03.15.18
Local Entrepreneur Joins Women’s Business Center as New Director
Tammy Y. Allen, Director, Marketing & Programs, The NIIC
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (The NIIC) is excited to announce Leslee Hill is the new Director, Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center (WEOC). Previously, she owned and operated Hill Image Consulting. “Leslee Hill brings passion and contagious optimism to WEOC. To our clients, she offers a wide-range perspective from her experience as a business owner, where she advised and coached professional women, and as a product developer for international companies Spiegel, Icelandic Design, and Vera Bradley,” said Tammy Allen, Director, Marketing & Programs, The NIIC.
Hill said, “My international travel has provided an education beyond degrees. Yet, my passion to help others surpasses any knowledge I’ve gained. I’m excited to be a part of The NIIC, leading WEOC and serving women in our community. Our team truly cares about our organization’s mission and doing their absolute best in serving entrepreneurs.”
“The SBA welcomes Leslee Hill to WEOC as the new Women’s Business Center Director. Business counseling is one of the integral services offered by SBA for all entrepreneurs through our network of resource partners including Women’s Business Centers, Small Business Development Centers and SCORE Chapters. We anticipate continued success for WEOC clients under Ms. Hill’s direction,” said Stacey Poynter, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Indiana District Office.
WEOC is unique in that it serves women at all stages of their business ventures, often at no charge to them. “We come alongside them throughout their ventures. My vision for WEOC this year is to continue to drive community engagement to reach more female founders. We continue to build awareness and to increase accessibility of our services so more women make their dreams realities. We will also continue to bust barriers women face when forming their companies, like mentoring, tools and resources, confidence, and access to capital.”
In her role, Hill oversees the day-to-day operations of WEOC, and works with The NIIC team and resource partners to provide the highest quality of client services to women, minority, and under-served business owners throughout the 16 county service area of Northeast Indiana.
Hill earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Ball State University in Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design and minored in marketing. She gained her Image Consulting and Color Analysis certifications in 2014.
WEOC also promoted Suzanne Haga to WEOC Coordinator, reporting to Hill. “Suzie is a great partner. Not only has Suzie’s year of experience at the NIIC helped create a smooth transition for me, she operates with a level head and anticipates client needs. She is committed to the success of WEOC clients, WEOC and The NIIC. She believes and lives out our mission,” said Hill. Haga was previously The NIIC Business Concierge, serving in the Emerging Growth Center.
About WEOC—The Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center (WEOC) serves Northeast Indiana women at all stages of their business ventures. WEOC responds to the unique needs of women entrepreneurs through business growth coaching, training and entrepreneurial education, connectivity and access to capital. In October 2017, the name changed to Women’s Entrepreneurial (instead of Economic) Opportunity Center to more accurately reflect what WEOC does. WEOC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. As the Host organization, The NIIC also provides funding and supplemental and complementary resources for WEOC, an SBA designated Women’s Business Center—one of two in Indiana. For more information, visit www.inweoc.com.
About The NIIC—The NIIC is a non-profit, vibrant entrepreneurial community. We help business builders and entrepreneurs launch and grow successful business ventures. Formed in 1999 by a consortium of community and government leaders and organizations in 2013, The NIIC was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top four under-the-radar incubators in the country. This basically means Entrepreneur magazine, with the help of International Business Incubation Association, picked four U.S. incubators to highlight, and we were one of them. In their words, we “stand out in a state not always perceived as small business friendly.” The NIIC is the country’s only ISO9001: 2008 registered business incubation and acceleration program. For more information visit TheNIIC.Org.
