Community open house, ribbon cutting Tuesday at De Pere professional development center.
Having passed its first 100 days as an organization on a mission to uniquely advance the regional workforce, The Connective: A Place for Women in Business celebrates in a big way this week.
Co-founders Bridget O’Connor and Vicki Updike are commemorating the completion of the first quarter of their visionary venture at 320 Main Ave. in downtown De Pere, Wisconsin, with a community open house and ribbon cutting Tuesday, June 25. The free event runs from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and includes drinks and appetizers. Officials from the Greater Green Bay Chamber will join O’Connor and Updike in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
“The New North region is in need of organizational leaders to take businesses to the next level,” said Updike, who serves as co-chair of New North Inc., the 18-county regional economic development and marketing initiative in Northeastern Wisconsin. “That means we need to be strategic about supporting women who aspire to those roles.”
Updike also owns New Sage Strategies, which provides executive coaching to women with offices in Appleton and De Pere. O’Connor is principal and founder of O’Connor Connective, a strategic marketing communications consultancy in De Pere.
“Our experience and network tells us there is a desire for intentional programming, mentorship and workshops, designed by men and women, to provide wraparound resources for women,” O’Connor said. “It feels like the right time for us to add this option to our region’s collective talent development resources.”
O’Connor and Updike joined forces last year with a shared vision of building the workforce in Wisconsin’s New North through the advancement of women.
To that end, they created a women-centric center for professionals to gather, work and collaborate with membership and sponsorship opportunities and a monthly lineup of valuable networking events and purposeful programming for professional education, mentorship and development. The Connective opened March 1 this year.
The professional office building, which is just west of the Claude Allouez Bridge and next door to Luna Café, features a co-working environment and private office suites with access to other women professionals and education by a proven network of educators, coaches, corporate leaders and professional service providers.
Since its opening, The Connective has built an extensive roster of preferred service providers to engage, inspire and empower women business owners, executives, and emerging leaders. This vetted group of consultants and companies in the New North offers what is needed to advance careers and grow businesses, such as coaching services, human resources, IT, marketing, and financial planning.
Preferred service providers lead monthly and quarterly workshops for members of The Connective as well as the public. Inaugural preferred providers include ALA LLC business/life coaching, Associated Bank, A2Z Design, Baird – Lorri Cisler, Employment Resource Group, Express Employment Professionals, Investors Community Bank, Menn Law Firm, New Sage Strategies, O’Connor Connective, Skyline Exhibit Resource, SLK Finance, T.L. England Consulting, The Utech Group, Vistage – Gail McNutt, and Wipfli.
An individual membership with The Connective allows members to enjoy unlimited access to the workshops, co-working space, networking events, and professional service discounts from its preferred providers. Individual office suites also are available for solo-preneurs or those looking for a Greater Green Bay satellite office.
All are welcome to attend the open-house celebration Tuesday. O’Connor and Updike developed The Connective as a go-to place for men and women related to issues of recruitment and retention of talent in all organizations as well as business growth strategies for family and women-owned businesses.
RSVP for the open house HERE
About The Connective: A Place for Women in Business
The Connective was established in 2018 as a women-centric co-working community with access to education by a proven network of educators, coaches, corporate leaders and professional service providers. The center seeks to be the go-to community of support for professional women leaders to further enhance the impact of executives and small business owners in today’s ever-evolving business environment. The Connective is located at 320 Main Ave. in De Pere, Wisconsin. To learn more about becoming a member or professional service provider of The Connective, visit theconnectivewi.com.