Despite having her right leg amputated at age five, St. John became the first African-American to win medals in Winter Paralympic competition, taking home a silver and two bronze medals in downhill events at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In recognition of this historic achievement, St. John was quoted on millions of Starbucks coffee cups and was honored at the White House by President George W. Bush.
She graduated from Harvard University in 1986 and earned a Master of Letters degree in Economics from Oxford University. Upon her return to the United States, St. John was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a director for Human Capital Issues on the White House National Economic Council.
Today, St. John travels the globe as a leadership consultant, keynote speaker and facilitator for international summit conferences for senior-level executives. In 2010, St. John once again represented the United States as a member of President Obama’s official delegation to the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
The author of seven books, St. John's most recent book, Micro-Resilience: Minor Shifts for Major Boosts in Focus, Drive and Energy, outlines a quick, easy and immediately effective program of tools and techniques to give readers a competitive edge in today's dynamic world of changes and challenges.
St. John has been featured extensively in both national and international media including: Today, CNN, CBS Morning News, NBC News, PBS, NPR and The New York Times, as well as People, “O” and Essence magazines. In 2015, St. John was inducted into the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Hall of Fame.
The annual Spirit of Women in Business Conference brings together women from diverse professional backgrounds. Last year, more than 250 business professionals, along with undergraduate and graduate students from northeast Ohio and beyond, attended the event. The day-long conference includes a keynote address with Q&A, a luncheon speaker and breakout sessions with presentation options for attendees to choose from.
The College of Business Administration is offering an early-bird special for those who register prior to November 30. Attendees who use the code “SWIB2019” will receive $25 off any one regularly priced individual registration. Event sponsorships are still available – contact Erin Nunn at enunn1@kent.edu for details.
For more information about the Spirit of Women in Business Conference and to register for the event, visit http://www.kent.edu/business/swib.
Kent State College of Business Administration
Kent State University's College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting.
The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks as one of the nation’s Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The College is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.
Media Contact:
Joni Bowen, Public Relations and Media Specialist, (330) 672-1279, cell: (330) 221-0637, jbowen1@kent.edu