Women Entrepreneurship Event Speakers

Amelia Schaffner, M.S.

Director of Entrepreneurship at Emory University

Amelia Schaffner is the director of the Emory-Goizueta Business School Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She is responsible for developing the school's entrepreneurial culture, thinking and initiatives, partnering with students, faculty, alumni, and the ecosystem of investors, VCs, and organizations. She is involved in a number of co/extra-curricular initiatives, including the Pitch-the-Professors program, the RAISE Forum, the Emory Startup Launch accelerator, the new Emory Hatchery, the AHIA (Advancing Healthcare Innovation in Africa) initiative, the Siggie Awards, and numerous ecosystem partnerships such as the ATV.

Amelia sits on the board of Startup Atlanta. Previously, She was a senior principal at Accenture where she led a global innovation initiative.

 

Claudette M. Blythe

Founder and CEO of Modern Tribez Events

Claudette M. Blythe is the Founder and CEO of Modern Tribez Events, a boutique events design and marketing agency helping small businesses and non-profits leverage events to increase their visibility and bottom line.

Prior to founding Modern Tribez Events, Blythe worked in the service of marginalized families for over 15 years. During her career she noticed the profound positive impact of gathering around a common goal. After serving as a Certified Family Life Educator, Blythe began successfully developing programming and coordinating events targeting goals of families and stakeholders, with increased engagement, education, and participant retention. After which, she began consulting Parent Engagement professionals in the public school system.

In response to the alarming number of small businesses forced to close their doors due to COVID-19, Blythe founded Modern Tribez Events. Specifically focused on helping brands create awareness and visibility for her clients. As minority-owned small businesses suffered at a disproportionate rate, Blythe  coordinated and launched the CTX Black Business Expo in November of 2020, providing a platform for Hays County minority business owners to showcase their goods and services.

Blythe continues to pursue her passions working with non-profits through involvement on several boards and organizations. Serving as Treasurer for the Dunbar Heritage Association, Board Member of the LBJ Museum located in San Marcos, TX, President of Christian Home Educator's CO-OP, Texas Council on Family Relations (TxCFR) Board Member, Member of the National Council for Family Relations, and Women's Empowerment Conference Speaker.

Claudette M. Blythe was born and raised in Flint, MI where she learned the value of community, responsibility, and resilience. She earned her B.S. in Social Work from the University of Michigan, and an M.Ed from Texas State University. Although accolades and accomplishments are valuable, Blythe attributes her successes to the strength, leadership, and guidance of her mother.

Brooke Turner

Vice President of Programs at DivInc

With a background in marketing, sales, education, and programs in hi-tech, public education and startups, Brooke Turner is now an executive program director for DivInc. Brooke leads teams and guides startups through highly intensive tech accelerators and portfolio company programming to close the gap between early stage entrepreneurs and the resources they need to build high-growth, scalable companies. 

 

Prior to DivInc, Brooke co-founded her startup Kwaddle, for which she was named winner of the 2018 Austin Woman's Way Business Award for Product Innovation. Brooke is an angel investor and love helping early stage startups with core value alignment; problem-solution fit; pre-seed investor readiness; communication; and building the right network.

 

Dr. Aimee Roundtree

Associate Dean for Research and Promotion, College of Liberal Arts at Texas State University

Dr. Aimee Kendall Roundtree is the Associate Dean of Research and Promotion in the College of Liberal Arts and a Professor in the technical communication program at Texas State University. Her research investigates communication in STEM fields, including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. In particular, her work interrogates points of translation and transaction between experts, policymakers, organizations, and the public as well as human and non-human agents. She has expertise in qualitative and mixed methods research, including usability and user experience research, heuristic evaluation, text mining, systematic and integrative reviews and metanalyses, survey studies, focus groups and interviews.

Dr. Roundtree earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She has served as a usability and qualitative researcher, communication and public affairs specialist, and a medical writer for organizations such as the Texas Medical Foundation, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base.

Dr. Jan Triplett

Jan Triplett, Ph.D. CBTAC is an entrepreneur, author, and advocate. She is the founder and CEO of the award-winning, nationally recognized BSC, Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Experts. She has helped start, grow, fund, rebuild and sell owner-operated thousands of businesses from A-Z, accounting firms to private zoos all over the US and internationally. She is one of the original founders of the Women’s Chamber of Texas. As part of the BSC’s unique approach to business strategy, she helped create and run the Street MBA program, the award-winning City Management Academy, the Entrepreneurs’ Association, and the BSC Hatchery and Accelerator and been a mentor for SXSW. She has led successful international trade missions and is a popular speaker in the US and abroad. She has served on local and state boards, been a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and the Congressional Summit on Small Business. and testified before government agencies and legislators at local, state, and national levels on numerous small business issues. Dr. Triplett has received many honors including being named Texas’ Small Business Advocate by the Small Business Administration and the Texas Senate. Currently, she is also teaching in the online MBA program at Mary Baldwin University, writes for allbusiness.com and creates posts for the BSC website at www.ownersview.com.

Dr. Triplett is also a Certified Business Technical Advisor Consultant (CBTAC) and works to assist people with a disability access grants to start or grow their business. Her books include: The Networker’s Guide to Success (information and exercises), Thinking Big, Staying Small (communications guide for small organizations), and Easy to Be Green (a guide to sustainability for small firms) all available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Apple. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, she started BSC’s Rebuilding Business Nationwide Forum. It meets every Thursday at noon Central. You are most welcome to attend. She wants to encourage you to connect to her and the BSC on linkedin, linkedin groups, Facebook, or Facebook groups.