiesa, CEO, International Checkout, Santa Monica, CA, United States
Denise Clancey, President, Teledirect Partners, Boston, MA, United States
Ben Clark, President, Big Ben Media, Inc., Lima, OH, United States
Nikki Clark, Project Manager, Big Ben Media, Inc., Lima, OH, United States
Dr. Sayalee Gankar, Director & Professor, MIT Group of Institutions, Pune, India
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH, United States
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, United States
Craig Jacobson, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Vista, CA, United States
Ann Macindoo,CEO/Founder, So, You Want To Write!, Palm Desert, CA, United States
Margaret Manning, CEO, Reading Room, Singapore, Singapore
Deborah Mitchell, Founder, Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Julie Pond, CEO, Sage Environmental Services, Inc., Seattle, WA, United States
John Schwab, Executive Producer, Let's Start a Ripple TV, Clayton, MO, United States
Letty Swank, CEO, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, United States

Executive Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Marcie Allen, President
MAC Presents
New York, NY, United States

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Senior Advisor, Organization Development, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Selµuk Alimdar, HR Strategic Projects Manager, Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Chanel Auguste, Brand Partnerships & Commercial Licensing, Warner Brothers Records, New York, NY, United States
Kerri Bergman, Director of Marketing, Billboard, New York, NY, United States
Michele Bernstein, Tour Marketing Agent, William Morris Endeavor, Beverly Hills, CA, United States
Elizabeth Daniel, Luxury Advertising Sales Director, The Editorialist, New York, NY, United States
Andrea Dinunzio, CMO, Blingguard, New York, NY, United States
Rebecca Fagan, Managing Director, Portside Ventures, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Lori Feldman, SVP, Brand Partnerships & Commercial Licensing, Warner Brothers Records, New York, NY, United States
Kimberly Ford, Senior Marketing Manager, Samsung, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Heather Greenfeig, Artist Manager, Red Light Management, New York, NY, United States
Marjorie Hall, SVP Director of Marketing & Sales, ZenithOptimedia, New York, NY, United States
Natasha Hritzuk, Global Senior Insights Director, Microsoft, Redmond, WA, United States
Julie Jakopic, President/CEO, iLead Strategies, Alexandria, VA, United States
Nirva Milord, Director of Communications, NHL, New York, NY, United States
Stephen Moore, CEO/Managing Member, PetroChase, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
Wendy Morris, VP Team Marketing and Business Operations, NBA Entertainment, New York, NY, United States
Amber Williams, Public Relations Executive, Beck Media & Marketing, New York, New York, United States
Judee Anne Williams, Agent/Co-director, CAA/CAA Foundation, New York, NY, United States

Media Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Cynthia Good, Founder and CEO
Little PINK Book
Atlanta, GA, United States

Marta Aebischer,Global Marketing Director, Newell Rubbermaid, Huntersville, NC, United States
Suraya Bliss, Senior Director, Digital Communications, Walmart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR, United States
Patricia David, Head of Diversity, JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY, United States
Elana Drell Szyfer, CEO, Ahava, New York, NY, United States
Janna Ducich, Vice President, Consumer Insights & Targeted Marketing, AT&T Mobility, Atlanta, GA, United States
Kate Gutmann, President, Worldwide Sales, UPS, Atlanta, GA, United States
Meryl Macune, VP, Global Digital Marketing, Estee Lauder, West New York, NJ, United States
Ali Marano, Technology for Social Good, JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY, United States
Nicole Middendorf, CEO, Prosperwell Financial, Plymouth, MN, United States
Maya Mikhailov, EVP, Clear Strategy/CoFounder, GPShopper, New York, NY, United States
Caitlin Storhaug, Director, Corporate Marketing, Accenture, San Francisco, CA, United States
Chloé Taylor Brown, President & CEO, Chloé Taylor Brown Enterprises, LLC, Sandy Springs, GA, United States
Melanie Tinto, Vice President, Executive Leadership & Organization Development, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA, United States
Erin Varano, Director, Brand Marketing, Rubbermaid Consumer Products, Newell Rubbermaid, Atlanta, GA, United States

Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, and is chair of the final judging committee for the media awards categories in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. We asked Cynthia about her experience as a Stevie Award winner, the value of awards programs for women in business, and what inspires her.

