2013 W2 Attendees Playing BARNGAThe Montana State University Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship (JJCBE), Women’s Circle of Excellence (WCOE), Prospera Business Network, and the Montana Women’s Business Center present the 2015 W2: The Women to Women Conference on Thursday, May 28, at the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn, in Bozeman.

In line with the 2015 theme, “Staying True to Your Passion in Business and in Life,” the conference topics will include: discovering your passion, negotiation and conflict resolution, cultivating and strengthening relationships, team building, leadership, and online marketing strategies. The event will bring together as many as 250 women and provide many networking opportunities throughout the day.

Karen Stewart Brown, a Ventura, California based designer, entrepreneur and pioneer for ethical fashion will give the keynote address, “Finding Passion, Staying Passionate and Being Inspired,” at the W2 Conference. She co-founded the internationally acclaimed ethical fashion brand Stewart+Brown in 2002. A true pioneer, Karen built a global sustainable supply chain without exploiting workers or the environment–after being told it was impossible, to ensure that her designs enable women to feel “beautiful both on the inside and out.” In 2015, Karen co-founded FUTUREADi®–a next generation creative collective focused on engineering and embedding sustainable solutions to complex design problems. Previously, Karen designed for Urban Outfitters, Free People, Anthropologie, J.Crew and Patagonia.

W2 Conference registration is $99 and the deadline to register is May 22. Registration includes workshops, networking, materials, meals and a networking reception. There will also be a special iPad giveaway, compliments of TowHaul. Up to 7.8 continuing professional education credits for certified public accountants are available.

The Signature Sponsor for this event is the Montana Department of Transportation: DBE Program. The Hosting Sponsors are Blackstone LaunchPad, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CenturyLink, and NorthWestern Energy. Printing support is provided by PrintingForLess.com and advertising support is provided by Distinctly Montana and Montana Parent Magazine. Numerous other businesses have also provided varying levels of sponsorship for this event. The complete list can be found on our website: www.montana.edu/business/wcoe/index.html.