The Oberlin Business Partnership is equipping Lorain County women to go the distance.
The Inspiring Women Series at Sunset Terrace Lakeview Park in Lorain brought together dozens of women for a panel discussion recently.
The 2023 Inspiring Women Series was presented by the Oberlin Business Partnership Women’s Leadership Network, Community Foundation of Lorain County, and Women’s Fund, an affiliate fund of Community Foundation of Lorain County.
The Aug. 8 event panel consisted of three women with Northeast Ohio roots: Susanne Dotson, Raquel B. Pacheco and Connie Powall.
Powall, a lawyer, manages a Cleveland law practice in addition to being a member and owner of four corporations.
She encouraged attendees to identify their own strengths to better impact the world around them.
“It’s important for us to figure out what happened in our lives that may have led us down certain paths,” she said. “I honestly believe that every person has a superpower, it’s our job to identify that power and how it helps us show up in our worlds.”
Dotson, a former commercial interior designer, is an entrepreneur and full-time artist who maintains studios in LaGrange and Columbus.
She began her MFA program at the age of 74, and said she refuses to let society impose limits on her dreams.
“Allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes because that’s another reason we have fear,” said Dotson. “We have to hold and keep our dreams sacred and give ourselves the gift of acting upon them.”
Pacheco, the first vice president of investments at Wells Fargo Advisors, specializes in helping businesses manage finances. She also serves on the board of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Business Center and is a member of The Community Foundation of Lorain County’s Hispanic Fund affiliate.
Pacheco encouraged women entrepreneurs to embrace the journey.
“As we go through life, we encounter many challenges while trying to set a good example for our families,” she said. “I’m thankful for all the adversity that I’ve experienced because I’m an overcomer; no matter what happens, it’s more fuel for me to succeed and prove myself right.”
Oberlin Business Partnership Director Janet Haar said the goal was to help women become empowered in their daily lives.
“When we understand that there will be hills and valleys throughout our journey, we’re better able to navigate,” she said. “Our panelists were just the women to help us understand this.”
