Panel Discussion
4:35 P.M. - Women in Entrepreneurship Panel Discussion
Kerry Pigman (Moderator)
Kerry Pigman is an entrepreneur and mom who values authenticity, perseverance, and collaboration. Her favorite saying in work and in life is “There is no secret. Keep going.” Kerry was co-founder and President of Ed Map, a venture backed educational technology company, from 2002-2018. She has a broad range of experience that runs the gamut of hands-on work in operations, client services, sales, and marketing to strategic leadership at the investor and board level. Kerry is currently a consultant in the areas of entrepreneurship, impact investing, and strategy, working with Ohio University’s Social Enterprise Ecosystem (SEE) project and The Athens County Foundation. She serves on the Ohio University College of Business Department of Management Advisory Board. Kerry is a 1996 graduate of Ohio University, and feels lucky to still be in Athens where she lives with her husband and three sons.
Jane Cavarozzi
Michelle Fox
Michelle Fox started as a consultant for Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp and is co-founder of Rock Your Business, LLC. She graduated from Ohio University in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and earned her Executive MBA with a focus in Entrepreneurship and Global Leadership. Michelle worked at Fox News Channel, Pfizer, and Novartis before transitioning over to smaller medical startup companies based in Silicon Valley. Michelle has consulted for companies in various industries including Sports, Entertainment, and Music. She also serves on advisory boards for the Now Matters More Foundation, A Kid Again, and The Rita Metcalfe Foundation.
Valerie Kinnard
Valerie Kinnard is the owner and CFO of Kindred Market, a natural foods grocery store which opened in Athens in May of this year. Kindred Market focuses on products which are locally produced, organic or all natural, and which promote waste reduction. The market is operated by her family with her daughter Riley serving as general manager.
Valerie also owns Career Connections, a staffing service that she started almost 30 years ago in 1990. Career Connections has serviced hundreds of employers and placed thousands of people in both temporary and permanent positions. Valerie’s other daughter, Kristi, has been the general manager of Career Connections for the last nine years.
Her first business was a word-processing and editing service called WordTech which she started in 1986 and was located in uptown Athens. WordTech serviced primarily OU students preparing academic papers and resumes in the days when there wasn’t a personal computer on everybody’s desk. She sold WordTech to one of its employees after opening Career Connections.
A strong believer in supporting her community, Valerie has served on several boards including the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Athens Uptown Business Association, and O’Bleness Hospital in the past, and Stuart’s Opera House currently.
Valerie grew up in Athens and married her high school sweetheart, Tim. They have three kids, eight grandchildren, three dogs, and two cats. Her favorite pastimes include hiking and paddle boarding with her dogs, live music, reading, and consuming good food and wine with family and friends.
Danielle Young
Nature’s Magic is an Athens, Ohio-based, woman-owned small business that develops plant-based, non-toxic cleaning products as a holistic alternative to conventional cleaners. The company first began as a residential and commercial cleaning business in 2008. Founder Danielle Young wanted to provide a truly green cleaning service, but quickly realized a gap in the natural cleaner market, so she set out to make her own.
After extensive research and product testing, Young selected mostly organic ingredients, including pure essential oils. She chose pure essential oils because they serve as powerful cleaning agents that also promote wellness. The combination of ingredients ensures that the products are safe for all people, including those with compromised immunity, children and pets.
Young tested her products while cleaning clients’ homes. After receiving rave reviews from clients, she decided to focus on product development and founded Nature’s Magic in 2013. She has since expanded sales outside of people’s homes, into local businesses, and onto retail shelves.
In her early career, Young received a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Ohio University in 2001. She then went on to work in residential foster care, and long-term care as a licensed social worker until founding Nature’s Magic in 2008.