By COLlive reporter
More than 500 Jewish women gathered in Newark, New Jersey on April 27 for The Jewish Woman Entrepreneur “Powered by Her” Conference, a full-day event focused on business growth, leadership skills and making connections.
The conference brought together Orthodox Jewish women founders, executives, and professionals from across industries for a day of learning, collaboration, and inspiration, all centered on advancing women in business while staying grounded in Jewish values.
For the past 15 years, the Jewish Women Entrepreneur and Executive community has been at the forefront of supporting and elevating female-founded businesses. Its annual conference is one of the most anticipated events for women in business globally, bringing together visionaries, founders, and leaders for a day of inspiration, connection, and growth.
Attendees at Monday’s full-day event took part in a wide range of expert-led workshops and sessions covering key areas of business and personal development. Sessions included practical topics such as legal essentials for founders, scaling and preparing a business for exit, financial decision-making, negotiation strategies, and building effective teams.
Other workshops focused on marketing and growth, including lead generation, branding, and converting strategy into sales, alongside sessions exploring the use of AI tools to increase efficiency and scale businesses.
A strong emphasis was also placed on personal growth and values-driven leadership, with sessions addressing emunah during challenges and difficult times, creating meaningful work, and maintaining balance without burnout.
Throughout the day, participants enjoyed hearing from professionals, networking with other women from around the world with the same values and goals, and joined collaborative discussions designed to foster relationships and open doors for future partnerships.
The event also featured a keynote address by Ruth Zukerman, co-founder of SoulCycle and Flywheel Sports, who shared insights from her journey building successful companies and navigating challenges in business leadership. Through an honest and spellbinding talk, Ruth shared the sacrifice and hard work it took to build two successful companies, the devastation of failure, and the most inspiring part – not giving up until she achieved success.
Mrs. Elizabeth Walder of Chicago, President and CEO of Walder Foundation, whose generosity made the conference possible, gave an inspiring talk encouraging participants to invest in their own Torah study, contribute to the vibrancy of their communities, and pursue leadership opportunities.
Popular influencers Charlene Aminoff, Gitty Hecht, Maya Namdar and Simi Polansky inspired attendees with their stories of Emunah and faith in Hashem during challenging times.
During the event, JWE’s new CEO Mouchka Heller was introduced. Mouchka grew up in the Chabad community in Paris, France. After attending Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University, she went on to Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Mouchka began her entrepreneurial journey in college to help fund her tuition, and for the past 15 years has worked across both the private sector and the world of diplomacy. She currently resides in Stamford, CT.
An exciting focal point of this year’s conference was the “Founded By Her” gifting suite, where attendees experienced and shopped curated products from female-founded brands, including the popular chocolate brand California Gourmet by Chani Shusterman, Yaffie Begun wigs, and other women-owned businesses.
Participants departed after a full day of learning, sharing and making new connections, with more knowledge, clarity and practical suggestions helpful to their success.
The conference was coordinated and produced by Esty Rapoport of Your Event by Esty, who has been producing memorable events for the past five years.
