The Cubicle Chick

Work. Play. Live Your Life to its Fullest Personally & Professionally

Subscribe today to TheCubicleChick.com!

Strength, Courage, and Wisdom at the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit #ATTBlogger


Debra Lee, BET, Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit

The following post is a recap of my experience at the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, where I was a guest courtesy of AT&T.  My travel and room expenses were compensated, however, as a career and lifestyle writer, the opinions expressed in this article are mine and are not indicative of the brands mentioned.

There’s strength in numbers, and true power represented at the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my excitement about attending this year’s Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit for the first time. As a guest of AT&T, I was sent to South Florida to not only cover the experience, but participate in the many workshops and presentations that took place during the three day event, whose mantra this year was know your worth, know your truth, embrace your power. Little did I know that those words would not only be the mainframe of the conference, but would allow me the opportunity to harness my potential and allow myself to truly tap into my secret sauce in ways I had never before imagined.

Billed as a power summit of women of color from all over the professional, entrepreneurial, and career spectrum, it was wonderful to behold and witness as sisters from all over the planet came to convene in Hollywood, Florida and participate in an inspirational and encouraging event. I met CEO’s and COOs and start-up mavens and HR gurus, and the finest heads of Fortune 100 and 500 companies far and wide. As a Digital Debutante myself, I was in awe of all of the ladies in the place with both style and grace and sheer talent and intelligence that can only be defined as wondrous.

The summit began with classes to help us sharpen our skills and unmask our talents, and then followed with an Unmas-querade Ball where we all stepped into the grand affair ready to get our party on. Of course there was plenty of networking and mingling that was worth more than the price of admission. When you are surrounded by that much greatness, you must connect and convene—the atmosphere was nurturing to growing and fostering relationships.

Day 2 started with a bang as Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie went from her pulpit to the power podium to preach about our worth and knowing that with great power comes great responsibility. If there was a highlight of the conference, I would have to say that she was that for me.

After getting my life literally and figuratively during Bishop’s session, we were treated to a skillful and talent-filled panel discussion with three dynamic women of color, which included the highest ranking African American woman at AT&T, Chief Diversity Officer Cynthia Marshall, CFO of Estee Lauder Tracey Travis, and Sharon Brogdon, Director of Strategic Capability at Intel. During this session,  we learned that having a Board of Directors for our professional lives is key to a success, as a tribe can help you further your accomplishments and help you reach your goals.

AT&T, Chief Diversity Officer Cynthia Marshall

Between sessions, we made sure to check out the AT&T Power Lounge to recharge and refocus, and check out the latest and greatest in technology that can help enhance our careers.

Day 2 evening’s festivities included the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Legacy Awards, which recognized four outstanding African American women who helped pave the way for so many others while blazing their own trails. This year’s award recipients were Golf pioneer Dr. Renee Powell, LPGA/PGA, Actress, Singer, and Author, Vanessa Williams, and Thurgood Marshall College Fund  Founder Dr. N Joyce Payne who was honored with the Barbara Graves Legacy Award.

By Day 3, I was overwhelmed but in a good way. I joined the AT&T led session focused on utilizing tech to enhance and grow your career with Jazmin C. Harrison, AT&T Lead Consultant, Developmental Programs Human Resources, Rachelle Franklin, Frontline Marketing and Promotions, and Sherice Torres, Marketing Director, Google, Android Pay. Technology and career go hand in hand, and whether you are using the cloud, Skyping during meetings, or creating a document on your tablet, it is an essential part of our professional lives.

Lunch was fun and festive with Carnival Cruise, who encouraged us to cruise more during our off time. Then we were treated with a fashion show by Macy’s that gave us cruise wear ideas, business fabulousness, and evening gown inspiration. What a fun lunch and learn!

Women of Power Fashion Show And just when I thought it could get ‘no better, it did, with a candid chat with three generations of women of color—Vanessa Williams, her mother Helen, and her daughter Jillian. It reminded me so much of my mother and my grandmother, and was inspirational and funny—we are from different eras but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to understand one another.

For our last night of the summit, the Farewell Dinner gave us a concert from Johnny Gill. As a NE Heartbreak fan, it was awesome seeing Mr. Gill up close as he performed some of his greatest hits.

Johnny Gill Women of Power Summit I am so honored and grateful to have participated in the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, and I am looking forward to hopefully attending next year as well in sunny Phoenix, Arizona.

I learned so much about how to put forward useful strategies that can improve my business and career! For a rundown of the top lessons I learned, be on the lookout for a post I am co-writing on the AT&T website. I will make sure to link it here once it is live.

Special thank you to both AT&T and Flowers Communications for this wonderful experience.


Related Posts

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *