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Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Precious Williams
"Killer Pitch Master"
Every time you open your mouth, your prospects will be throwing money at you. Learn the simple steps to wowing your customer with a perfect pitch with Precious L. Williams the #KillerPitch Master.
Convert conversations into currency. Get the tools and tenacity to pitch with power, sell with storytelling and develop a masterful mindset for communication. It’s time for you to learn how to #SlayAllCompetition
Precious busts norms and shifts perspectives to help teams own their awesome and bring out their “wow” factor. Your leaders and teams will up their game — on their terms — in order to develop the cunning, clarity and confidence that’s been inside them all along.
What’s more, they’ll get unstuck and discover a renewed and refreshed energy to own the mindset of the pitch in a way they never thought possible. If you’re ready to go from milquetoast to memorable, attracting and captivating your prospects while closing the sale in an authentic way, it’s time to #pitchforprofit
And you can bet, you’re going to have fun doing it!
Precious L. Williams is a 13-time national elevator pitch champion. She has also been featured on "Shark Tank," CNN, WSJ, Forbes Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine, the movie "LEAP." Her current clients include Microsoft, LinkedIn, Google, NBCUniversal, Federal Reserve Bank, Intuit Quickbooks, Harvard University, and more. Precious is a dynamic speaker, effective trainer and 3X 1 bestselling author.
Meet Our Speakers
Jasmine Dobbs
"HalfWay There Fitness"
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO. Jasmine Dobbs is an Online Fitness Coach, Personal Trainer, Gym Owner, Fitness Model, Bodybuilding Posing Coach, and accomplished Bikini Competitor. Jasmine graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. She held a position of a System Design and Integration Specialist for the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems.
The pandemic hit and forced her to jump into her love of fitness. Jasmines’ passion for fitness derived from her childhood love of dance. She is trained in several styles of dance including ballet, tap, contemporary, modern and jazz. Halfway There Fitness was born in March 2018 as an activewear clothing line.
Halfway There Fitness Gym opened September 24, 2021. HalfWay There mission is to motivate and encourage you to stay on your fitness path and look great while you're at it. Our goal is to help bring positivity, growth, self care, and self love to your fitness journey. We believe when you look good, you feel good. We hope to inspire you to speak positive, think positive and positivity will come. HalfWay There assists in creating an optimistic and positive mindset for anyone that needs that extra push to remember why they started.
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Jasmine enjoys coaching and mentoring ladies that need health and fitness guidance. She comes from a loving family that is very supportive of her vision. Her motto is “"ONCE YOU START YOUR JOURNEY YOU'RE HALFWAY TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE"”
Are you Halfway There?
Isha Johnson
"Motown Mystic"
Isha Johnson is a Detroit based healer + tarot reader + Black Witch & earth worker. She started her spiritual journey in 2016, and has made it her mission to help womxn, especially Black womxn/femmes tap into the innate magick that they carry, and to explore healing exclusively for us and by us.
She uses ancient spiritual systems to connect to the Divine Feminine within us. Her services include tarot & astrology reading, spiritual counseling, herbal healing, & spell work. She is humbled to help her clients connect to Source for insight and wisdom.
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In 2022 she launched Motown Mystic Spiritual Shop, she sells various spiritual items and herbal products to help heal and raise consciousness. This is a truly a space for healing and high vibes and she is humbled to help her clients connect to Source for insight and wisdom."
Raquel Curtis
"The Boujee Banker"
Raquel Curtis, MBA, is a Georgia native and mother of three. A serial entrepreneur, Raquel enjoys teaching and mentoring others in their financial journeys.
However, Raquel was challenged when a car accident emptied her bank account, caused her to close her businesses, and threatened her physical health.
Budgeting truly saved Raquel’s life. After gaining employment as a banker, Raquel taught herself to invest, ensuring that she could protect her daughters’ futures. Raquel created budgets for family members and enjoyed hearing about their financial wins.
The stability that Raquel rebuilt was short-lived. In 2020, Raquel lost her job as a banker due to business decisions from the pandemic. Raquel decided to take her banking background and experiences to create Boujee & Balanced. Boujee & Balanced teaches women to budget, save, invest and create sustainable online businesses.
