“Behind every successful woman there is an empowering story!”

This is so true. The Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) business breakfast series is a NJSBDC at Rutgers-Newark program started in 2005 and designed for women entrepreneurs to give them a sacred place and space to hear empowering stories of how other women have succeeded in business and career. Attending these intimate business breakfast meetings, gives women entrepreneurs an opportunity to meet role models in business and make contact with professional career women who are power brokers in their private or public professional sectors, as well as network with other women of like minds with the same aspirations for success through entrepreneurship while making contacts that matter.

Celia King, MPS

Ms. King serves as the chief executive officer for Leadership Newark, Inc., a non-profit organization in the State of New Jersey. Her responsibilities include the overall management and oversight of numerous leadership development programs, which has an emphasis on public policy enrichment and civic engagement for both adults and youth. Celia is responsible for ensuring each program is of high quality & relevant based on the state of affairs nationally, regionally and statewide. In her role, she strives to expand
and improve the network of civic and community leaders in the greater Newark area. As an advocate of civic participation, Celia takes her role seriously in engaging the public to be informed and involved. Ms. King feels community building as well as a commitment to social and civic responsibility requires the development of servant leaders through community leadership programs.
Ms. King is also a speaker and facilitator in the area of leadership, leadership development and team building. Additionally, she is a professional career and executive coach. These experiences have provided a strong foundation to serve in her current capacity with Leadership Newark. She recognizes the growth and development of others is the highest calling of leadership.

Prior to assuming her current position, Celia worked in the field of healthcare as an administrator for more than 10 years. She is an expert in healthcare planning and total quality management, specifically for urban communities and underserved populations.
Her role involved managing health centers for communities in Harlem, New York; Jersey City, New Jersey and Paterson, New Jersey. She developed strategic plans to ensure growth and expansion of health services in these cities. Additionally, she implemented patient education programs, which involved staff outreach in the community to share health and wellness information.

Celia M. King is a former Councilwoman from Maplewood, New Jersey, serving from 1994-2002. During her tenure she served in the capacity of Deputy Mayor from 1997-2001. Maplewood is a suburban community of 24,000 in Essex County in which the local elected officials serve in an at-large capacity. In office for 8 years, Ms. King’s responsibilities included service as the President of the Board of Health for Maplewood, working closely with the local drug alliance to educate children in public and private schools about the
campaign against drugs and Co-Chair of the finance committee.

Celia also established a Domestic Violence Crisis Intervention program, which provides support services for victims of domestic violence. She continues to host a cable show focusing on health issues called “Community Health Watch”. She served as the liaison for the Senior Citizen community in town and continues to be an advocate for older adults working on issues that assists them in continuing to enjoy a quality lifestyle that is affordable.

Celia’s affiliations includes either currently or in the past, serving as a member on the board of the following organizations: Prospect Presbyterian Church; Marion P. Thomas Charter School; Supreme Court of New Jersey District Fee Arbitration Committee; The Newark Trust for Education; The Hypers omnia Foundation; Emerge New Jersey; The Jewish Museum of New Jersey; Newark Emergency Services for Families; Family Connections and as a volunteer math tutor at KIPP Rise Academy.

Ms. King holds a Master’s degree from Milano The New School University for Management and Urban Policy and completed her undergraduate studies at Syracuse University.