{"id":36179,"date":"2025-04-24T14:03:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=36179"},"modified":"2025-04-24T14:03:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:03:52","slug":"b-o-l-d-speakers-to-bring-powerful-messages-to-2025-womens-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/b-o-l-d-speakers-to-bring-powerful-messages-to-2025-womens-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"B.O.L.D speakers to bring powerful messages to 2025 Women\u2019s Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Own it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sounds simple enough in theory, but putting it into action can sometimes take a \u201cB.O.L.D.\u201d move or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, May 8, the local business community will hear from several female business leaders who have done just that as the Aurora Chamber of Commerce hosts BOLD: The 2025 Women\u2019s Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Royal Venetian Mansion on Industrial Parkway South, the summit will feature keynote speakers Cherry Rose Tan, a fifth-generation entrepreneur and Entrepreneur in Residence at the Schulich School of Business; Zuly Matallana, Founder and owner of TIARA; Rebecca Shields, President & CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association of York Region and South Simcoe; and Andrea DeGasperis-Ronco, Principal at Opus Homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur theme this year is BOLD \u2013 Believe It, Own It, Love It, Do It \u2013 and I think it is important for women in business to see other women succeed,\u201d says Debra Wilson, Interim President & CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. \u201cWe\u2019re shining a light on some living examples in our community that have been successful and can lead the way for others who are trying to get where they\u2019re going. Being able to see others who are like themselves, having had successes and learning from their experiences, is always a great way to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key themes that often emerge from programs the Chamber hosts for women in business is where to start, how to find funding, how to develop a good business plan, and getting a handle on finances, Wilson adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s how do we help our women entrepreneurs and women professionals in business have their voice heard and know how to move their business forward, and learning from other women who have done it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tam, who leads the roster of guest speakers, will talk about \u201chow her journey led to her success and how she had to move along the way, ebbing and flowing with her 20-plus years of experience in technology, information and entrepreneurship,\u201d says Wilson. She will note how to leverage skills along the way towards success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are going to love hearing from her and we\u2019re really excited to have her as our headline speaker,\u201d Wilson adds, noting she is an innovator and mental health speaker as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up is TIARA\u2019s Zuly Matallana, who founded a company based on all-natural products, such as deodorant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese largely came out of her personal story as well \u2013 the need to be aware of natural deodorants, aluminum-free, toxin-free ingredients,\u201d Wilson continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chamber\u2019s Sandra Watson adds that Matallana began laying the groundwork for TIARA after enduring brain surgery more than a decade ago and needed to find alternative products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is really going to be talking about perseverance, purpose in life, and the courage to really turn ideas into impacts,\u201d says Watson. \u201cShe is on a mission to create safer personal care for families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CMHA-YRSS lead Shields, who was recognized this past year as Business Communicator of the Year, will speak about communication and how to ensure what you\u2019re presenting is going to suit your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is an expert in communications who knows that in business how you say it is just as important as what you say,\u201d says Wilson. \u201cShe has a passion for clarity, connection and impact. She is going to be talking about how leaders communicate with confidence and build trust to drive results, and not just the words that you say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeGasperis-Ronco rounds out the roster of keynote speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson describes her as a \u201ctrailblazer in the construction industry and being a woman in a man\u2019s world who broke down barriers that have been traditionally male-dominated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is going to talk about her journey through that from a youngster all the way to where she is now \u2013 her leading with authenticity, overcoming bias, and succeeding on her own terms,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to hear from her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the keynotes, there will be shorter seminars hosted by business leaders called Their BOLD Moves. Among the speakers will be Serena Thompson, who founded the Aurora-based Lighthouse Learning and Development Centre for youth with Autism, and Janice Showers of The Car Girls, another example of a woman \u201cgetting ahead in kind of a male-dominated industry,\u201d says Watson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on the 2025 Aurora Chamber\u2019s Women\u2019s Summit on May 8, including tickets and registration, visit aurorachamber.on.ca\/womens-summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re reaffirming your business strategy or just starting out, there is something for everyone,\u201d says Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Believe it. Own it. Love it. Do it. It sounds simple enough in theory, but putting it into action can sometimes take a \u201cB.O.L.D.\u201d move or two. On Thursday, May 8, the local business community will hear from several female business leaders who have done just that as the Aurora Chamber of Commerce hosts BOLD: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9px","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 08:27:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36180,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36179\/revisions\/36180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}