Here’s what Cynthia had to say about being a Final Judging Committee Chair, and her own experience of winning a Stevie Award:

“I personally value the invitation to chair one of this year's final judging committees.   At PINK, we have found that whenever we contacted our friends - all senior level women, at Walmart, HP, Accenture, Estee Lauder, Ahava, JPMorgan Chase, and UPS - they were thrilled to join the committee to judge the Stevie Awards.  It speaks volumes about the Stevie Awards organization that some of the most prominent women at many of the world's top companies are willing to take the time to be part of this.  It also shows the commitment their own organizations have to helping women succeed.

“The Stevie Awards have a great reputation and many longtime partners of PINK also participate. We have been excited to share the work PINK has done and to be recognized for the hard work the team at PINK has put in over the years to tell the story about women, career, and advancement.

“At PINK we were especially pleased to have received the Gold Stevie Award in the website awards category for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. I’m so proud of the PINK team. It is their hard work that resulted in this recognition. And we all appreciate the support given by the Stevie Awards to organizations working to promote women in business.” 

We asked Cynthia for some advice on what Corporate America can do to expand the roles of women and minorities in the workplace.  Here’s what she told us:

“In our work with corporations to advance women and minorities we’ve found that most companies rely primarily on mentoring, networking, affinity groups, and sponsorship programs as the means of advancing diversity; but this isn’t enough to change the metrics.

“At most companies, diversity engagement becomes the responsibility of the HR and Diversity departments in order to make sure a company is compliant and that minority employees have a sounding board. But this does not drive real change and may even contribute to a continuation of the status quo.

“How to fix it?  What we at PINK have found is often lacking is full endorsement from the top. Once the CEO of a company decides to measure and then increase diversity participation in leadership roles, then we can bring about real change.

“At PINK, we will only work with companies to increase diversity leadership when there is full support and direction from the top. This makes it far easier for Diversity and HR to set--and then achieve--specific goals.

“Advancement within a company or organization requires not just the full participation of the individual diversity candidate: it means finding out what each candidate is most passionate about; what the obstacles to advancement are; and what it will take to overcome those obstacles.”

When asked for her sources of inspiration, Cynthia told us:

“Eighty percent of those in PINK’s community say they advanced in their career because of Little PINK Book. It is those individual stories of inspiration that keep us motivated and excited to get up every morning.

“You can read one example in a recent feature story we ran on America’s Top 10 Female CFOs.  Another was the Facebook Contest we organized that gave one contestant a week at Canyon Ranch Spa for sharing how she had found the ‘courage to do what she loves.’ We also share the wisdom of women leaders every year at our signature events.  The next one, our 9^th Annual Fall Empowerment Event, is November 12 in Atlanta, and we will be live-streaming it free for women around the world to watch, learn, and be as inspired as we are by these leaders’ stories of triumph.”

2013 Judging and Awards Dinner and Ceremonies:

The final judging committees of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business are currently determining the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the winners. In addition to the media categories, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business final judging committees will also confer marketing awards, new product awards, management awards, company awards, and PR awards. The awards will be announced and presented, and the recipients and judges will be celebrated, at the 2013 (10th annual) awards dinner and ceremonies. The dinner will be held on Friday, November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City. Tickets are still available.

About Cynthia Good:
Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, America's #1 digital platform for career women. PINK launched in 2005 as the only national women's business magazine, which under Cynthia’s leadership grew to a readership of 650,000. She then grew the digital version, LittlePINKBook.com, into America's top online resource for working women. Now she's bringing advancement directly to Fortune 500 companies with programs such as ITAP (Identify, Track, Advance, Promote), enabling corporate America to increase the diversity representation of women and minorities in leadership roles. "It's our legacy work," says AIG.

