Kati Machtley honored at inaugural Business Women luncheon

The Providence Business News recognizes Bryant’s Kati Machtley for empowering women through the Women’s Summit at Bryant University.

On Wednesday, June 25, Women’s Summit Director and Bryant First Lady Kati Machtley will be among 24 women honored by the Providence Business News (PBN) as part of a yearlong program to highlight the accomplishments of women in the Rhode Island business community. The luncheon will begin at noon in the Stepan Grand Hall of the George E. Bello Center for Information Technology.

Machtley was one of 12 women profiled throughout the last year by the PBN, the leading weekly business newspaper in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Other honorees included Denise Barge, executive director of the Minority Investment Development Corporation, and Cheryl Merchant, CEO of Hope Global.

“It is an honor to be recognized with these truly remarkable women,” says Machtley. “Their contributions to the Rhode Island community are a testament to their hard work and dedication to advancing opportunities for women from all walks of life.”

Women’s Summit Director and Bryant First Lady Kati Machtley will be among 24 women honored on June 25 by the Providence Business News (PBN) as part of a yearlong program to highlight the accomplishments of women in the Rhode Island business community.

Machtley and her cochairs started the Women’s Summit in 1997 as a half-day conference with about 400 participants. The event has grown each year since its inception.

In March 2008, nearly 1,000 people attended the 11th Women’s Summit, a day-long event that featured keynote speakers Michele Peluso, president and CEO of Travelocity; Geraldine A. Ferraro, the first female vice-presidential candidate who is currently a principal in the government relations practice of the national law firm Blank Rome; and Joan Countryman, former head of the Lincoln School in Providence who helped launch Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

The day also featured 19 educational presentations and panels lead by prominent women who are experts and leaders in their field.

The 11th Women's Summit on March 13, 2008 featured keynote speakers Michele Peluso, president and CEO of Travelocity; Geraldine A. Ferraro, the first female vice-presidential candidate who is currently a principal in the government relations practice of the national law firm Blank Rome; and Joan Countryman, former head of the Lincoln School in Providence who helped launch Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

“The Women’s Summit provides women with an empowering educational experience, a network of contacts, and the inspiration to achieve their best in life and their chosen professions,” says Machtley.

In addition to her work as director of the Women’s Summit, Machtley chairs Bryant’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast and teaches a Foundations for Learning course with her husband, Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley. The Machtleys recently returned from a two-week trip to Italy, which they led as part of Bryant’s Sophomore International Experience for the second consecutive year.

Kati Machtley has also spearheaded the Angel Tree Project, a prison fellowship ministry that provides holiday gifts for children of inmates, and, as part of Women’s History Month at Bryant, she was featured in the “Telling Her Story” series sponsored by the Women’s Center.

The PBN award is the second accolade Machtley has received in the last two months. In April, she was presented the Rhode Island Women in Higher Education’s Annual Award for Outstanding Leadership.

Bryant First Lady Kati Machtley and President Ronald K. Machtley after Kati was awarded the Rhode Island Women in Higher Education’s Annual Award for Outstanding Leadership in April.

Machtley’s efforts continue to be instrumental in helping women succeed in a variety of endeavors.

“Women just seem to be taking more of a leadership role in every area,” Machtley told the PBN. “They really haven’t been told that they can’t do anything.”

To read profiles written on Machtley and the other winners visit PBN - Business Women Series.

In addition, the PBN will recognize Constance A. Howes, president and CEO of Women & Infants Hospital, for “Overall Career Achievement,” and Susan Colantuono as an “Ally and Mentor” for other women in business. Colantuono is the CEO and founder of Leading Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in the workplace, and the creator of the Women’s Institute for Leadership program in Bryant’s Executive Development Center.

The PBN also selected 10 industry leaders and “women to watch” from the creative, financial, professional, social service, and technical sectors. To view the complete list of honorees, visit PBN - Business Women Honorees.