Free tickets will be available on 3/9 at 10am. Get them on Eventbrite!

The creative industry can be an exciting and challenging landscape to work in, and the path you take is totally up to you. Once you pick a direction, though, it helps to have a professional there to offer some guidance along the way. That’s where our Who’s Your Momma event comes in. To celebrate Women’s History Month, SheSays Chicago has assembled some of the top women in creative for the sole purpose of helping YOU. Our mentors come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are here to answer questions and share insight on specialized topics chosen by our community. Who’s Your Momma offers something for everyone, women and men at any career level… and all you need to do is register.

Here’s how our event will work: You register for ONE of four topics you would like to join. At the event you’ll get to hear tips from all of the mentors, then move to Breakout Sessions for the topic you’ve chosen.

Breakout Session 1: UX Researchers and Practice

• Carolyn Chandler: ACD, User Experience at Mira Fitness, Ascend Training Instructor
• Kiley Coombe: UX Design Researcher, Motorola Mobility
• Hala Hemayssi: Global Head Design & Research, Infosys Management Consulting
• Trina Uzee: Creative Director, Allstate

Breakout Session 2: The In’s and Out’s of Freelancing

• Kelly Butler: Freelance Associate Creative Director
• Amy Spizzo: Freelance Creative Partner/Copywriter
• Saadé Taylor: Freelance Creative Partner/Copywriter at Leo Burnett, Freelance Photographer
• Julia Thiel: Founder Yoolia Design, LLC
• Eileen Tjan: Principal/Creative Director, Other Studio

Breakout Session 3: Life Working for a Big Agency

• Susie Jendro: Technology Manager, OgilvyOne
• Hope Nardini: Senior Copywriter, Leo Burnett
• Mary Olivieri: SVP, Executive Creative Director, CBD
• Deb Pahl: Freelance ACD/CW, Tribal, DDB
• Rose Richardson: Account Supervisor, Havas
• Marisa Ruiz: Senior Talent Acquisition Manager, Razorfish

Breakout Session 4: You Got Here – Now What? Tips for Managing Your Team

• Noor Abdallah: Corporate Communications Specialist, Rust-Oleum
• Pashen Black: Manager, Corporate Communications & PR, Mead Johnson Nutrition
• Melissa Healy: Group Creative Director, Frequency 540
• Ari Krzyzek: Creative Director & Designer, Chykalophia Group
• Michelle Tucker: Group Creative Director, Havas

This event has assigned seating, so if you register and are not able to attend please let us know ASAP so we may fill that seat. If seats are full, then please add yourself to the waitlist in case there are cancellations.

Big thanks to our host and sponsor Ascend Training for partnering with SheSays. Ascend offers a full array of classes for both the beginner and industry pro, and our hands-on classes ensure our students have the cutting-edge skills to stay competitive. They believe in “Learning by Doing” and students build things themselves in their immersive instructor-led classes. All instructors at Ascend are out in the real world so they can teach you real skills to bring your ideas to life. They have a fierce dedication to enabling our students to achieve more than they thought possible.

We would also like to thank our generous friends at Gino’s East Pizza! They are donating food to our event, and have been big supporters of our community since we started four years ago. In a city known as the “Pizza Capital of the World”, The Original Gino’s East is still the number one pizza restaurant where customers from near and far return year after year to scribble their names into the wood and stucco walls of our flagship restaurants in downtown Chicago.