PINK has won numerous industry honors including the Ozzie Award for Best Feature, and the Gold Stevie for Best Website from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business for two consecutive years. Stories featuring top women in business on LittlePINKBook.com continue to inspire generations of ambitious women. Cynthia has written six books and appears regularly as a women's business expert on evening newscasts. She gives speeches to corporate and entrepreneurial groups alike, including The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, Deloitte, and KPMG.

A self-described Famillionaire, Cynthia knows riches are in family. She lives in Atlanta, GA, USA with her husband of more than 20 years and their two sons, Alden and Julien; two miniature horses; four chickens; and Lucy their giant orange cat.

About Little PINK Book:
Little PINK Book describes itself as:  “Your daily dose of encouragement and inspiration to follow your dreams and have the beautiful career and beautiful life you deserve.”  For more information, go to www.littlepinkbook.com.

The Individual Awards categories, which recognize the achievements of individual women entrepreneurs, executives and employees, form the biggest category group in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, so two committees have been formed:

Marcie Allen, president of New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency MAC Presents, will chair the committee for the Best Executives Awards categories.

“As a woman in the music industry, recognition in the Stevie Awards has proved an effective tool for me to encourage more women to enter this industry,” stated Marcie recently. “As someone who has been in the music industry for 18 years, I want to inspire women and show them that anything is possible.  All power to the Stevie Awards for Women on its 10^th Anniversary!”

Marcie is a seven-time nominee and two-time winner of Billboard Magazine's Concert Marketing and Promotion Award. She was named to Billboard’s Women in Music in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and to Billboard’s 40 under 40 in 2013. Earlier this year, The White House honored Marcie as one of their Hurricane Sandy "Champions of Change." The event highlighted people and organizations directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Marcie directed a documentary short, “Beach 119,” about her efforts in the Rockaways, New York, after the storm. Marcie leverages her eighteen years of music industry experience to negotiate high profile sponsorships between the world’s leading brands and artists. Recent clients include Jeep, Microsoft, Samsung, CITI, AT&T, and Nokia. 

Prior to starting MAC, Marcie owned and operated MAD Booking & Events, which booked and produced music festivals across the country including On the Bricks in Atlanta, Georgia. Allen is on the board of directors for Musicians on Call and the TJ Martell Foundation.

The final judging committee for the Best Entrepreneur Awards categories will be chaired by Kristen White, CEO of Creative Catapult, LLC/Instant Celebrity Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and host of “Let’s Start A Ripple” TV. Kristen is a media expert who helps entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, life coaches, and businesses become more powerful messengers through content creation and on-camera coaching. Kristen works with clients to create media-based marketing platforms including television, radio, iPad magazines, and multi-media books. Her company, Creative Catapult, LLC, is a media coaching and video production company for the wellness and personal development marketplace.

Kristen has more than a decade of experience as a television journalist and anchor. Her new show, Let’s start a Ripple, which debuted in January 2013, is a news-style talk show that features experts in personal development, wellness and spirituality. The show is broadcast on The Wisdom Channel on Google TV, HULU, and on mainstream media. It is produced in the ABC TV studio in St. Louis, Missouri, and on location in Sedona, Arizona, in California, and in New York.

In addition to a Gold Stevie Awards for Video of the Year and for Mentor/Coach of the Year, Kristen received the Bronze Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the 2012 Women in Business Awards. Her industry awards include the Platinum “Best in Show” Award for Video and a Gold Award for Video in the 2012 Aurora Awards.

Chair of the final judging committee for both the Company/Organization Awards and the New Product Awards categories is Jessica Eaves Mathews, CEO of Leverage a Lawyer LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Jessica describes herself as America’s Advocate for Women in Business™.  She is an award-winning entrepreneur and intellectual property and business lawyer; a published author and speaker; and an authority on helping women entrepreneurs and women business owners step into their power and, as she says, “create a brilliant business and a brilliant life on their own terms.”

