College of Business

Women in Business Summit

Saturday, November 4 | 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

BMU Auditorium

women in business logoThe sixth annual Women in Business (WIB) Summit strives to bring opportunities to women and underrepresented minorities in the business world who face a wide range of obstacles and experiences. Over the past six years, hundreds of individuals including students, small business owners, stay-at-home mothers, and other community members have benefited from this event.

We are excited to have two powerhouse keynote speakers, Allison Miller from Workday and Sandra Knight from the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Ranchero. This year's event also offers breakout sessions that touch on relevant topics for women in business including: entrepreneurship, recruiting, networking, management, leadership, and more.

The conference wraps up with a networking session and the opportunity to chat with speakers and recruiters who have proven they are a good fit for women in business.

The WIB Summit is open to all genders and all students, faculty, staff, and community members. Breakfast and lunch are included.

To take advantage of this opportunity, buy your tickets now(opens in new window) to reserve your spot! Ticket prices are $15 and well worth the investment. The first 150 people will receive a free swag bag filled with fun conference essentials. Get ready to grow your network, career, and knowledge. Buy your ticket today(opens in new window)!


2023 Guest Speakers 

Allison Miller(opens in new window) | Keynote Speaker: Women in Business; Chess Not Checkers

Account Executive, Workday

Allison Miller headshotAllison is a NorCal native - she grew up in a small town called Orinda, went to Chico State and now resides in San Francisco. Allison majored in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing and even led the inaugural Student Ambassador program for the Seufferlein Sales Program to recruit and expand the program's talent pool. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, with additional accolades from the business department.

Not only is she a Chico State alum, Allison is one of the youngest Account Executives at Workday, a leading ERP technology company. Allison began her background in the SaaS world in 2018 working at Scout, a startup specializing in procurement software. When Scout was acquired by Workday, Allison decided to stay with the acquisition and start a new role. With her experience and network, she quickly moved up the corporate ladder and is now working with nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest.

Her keynote, “Chess Not Checkers,” will discuss the idea of thinking strategically and focusing on the big picture rather than what’s happening right now. She will discuss building a network, a personal brand, and provide a reminder that we are always selling our personal brand to people regardless of our industry or job position.


Sandra Knight(opens in new window) | Keynote Speaker:  The Only One in the Room

Vice Chairperson, Mechoopda Indian Tribe and Director of Economic Development

Sandra Knight headshotSandra Knight is the Vice Chairperson for the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Ranchera, a federally recognized Indian Nation in Chico, California. She has served as Vice Chairperson since 2000 and works diligently to implement tribal policies, support the tribe’s culture and protect tribal sovereignty. Sandra has also been employed at the Mechoopda Tribe as Director of Economic Development. As Director of Economic Development, she is tasked with leading the charge for economic self-reliance through e-commerce, gaming and other economic opportunities unique to tribal lands.

Sandra spearheaded restoring the tribe’s land base and led the tribe’s efforts to secure a Gaming Compact with the State, a legislative ratification process, and the final US Department of the Interior review procedure. Before her work for the Tribe, she served as Network Administrator for Feather River Tribal Health for almost ten years. Serving the tribal communities is paramount to Sandra. She is also a board member of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Fee-to-Trust Consortium and a board member of the Native American Financial Services Association.

As the morning keynote, Sandra will discuss what it's like to walk into a room and not see someone who resembles you. In actuality, the vast majority of people are essentially opposed to you. She will share what it's like to be a Mechoopda businesswoman and leader and expand on how personal experiences and narratives have the power to affect how we conduct business and assume leadership responsibilities.


Amanda Marx(opens in new window) | Owning the Interview Process

Account Manager at Superhuman

Amanda Marx headshotAmanda is a Bay Area native and attended Chico from 2011-2016 (nothing wrong with a victory lap!). She started her professional career in sales at Adobe right after graduation in their Adobe Sales Academy. Since then, she has worked at a number of different startups and has been a Sales Development Representative, an SDR Manager, an Account Executive, and is currently an Account Manager for an email technology startup called Superhuman.

Amanda was the first person in her family to go to college, which made it the most exciting and simultaneously the scariest thing she had ever done in her life! Being the first one to go to college, she was also the first one to go into the professional working world (her mom is a teachers' aide and her dad is a contractor). Needless to say, she had to figure a lot out on her own and is very passionate about helping others find their path.

In this session, Amanda will discuss how to own the interview process; how to prepare, what to talk about, best practices, etiquette, and more.


Amber Lowry(opens in new window) | Managing the Whole Person

CEO, Syssero

Amber Lowry headshotAmber began working with Workday nearly 10 years ago as an employee. Following that experience, she interacted with the product from the perspective of a consulting partner, end client, and independent consultant. Being able to view the organization from all angles and understanding the unmet needs of organizations of all sizes led her to create Syssero.

Amber founded Syssero to help Workday clients get the most out of their solution. Through Amber’s leadership, Syssero is ensuring client success through transparency, comprehensive training, and honesty at the outset of every project.  Despite Syssero’s rapid growth, Amber still communicates directly with every client to ensure the company’s mission is being lived up to across all projects.

In this session, Amber will provide a look at managing different people across personalities, experiences, and age and how she handles various management situations.


Jenna Childers(opens in new window) | Behind the Scenes of a Recruiter

National Sales Recruiting and Education Manager, Jackson Family Wines

Jenna Childers headshotJenna is an effective, determined, and zealous Chico State alumni of 2011, completing her Psychology Degree and Family Relations minor. After graduation, she attended a career fair and met with Jackson Family Wines. In 2012, she moved to San Jose to begin her career in the wine industry. Working in a chain sales position, she learned a great deal about business acumen, sales skills, and wine knowledge. She got promoted into an on-premise sales role where she learned how to influence restaurant success and be a consultant to over 120 accounts in the Bay Area. She really enjoyed her time in wine sales because she was able to use her knowledge of the business to drive success.

Over the last 7 years, Jenna has spent most of her career coaching and leading sales training programs in California and Illinois. Alongside this, she has managed relationships with college campus faculty, clubs and career centers across the country. Over the last two years, she has had the honor of continuing to support the sales team, campus recruiting efforts, as well as hire for the 3-tier and DTC channels for Jackson Family Wines.

In this session, Jenna will discuss what it’s like to be a recruiter and provide an inside look into the job hunt process.


Ellen Falltrick(opens in new window) | How to Move Up in Your Company (& How to Know When to Move On)

Digital Marketing Strategist, Veza

Ellen Falltrick headshotEllen is an experienced marketer with a knack for developing go-to-market strategies for both B2B and B2C tech products, managing content strategies and creating compelling written, graphic and video content. Being a natural writer and UX nerd gives Ellen the edge she needs to help companies scale. With a focus primarily on Series A-C tech startups in recent years, she has learned how to build communities, manage teams and lead prospects through the buyer journey (and retain them). A few human notes: Ellen is passionate about painting, climbing mountains and all things humanitarian and sustainability.

In this session, Ellen will share her tips, experience, and recommendations on how to move up in your company and how to know when you should move on.