‘Working Women’s Conference’ held in Martin empowers and inspires

MARTIN, Tenn. — One university’s leadership program is bringing together West Tennessee women from all walks of life.

More than 300 women gathered at UT Martin Friday for the WestStar Leadership Program’s ‘Working Women’s Conference.” For nearly three decades, women of West Tennessee have come together to network and inspire each other.

This year focuses on female empowerment, self-acceptance and the importance of being true to yourself — inspired by the 2023 movie ‘Barbie.’

“I think it’s important to grow the women in your company. It grows a culture, encouraging us to be strong in a company that’s male driven,” said Skye Prince, 2nd year participant.

These women are ‘stepping out of the box’ to network and build relationships with other women in everyday life and in their career.

“Every woman is in a different role. As you can see, I have on my hard hat and my vest. I work in a construction, a man-led field. All the women in the room are from different backgrounds,” said Nichole Lawrence, committee member West Star Leadership.

The keynote speaker was Tersea Chasteen-Dunn, president of Win Learning who told an interesting story, aimed to inspire others.

“You know women can leave here with motivation, inspiration or a new set of ideas that they can take back to their community or their workforce and say okay let’s try something different,” said Lawrence.

Prince says she feels excited and ready to bring back new ideas for her company.

“I actually came back to my clinic and I’m actually trying to kind of put forward a women’s leadership just within our company. So this really encouraged me to do something bigger just back at home. I’m excited, I love it,” said Prince.

The conference also featured different speakers throughout the day and a Q&A panel.

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