ChicWIT's International Women's Day Conference, Passport 2005 Travel Smart: The Journey to Success, Has Prominent Lineup of Speakers and Sponsors.

CHICAGO -- Passport 2005 Travel Smart: The Journey to Success is a one-day networking and mentoring conference designed to inspire, motivate, educate and enlighten women of all ages

Passport 2005 Travel Smart: The Journey to Success, a one-day networking and mentoring conference hosted by ChicWIT (Chicago Women. Insights. Technology.), will take place on March 4th at the Holiday Inn Hillside. Sponsors of the conference include American Express, CPRi, and Regeneration Press. Other participants include Chicago Premium Outlets, Mario Tricoci, ESPN Zone and Gethsemane Gardens. Women from all over the Chicago metropolitan area and beyond are expected to attend the event and hear from an outstanding list of successful and inspiring speakers.

The conference will begin following registration at 8:30 am. Opening speaker, Jane DiRenzo from R3 Goup LLC, will kickoff the morning's first session on "Effective Self Promotion for Women Professionals." Speakers for the different breakout sessions throughout the day include, Julie Smolyansky, president of Lifeway Foods, Maureen Beal, CEO of National Van Lines, Lauren Ransom, director of Miss Black Illinois USA Scholarship Organization, Janet Foutty of Deloitte, Denise Norton, owner of Flavour Cooking School, Noreen Abbasi, founder of Maven Cosmetics, and Katrina Markoff, founder of Vosges Chocolates. These successful women, along with others, will be speaking on session topics that include overcoming the odds when the cards are stacked against you, making an impact in non-traditional settings, creating a non profit from your passion, women entrepreneurs and how they followed their dreams, how to achieve work/life balance, and career transitioning.

In addition to the speaking sessions, there will be a luncheon, with keynote speaker Seattle Sutton, founder of Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating. For those unable to attend the entire day event, there is an option to attend the luncheon only. Additionally, businesses have a special chance to purchase a table and send employees that would benefit from the day.

"It's a great way to recognize excellence, reward performance and pay tribute to outstanding efforts by women who are top achievers," said Jeannie Walters, ChicWIT Executive Director and vice president of Vox, an Oak Park customer experience consulting firm.

After the speaking sessions have concluded at 3:00 pm, ChicWIT will host a Business Expo and cocktail reception hour, where attendees can continue networking and businesses can exhibit their services. Barb Sorenson, one of Illinois' most beloved singer/songwriters will perform at the cocktail reception amidst exhibiting companies at the Expo. There is also an option for people to attend the Business Expo and cocktail reception only.

"We have provided attendees with the ability to choose which parts of the day are the most beneficial for them to attend," said Walters. "Guests can take part in the whole day or decide to enjoy the luncheon or the business expo only. Either way, they'll learn, discover and enjoy themselves in an atmosphere of fellowship and excitement, all while networking and connecting as only women can."

To learn about sponsorship opportunities at Passport 2005, please contact Jeannie Walters at [e-mail].

For additional details and to register to attend Passport 2005 Travel Smart: The Journey to Success, visit http://tinyurl.com/4rrdz.

About ChicWIT/WorldWIT

Founded in Chicago (with ChicWIT) in 1999, WorldWIT(TM) (www.worldwit.org), hailed Woman's Business Association of the Year at The 2004 Stevie(TM) Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, is the world's largest online networking organization for professional women in business, formed for women to share advice and ideas with other women eager to "connect." ChicWIT is a local community of more than 8,000 members throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and is the largest women's networking group in Illinois. WorldWIT reaches over 35,000 women globally via moderated, local email discussion groups like PhillyWIT (Philadelphia), HoustonWIT and BritWIT (Great Britain), and through local events and activities in 25 countries and more than 70 cities around the world.

The membership is free and is comprised of women who range from corporate CEOs, government officials, legal professionals, marketing and media experts to home-based consultants and entrepreneurs. Its founder, Liz Ryan, was the first female vice president at U.S. Robotics, and is a popular columnist, speaker and "at work issues" expert. She has been featured by such media as TIME magazine, Fortune magazine, The New York Times, CNN, CNBC and Comcast. Liz is also a regular contributor to Business Week Online and the on-air workplace expert for Denver's NBC affiliate, 9 News. For her role in helping professional women reach their career goals, Liz was honored by Enterprising Women magazine with a 2005 Enterprising Women Advocacy Award. WorldWIT is headquartered in Boulder, CO.