Women and the Gig Economy

Just what is the Gig Economy and what does it mean for women entrepreneurs?

Join us on Wednesday, July 18 for a fascinating and enlightening discussion about women and entrepreneurship with our guest, Denise Bushnell of Sierra College. Denise, a passionate business educator who has been a professor at Sierra College for the past 18 years, will share information about the Sierra College program in entrepreneurship—and how the gig economy presents opportunities for women.

The gig economy is a rapidly growing trend; in fact, a study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors. In this digital age, the workforce is increasingly mobile, and many individuals have the freedom to work from anywhere. That means freelancers can select among temporary jobs and projects around the world, while employers can choose the best individuals for specific projects from a larger pool than that available in any given geographical area.

As the Regional Entrepreneurship Coordinator for Sierra College, Denise helps connect businesses and entrepreneurs with community colleges; she is expanding our regional community colleges’ interdisciplinary focus, including developing curriculum and linking businesses with makerspaces.

One her major projects is expanding the state-wide Gig Economy Project and assisting other regional community colleges to innovate education. The Gig Economy Project helps students become freelancers and independent contractors in the growing gig economy. Denise is also a mentor for the Gig Economy Pilot Program.

Another of her projects is working with community college Maker Teams, which connects colleges with makerspaces, business incubators and accelerators. Denise works with small businesses to help colleges incorporate makerspaces into the curriculum. In addition, she is developing a regional mentorship database for students after they complete their education.

Denise has an MA in Communications and Marketing from Penn State and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management from Walden University’s School of Management. She is currently working on a doctoral program (EdD) in Higher Education Leadership from Brandman University. She is a Small Business Owner and Social Entrepreneur. Denise was also a member of the Chloe Award- winning team for the most creative advertising and marketing campaign.

Attention: New Dinner Venue!

We’re excited to announce that we are moving to a brand-new venue for our dinner meetings, starting May 16. The recently completed Gold Country Conference Center at 1012 Sutton Way in Grass Valley offers a private, quiet dining room that will enhance our ability to easily connect with each other.

The padded chairs; ADA accessibility; convenient parking and excellent fare that has earned praise from local Rotary groups, all combine to lend our meetings a more intimate, satisfying dining and socializing experience. Many hours of assessing and deliberating went into our decision to move to this new location; we hope you will join us on May 16 and enjoy our new surroundings.