In celebration of Global Women in Entrepreneurship Week, the Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship will be organizing a showcase to highlight local female entrepreneurs from throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Enjoy light refreshments while browsing their products and learning about their unique entrepreneurial journeys.

In partnership with Women for Madison, Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center, and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, we aim to bring the JMU community and local community together to support female-led companies and learn from their stories.

Click here to see which women-owned business's will be in attendance at this year's showcase.

Thursday, November 21, 2024

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The Festival Conference and Student Center Grand Ballroom

Claudia Hanna is the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast If This Food Could Talk: A History Show for Everyone Who Eats. She was a management consultant and finance professional for years before stepping into new roles as a teacher, writer and serial entrepreneur. 

She writes her own blog, Live Like a Goddess, runs a Youtube channel by the same name and is a lifestyle writer for Mind Body Green, C’ville Weekly, Women Who Live on Rocks and Sivana Spirit. Claudia is also the founder of Athena’s Bump, a maternal nutrition company focusing on customized nutrition for the four stages of pregnancy (from preconception to postpartum).

With a passion to cook, instilled by her own Egyptian and Greek mother, Kamilia, and her Cypriot mother-in-law, Tulin, she has taken her love for authentic Mediterranean cooking to the classroom. Claudia teaches Eat Like a Greek, Street Foods of the Middle East, Modern Food Tastings and Olive & Wine Pairing courses at James Madison University. 

Claudia is currently working on her first cookbook, “Bambino Bites: An instruction manual on introducing the Mediterranean Palate to Little Ones.” She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and her M.B.A. in Corporate Finance from Emory University.