New College of Florida to Present Series on “Power of Women” this March and April
Prominent women to discuss how their professional and academic careers have influenced their roles within the community

(February 13, 2007) -- New College of Florida, the state liberal arts honors college, announced today that it will present a lecture series geared specifically for women in the community. The first session is scheduled for Thursday, March 8th at 4pm in College Hall on the campus of New College, 5800 Bay Shore Road. This session will highlight women entrepreneurs with keynoters Flori Roberts, founder of several companies including cosmetics company Dermablend; and Charlie Lenger, a New College alumna and founder of Tropex Plant Services.

In addition, a panel of prominent businesswomen will lead a discussion with students from New College who will present their backgrounds and how the value of a New College education will impact their future academic and career goals. The guest panelists include New College alumna Felice Schulaner, former director of human resources for Coach Leather; Carol B. Green, founding chair, First American Bank and founding president/CEO of Weight Watchers of Rocky Mountain Region, Inc.; and Michael Saunders, president and founder of Michael Saunders & Company, the Gulf Coast’s largest independently-owned real estate company.

This educational series, sponsored by New College Foundation, will feature an array of dynamic women who represent varied careers and professional backgrounds in the Sarasota/Manatee community, including women in business, women in the arts and sciences, and women in law and finance. The second session of “Power of Women” is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, 2007 on the campus of New College at 4 pm and will feature Rhea Chiles, artist and former First Lady of Florida and Wendy Surkis, president, Sarasota Museum of Art, a division of Ringling School of Art and Design. Two more sessions are slated for the following fall and winter.

The intent of the series is to promote lively presentations where each presenter will discuss how her personal background and career goals have contributed to her professional success in our community. The three co-chairs of the series are Elaine Keating, Jean Martin, and Jane Smiley.

“I am thrilled and honored to be involved with the Power of Women series at New College,” said Flori Roberts, serving as a keynote speaker for the inaugural session. “Throughout my life and business, I have reached out to other women who desire to make a difference in their communities, whether through launching their own business endeavors or some other professional pursuits. With this event, women throughout our community will come together to share ideas and form lasting relationships which is an exciting opportunity for all of us.”

Because mentoring students is a vital function of a liberal arts education, the Foundation expects that a natural outcome of these events will be an opportunity for the College’s young women students to form ongoing partnerships with key professional women throughout the community. New College students pursue a variety of academic areas, but all are encouraged to develop practical and critical knowledge about a chosen area of interest.

All presentations are free for New College students and faculty. There is a charge of $25 for members of the community for the first two sessions. All proceeds will benefit a Foundation scholarship fund for New College women. Each session will be followed by a tea reception in College Hall.

For additional information and reservations for the Power of Women series, please contact Carol A. Carter, Vice President of Advancement at New College Foundation, (941) 487-4810, or email ccarter@ncf.edu.

About the March 5 Panelists

Flori Roberts is co-founder of The Roberts Group, Inc., a cosmetics sales and marketing company. Ms. Roberts’ companies include Flori Roberts Cosmetics, Dermablend Corrective Cosmetics, and Smart Cover Cosmetics. Because Flori Roberts strategically positioned cutting-edge products to satisfy “special needs” customers, she has been recognized by the cosmetics industry as one of the pioneers of niche marketing and non-traditional merchandising. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Sales and Marketing Executive International Academy of Achievement, and has become an activist in helping women advance to positions of leadership in business, politics, education and philanthropy. Roberts is one of the founding members of the Committee of 200, an organization of the country’s preeminent women business owners and executives. She was recently featured on The Today Show on NBC-TV as the quintessential “Grandmompreneur.”

Charlene "Charlie” Lenger is founder and President of Tropex Plant Sales and Leasing. Founded in 1981 as the basis of a New College research project on entrepreneurship, Tropex has grown from its origins of $50 seed money to annual revenues of $3.5 million with a staff of 56 employees. Lenger was recently named Business Person of the Year and is recognized as a leader in her industry because of innovative employee incentive programs and software systems. Lenger is an alumna of New College of Florida and serves as a member of the New College Foundation Board of Trustees and Chair of the Audit Committee.

About New College of Florida

New College of Florida is a national leader in the arts and sciences and is the State of Florida’s designated honors college for the liberal arts. Rated as the #1 public liberal arts college in America by U.S. News & World Report (2007), New College attracts highly-motivated, academically-talented students from throughout the United States, as well as 27 foreign countries. The College’s innovative academic program emphasizes active student participation in the learning process, while small classes and close collaboration between faculty and students allow for in-depth exploration of subject matter. New College has over 20 Fulbright Scholars in the past 10 years, a per capita percentage that is higher than Harvard, Stanford and Yale. It has also earned distinction from such notable publications as The Wall Street Journal, Princeton Review, and Colleges that Change Lives. Total enrollment is 750, with a student to faculty ratio of 11:1.