Christine​ ​Briggs/The​ ​Hormone​ ​Restoration​ ​Center 

Christine​ ​was​ ​born​ ​in​ ​Orlando,​ ​FL,​ ​and​ ​grew​ ​up​ ​in​ ​Satellite​ ​Beach,​ ​FL.​ ​She received​ ​her​ ​Bachelors​ ​in​ ​Nursing​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Southern​ ​Mississippi​ ​and​ ​her Master’s​ ​Degree​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Colorado.​ ​Christine​ ​has​ ​24​ ​years​ ​of​ ​combined experience​ ​as​ ​a​ ​Registered​ ​Nurse​ ​and​ ​Nurse​ ​Practitioner. For​ ​the​ ​last​ ​10​ ​years,​ ​Christine​ ​has​ ​specialized​ ​in​ ​bio-identical​ ​hormone​ ​therapy​ ​and currently​ ​holds​ ​certifications​ ​in​ ​endocrinology​ ​and​ ​bio-identical​ ​hormone​ ​pellet​ ​therapy. She​ ​has​ ​been​ ​a​ ​BioTE​ ​affiliate​ ​provider​ ​since​ ​2013​ ​and​ ​provides​ ​what​ ​we​ ​consider​ ​to​ ​be​ ​the best​ ​bio-identical​ ​hormones​ ​on​ ​the​ ​market​ ​today.​ ​Christine​ ​has​ ​been​ ​working​ ​with​ ​The Hormone​ ​Restoration​ ​Center​ ​since​ ​2014​ ​and​ ​is​ ​able​ ​to​ ​optimize​ ​vitality​ ​and​ ​wellbeing​ ​by treating​ ​hormones​ ​in​ ​both​ ​women​ ​and​ ​men.

Laurie Rodgers / Regional Executive Director
PACE Center for Girls Escambia – Santa Rosa

Beginning her career at PACE as a teacher in 1995, Laurie Rodgers is now a Regional Executive Director with the agency has enjoyed over 22 years of helping girls from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties change their lives. Having graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School, Pensacola State College, the University of West Florida and Troy State – she considers herself a local.

2017 Pursue Your Passion Conference

To celebrate National Business Women’s Week 2017, Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast proudly presents their 5th Annual Pursue Your Passion Conference, bringing together nearly 200 women to share their business skills and creativity during networking events and educational sessions.

Pursue Your Passion Conference is Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast’s annual fundraiser for Gulf Coast Kid’s House (GCKH), as 80% of the conference profits are donated to GCKH. This year’s funds will be used to upgrade current security at GCKH to better protect their clients, partner agencies and employees, allowing them to service children in the Pensacola area safely and securely. In 2016, PWGC donated $3456 to GCKH. The goal for 2017 is $5000.

Pensacola businesses can partner with Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast in raising funds for the Gulf Coast Kids House in the following ways: providing door prizes, being an event sponsor, signing up for a vendor table or purchasing a ticket in someone’s name so they have an opportunity to attend the Conference.

Highlights of the conference, which receive rave reviews each year, include Experience Hall, an interactive Speed Learning session, and relevant and engaging speakers featuring a national keynote speaker and 3 local community leaders. Ticket prices include lunch and am/pm snack breaks.

Pursue Your Passion Conference consists of 2 events:

1. Meet the Speaker and Sponsors Expo is held the evening prior to the conference. It creates opportunities for attendees to network with one another, engage with the featured speakers and learn more about the conference sponsors and vendors. It also provides sponsors and vendors additional face to face time with attendees to highlight their businesses and products. This event is open to both men and women. If you are interested in a vendor table, you can find details on vendor tables on our Sponsorship Opportunities flier.

Date: Wednesday, October 18th, Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Location: Sanders Beach Corinne Jones Resource Center, 913 South I Street Free to attend, open to women and men

2. 5th Annual Pursue Your Passion Conference Date: Thursday, October 19th Time: Registration opens at 9:00 AM. Conference from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Location: Sanders Beach Corinne Jones Resource Center, 913 South I Street Registration Website: www.powerfulwomengulfcoast.com Ticket Prices: Early Bird pricing $59

Emcee – Dr. Lusharon Wiley, Director of Culture, Innisfree Hotels. Dr. Wiley is the official “dot connector” of the conference, who motivates the attendees and helps them to focus on the key subjects they are learning.

