Over the past four decades, the Women’s Business Development Center has helped over 100,000 women achieve their dreams.
"We’ve made it a little bit better, but there is still a lot of work that has to get done," said Emilia Dimenco, president and CEO of the WBDC.
Dimenco took over for Hedy Ratner and Carol Dougal, who founded the non-profit in 1986. It was one of the first of its kind in the country.
"Hedy and Carol had the belief that one way to get to the CEO level faster was to just start your own business, and that was the initial thinking,” Dimenco said.
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It’s proven very beneficial for women like Teresa Ging, who opened her first Sugar Bliss Bakery 16 years ago.
"I went through one of their fast tracks and then got some mentorship, and they helped me with my loan package," Ging explained.
Ging also takes advantage of WBDC’s educational opportunities, which helped her get some of her products into other retail outlets, saying, "I’m a big cheerleader of the WBDC."
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So was the late Deborah Sawyer, one of the first women the center supported. She founded Environmental Design International, a professional engineering firm headquartered in Chicago.
Her sister Leslie Sawyer took over the company in 2016. “They do such an excellent job with their programming to help support women," she said, "and help women find other women to lean on and learn from and grow from."
Through networking, educational programs, help with certification and raising capital, the Women's Business Development Center has made its mark and is still going strong.
