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The Chicken or the Egg?

April 5, 2011 by

[HTML1] Barbara Kasoff is a visionary who was able to look at the future for women in business and see that to move women along an organization to advocate for women needed to be started. Barbara started that organization and continues to be the president of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). Her organization brings together successful businesswomen from many different businesses and through that interaction, change happens. WIPP advocates on behalf of women and works with legislators on matters that are critical for women to gain greater business opportunities.

More about Barbara Kasoff
Barbara Kasoff is the President and CEO, and Co-Founder, of Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc., a non-profit, bi-partisan public policy advocacy organization with over half a million members including 49 business organizations, educating and advocating on economic issues for women in business.

Other companies that she has owned and managed are Voice-Tel of Michigan, the fourth largest voice messaging company in the United States, Voice-Tel of Central Michigan, and Voice Response Corporation, a telemarketing and database marketing company. Barbara also opened and developed Voice-Tel of Australia, a company with 11 offices throughout Australia and New Zealand for the Voice-Tel franchisor. With her experience, Barbara has been able to incorporate her skills in management, her strengths in communications, and her considerable energies in powering her fledgling companies to secure a solid foothold in the rapidly expanding world of communications. Prior to becoming a business owner, Barbara previously served as Vice President of Customer Service and Senior Vice President of Research and Software Development for World Computer Corporation in Michigan for ten years where her team designed and installed new financial services software for credit unions.  Altogether, she has been a business owner and corporate executive for 20 years, and has successfully sold 3 of her four companies.

For many years, Barbara has been an active supporter for small businesses, and women and minorities in business in particular. She continues this work both nationally and internationally. She has linked together thousands of small business owners with her voice messaging network, enabling them to communicate directly with one another to improve their businesses, learn of programs, opportunities and appointments in the communities, improve the climate of entrepreneurship, and play a part in public policy making. Her efforts to unite various organizations, has enabled small business owners to share information with each other, learn from one another, and become better informed in economic and political issues. Barbara speaks nationally and internationally on issues concerning leadership and advocacy for business women.

Barbara was named on October 15, 2007 to the National Women’s Business Council. The Federal appointment is for a 3 year term. In addition, Barbara currently serves as Co-Chair of the National Global Trade and Technology Board of Directors, whose mission is to help reverse the long standing trends in balance of trade deficits by making the task of finding, selling and delivering US products and services into global markets as simple as doing business next door. She is also a media resource for The White House Project and has been recently cited as CEO of one of the top 3 most powerful non-profits in Washington, DC.

In addition, Barbara has previously served as President of The National Association of Business Owners in Detroit, Vice President of Public Policy for the national NAWBO organization, SCORE and on various community Boards, including: Detroit Edison Community Relations Board, Forgotten Harvest, International Institute and Majority Business Initiative. Barbara has served on the national Board of Directors of the Women’s Leadership Forum for the Democratic National Committee and served as the Small Business Chair for Kerry for President. She has helped develop new and closer relationships with the US Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Centers, Department of Commerce and local, national and international corporate leaders. She also advises for the Committee for Working Families for WalMart. Barbara has served as a Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business, was an invited delegate to President Clinton’s Midwest Regional Economic Summit and was the recipient of the State of Michigan Women in Business Advocate of the Year in 1995.

Barbara and her family now reside in San Francisco, CA.

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About Susan Spencer

Susan T. Spencer is one of a kind. She was an entrepreneur and business professional before many women had the confidence to play with the men in the big leagues. Her companies had combined revenues of 50 million dollars.

Before the age of 40 she was a mother, former school teacher, business owner, and lawyer and GM of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. For more than 20 years she owned and operated 3 meat processing companies and was known as "that meat lady" because she was the only woman owner in the meat processing business that sold most of the fast food restaurants in the US and overseas.

Susan earned her BA from Boston University, her MA from Hofstra University, and her law degree from Villanova University.

Susan currently mentors, coaches, lectures, blogs, and advises many large organizations. Her main area of attention is women and business; including such topics as access to capital, starting a woman's banking program, and creative financing for small business.

Susan is also the Host of Business Buzz on WomensRadio. Business Buzz keeps it real. Hot business topics, and cool guests sharing advice, plus sizzling tips about women’s skills and talents. Join in to be part of women on the move!