Virtual UF Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit highlights confident creators, collaborators and changemakers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit will connect the Gainesville community with local and national women entrepreneurs on Friday, November 6. The virtual event will feature storytelling organization Guts & Glory GNV creative director Taylor Williams as its keynote speaker. 

Held from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., the Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit is free for all UF students, faculty, staff and members of the local community. The event also includes presentations from other notable women entrepreneurs, including:

• Seyi Falade of Cornerstone Barricades, a Maintenance of Traffic service provider
• Sara Schley of Seed Systems, an international consulting company, and WeTheChange, a nonprofit for women CEOs of Certified B Corporations and other purpose driven organizations brought together by a shared belief in the power of business as a force for good
• Dr. Bertrhude Albert of P4H, a non-profit working to redefine aid by partnering with Haitian educators to provide quality teacher training
• Robyn Crawford of Eden Books, an online romance novel publishing company and bookstore
• Victoria Wylde of Alterra Hemp, a hemp genetics lab & seed plant farm

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit, presented by the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center at the UF Warrington College of Business and the UF Collaboratory, offers inspirational stories and lessons learned from successful women entrepreneurs. The event provides opportunities for women to connect with peers and other successful business leaders to foster shared learning and community-building, as well as networking, mentoring, start-up and career advice, internships, and career connections. 

“We are proud of our Gator grads and look forward to welcoming these women entrepreneurs and business leaders back to campus (albeit virtually this year) to amplify and elevate their diverse voices,” said Jamie Kraft, Director of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center. “Our hope is their stories illuminate pathways and pipelines that inspire the next generation of Warrington women changemakers to create and collaborate with confidence.”

Taylor Williams: Williams is the creative director of Guts & Glory GNV and the lead facilitator of Guts & Glory Creative Consulting. She has been studying and performing improv comedy and storytelling for over 11 years, and a motivational speaker for 15. She got her start in New York City where she trained with Upright Citizens Brigade and worked as a commercial actress. She offers trainings and keynotes around communication, storytelling, public speaking and company culture. She holds an advanced certificate in Design Thinking and Communicating for Impact from IDEO U, allowing her to use human-centered design in the consulting work she offers to clients. She recently gave a TEDxUF talk about public speaking and is now working on a book on the same topic. She is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Florida in the College of Journalism & Communications in the undergraduate and graduate programs (focusing on storytelling, communication, personal branding podcasting,) and serves as a consultant with UF MBA programs. Williams is a graduate of UF, with a BA in business and an M.Ed., Ed.S. in mental health.