Jessica has spent her legal career representing all types of businesses, from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Before launching her own firm, she was the head of litigation and compliance for Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.  Jessica is the founder of Leverage Legal Group, a global intellectual property and business law firm for the new economy. Jessica's team of experienced attorneys provides world-class, flat-fee legal services, virtual general and outside counsel, and in-sourced legal services.  The firm’s entry-level program, Leverage-a-Lawyer, provides budget-friendly, flat-fee legal services, information, and education for first-time business owners or startups who don’t yet have the budget for full-blown legal counsel.  Jessica also has experience "on the other side of the conference table" as founder and CEO of Grace & Game, a lifestyle brand both for golf and for the sophisticated, feminine, modern women. Grace & Game designs are made in the USA with sustainable fabrics and are designed to perform beautifully both on and off the course.  She is also founder and CEO of Untoxicating Beauty, a new subscription beauty experience for women who care as much about what goes into their bodies as what they put on them.

Jessica is an adjunct professor at University of New Mexico Law School; an appointee on the New Mexico Economic Development Council; co-founder and Chief Legal Officer for The Virtual Accelerator, a virtual business accelerator for startups, and is the co-founder of Hautepreneurs, a new networking organization for women entrepreneurs based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has been featured on MSNBC, Oprah, Forbes.com, NBC, Oxygen, and in Allure Magazine.

The chair of the final judging committee for the Communications & Marketing Awards categories is Ruwena Healy, CEO and president of Marketing 24/7, Inc., a full-service marketing, branding, and public relations firm in Trussville, Alabama, USA, which she founded eight years ago. Marketing 24/7 has a diverse client list and is one of Birmingham, Alabama’s Top 10 PR firms. Ruwena gave some useful advice on the importance of winning business awards in an earlier blog post.

Marketing 24/7 and Ruwena have garnered numerous international, national, state, and local awards, including a Gold Stevie for Communications/PR Campaign of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women In Business. Ruwena was recently named first runner up in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Social Madness competition that showcased a company’s social media savvy by gaining new followers and encouraging follower engagement. Just this week, Ruwena was honored as one of three finalists in the Birmingham Business Alliance's 2013 Awards in the category of Small Business of the Year (1 to 50 employees) and was awarded three Lantern Awards from the Southern Public Relations Federation. She has also received an “Honorable Mention” in the international Enterprising Women of the Year Award by Enterprising Women magazine,

Ruwena is a LinkedIn expert and trainer (her LinkedIn profile was among the Top 1% of the Most Viewed profiles in 2012). She is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and lecturer, and has also presented numerous programs on branding, social media, public relations, and how to successfully get the word out about a business. Ruwena maintains a blog at MasterMarketing247.com and her articles have appeared in PR News’ 2011 Crisis Management Guidebook, Birmingham Business Journal, The Birmingham News, Alabama Business News, and al.com. Ruwena is an active member of the Birmingham, Alabama community:  she is a member of The Women’s Network; a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Council of Alabama’s Birmingham Chapter; a former Board member and currently a member of the Public Relations Society of America Alabama Chapter; and a current member of Alabama Women In Business.

Ruwena has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from Florida State University. Today, with twin boys that are seven years old, Ruwena gives her time to fundraisers for their school and as a leader in the Cub Scouts.

Chair of the final judging committee for the Media Awards categories (covering websites, apps, live events, and film/video) is Cynthia Good, founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, a digital platform for career women, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Commenting on her appointment as Chair, Cynthia said: “The Stevie Awards is an organization that inspires companies to do the right thing to help advance women in business. It’s great to see those supporting women’s advancement be acknowledged for their good work.”

Supporting women’s advancement and entrepreneurship is something with which Cynthia is familiar. Her Little PINK Book is the online evolution of PINK magazine, founded by Good in 2005. In addition to the daily e-notes, proven to help career women advance, Little PINK Book’s ventures include two highly successful national conference series: their Spring Into Ownership event for entrepreneurs; and the Fall Empowerment series, featuring top women from Corporate America.

