Jersey Shore Chamber to Host Women’s Conference October 17 and 18
The Jersey Shore Chamber of Commerce (JSCC), Wall Township, is hosting a Women’s Conference October 17 and 18 at The Shore Club, 700 Route 71, Spring Lake, NJ. The Conference will bring together leaders in business and industry who are committed to advancing women and commerce with the theme Aspire, Build, Create.
The VIP opening reception is Tuesday, October 17 at 5:00 p.m.; general admission begins at 6:00 p.m. for. The emcee is Dara Brown, NBC News. The breakfast keynote speaker on October 18 is Karen Kessler, a recognized leader in the public relations industry, and founder and president of Kessler PR Group, a public relations firm specializing in reputation management, crisis communications, and litigation support.
Natalya Johnson, the lunch keynote speaker, serves as Senior Counsel for Johnson & Johnson. She is a legal advisor focused on employment law and manages employment-related litigations. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she represented private and public sector clients in federal and state litigation and trial matters.
The schedule for Wednesday, October 18 is Exhibitors from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Breakfast and Keynote Speaker from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.; Morning Breakout Sessions from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m.; Lunch and Keynote Speaker from Noon to 1:30 p.m.; and Afternoon Breakout Sessions from 2:00 to 3:45 p.m.
The Platinum Sponsor is Fox Rothschild; Manasquan Bank is a Gold Sponsor; and The Connection and Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP are Bronze Sponsors. Technology Sponsors are Shore Business Solutions and SHARP. Valerie Barba DDS is the Cocktail Sponsor; the Coffee Sponsors are Colleen Craig of Jersey Shore Marketing & Insights and Lena Budraitis, Financial Planner & Insurance Agent – Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Wall.
Panel topics include Aspire to a Career in Service; Build a Winning Corporate Culture; Captivate Your Community; Build Financial Confidence; Captivate Your Workforce with Hybrid Schedules; But Is It Working? The panelists and speakers include Melanie Willoughby, NJ Business Action Center; Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn; Kathy Guzman, NJEDA; Jenna Gaudio, Co-President, Vydia; Sarah Williams, Founder, Moms of Business; Corinne McCann Trainor, Fox Rothschild LLP (sponsor); Cathy Franzoni, COO, Manasquan Bank; Lisa Roettger, Sr. VP of Human Resources, Manasquan Bank (sponsor); Danielle Wolowitz, Shore Business Solutions (sponsor); Christina Zuk, Princeton Public Affairs; Jamie Bertram, VP Promotions & Entertainment, Jersey Shore BlueClaws; Jeralyn Lawrence, Attorney, Lawrence Law; and Patricia Nolan, ARC, Ocean.
For sponsorships, registration, or more information, contact Jersey Shore Chamber of Commerce at executivedirector@jsccnj.com., call 732-280-8800, or visit https://jerseyshorechambernj.com/womensconference/
About Karen J. Kessler: Karen J. Kessler She is the region’s most sought-after crisis and reputation management consultant, having counselled corporations, public institutions and individuals facing allegations of legal, business and personnel misconduct, political corruption, social media fallout, large-scale public investigations, and other sensitive matters.
The acclaimed documentary film “DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES” profiled Kessler’s work on the Fox News legal case. Her commentary and interviews appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Star Ledger, CNN, MSNBC and Inside Edition, among others. She served as technical consultant to TV shows “THE GOOD WIFE” and “NASHVILLE”. Her work formed the scripts for the Oscar nominated films “Hustlers” and “Bombshell”.
She currently serves as a member of the NJ Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct as well as the Committee on the Duration of Disbarment for Knowing Misappropriation. She chairs the Compensation subcommittee of the Board of Directors of Northfield Bancorp, Inc.
In 2022, Kessler was named a PRNews Agency Elite Top 100 recipient. In 2020 she received the NJBIZ Lifetime Achievement Award and was previously recognized by NJBIZ as among “50 Most Powerful Non-Profit Board Members” and as an annual NJBIZ “Power 100” recipient. She has been recognized as an “Influencer” on ROI-NJ’s 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 “Power Lists,” as among “50 Most Powerful Women” by SmartCEO, as among “40 Top NJ Businesswomen”, by Jewish Women International, as among “10 Women to Watch in the USA”, and by NJ Monthly Magazine as among the state’s “Leading Women Entrepreneurs”.
A graduate of Vassar College with a degree in economics, Kessler was inducted into Omicron Delta, NASDAQ-listed Telecommunications Company; Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NJ; the PNC Arts Center, and Drumthwacket Foundation. She is a Scholarship Fund Trustee at Princeton and Monmouth Universities
Natalya G. Johnson serves as Senior Counsel for Johnson & Johnson. She is a legal advisor focused on employment law and manages employment-related litigations. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she represented private and public sector clients in federal and state litigation and trial matters. As a commercial litigator, she handled a wide variety of complex cases, including business disputes, insurance, real estate, education, and health law.
She currently serves as President of the Garden State Bar Association (GSBA). Under her leadership, the GSBA raised over a quarter of a million dollars and established its first endowed scholarship fund to advance various initiatives supporting the legal community, while providing scholarships to underrepresented law students. Johnson also led the creation of a legal education Substantive Law series, highlighting diverse and women speakers. Responding to the needs of the profession in real-time, Johnson created the GSBA’s Wellness and Mental Health committee, focused on lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals.
She sits on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alumni Leadership Council of Cornell Law School and previously served on the Executive Board of Directors of its Alumni Association. She is also a member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women. As past President of the Cornell Black Lawyers Alumni Network, Johnson led fundraising efforts in support of its George Washington Fields LLB 1890 Scholarship Fund and spearheaded alumni and mentorship programs around North America. Johnson co-founded the Advancement Initiative (AI) in 2017. AI’s objective is to harness the strength of personal and professional networks to foster mentorship and opportunities in law and business.
Committed to pro bono service, Johnson started her legal career as an attorney fellow with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ). At VLJ, she helped eligible clients with criminal records address the civil legal barriers to successful community reintegration through its criminal record expungement clinic.
Beyond the law, Johnson previously served as a board member of the League of Women Voters NJ, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights. Johnson speaks regularly on a variety of topics, including employment law, career management, diversity in the legal profession, leadership, and faith.
Johnson has been widely recognized for her professional and community achievements. In 2019, she was named one of the 40 under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates by the National Bar Association; as well as a 2020 New Jersey Law Journal New Leader of the Bar; and a 2020 Professional Lawyer of the Year honoree by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law. Recently, she was named a ROI-NJ 2022 Influencer, a Black in-house Counsel’s 2022 Black Diamond award honoree, and recognized by the Executive Women of New Jersey as a 2022 Salute to Policy Makers honoree.
Johnson holds a B.A. degree from Cornell University graduating magna cum laude, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.