Fort Frances resident Gisela Seis, the controller at Northland Computers Plus here, is one of 300 North American businesswomen selected to participate in the first-ever Canada/U.S. Businesswoman’s Trade Summit running May 17-21 in Toronto.
The trade summit–an initiative between the Canadian and U.S. governments–will give those on hand the opportunity to voice their opinion on the development of policy recommendations to further trade between the two countries, as well as meet, network, and access well-connected resources and potential associates.
Each woman (150 each from Canada and the U.S.) had to apply for the chance to attend.
Seis will be representing her employer, the Business Women’s Network for the Rainy River District, and the Rainy River Future Development Corp. during the five-day event.
“This summit is huge, awesome!,” she enthused last week. “I’m very excited.”
International Trade minister Sergio Marchi is co-chairing the summit with U.S. Commerce Secretary William M. Daley and Aida Alvarez, administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration.
“Having a voice [at the summit] is ground-breaking,” noted Thunder Bay businesswoman Joan Kulmala, owner of Totally-U Image Communications, the only other businesswoman chosen from Northwestern Ontario.
“One of the things we want to bring to this table is that we are close to the border and ready to deal,” she added.
Upon her return, Seis said she plans to make a presentation on the summit at a future meeting of the local Business Women’s Network and also provide a full report to the RRFDC.