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The Solopreneur Mindset: Expanding Courageous Ecosystems Comment end  

The IBA is thrilled to revitalize our Women in Business programming with this kickoff event on October 28 at Quorum at the University City Science Center.

As workplace expectations evolve, more women are challenging traditional definitions of career success and choosing paths that prioritize purpose, impact, and economic empowerment. Whether they're building businesses, leading change inside organizations, or navigating the space in between, this conversation explores what women need to thrive and how stronger ecosystems make that possible.

What you'll gain:

• Candid conversations that challenge conventional career paths.
• Actionable insights from founders, leaders, and changemakers.
• Authentic networking with women across industries and career stages.

Location:

Quorum at the University City Science Center
3675 Market St 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19104 United States

Moderator: 

Dr. Shanesia Davis (she/her): 

Dr. Shanesia Davis is an organizational leadership strategist, executive coach, author, speaker, and founder and CEO of U & ME Consulting, LLC. She partners with executives, boards, leadership teams, and organizations to strengthen leadership, workplace culture, and organizational results.

With more than 15 years of experience across education, organizational leadership, talent development, and executive leadership, Dr. Davis brings both practitioner experience and research-informed strategy to her work. Her approach centers emotional intelligence, identity, and the understanding that sustainable organizational change begins with the people responsible for leading it. Her philosophy is simple: leadership is personal work with public consequences.

Dr. Davis is the creator of the From Within™ Leadership Framework and author of From Control to Connection: Challenging Our Defaults to Create Conditions Where People Flourish, which invites leaders to examine the beliefs, behaviors, and defaults shaping how they lead and the conditions they create for others.

She holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and a Master’s degree in Education Administration. Her career has included service as a school principal, district leader, Chief Talent Officer, and senior leader in professional learning and organizational development. She also serves as a Minister, bringing the same commitment to identity, connection, human dignity, and transformation that grounds her organizational work.

Dr. Davis hosts In the Leadership Lounge™, where she engages leaders in candid conversations about what it takes to lead with greater authenticity, connection, and impact.

Speakers:  

Georgean Wardzinski (she/her): 

Georgean Wardzinski has been a leader in public and private organizations over the past 35+ years. In roles within corporate leadership and as a consultant, she has overseen a range of significant organizational change-related issues. These include profit and nonprofit organization turnarounds, mergers & acquisitions with small businesses through enterprise operations, companywide reorganizations, operations alignment, c-suite development, selection, and redeployment. Her experience leading organizations in effective transitions have achieved significant business results. Most of her experience has been in services industries with a focus on insurance, financial, professional, and healthcare services. Client organizations have included fortune 100 companies to small businesses.

Georgean is the principal and founder of STAR Business Alliance LLC which focuses on advising small business leaders on organizational change and achieving long term strategic goals. She also provides her support to professional and nonprofit organizations. Georgean earned a Master of Business Administration and Management from Pennsylvania State University with an emphasis in Strategic and Human Resources Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Development. Additionally, Georgean completed an Executive Management Program at J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Colleen Love (she/her) :

Colleen has been co-founding AI powered software startups for over a decade, predominantly as a technical co-founder. A little over a year ago she decided to make the leap to solo founding and created a business that supports neurodiverse people, ThreadLight. This product connects neurodiverse people with each other, free resources, and affirming businesses.

Tiffany Tavarez (she/her):

Tiffany Tavarez serves as Vice President, Community Impact and Strategic Partnerships for Jefferson’s Office of Community Health & Impact. This office is responsible for aligning community impact and health equity through engagement initiatives across the entire Jefferson enterprise enhancing the experience of patients, students, members and colleagues. Prior to Jefferson, she held various roles at Wells Fargo, Exelon, Comcast, Temple University, and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.

She has been recognized with numerous awards from across the region for her leadership and civic engagement over the last two decades. Most recently, she was recognized as a “Champion of Impact” by Philadelphia Youth Basketball in honor of their tenth anniversary. In 2025, the Salvation Army of Eastern Pennsylvania bestowed her the prestigious Eliza Shirley Women in Leadership Award. In 2024, Hispanic Style Magazine named her one of the top Latina Influencers in the Northeast region. In 2023, Tiffany was recognized as one of the Top Women and Top Latino Power Players by Metro Philadelphia; was named a Woman of Influence by the Philadelphia Business Journal and City & State Pennsylvania Top 100 Leaders in Diversity. She was also named a 2023 Marshall Memorial Fellow (MMF). MMF is the German Marshall Fund’s flagship leadership development program to introduce a new generation of leaders from business, government and civil society to expand their understanding of transatlantic relations with the European Union, and to create new networks and opportunities for global collaboration. During the fellowship, she had the opportunity to network and engage with leaders across Moldova, Italy, Belgium and Germany.

Additionally, she serves as Vice Chair of Esperanza as well as Board Emerita of Monument Lab; advisor to LULAC Philadelphia and serves on the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts Golden Gala 50th Anniversary Committee. As a former member of the Commission for Women, appointed by Governors Wolf and Shapiro, she now has the distinct honor of serving as Vice Chair of Pick Pennsylvania, the joint venture between the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Convention Host Committee to help pitch Philadelphia as the next host city of the 2028 Democratic National Convention. Tiffany Tavarez is a first-generation college graduate who has earned degrees from both Temple University and University of the Arts.