24th ANNUAL LEADERS AND LEGENDS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR AWARDS LUNCHEON AND 4th ANNUAL NAWBO-U®
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008 |
Exhibits & Networking WINNERS BIOS2008 NAWBO®-SF Member of the Year – Cynthia Fassler, TSS Personnel Agency, Inc. The Member of the Year award recognizes and honors a Member who, by her commitment to NAWBO, has served and set the highest standard and example through highly visible participation on all levels. Cindy has exceeded all these benchmarks. Cindy serves on the San Francisco Chapter Board and has been the Event Chair for Leaders and Legends for the past two years. She has dedicated exemplary time and energy to help NAWBO and its members to grow, thrive and lead. While being an effective ambassador for NAWBO within our chapter and the community, she does it with enthusiasm, warmth, dedication and spirit. Cindy founded TSS as a temporary staffing agency in 1982 and quickly expanded to offer fulltime placement and executive search services. With her expertise and personal determination in recruitment, she has successfully grown the agency to have a niche in the Executive Search market, focusing on Banking and Brokerage Placement. In 2006 Cindy was named Small Business Owner of the Year by the Small Business Network (SBN). In addition to the NAWBO board, Cindy was elected statewide VP of California Staffing Professionals (CSP) and served as President of the CSP Golden Gate chapter. 2008 NAWBO®-SF Trailblazer - Jesse Ziff Cool, CoolEatz Restaurant and Catering Starting as a waitress for the Good Earth Restaurant, Jesse has always had an interest in creating delicious organic food – before it became trendy to do so. For 33 years, she has been dedicated to sustainable agriculture and cuisine – knowing where food comes from and how best to prepare it is paramount in her personal and professional life. Her businesses support local, organic farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and dairies. She warmly refers to these people, those still connected to the land, the sea and our food as her heroes. They are amongst the first real environmental pioneers, giving her the inspiration to do her work. Jesse has opened 9 restaurants – all of which are still in business – currently owns three restaurants – Cool Café, Flea Street Cafe and jZCool Eatery and Wine Bar, as well as CoolEatz Catering Company. She has authored seven cookbooks, multiple magazine articles and has been featured on many televisions shows, including The Today Show and The Food Network. 2008 NAWBO®-SF Rising Star - Laura van Galen, Bleu Marketing Solutions Laura van Galen, founder, president and CEO of Bleu Marketing Solutions, Inc. and Bleu Properties, Inc., is an authoritative direct marketer that understands the woven fabrics of customer acquisition and customer retention marketing with over 22 years of domestic and international success in this field. In 2001, after four years heading up a list management division of a leading list management firm, Laura decided it was time to start her own company, and began Bleu Marketing Solutions, Inc., an agency focused on supporting large businesses to acquire new customers through offline and online list marketing. Using nothing more than credit cards the first year to get started, the company now enjoys profitability and consistent annual growth. In an online arena that is fraught with fraud and crime, Laura believes it is her philosophy of honesty, pride and people that sets her apart. She created a mentor program where she trained and molded young adults in this field – and then hired 90% of them to work for her. She is often invited to speak at events such as: at MacWorld 2002, Northern California Direct Marketing Association, Women in Leadership at Santa Clara University, San Francisco State University MBA Marketing Department, and more. Bleu Marketing Solutions, Inc. was also honored as one of the fastest growing companies in the Management Consulting Services industry by Inc. Magazine 2007. 2008 NAWBO®-SF Social Entrepreneur – Dr. Mimi Silbert, Delancey Street Foundation Mimi Silbert serves as the President, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Delancey Street Foundation, which is a nonprofit rehabilitation program serving ex-felons, prostitutes, substance abusers, and others through 5 national centers, and headquartered in San Francisco. For over 35 years, Delancey Street has provided residents with academic, vocational, and social skills, and the discipline, values, and attitudes they need to live in society legitimately and successfully -- at no cost to the client or taxpayer. There are currently over 15,000 successful graduates all living drug, crime, and alcohol free. Mimi is a social entrepreneur in the truest sense, developing business models such as the Delancey Street Café, Moving & Trucking Company and Christmas Tree lots, that create funding for the organization while providing vocational skills to the residents. Although Delancey Street is her primary life work, Silbert is also a recognized national expert in criminal justice. Mimi Silbert has cast her lot with society's “losers” to prove her beliefs that with struggle, courage, and discipline, together they can be “winners” and transform impossible dreams into reality by pooling their resources, supporting one another, and living lives of purpose and integrity.
NAWBO®-University
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Keynote Speaker 
