LOCATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION

The Sweet Briar College business department will host its first Conference on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts, 3 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 5 and 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 6. The conference is free and open to area college students and faculty. A Facebook event page has been created for interested individuals, and online registration is available.

On Friday, discussion topics will be tailored specifically for liberal arts students, highlighting the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur in the fields of engineering, arts, business and horsemanship.

Guest speakers include Leah Solivan Busque ’01, owner and creator of RunMyErrand.com; Deborah Jones ’84, co-founder of Square One Vodka; Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein ’86, president and founder of the Potomac Company; Alison Schwartz, manager for the National Arts Marketing Project, a program of Americans for the Arts; and Alisa Cline Berry ’03, equine specialist for the Augusta Cooperative Farm Bureau.

Joanna Alberti, creator of the philoSophie’s greeting card line, will deliver the keynote speech at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. BusinessWeek rated Alberti as one of the top five entrepreneurs younger than 25 in 2005. Prior to creating philoSophie’s, Alberti worked for a top advertising agency in Boston, helping to design campaigns for companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Fleet Bank.

Today, stores across the country carry philoSophie’s products. PhiloSophie’s have been incorporated in campaigns and events for InterContinental Boston Hotel, American Heart Association, YSL Fragrances and Macy’s East. Alberti’s success has been noted on WomenEntrepreneur.com and CNN, in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, and numerous magazines including BusinessWeek, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Redbook, Justine and Her.

Following the keynote speech, group sessions will focus on developing entrepreneurial skills applicable to all disciplines with topics such as marketing yourself, turning passion into business, securing financial resources, researching market potential, developing a brand and more.

Discussion leaders will include Cathy O’Brien Yaffa, president at AAM Management Group, New York City; Alison Schwartz; Rungsinee Poudad, founder of the RU Group; Bob Price, executive director for the National Center for Social Entrepreneurs; and Patrick Morin, instructor for Dale Carnegie and Associates Inc.

The group of students and professors who are planning the conference hope that it will provide an opportunity for others to learn about the entrepreneurial possibilities within varied disciplines.

“We value what our students can learn by having a broad-based liberal arts program,” said Tom Loftus, assistant professor of business. “There’s a lot of value in having exposure to a broad spectrum of liberal arts courses; on the other hand, we think there are some business skills that are going to help other students. The focus of the conference is to share those opportunities — to bring in alumnae and speakers who can talk about how a liberal arts degree has helped them to be successful.”

The conference will conclude with a luncheon, followed by an open panel and closing discussion on Saturday afternoon. For more information, contact Tom Loftus, assistant professor of business, at (434) 381-6296 or loftus@sbc.edu.