"Women and Entrepreneurialism": Panel discussion with area women business owners

Moderated by JoAnn Linrud, MSU College of Business

Wednesday, April 15, 12 noon, Audubon Room, Conference Center, Student Union

What does it take to start and run a successful business? What special challenges might a woman entrepreneur face? In Minot and in northwest North Dakota, there are quite a few businesswomen who can provide answers to these questions from their own experiences. Some of these businesses are in fields traditionally defined as feminine, while others have gained their success in fields that have long been defined as masculine. Dr. JoAnn Linrud will moderate a panel discussion with women entrepreneurs who represent a variety of businesses from the region, seeking to reveal what lessons their examples have to teach.

Panel Members:
• Suong (Sue) Willson - artist, caterer, and owner of United Pantry, Minot
• Pam Karpenko - owner of Clean Tech, Minot
• Betty Fedorchak - owner of Esoterica, Minot
• Jo Khalifa - owner of MoJo Roast, Westhope
• Kari Warberg - founder and CEO of Earth-Kind Manufacturing, Stanley, ND ( see article Kari wrote on passion on the ‘about us’ page)
•  JoAnn Linrud

JoAnn Linrud currently serves as the Dean, College of Business, Minot State University, a position she’s held since July, 2006. Prior to moving to Minot, she served as an administrator and faculty member at Central Michigan University, Minnesota State University – Mankato, and the University of North Texas. She holds bachelors degrees in English and art from Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) and the University of Minnesota and an MBA and Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Arkansas. A local North Dakota girl who grew up on a farm near Velva, she’s lived in five states, traveled in all 50 states in the U.S., and 25 countries, including Slovakia, where she taught marketing shortly after the fall of the Communist bloc. She enjoys reading and bicycling as favorite pastimes.