OUR TEAM

Monica S. Smiley

President and Founder, Enterprising Women Foundation

MONICA SMILEY is the editor and publisher of Enterprising Women, a national and now global magazine she and her team launched in May 2000 to provide a strong voice for women entrepreneurs. The magazine will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025 and is available in print and digital editions, supplemented by The Connector, a blog through the publication’s website at www.enterprisingwomen.com. Smiley also serves as president of the Enterprising Women Foundation, a nonprofit she founded in 2010 to encourage philanthropy among women entrepreneurs and support initiatives to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship in the U.S. and globally. The annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, now in its 22nd year, honors the top 100 women entrepreneurs from around the globe at a two-day event held each spring.

Dr. Terry Neese

Ambassador and Founder, Peace Through Business Program

Dr. Terry Neese, PhD, is a serial entrepreneur, founding both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Under the umbrella of IEEW, Dr. Neese launched the Peace Through Business® program, which educates and empowers women entrepreneurs in developing countries to achieve their dream of financial independence, community involvement, and political activism. Since the merger of IEEW with the Enterprising Women Foundation, Dr. Neese now serves as the Ambassador of the Peace Through Business Program on the Enterprising Women Foundation leadership team.

Since its creation in 2006, the Peace Through Business program has trained 1,860 women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda, who have in turn employed over 16,901 of their countrymen and women. In our 17th year, 60 percent are still in business, mostly from Rwanda.

FAYE E. COLEMAN

PHD, CPC; National Co-Chair: Young Enterprising Women Program

FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL, FEC COACHING ENTERPRISES, LLC

Dr. Faye Coleman serves as National Co-Chair of the Enterprising Women Foundation. Together with Dr. Sharon Hadary, she leads the Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum Program…

Edie Fraser

National Co-Chair: Young Enterprising Women Program

FOUNDER, Women Business Collaborative

Edie Fraser is the national co-chair of the Enterprising Women Foundation, an entrepreneurial business leader, collaborator, advocate, and philanthropist. She serves as chair and the former CEO and a founder of Women Business Collaborative(WBC).

Austin Dancer

Enterprising Women Foundation Project Manager

Austin Dancer is responsible for database management for the Enterprising Women Foundation, coordination of logistics planning for the Young Enterprising Women national scholarship recipients, and assists the Foundation president with the administration of all programs and events. Austin attended East Carolina University and is married to Carley Dancer. He has two daughters and resides with his family in Apex, North Carolina.

Dr. Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves

Financial Literacy Program Coordinator

behavioral researcher in the field of Psychology and decision-making

Dr. Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves is a senior behavioral researcher in the field of Psychology and decision-making. She earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Kentucky in 2011 with a concentration in animal behavior and comparative cognition.

Manizha Wafeq

Peace Through Business Program Director - Afghanistan

Manizha has 19 years of experience in development, 15 with a focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality working with international, government and non-governmental organizations. In addition to being a mother, an advocate, and an entrepreneur, she earned an MBA from the American University of Afghanistan in 2017.

Chantal Munanayire

Peace Through Business Program Director - Rwanda, Uganda, Canada and UK

Chantal Munanayire, born in Rwanda, is a prominent Rwandan – Canadian entrepreneur.

She made history in 2009 as the first female owner of a car repair and paint shop in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, subsequently serving as the inaugural female president of the Rwandan Garage Association for five years.