WOMEN'S BUSINESS COUNCIL (WBC)


The Women's Business Council (WBC) of the Chamber is a dynamic group of passionate women business owners dedicated to championing the advancement of women in the workplace. Through leadership, collaboration, and a shared commitment to success, these trailblazers inspire others to reach new heights and create a thriving environment for women to excel in business and beyond.

 
  • Alabama has an estimated 180,234 women-owned businesses, employing over 131,000 people with a combined sales of $29.2 billion .
  • Alabama ranks 10th in the nation for the percentage of women-owned businesses, with 40.6% of total businesses being women-owned.
  • Alabama women-owned businesses have a payroll impact totaling over $5.1 billion to the state economy.

2025 Members




 

UPCOMING EVENTS



PARTNER EVENT: Rocket City Women in Sports Luncheon

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Toyota Field

Hosted by the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Annie Saylor will be the MC for the event and the guest speaker is Dr. Karen Lee, Deputy Athletic Director at the University of Alabama. 

Info/Register

 

RESOURCES



 
 

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:

Ashley Engles-Ross
Vice President, Small Business
Chamber Liaison for the WBC
256-535-2043

Feedback on WBC

 

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PAST EVENT PHOTOS



WBC Wine Down with Women Who Lead

111924 WBC Wine Down with Women Who Lead


WBC: Women in Business Luncheon with Stephanie Bryan

102224 WBC: Women in Business Luncheon with Stephanie Bryan


WBC Retreat At Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce

092724 WBC Retreat


WBC Summer Social At Topgolf

061124 WBC Summer Social


WBC: Women in Business Luncheon with Helena Duncan

041824 Women in Business Luncheon with Helena Duncan

This luncheon featured Helena Duncan, president & CEO of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), Alabama’s Chamber of Commerce. She is a veteran businesswoman and has built on her previous experiences and relationships to help the organization continue to find new ways to advocate for the business community and communicate BCA’s priorities. During lunch, Duncan will share about herself, her professional journey, and tell more about the BCA.


Woman Owned Business Day Proclamation with Gov. Ivey, March 5, 2024

030524 WBC Proclamation Signing with Governor Kay Ivey


WBC: Portrait of Success with Kimberly Byrge, February 20, 2024

Women’s Business Council (WBC) hosted Kimberly Byrge, CEO of OTC, Inc. Named the 2023 Woman-Owned Business of the Year, OTC has earned a reputation of solving complex technical and management, programmatic and logistics challenges posed by today’s evolving technologies into warrior-ready, operational capability.

With nearly 25 years of experience co-founding and leading OTC, Byrge is a business leader, philanthropist, and advocate for the advancement of women in the government sector and beyond. Her dedication and drive have propelled OTC to new heights, with a strong reputation in system engineering, program management, and logistics government services. Hear from Byrge as she shares how she built her business and her strategy for continued growth in the future.

022024 WBC Portrait of Success with Kimberly Byrge

WBC Luncheon with Jody Singer, December 14, 2023

Presentation was given by Jody Singer who recently retired from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Jody spent 38 years with the space agency and was the first female appointed to the role of Center Director in 2018. While at Marshall she led one of NASA’s largest field centers with nearly 7,000 civil service contractor employees and an annual budget of about $5 billion. During lunch Jody will share about herself and her professional journey.

101023 WBC Luncheon with Jody Singer

WBC Luncheon with Dr. Pat Sims, November 13, 2023

Presentation was given by Dr. Patricia Sims, president of Drake State Community and Technical College. Dr. Sims has been president of Drake State, a Historically Black Community College, since 2018. Under her leadership, it has seen a significant increase in state and federal funding, has increased strategic partnerships, and expanded its program offerings. During lunch she shared her professional journey and told us more about her life’s work, empowering others to reach their goals and obtain success.

111323 WBC Luncheon with Dr. Pat Sims

Wine Down with Women Who Lead, October 11, 2023

Presentation was given by WBC Chair Rachel Brown, Owner/CEO & Curator of Rachel Brown Homes, WBC Co-Chair Vicki Morris, Founder/President of Face to Face Marketing, and Stephanie Mell, Owner of ChurchStreet Family Businesses. Event was held at ChurchStreet Wine Shoppe in downtown Huntsville.

101023 WBC Wine Down with Women Who Lead

Women in Missile Defense, August 7, 2023

The Women’s Business Council (WBC) of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber in partnership with Raytheon, An RTX Business was pleased to present Women in Missile Defense, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate female voices from across the aerospace & defense industry and the roles they play in the missile defense mission.

080723 WBC: Women in Missile Defense

Women-Owned Business Day proclamation with Mayor Battle, March 30, 2023

033023 Women-Owned Business Day proclamation with Mayor Battle

WBC Forum- A Portrait of Success, February 21, 2023

022123 WBC Forum- A Portrait of Success



Wine Down with Women Who Lead, October 11, 2022

101122 Wine Down with Women Who Lead



WBC Meet & Greet, August 23, 2022

082322 WBC Meet & Greet



Empowering Women in Missile Defense, August 8, 2022

080822 Empowering Women in Missile Defense


Woman Owned Business Day Proclamation with Huntsville Mayor Battle, March 30, 2022

033022 WBC: Proclamation Signing with Mayor Battle


OTHER PAST EVENT PHOTOS >