Award Winners Announced at 2012 CWE Women Business Leaders Conference

Oct. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Boston, MA – October 2, 2012 – The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE), a nationally-known nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in business presented its 2012 Leadership Awards at its 6th Annual Women Business Leaders Conference on September 21st at Bentley University in Waltham, MA.

The following individuals and corporations were recognized for their outstanding efforts in helping break down barriers and empower women to become economically self-sufficient and prosper through business ventures:

o CWE Corporation of the Year: Verizon

o CWE Supplier Diversity Professional of the Year: Lynette Shenefield, RBSCitizens

o CWE Community Partner of the Year: Regina Pisa, Goodwin Procter LLP

o CWE Women’s Business Enterprise of the Year: Mary Nardella, Continental Resources, Inc.

o CWE Advocate of the Year: Ellen Hoffman

o CWE Volunteer of the Year: Debra Thomas

“The dedication of these individuals and corporations to CWE’s mission is second to none.  Each award winner has in their own way exhibited an unwavering commitment to empowering women in business -- not only for yesterday’s and today’s women business leaders, but for many more to come. For that we are sincerely grateful,” stated Susan Rittscher, President and CEO of the Center for Women & Enterprise.

This year’s conference drew a record-breaking 250 business professionals dedicated to empowering women in business, and featured workshops and presentations led by industry experts.  Featured speakers included Steve Grossman, Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts, and Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com.


About CWE
The Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1995 to empower women to become economically self-sufficient and prosperous through business and entrepreneurship.  With offices in Boston and Worcester, MA and Providence, RI, CWE supports women’s businesses throughout New England through education, technical assistance, strong corporate-community relationships, and certification. Since its founding, CWE has helped over 28,000 entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses, helped create 37,000 new jobs in New England, and helped generate over $1 billion in wages. CWE is also the New England Regional Partner Organization for WBENC, and has certified over 1,300 women-owned businesses. www.cweonline.org