91ÊÓƵ

The Daily Journal of Commerce has opened registration for the 2014 Women of Vision Conference, on Sept. 24 at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland.

The conference will feature a morning of sessions focusing on leadership skills for women involved in the building industry, and take place in conjunction with a luncheon honoring the winners of the 2014 Women of Vision Awards.

The awards recognize outstanding women in Oregon and Southwest Washington who are involved in architecture, engineering and construction as well as in fields related to the building industry.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the awards is July 18. Winners will be announced in the 91ÊÓƵ newspaper and on the 91ÊÓƵ website on July 25, and be honored during a luncheon that will follow the conference.

While this is the first year for the awards program, it is the second year that the 91ÊÓƵ has held a women’s leadership conference. The 2014 conference is designed to help women in architecture, engineering, construction and related fields explore the concepts of leadership and professional development, and also provide an opportunity for industry networking.

The conference will run from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., and begin with a keynote presentation by Karen Hough, the founder and CEO of ImprovEdge; the Columbus, Ohio-based company lists Turner Broadcasting and ESPN as clients. She is a former member of the Second City improvisational comedy troupe, and previously worked as an IT executive. She has carved a niche for herself by blending high-energy business coaching with humor and improvisation.

At the Women of Vision Conference, Hough will discuss ways to become an effective and powerful presenter. She covered that topic in her new book “Be the Best Bad Presenter Ever: Break the Rules, Make Mistakes and Win Them Over.”

The conference’s mid-morning session, Embracing Your Personal Brand, will be led by Nicki Pozos. A former life coach, Pozos holds a doctorate in civil engineering and presently works at HDR in Portland, where she focuses on water supply planning and client management.

This year’s Women of Vision Conference will feature a familiar face for those who attended the one last year. Lois Cohen, the founder of Lois D. Cohen Associates, will return to moderate a panel discussion featuring women leaders in the local building industry. Before starting her Portland-based firm, she served as intergovernmental project manager for the Oregon State Department of General Services during the development of the State Office Building in Portland. Cohen also was a regional representative of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. She is a sought-after public speaker and workshop facilitator, and the creator of a school-based outreach program that has become a useful tool for regional AEC firms and state agencies.

Tickets for the conference and luncheon are $75. Tickets for the luncheon only are $50.

For more information about the conference, including registration and award nomination forms, visit djcorprod.wpengine.com/women-of-vision/.