Women's Business Conference

Friday, March 6, 2026

8:00 am - 1:30 pm

CSU Channel Islands

In honor of International Women‘s Day, the West Ventura County Business Alliance and CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) join forces for the third consecutive year to host Ventura County's only Women's Business Conference, an inspirational half-day event with guest speakers, networking opportunities, and more.

2026 Sponsor Packet

2026 Speakers

Sylvia Acevedo - Keynote Speaker

Sylvia Acevedo is a transformative leader, entrepreneur, and visionary strategist whose career has been defined by breaking barriers and driving impact at scale. From working in space exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to reshaping industries through bold leadership at Apple, Autodesk, Dell, and IBM, Sylvia has mastered the art of navigating change, seizing opportunities, and leading with conviction.

Lindsey Carnett - Workshop Facilitator: Mastering Your Personal Brand

Lindsey Carnett is the CEO and president of Marketing Maven. She founded Marketing Maven in 2009, after leading integrated communications campaigns for firms and private industries across the world. With over two decades of experience, Lindsey founded Marketing Maven to elevate the public relations and marketing objectives of clients and provide tangible results.

She will lead an interactive session to give you tools for mastering your personal brand. From LinkedIn to thought leadership, SEO to storytelling, she is a marketing, branding and PR expert and highly sought speaker and consultant who has been helping business leaders reach their goals for over 20 years.

Nicki Parr - Panel Discussion Moderator

Originally from the UK, Nicki Parr is CEO of WEV - Women's Economic Ventures. She spent over 20 years working in the corporate world in the fields of finance and operational management and pursued postgraduate studies in Somatic Psychology. Nicki finally found her professional calling when she joined WEV in 2018 as the Business Recovery specialist, working with disaster-impacted business owners in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow.

Graciela Casillas - Keynote Speaker

Graciela Casillas is a trailblazer in martial arts—a four-time World Champion honored in nine national and international halls of fame, including the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame and Black Belt Hall of Fame. In 2023, she was recognized as “Woman of the Year” by California State Senator Monique Limón. Beyond her undefeated fighting career, Casillas has spent over 40 years teaching and mentoring. She holds advanced degrees in education and physical education, is a certified defensive tactics trainer, and has guided countless students as a professor and academic counselor at Oxnard College. Her book The Lioness Within: A Personal Guide to Self-Defense for Women and the Amazon documentary of the same name extend her impact globally. Today, through Casillas Martial Arts, she continues her life’s purpose: empowering students of all ages to find their inner strength, live with confidence, and carry themselves with dignity in every aspect of life.