2nd Annual Women's History Month Breakfast & Panel

WHAT: A breakfast and panel discussion with inspirational executive women

Special Guest Speakers

• Barbara Clarke Ruiz – CEO/Creative Director, BCSWIRL, Inc.

• Meg Koglin – Creative Director, Mercado Global

• Susan Kroll – CEO and founder, RAREculture

• Kristina Rodriguez (’11) – Director of Global Sales Operations, Outbrain

Opening remarks by LIM College President Elizabeth S. Marcuse

WHEN: Thursday, March 30 at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: FashionOpolis (12 East 53rd St.)

RSVP: https://whm17.eventbrite.com

About the panelists

Barbara Clarke Ruiz (pictured) is an active wear designer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of BCSWIRL, a design firm that offers creative direction, design, marketing and brand-building for sports and apparel brands in the U.S. and in Europe. Barbara has built an international client roster that includes Nike Europe, Adidas US/Germany, Fila US/Italy, New Balance US/ UK, Speedo UK, Hanes, Jockey, Asics Europe, and Disney. Barbara created Fortune Girls with her daughter Madison. The organization’s mission is to empower tween girls and encourage them to discover their own unique gifts and talents. This month she will be launching a crowd-funding campaign called “Reflection of Awesome.” Its mission is to help young women help develop self-esteem through an online community/mentorship program.

Meg Koglin has spent the past decade in ethical fashion design and merchandising. Her creative leadership connects the bridges between design, sustainability and commerce to build scalable impact models. With experience in cross-disciplined roles building product categories at major retailers including Eileen Fisher, she has a unique perspective guiding strategy to grow ethical business, ranging from corporate to artisan cooperative.

Susan Kroll is an art, design and trend-forecasting executive with the ability to converge art and commerce. Her vision for RAREculture is to elevate the hospitality and commercial industry by providing clients with unique and high-quality art and design that subliminally speaks to the senses. She has a deep dedication to providing a platform for artists and designers to develop their craft and an equally deep dedication to creating spaces that enhance moods, calm the mind and entice excitement. Among Susan’s clients are Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, MGM Global, Kimpton Hotels, Wynn Design and Development, St. Regis, The Ritz Carlton, Starwood/Marriot brands, Intercontinental Hotels and Starbucks Global.

Kristina Rodriguez (’11) holds a BBA in Marketing from LIM College and a master’s degree in Management, with a focus on Global Entrepreneurship, from Babson College. She is an adjunct faculty member at LIM and currently serves as the Director of Global Sales Operations at Outbrain, the world’s largest content discovery platform. As an aspiring social entrepreneur, Kristina and three colleagues launched The BluePrint Apprenticeship Program, an alternative education program designed to train and mentor young adults to become skilled blue collar laborers. Kristina is also involved with TedX Upper West Side and NextGen (Diversity Leadership supported by Google).