Westchester Women’s Summit postponed: Gretchen Carlson and Susan Rice still to keynote

The Westchester Women’s Summit featuring keynote speakers Gretchen Carlson and Ambassador Susan Rice has been postponed to Sept. 10 as a result of COVID-19 concerns. The event with Carlson, whose sexual harassment lawsuit against then Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes was highlighted in the movie “Bombshell,” and Rice, former U.S ambassador to the U.N. and National Security Adviser for President Obama, had been scheduled to take place on March 19.

Carlson                              Rice

Although rescheduled to September, the event still is slated to take place at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Tarrytown. More than 500 people are expected to attend the full-day event that begins with breakfast and includes lunch and a wine and chocolate reception.

Numerous community and business leaders also are scheduled to make presentations. Just a few of those participating are: Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, partner at Thompson & Bender; Lucinda Cross, president of Activate Worldwide LLC; Carolyn Mandelker, president of Harrison Edwards; Candace McLaren Lanham, partner at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP; Sharon I. Nelson, CEO of Civically Re-Engaged Women; standup comic Christine O”™Leary; Genevieve Pitturro, founder of The Pajama Program; and Mecca Santana, a senior vice president at the Westchester Medical Center Health Network.

Rose Cappa, president of White Plains company The Event Department, is credited with originating the idea for the women”™s summit. The company provides event planning services for companies, nonprofits and individuals.

“There are so many ways in which women can be transformational, so I thought a conference like this one, populated by outstanding women in various fields, would generate empowerment, growth, and self-discovery,” Cappa said.

She said that women want information about how to raise girls to be strong leaders, how to become active in political and civic life, how to achieve a good work/life balance, how to prepare for the tech economy and how to reboot if they need to start over.

“We plan to address those issues and so much more,” Cappa said.

Tickets for the event are $175. Tickets that include private receptions with the keynote speakers are priced at $250. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/wws2020.

The Westchester County Business Journal and WAG magazine, both published by Westfair Communications, are sponsoring the breakfast at the event.