In 2021, with well managed portfolios, savings accounts, and the growth of her business Raquel tripled the salary she received as a banker, but this is not enough. Raquel is focused on teaching millennial women to master their money mindset and embrace financial freedom.
Raquel is known as “The Boujee Banker” and has become an international money coach, financial influencer, and proud boujee budgeter.
Shar C. Smith
"emPower You Consulting"
Shar C. Smith, M.Ed. is a keynote speaker and award-winning entrepreneur. She is widely regarded as the go-to source on overcoming imposter syndrome and resilience. With over 15 years of leadership experience and having led teams at various Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations, Shar has expertise in leadership coaching and DEI consulting and her engaging spirit always leaves the audience wanting more.
She specializes in coaching women and working moms to overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome to level up in their careers. Shar is the founder of emPOWER You Consulting, LLC, (EYC) a leadership development firm that focuses on maximizing potential of new to mid-level women leaders to get what they desire in their careers and deserve in their lives. EYC is an authorized DiSC trainer and facilitates engaging team building workshops and leadership development programs.
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As a keynote speaker, Shar often speaks on leadership, mentorship, and overcoming imposter syndrome. She obtained her Master of Education in Adult & Higher Education from the University of Missouri - St. Louis and Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. Shar also holds a Women in Leadership certification from Cornell University, a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the Workplace certification, and a Project Management certification from Purdue University.
She is a mother of two young children ages four and six, serves on a number of boards, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and National Coalition of 100 Black Women to name a few. Shar is a new International Amazon Best-Selling author for her contribution to “Owning Your G.R.I.T.” 40 women’s stories of harnessing the power of growth, resilience, intention, and tenacity.
Meet Our Host
Melissa Montero
"Collaboration Over Competition"
Melissa Montero is an author, entrepreneur, and an Executive Director of a non-profit organization. She is a Pennsylvania native; born in Philadelphia, she now resides with her husband and three beautiful children in Pennsburg.
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Melissa published I Refuse to Choose in 2018. The inspiration for her children’s book was motivated by her own desire to see her three biracial children accept and love both their Hispanic and African American cultures. As of 2022, I Refuse to Choose can be found in three local public libraries, more than ten states, and two international countries.
Additionally, Melissa has been recognized as a guest on several radio and podcast platforms, including Fiction Addition Podcast, Hindsight Media Radio, and Philly Hott Radio. In 2012, she was the recipient of the Certificate of Greatness for Being Part of the Solution, Not the Problem. Most notably, Melissa was awarded Best Author of Montgomery County 2020.
In addition to being an author, Melissa is an active entrepreneur; she and her husband launched Mixed Essence LLC in 2018. Like Melissa’s book, Mixed Essence LLC was created with the purpose and intention of supporting people of all ages in finding a sense of love, pride, and confidence in their cultural and family identities.
Deeply passionate about supporting women, it is no surprise that Melissa created Collaboration over Competition: a Women’s Virtual Meeting Space in the spring of 2020. Due to the overwhelming success, Collaboration over Competition (COC) became a recognized non-profit in January 2021 and received its 501c3 designation in December 2021. In November 2021, Melissa was a guest on Achieve Greatness “Maximizing Business Authority” and “The Talk To Reebs” Radio Show. Through COC, Melissa has hosted over 21 virtual workshops and live sessions focused on the empowerment of businesswomen and aspiring businesswomen.
She also hosted the organization’s first “Youth Pitch Contest” in November 2021, which focused on young entrepreneurs. The COC platform has allowed Melissa to outreach and support women in various ways, and as a result she has already hosted two popup shops at a local women’s shelter. Melissa's goal is to help small business owners as they navigate within their respective fields. She desires to highlight best practices to to help women break the cycle of intergenerational consequences including criminal behavior, poverty, mental health issues etc.
Meet Our Sponsors
Purple
House
Project
PA
Acornic Consulting
The Coopers
Prevention Meets
Fashion
