Women’s Empowerment Takes The Spotlight At Local Event

FREEHOLD, NJ — Women’s empowerment and community support took the spotlight at a recent event held in honor of Women’s History Month, which has run throughout the month of March.

Hosted by The Committee GNO (Girls Networking Out), the Women’s Empowerment Brunch took place on March 9 at the American Hotel and featured industry-leading professionals who shared their insights and experiences to empower women in their personal and professional journeys.

Nicole Guzzardi, the Committee GNO founder and S.M.A.R.T. Foundation founder and president, helped plan the event, which featured a panel of 10 speakers who were able to share their experiences with attendees.

Throughout the day, guests were able to hear from each speaker, receive a full brunch and a special gift, and take the opportunity to participate in raffles, door prizes and networking with those in attendance.

“I’ve always talked about putting together this brunch,” Guazzardi said. “Amanda, a partner who helps me with the committee, and I would always go back and forth on this, and we always said we wanted to put together a nice brunch for women — there was just no better time than Women’s History Month.”

From January to March, Guzzardi said the pair went through the planning process for the event, gathering their thoughts and finding the right women to speak on the brunch panel.

Anna Diamantakos, the owner and operator of Liquid Sculpt Beauty Bar, Oriana Calise, the owner of Jives Cafe and S.M.A.R.T. Foundation secretary, and Amanda Cruz, a real estate agent and S.M.A.R.T. Foundation treasurer, were just some of the speakers featured on the panel.

“We wanted women that had made it in their careers and were really thriving in them,” Guzzardi said. “Ones that could help other women in the audience with what they did, what hiccups they’ve had along the way, you know? What kind of motivation they have to succeed.”

Guzzardi started her own career journey in 2019 when she founded the Committee GNO as a way to get women together for networking opportunities and to generate leads in her own industry.

When interest in the committee turned out to be a success, Guzzardi said the committee grew from group gatherings, to quarterly events, to membership meetings each month, where members are encouraged to bring a guest they feel will gain and add value by being part of the community.

After forming the Committee GNO, Guzzardi also went on to found the S.M.A.R.T. (Single Moms All Rise Together) Foundation, which aims to support single mothers by providing resources and assistance for them and their children.

The idea for the foundation stemmed from discussions Guzzardi had with her own best friend, Nadia, about what it would be like to have a strong community of support for single mothers.

After the Committee GNO was formed and Guzzardi saw how many women still needed that community support in 2024, the friends' idea became a reality.

“Once I established the committee and it was a grown community of women, I saw there was a large percentage of them that were single moms, or at a time was a single mom,” Guzzardi said. “And I said ‘You know, I feel like it’s my time to give back.’”

Since creating the Committee GNO and the S.M.A.R.T. Foundation, Guzzardi has gone on to host gatherings such as the Women’s Empowerment Brunch, as well as other fundraising and networking events.

When it comes to the brunch in particular, Guzzardi said the event was centered around inspiration, as well as motivating women and letting them know "anything they have in their mind, they can do."

"We had really powerful women that are just doing something very well and had a message they could share with other women to encourage and inspire them," Guzzardi said.

"And that's what the whole day was based on — just a bunch of inspiration on motivating these women and letting them know that their ideas, or anything they have in their mind they can do," Guzzardi continued. "To really just put that forward and have them succeed."

To learn more about the Women's Empowerment Brunch, upcoming events, or the Committee GNO, you can visit their website.