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.
RESOURCES
MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Huntsville Business Journal
Sit Down With Success: A Conversation with Annie Saylor of SimTech
March 1, 2024
Huntsville Hustle Podcast
Episode 14: Veronica Cram Founder of InSight Strategic Solutions
QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
Ashley Engles-Ross
Vice President, Small Business
Chamber Liaison for the WBC
256-535-2043
Feedback on WBC
JOIN THE CHAMBER
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JOIN THE CHAMBER - FORMS ONLINE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
PAST EVENT PHOTOS
WBC Wine Down with Women Who Lead
WBC: Women in Business Luncheon with Stephanie Bryan
WBC Retreat At Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce
WBC Summer Social At Topgolf
WBC: 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Women-Owned Business Day proclamation with Mayor Battle, March 30, 2023
WBC Forum- A Portrait of Success, February 21, 2023
Wine Down with Women Who Lead, October 11, 2022
WBC Meet & Greet, August 23, 2022
Empowering Women in Missile Defense, August 8, 2022
Woman Owned Business Day Proclamation with Huntsville Mayor Battle, March 30, 2022