GovState to host Business Week featuring keynote speaker Dorri McWhorter
By Sarah Shoaf, Staff Writer
Governors State University’s (GovState) College of Business (COB) will host its fifth annual Business Week in April, where Dorri McWhorter, President and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, will deliver the keynote followed by the COB Alumni Hall of Achievement Awards.
On April 25, 2024, businesses, students, alumni, and community members can anticipate engaging professional networking and learning opportunities throughout the evening. Attendees can also look forward to hearing from McWhorter, who is a 2019 inductee in the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame and has had her work to create a new paradigm for the social impact sector featured in the documentary, Uncharitable.
McWhorter became President and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago in August 2021 after an eight-year stint as CEO of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago where she transformed the organization from a traditional social service organization to a 21st century social enterprise.
During her tenure at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, McWhorter quadrupled the operating budget and led the organization as it expanded its service footprint to 10 new locations, completed seven mergers and acquisitions, implemented paid family leave, and developed a retirement plan with options for childcare providers and small business owners.
McWhorter prides herself on being a socially-conscious business leader and is committed to creating an inclusive marketplace through a cross-sector collaboration of engaging business, civic and community partners.
At the Business Week event, McWhorter will deliver a keynote address on “Employee Engagement and Well-Being in a Hybrid Mode.”
Following the keynote address, COB will recognize their outstanding alumni with Hall of Achievement Awards for early career, mid-career or lifetime achievements. Past honorees include current GovState Trustees Jim Kvedaras, Kevin Brookins, and Stacy Crook and School of Extended Learning’s (SXL) Executive Director, Craig Schmidt.
For more information on the event and to register, visit the Business Week 2024 webpage.
The April 25 Business Week 2024 Event Schedule is as follows:
- 5 - 5:43 p.m. Honors Reception, Hall of Honors (invite only)
- 5:45 - 6:15 p.m. Networking Reception, Hall of Governors
- 6:15 - 8 p.m. Dinner followed by Keynote Presentation “Employee Engagement and Well-Being in a Hybrid Mode”, Engbretson Hall
- 8 - 8:30 p.m. COB Alumni Hall of Achievement Ceremony, location TBA
- 8:30 - 9 p.m. Closing remarks and networking, location TBA