Meredith Englund is Founder and CEO of Camperoni, a Twin Cities startup focused on automating the administrative grunt work of parenting, starting with planning kids' camps, sports and activities. Prior to Camperoni, Meredith served as COO of Carbon Origins, another local startup training robotic AI using virtual reality and remote operators. Meredith is a McKinsey & Company alumna and worked at Ecolab for 10 years, where she started the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator program and served as VP Sustainability working on solving the global water crisis. Meredith lives in Minneapolis with her husband and 2 kids.

Alex West Steinman is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, Co-Founder and Partner of The Coven, the first and only woman owned coworking franchise in the world. She's been blazing trails for more than a decade across advertising, communications, and digital business.

Her career success includes executive leadership roles at top companies like Fallon and Comcast, among others. She's served brands from Purina Dog Chow and TruTV to Travelers Insurance and Loctite Glue and has lent her expertise to help women business leaders thrive. Alex has been honored with multiple awards including 2023 BMe Vanguard Fellow, 2021 Forbes Next 1,000, 2020 City Pages Best Entrepreneur Award, the AMEX 100 for 100 list, Bush Fellowship in 2019, 2019 Inc. Magazine 100 Female Founder, and a 2018 Above the Fold recipient, and other accolades. She holds a Strategic Communications degree from University of Minnesota, where she has been recognized as an Emerging Leader at the institution's College of Liberal Arts.

At The Coven, Alex empowers entrepreneurs and leaders across communities to achieve success, providing a path to economic prosperity. When she's not creating success, social change, and conversations, you'll find Alex bumping Beyoncé until the neighbors come knocking with her two kids and husband in South Minneapolis. She's inspired by fellow female firestarter Audre Lorde's quote, "I'm deliberate and afraid of nothing."

As the Founder and CEO of Quebracho, Belén is passionate about sharing her Argentinian heritage.

In 2018, she stepped back from her 15 year career in Scientific Translation and Medical Interpreting to bring Quebracho to life as a catering company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Belén took the opportunity to turn Quebracho into a CPG food brand, further solidifying its foundation and expanding its reach. Today, she is leading the Company through growth with the ultimate mission of making her empanadas the ultimate handheld food in the U.S.

Belén is a creator and a visionary who brings positive energy into everything she builds. As a company leader, Belén has received multiple accolades not only for her products but also for her entrepreneurial skills.

Hailey Margetta works at the intersection of people, businesses, and banking.

An award-winning professional in finance, Hailey has helped organizations and individuals unlock the power of banking for over a decade. She focuses her expertise and public speaking on entrepreneurship, access to capital, small-business finance, women-owned businesses, personal finance, business development, and stakeholder relations. Hailey currently serves as the East Region Market Development Director for Bell Bank. She represents the Bank at speaking engagements and market events, cultivating professional connections and working with senior leaders and bankers to develop go-to-market strategies.

My career has continually involved bringing people together to create change. I have been a leader and facilitator of organization and community innovation. I've had experience working in corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors. 

Currently, I'm leading statewide efforts to support startups, small businesses, and organizations that support them. I first joined state government to create and deploy Launch Minnesota, a statewide initiative to help grow the state's innovation ecosystem. The initiative has successfully deployed over $6 million dollars to startups and created a network to connect and coordinate the startup ecosystem across the state. 

Prior to joining state government, I was a founder of the nonprofit Red Wing Ignite, which supports entrepreneurs, businesses, and students to succeed in the 21st-century economy. We created a model, that received national attention, developing an innovative ecosystem by forging partnerships with government, academic, corporate, and community partners.

A Twin Cities entrepreneur and former corporate executive and non-profit leader with a knack for strategic development, community building, and collaboration, Rosemarie Ndupuechi has a keen eye for the big picture and a talent for tactical execution. Rosemarie employs her expertise and strong work ethic in service to business owners in the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota, and neighboring states. She has a particular passion for collaborating with women and leaders from diverse racial, ethnic, generational, and socioeconomic backgrounds that she brings to her work as WomenVenture’s Chief Advancement and Marketing Officer.

After a successful corporate career at Cargill and Land O’Lakes, Rosemarie founded 3E Productions in 2014. The event planning company serves corporate and non-profit clients in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Rosemarie earned her Master of Business Communications degree from the University of St. Thomas in 2002. She was a fellow in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows Program at the University of Minnesota in 1998 and completed her undergraduate degree in communications at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rosemarie enjoys gardening, fishing, archery, playing tennis, and cheering on her favorite teams, the Golden State Warriors, and the Kansas City Chiefs. She lives in Eagan with her husband, Paul, and two rescue dogs, Caesar, and Loki. She welcomes any and all opportunities to practice her French, Italian, and Spanish.

Mickayla has worked in venture and private equity for 10 years and has overseen the procurement of $138 million of investment into the upper Midwest. Mickayla served on IIUSA’s Public Policy Committee from 2016-2018 and co-founded the Rural Alliance, which has grown into one of the top advocate groups in the EB-5 industry. She holds FINRA series 63 and 82 securities licenses. Mickayla has established a proven track record in fund monitoring, investor relations, and organizational management. 

Prior, she worked at the Department of Homeland Security's Center of Innovation. 

For nearly 10 years, Mickayla has served on a Facility Corporation Board and currently holds the Treasurer seat. The board owns and manages a historic 100-year-old facility, which is rented by 50 college students. 

Mickayla stays active within her community both though volunteering and philanthropic giving. She is passionate about supporting women in leadership; coaching entrepreneurship and startups; and ensuring Minneapolis is a more equitable community. 

Julie Lovaas is a Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Strategy Analyst at Bell Bank.  She also teaches accounting as a Professor of Practice at Concordia University in St. Paul.  She has been in the financial services industry for over 25 years. Julie holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).