YWCA Alaska and the Anchorage Museum paired up to bring you Boss Babes: Women in Business. Come learn from local  business leaders  as they share their tips, tricks and lessons they've learned along the way as they start and grow businesses right here in Anchorage. In these odd and uncertain times, there's actually been an uptick in new businesses in Anchorage. In the first part of the evening, panelists will answer questions and share their experiences. There will be an opportunity for audience questions. In the second part of the evening, the room will break out into smaller groups and each group will work with a panelist to discuss individual situations.

There's a pretty amazing community of female entrepreneurs and woman-owned businesses in Alaska, come and meet your people!

Note: Please enter the Museum from the side doors on 7th Street to enter directly into the auditorium. The Museum is closed on this day, so the main doors will be locked.

Covid information: Tickets are limited to allow for social distancing. Please stay home if you have a fever or are feeling ill, or if you have been exposed to someone who has recently tested positive.

See information on our host and panelists below. We hope to see you there!

Kim Waller is a Gracie Award winning radio host and producer with a broadcast media career spanning over two-decades. She has held exclusive interviews with hit-makers and legends to include Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, The Killers, Lenny Kravitz, Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Yoko Ono. Her work has been featured exclusively in the Huffington Post, Global Grind, MTV News and other national outlets.

During her tenure at MTV Networks, Kim’s duties included hosting, writing and producing daily content across rock, hip-hop, pop, Top 40, R&B and country formats for MTV Radio. She would later join the on-air team at Power 105.1 New York, a post she maintained for 13 years. It was there that she launched and hosted the station’s public affairs show, “Power on the Block.” In 2017, the program received recognition from New York State Broadcasters Association for Outstanding Public Affairs Program. In 2019, Kim was honored with the national accolade of a Gracie Award for her role as Host / Producer in the category of Public Affairs.

Kim recently returned to Alaska with her family to launch Women’s Power League of Alaska. Now in its third year, the nonprofit works to strengthen Alaska’s economy through the empowerment of women. The organization achieves its mission through mentorship, professional development and community building, facilitating impactful community conversations on the gender pay gap, race relations, voting rights and more. Among their programs and events, WPLAK is best known for their 20-Something Mentorship Project and The 49th State Women’s Forum. Their statewide partnerships include GCI, The Alaska Humanities Forum, the League of Women Voters and the YWCA.

Kim received her B.A. in Mass Media from New York University, where she was awarded the Stenbeck Scholarship and recipient of the Founders Day Award for academic achievement (’11). She also holds an A.L.M. in Journalism from Harvard University (’18).

Jasmin Smith is a lifelong Alaskan Who was raised in Eagle River. She attended Chugiak high school, Sheldon Jackson College, Georgia State University, University of Alaska Anchorage and finished at Wayland Baptist University. She is a proud mother of seven-year old twins and a tireless advocate for her community in the area of economic development, equity in entrepreneurship and racial justice. She is the owner of Baby Vend LLC a company committed to changing the way families travel by creating custom Vending Machine with products you would find in a diaper bag or other travel bag for children ages five and younger, breastfeeding mothers and parents. The company is currently located in 10 states. She is also the founder of The Business Boutique, a development consulting firm that has helped over 800 Alaskan businesses start and grow and helped over 25,000 families and individuals and is the founder of Umoja Coworking and Incubator, a coworking space founded to empower marginalized communities through cultural empowerment in business. She is also the president of the Alaska black Chamber of Commerce, the third vice president and economic development chair of Anchorage NAACP, the past president of the Mountain View community council and current youth committee chair for the Mountain View Community Council. Her and her kids are proud members of Jack and Jill’s Anchorage Chapter. “Success is better when you can share it. There is more than enough room for all of us to eat so let’s build that table and make the menu and all have a seat together.

Jen Motyka grew up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a degree in English Literature. After moving to Alaska seventeen years ago, she began her career in media sales and marketing. During that time she became the first Interactive Media Director in the state as well as Vice President of Business Development for the Highpoint Agency. Leaving the industry to start a family, Jen remained involved with the community through nonprofit volunteerism and small event planning. In 2016, she began Blitz Promotions as a way to help small local businesses that were lacking brick and mortar storefronts. Jen’s Sip & Shop vendor events helped raise money for local charities as well as empower women owned businesses. Her Elevate conferences took that concept further by providing social media and small business training. Blitz Promotions has now grown to include social media planning, content creation, event planning, business and political consulting. Jen is heavily involved with many organizations in Anchorage including; Summit Organizer for the Young Professionals Group of the Anchorage Chamber, Vice Chair for the Board of Directors for YPG, Member of Auxiliary for the American Legion Jack Henry Post 1, Member of Kincaid Elementary PTA, Member of KACA NexGen, Board member AK World Affairs Council, Chair Corporate Development AK World Affairs Council, Mentor for Women’s Power League of AK and Dancer for Parent Crew at Underground Dance Company. Her favorite roles are mother to two quickly growing kids and wife to her wonderful partner, Brett. Jen enjoys exploring Alaska, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