Keynote Speaker – Maribeth Kuzmeski, PhD, Red Zone Marketing ● “Standing Up & Standing Out In Business: Critical Moves for Women to Gain Power & Influence.” Gain powerful strategies based on extensive research and case studies of women in business, that can be applied immediately to stand out, achieve the success deserved, and market and present with power and confidence.
● Keynote Bio – Maribeth Kuzmeski, PhD, President of Red Zone Marketing, is a marketing strategist, advisor to financial services companies, bestselling author of seven books, and a professional speaker rated as a Top 25 C-Suite Speaker as seen in Meetings & Conventions Magazine. She speaks on topics including marketing, sales, relationship development, and branding. More information on Maribeth can be found at: www.redzonemarketing.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/maribethkuzmeski

PED Talks – Professional and Executive Development – PED Talks are short, power-packed presentations by local community leaders sharing their thoughts on subjects important to women in business. This year we are proud to present our PED Talk speakers:

PED Talk Speaker – Quint Studer, Founder and CEO, Studer Community Institute ● “Even High Performers Struggle with Change” ● Program description: Individuals who have always performed highly can sometimes underestimate the impact that change will have on them. Through Quint’s work with organizations over the decades he has found high performers struggle with change even more so than others. Quint will describe why this is and what can be done to help high performers manage change.

PED Talk Speaker – Sue Straughn, News Anchor and Senior Editor, WEAR TV, Channel 3 ● “Let Your Passion Find Your Purpose.” ● Program description: You give your best and you give your most when you’re giving from the heart. Is your heart in the work that you do; in the service that you give? We will take just a minute to think about some ways to get the most out of our time, our resources and our life.

PED Talk Speaker – Andrea Krieger, Executive Director of Institutional Development. Pensacola State College Foundation ● “You CHOOSE (Motivated by Fear/Inspired by Excellence) No one can be a better YOU!” ● Program description: Is fear negative and inspiration positive? If you get sweaty palms each time you have to present to an audience… if you get butterflies when you have to pitch an idea or make a sale… if you spend additional hours ensuring work is “perfect” before you hand it in… are these indications of fear or inspiration? Is one good and the other bad? Both fear and inspiration can reap excellence, but there can be diverse consequences on individuals depending on how the motivation is viewed. This presentation will discuss whether it is better to strive for excellence or fear failure? When inspiration is founded in a belief that No one can be a better YOU, possibilities are limitless.

Tax Status – PWGC is a recognized Florida NOT for profit. We are not a 501c or similar but we are still recognized as a not-for-profit. Sponsorships are recorded by the donor as business expenses, professional development, or other category depending on their own internal financial regulations.
About Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast Based in Pensacola, Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast was organized by Kathleen Shoop, Natasha Parvey, and Kolleen Edwards Chesley to provide a venue for women in business to come together to share ideas, information and networking contacts to help each other be more successful in business. In the Fall of 2013, they reorganized and the organization took on the name “Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast.” A recognized Florida not-for-profit organization, the mission of PWGC is to promote, advance
and improve women in business. Their monthly networking meetings and the Pursue Your Passion Conference are their two signature events.
About Gulf Coast Kid’s House Gulf Coast Kid’s House is a children’s advocacy center serving Escambia County. As a children’s advocacy center, GCKS combines all of the professionals and resources needed for the intervention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases under one child-friendly facility. GCKH provides a place where child protective services, law enforcement, prosecution, medical and mental health professionals’ work together under one roof to provide comprehensive services.The goal of Gulf Coast Kid’s House is to form a more collaborative response to child abuse cases so that they can improve case outcomes and minimize trauma to the children and families they serve.

More information or to register: www.powerfulwomengulfcoast.com