Beauty & The Bias: An All-Female Panel Discussion

Shifting the perception of female leaders in the workplace is a marathon, not a sprint. Get in the race now by joining a positive and empowering conversation on May 17th with AAFCM as we host our second annual panel discussion with a diverse group of Minnesota business women.

It should go without saying that this is not about waging war against men. It’s about amplifying incredible female talent. It’s about understanding that we’re all in this together. From corporate America to small business ownership, we’ll cover what it takes to knock down both real and perceived walls women face at work, online and beyond.
This is one event you don’t want to miss!

PS: There will be wine & appetizers, too.

Meet the Panelists

Mary Bruno, Owner, Bruno Press

Innovator, Letterpress printer & Rockstar; Bruno Press

Mary grew up in a small town in Central Minnesota, she is a printer and learned her love of printing from her Design professor father Don Bruno. Since his passing in 2003 she has taken over his small letterpress print shop in St. Joseph, Minnesota and expanded, both physically and figuratively. Mary has an irreverent line of greeting cards and more that is sold nationwide and she teaches the old school tradition of letterpress printing the way her father taught her.

She organizes international traveling art exhibitions with printers all over the world. She carves linoleum and hand sets wood and lead type to make posters, broadsides, and anything that she comes up with. Mary is a community go-getter and loves to collaborate with other printers, poets, musicians, kids, other designers, you name it. Printing her designs is what feeds her soul along with travel and meeting new people.

Talisha Barlow, St. Cloud Police Officer

Talisha Barlow is a Police Officer for Saint Cloud Police Department. In December of 2013, Officer Barlow became the first African American female to serve in the City of Saint Cloud. She currently works as a Field Training Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor and is assigned to Saint Cloud’s first Community Out Post Unit.

Prior to becoming a police officer, Officer Barlow was a member of the Saint Cloud State Women’s Basketball team, where she was a 3 time All-Academic and All-Conference player. In 2011, she was selected as Saint Cloud State’s Student-Athlete of the year. In 2016, she was chosen as Saint Cloud State’s “Most outstanding Alumni” and was featured on the cover of Central Minnesota’sTrendMagazine.

Officer Barlow obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Masters of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.

Kayla Strand, Founder, INDY Foundation

Kayla is a proud midwest townie who knows just about every person in the Stearns County area. Her high energy and tenacity has not only lead to several speeding tickets, it has also propelled her into starting the INDY Foundation. As a 29-year-old jack-of-all-trades, Kayla is the founder of one of the fastest growing nonprofits in Minnesota. After losing her husband, Kyle, to colon cancer in 2017, Kayla became bound and determined to make the most of her time here on earth. So, when she’s not fiercely burning calories at Peak Physique, traveling the world, or working as an East Coast project manager for commercial construction/architecture …Kayla can be found giving back to others in the midst of their cancer battles. No bigs. This grateful Christian woman credits her bravery, drive, and success to Kyle’s legacy and the grace of God.

Shannon Essler-Petty, Assistant Professor, CSB/SJU

Shannon Essler-Petty is just a small-town girl with big dreams.

As the mother of three kids with a Doctoral degree., Shannon has earned her stripes by continually advocating for those around her whether it’s in the classroom, her home, the women’s professional football field (seriously), or network of inclusion. In a world that’s seemingly full of opinions, Shannon’s here to remind us all the only one that matters is our very own.

She’s an assistant professor of math education at the College of St. Ben’s/St. John’s University and has her B.A. in Elementary Education from Bethel University in St. Paul, her Masters of Education from Saint Mary’s-Winona, and an Education Doctorate from Hamline University.

Chelsea Brink, Freelance Designer + Art Director

Chelsea Brink is a human being who makes a living as a freelance designer and creative person. She is enthusiastic about bold type, design with intention and has an aggressive taste for the rainbow. ​After graduating from the University of Minnesota and working in Minneapolis for a couple years, she moved to Philadelphia for a job at the branding firm 160over90. That job quickly relocated her to sunny Southern California where she lived for many years and worked for clients like UCLA and Headspace. She returned to Minneapolis in 2016 with the vibrancy of Los Angeles packed in her stereotypical Toyota Prius. Since then, she’s worked with a handful a great agencies and clients like Adventure Advertising, Knock, Inc, Target and Still Kickin. In her free time she finds herself feeding her creative appetite by letterpress printing, looking at art, vintage hunting and petting all the pups.

Sponsors

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