8th Annual Personal And Professional Development Retreat for Women of Color To Feature Nationally Renowned Motivational Speakers

Online, March 28, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Nationally Renowned Motivational Speakers
to Present at 2010 Women of Color Retreat in April

Cleveland/Akron, Ohio ---- Nationally renowned motivational speakers, S. Renee Smith and Judy Smith, will help women tap into their personal power at the 8th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat for Women of Color. The event will take place Saturday, April 10 through Monday, April 12 at the University of Akron.

The Retreat is being presented by the University of Akron, The Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, WEWS-TV5 and National City, Now a part of PNC.

The retreat is a unique concept and forum designed to facilitate the collaboration, networking, mentoring, sharing, executive development and training of women and girls. Numerous programs with panelists are planned for the three-day conference. Designed to leave women with a greater sense of "empowerment," participants will be encouraged to actively participate in workshops and interactive exhibits discussing topics relating to health, career planning, technology and social media, politics, volunteerism, leadership, family life and work balance, and mentoring.

"This year's retreat promises to be better than ever," says Alexandria Johnson Boone, Founder and Chairwoman of The Women of Color Foundation. "We've got some very unique and powerful workshops planned, and having two of the top, female, national motivational speakers in the country at our Retreat, is going to add significantly to an already exciting agenda!"

S. Renee is an image consultant and motivational speaker, who, through personal, professional, and spiritual development workshops and keynote presentations, helps others create the right professional image and uncover their authentic personal power that transforms and transitions their lives. She is also the author of "There is More Inside". A former model, actress, television talk show host, producer, spokesperson, director of public relations and corporate marketing representative, Renee says "I have seen the spiritual laws and principles work since I was 13. What I have learned, is that for each new dimension that you seek to go to, you have to surrender more of yourself to the universe. I use the word universe deliberately. The explanation is hidden in the law of giving."

Born and raised in South Africa, Judy Smith relocated to the USA in 1996. With a background in healthcare and counseling, she began writing psychological thrillers under the pen name J. M. Ashwell. A firm believer in shifting the global mindset from IM-possible to IS-possible, she teaches and facilitates the systemic approach to both businesses and family units, eliciting the hidden dynamics that keep people from reaching their fullest potential. Smith co-facilitates "2 Hour House" workshops nationwide. "The 2Hour House is an event based, project management process - designed to change our understanding and acceptance of existing leadership, teambuilding, management expectation," says Smith. "It shifts the global mindset from ordinary to extraordinary, and inspires us to begin breaking the rules, so we can all break records in our business and personal lives," she says. Smith shares her own take on why this phenomenon is so important to all companies, groups or individuals looking to become leaders
in their own right. "The only games worth playing are the ones that change lives by beginning with the end in mind...; creating a solid game plan for moving beyond dreaming, into accomplishing, is not only possible....it's a habit we all need to acquire," says Smith.

Additional activities will include: special sessions for teens and tweens conducted by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, the "Penny Project" where girls will learn the value of money, how to earn it and what to do with it; and Cent$ability where they will fast forward to the future where they are now 25 year old financially savvy young women with a career, and they will learn critical personal money management skills; an Exhibitors' Showcase; an Awards Luncheon, a Women's Health Forum; two Executive Women's Panels where "C" Level Executives will discuss "Am I My Sister's Keeper?...You Bet I am" and 'Navigating Corporate Mine Fields......Strategies for Corporate Success"; a "Serenity Sanctuary," (where attendees may indulge in some light pampering on Saturday via manicures, pedicures and massages); a "COLORS" Networking Reception, and more.

Other prominent sponsors of the Retreat include Kaiser Permanente, Dominion, Fifth Third Bank, Cleveland Clinic, and media sponsors, The Plain Dealer, the Call & Post, Cleveland365.com, The Cleveland Women's Journal, Clear Channel Outdoor, WZAK-FM, WERE-AM, Z107.9 FM and Praise 1300 AM.

The Women of Color Foundation has hosted over 3,000 women since the event's inception in Cleveland, Ohio in 2003, including African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, and Caucasian women and girls. "In light of our economy, it is important now, more than ever, to prepare women and girls to take on key leadership roles in business, politics and their communities; locally, nationally and globally", says Alexandria Johnson Boone. "Given high unemployment across this nation, it is imperative that women expand and enhance their job skills, while reevaluating their career and business goals. It is equally important to assist them in finding balance and fulfillment in their personal lives, by connecting them to a network of women who can provide them with the necessary resources to navigate these difficult times," she said.

A variety of registration packages are available for the 8th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat for Women of Color, and other Women of Color events.

For more information, please contact 216-391-4300, ext. 307 or visit the website, www.womenofcolorfoundation.com.
##########