photo by steed media service

With 2008 sure to be a year of change in political leadership, Cynthia Burnside hopes to turn a new page in terms of the business opportunities available for women in Atlanta. As co-chair of the Atlanta Commission on Women Doing Business in the City of Atlanta Conference 2008, Burnside along with city of Atlanta government officials is undertaking an outreach program designed to support women in the business community who are interested in contracting with the city.

“When you do business with the city, you have certain guidelines that you have to follow in terms of the number of women and the number of minorities that you have to have working either for you, or subcontracting for you. What we did was {to provide] seminars put on by the various departments of the city to educate women who want to do business with the city, about how to do that,” she explains.

Burnside, who also practices commercial and employment litigation as senior counsel with Atlanta law firm Holland & Knight, is in her third year as co-chair of the conference and believes it’s a great opportunity for women to further their careers. The Fifth Annual Conference, which will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28, includes keynote speakers Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and vice dean of Goizueta Business School, Maryam Alavi. Twenty-five business and contracting workshops will be offered on topics ranging from protecting trade secrets to negotiating commercial leases. “If a woman is able to take care of herself, the other problems tend to take care of themselves. So this is a way that the commission has tried to reach out to women everywhere,” says Burnside. - jason thompson

For more information on the Women Doing Business in the City of Atlanta Conference 2008, please visit www.atlwomen.com.

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