
Susan Phillips Bari,
first President of WBENC
In early 1997, five women’s business development organizations and several corporations met in Dallas to form what would become the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The organization was established as a 501(c)(3) organization in the District of Columbia and on March 14, 1997, a 90-day interim board began searching for a permanent Board of Directors and the organization’s first President and CEO.