Cynthia appears regularly as a speaker at seminars and women-centric events with companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Turknett Leadership Group, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, and more. She has written six books and has a weekly TV segment on CBS Atlanta, where she discusses news pertinent to women. You can follow her on Twitter and via Facebook.

In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2008 Stevie winner Nina Simosko, then global chief operating officer of SAP Education, SAP America, Palo Alto, CA.  Simosko won her Stevie as Best Executive – Services Business (more than 2500 employees).

Since winning the Stevie Award in 2008, Simosko has been fortunate enough to land her dream job at Nike. In her role at Nike, she continues to work in a technology function, as head of strategy, planning & operations for Nike Global Technology.  Since fitness is such an important aspect of her life, having the chance to work for such an iconic brand as Nike is what she claims “a truly wonderful experience and amazing career move and opportunity.”

Back in 2008, the Stevie Awards competition was deep for Simosko, as in her category she was surrounded by a plethora of powerful, intelligent and driven women like herself, all of whom were leading their respective efforts at large corporations. She was honored to be part of the Stevie Awards program and to be associated with the award and group, especially considering all the amazing executives that participated across the board, both in years before she received her award as well as years following.  What makes the Stevie Awards for Women in Business distinctive is that it attracts strong, smart and tenacious women spanning many platforms – for profit and non-profit, large and small companies, and more.  The company one keeps when being part of this competition is really motivating and intriguing.

Today, Simosko continually reflects on her Stevie Award win, using it as a tool to help empower younger women, who also are chasing their dreams. She refers to it as a way for her to help them further their careers and prove that anything is possible.

The Stevie Award has been proudly featured on her personal blog (ninasimosko.com) as well as on her LinkedIn profile since she earned it, affording inspiration for others.

“My Stevie Award experience was an amazing one – first, from my initial surprise when I was declared as the winner, to proudly showcasing my Stevie ever since and sharing it with many younger colleagues seeking to enhance their own careers. I hope the Stevie Award and my career serve as examples and role models for these energetic young women who are learning that the sky is the limit for setting out to achieve whatever you set your mind to.  For me, the Stevie win was behind me all the way!”

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.

In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2005 Stevie winner Marla Letizia, then president of Mobile Billboards of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV.  Marla and her company won their Stevie for Most Innovative Company of the Year – Up to 100 Employees.

Marla R. Letizia was one of the first women to earn a Stevie Award for Women in Business. In 2005, the second year of the awards program.  At that time, Letizia was in the throes of getting her novel billboard business off the ground by bringing mobile advertisements to the exciting Las Vegas market.

At that time, her business was in its embryonic stages. Letizia was learning how to navigate her newfound entrepreneurial venture.  She was busy enjoying both building and operating her new enterprise.

The Stevie Award win helped solidify her firm’s position in the marketplace, expanding awareness beyond the Las Vegas market the company was serving, and exposing its successes to others outside the area looking in to find a billboards vendor.

Sometime after winning her Stevie Award, Letizia hit a crisis and while her business survived (and was renamed), she claims to have found the silver lining by learning a great deal about being a successful entrepreneur and running an innovative company.  According to Letizia, “I have the courage of a lion with regard to anything in business.”  There is an a old quote, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger," and while Letizia grew stronger personally and professionally, the confidence of a winning a Stevie stayed alongside her.

The press coverage that resulted from her Stevie Award win continues to show up in Google searches and brings instant credibility to her business when potential customers -- both inside and outside of the Las Vegas marketplace – search for businesses boasting her service offering.  The recognition she earned also continues to aid in recruitment as future employees discover the award win online when searching her firm and are very impressed with the remarkable achievement.

“When a solid organization finds you worthy of honoring, graciously smile and say thank you, then enjoy all it has to offer and then find ways to give back!”

It has been an honor to earn this award, and Letizia is constantly seeking ways to give back. The Stevie has helped propel her business to new levels.

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.