Tamie Taylor, CDS, CDT, CIT, MPM is the Owner and Managing Partner of Taylored Business Solutions, LLC (TBS) assisting small businesses navigate the government contracting world. Tamie has 30+ years of construction, project management and government contracting experience. Before starting TBS, Tamie worked for several Alaska Native Corporations. Prior to that, Tamie worked as a project manager for various construction companies in Alaska as well as Colorado.

Tamie is very active in the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) on both the Alaska and National levels. She served as the National President in 2007, is currently serving as the President of the Alaska Chapter of NAWIC and just received recognition as the National NAWIC member of the year in Charlotte last August.

Tamie is a member of the Alaska Associated General Contractors and is currently a Board member and in 2019 was recognized by the Associated General Contractors of Alaska (AGC) with the esteemed Hot Hard award.

She is a 2008 Athena Society Inductee, received the Alaska Top 40 under 40 in 2002 and in was the Alaska Constructive Women in 2005 and 2017.

In 2021, Tamie became the Director of Women Entrepreneurs of Alaska with the goal of providing business education and networking to benefit the entrepreneurial spirit.

Ms. Taylor truly enjoys spending her time volunteering in the community with 100+ Women Who Care, For the Kids Sake, Habitat for Humanity, Campfire, Clare House, NAWIC and AGC.

Thea Agnew Bemben is the managing principal and co-founder of Agnew::Beck Consulting, a planning, policy and community development firm based in Anchorage, Alaska. Thea has 24 years’ experience working with statewide and community organizations to bring about real improvements in the health and social conditions of the people they serve.

In recent years, Thea led the effort to develop recommendations to redesign Alaska’s Medicaid program; she has worked with many Tribal health corporations and statewide and community organizations to expand services for Elders, people with behavioral health issues and disabilities, and to strengthen vulnerable families. She has been active in efforts to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time for people in Anchorage.

Thea has lived in Anchorage since 1973, when her family emigrated from Britain and settled on Dena’ina traditional lands. She is married to Will Bemben, a family medicine physician, and has two children, Noah and Mae. Thea spent much of her young adult life living in McCarthy, Alaska, which is located on Ahtna traditional lands. Thea served two terms as the president of the local area council in the 1990s.

Thea’s personal and professional interests have led her to work with villages and communities in every region of Alaska. Her graduate degree in history focuses on the interactions between Yupik-speaking peoples in western Alaska and their encounters with Russian Orthodox and American Protestant missionaries in the 1800’s, and the varying ways that each of these three groups recorded the stories of those encounters, and how they inform our current historical understanding.

Thea has served on numerous boards including the Wrangell Mountains Center, Anchorage Urban League, McCarthy Area Council, Commonwealth North, Rogers Park PTA, the Thomas Center for Senior Leadership, and the Alaska Humanities Forum. She is an active member of the Allies for Change group of the Alaska Black Caucus. She loves to run, ski, hike, read, and spend time with family and friends.

Inmaly Inthaly is a Minnesota-born and Alaska-grown entrepreneur.  In March 2019, Inmaly founded Star Assist, LLC. a virtual assistance company providing administrative support and executive assistance to small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Prior to becoming a business owner, Inmaly spent over 9 years in the administrative and executive assistance field supporting executives and governing bodies in the for-profit and non-profit sectors.  As an entrepreneur, Inmaly, along with the support of the Star Assist team, continues to serve local boards of directors and councils to help them navigate through the digital world during the pandemic.

Inmaly holds a Certified Administrative Professional certification issued by the International Association of Administrative Professionals.  In February 2020, Inmaly was nominated and awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year by the Anchorage Community Land Trust.

Outside of work, Inmaly can be found jamming to music and dancing with her 4-year old daughter and 7-year old son, finding new recipes to cook, and curating music playlists.

Boss Babes: Women In Business