The ATHENAPowerLink® Baltimore Women in Business Speaker Series celebrates the power of women’s leadership, entrepreneurship and community impact through inspiring stories and practical insights.
The event brings together business leaders, community members and students to hear from trailblazers from across Maryland discussing accomplishments, challenges and insights as women business leaders.
Elda Devarie recently shared her entrepreneurial journey about how she built EMD Sales — one of the fastest-growing international foods distributors in the Mid-Atlantic — from its humble beginnings out of her home in Cape May, NJ to its current 153,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Baltimore, MD.
She reflected on building a business from the ground up as a single mother with limited resources. Today, her company employs 150 employees and services some of the largest supermarket chains, restaurants and ethnic stores in the area.
Elda shared how her own success allowed her to give back to her community to address food insecurity, support disaster relief and strengthen communities through collaboration.
She shared how, in 2009, she worked with others to start Bags of Love, a nonprofit focused on fighting area food insecurity. And, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, she mobilized help to send planeloads of food and supplies to her beloved homeland of Puerto Rico.
Elda shared about the importance of knowing your purpose, embracing continuous learning, building diverse teams and leading with authenticity. She said, “There’s nothing that we can’t accomplish if you focus, sacrifice and work hard with honesty and purpose.”
ATHENAPowerLink® Baltimore is accepting applications
Are you a women-owned business looking for mentorship? If so, ATHENAPowerLink® Baltimore wants to be a primary tool in your kit. This yearlong program, headquartered at Towson University, provides women business owners with an advisory panel that dedicates time and effort to ensure a plan of action for long-term business success. Applications for the program are accepted on an ongoing basis.
