Women Business Leaders Share Their Inspiring Stories with the SDSU Community

By Suzanne Finch

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The conference was founded by SDSU marketing lecturer, Steven Osinski, whose family has created an endowment to support and fund the event for the foreseeable future. Osinski said he was inspired to establish the event after he personally witnessed disparity between men and women in the workplace.

“I saw a recent study indicating that for every 100 men promoted to first-level management, there were 87 women and only 82 women of color receiving the same type of promotion,” said Osinski, who established the first conference in 2017. “I wanted to play my part to level the playing field in making sure all my students had equal opportunities.” 

This year’s conference featured three interactive presentations: The opening session featured Cynthia Johnson, who shared information on how to build and maintain your personal brand. Next up, four emerging women business leaders shared their experiences in navigating their post-college careers and how they see the work force evolving for future generations. The final presentation was delivered by podcaster and entrepreneur, Poppy Jamie, who founded her company Happy Not Perfect to assist individuals in their journey to success with prioritizing mental wellness. 

“This year’s event spotlighted two main goals,” said Osinski. “The first was to help students optimize their personal brand to increase their marketability in the workplace. Secondly, there was a focus on mental health and self-acceptance in learning to be ‘happy, not perfect’.”

Opening Session: The Art and Science of Personal Branding

Panel Session: Emerging Women Leaders Share Their Journeys and Learning Experiences 

Keynote Session: Poppy Jamie on How to Relieve Stress and Prioritize Mental Wellness