Hi Deevas , please join us for our September Women on the Rise International, Inc. meeting. The meetings are open to non-members who wish to see what the organization is all about. Meetings are $10 for non-members and free for members.
If you are a new business owner or have a business that women from all walks of life can benefit from, click on the Meeting Sponsor option and host our May meeting. This entitles you to make a 15-minute presentation to our members about your services.
Vanessa Echols is the Noon and 4pm anchor of Eyewitness News on WFTV Channel 9. She is also the Community Ambassador for the station’s Community Service Project, 9 Family Connection. Vanessa is the recipient of 3 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards. In addition to her anchor duties, Vanessa also hosts an award winning podcast on race called Colorblind: Race Across Generations.
Vanessa is on the Board of the Orlando Sports Foundation, which brings the Cure Bowl to Orlando each year and also on the Board of UNCF/The College Fund.
Vanessa is also a breast cancer survivor and founder of Compassionate Hands and Hearts Breast Cancer Outreach, which provides emotional and financial support for patients going through breast cancer treatment.
Vanessa is a graduate of The University of Alabama and a proud and obsessed fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Second Main speaker
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We are honored that these two ladies will share their story with us on their breast cancer journey.
ERICA NOVAK - Breast Cancer Survivor (Picture will go here)
Erica is a wife, mother of three and work full time in Human Resources.
She went for her first mammogram when she turned 40 in 2017 and they found a spot. She then went for a Ultrasound and a biopsy and on March 16, 2017 she was diagnosed with Cancer. It wasn’t until almost August that they were able to determine that she had Metastatic Adenocarcinoma of the Breast and even longer to determine it was Triple Negative.
She had multiple surgeries to remove lymph node clusters and then underwent Chemo in 2017. She had a bilateral mastectomy in March of 2018 with reconstruction that abscessed and She turned septic in May of 2018. She had to have her chest scraped and the reconstructed area removed. she underwent radiation in the fall of 2018 and finally had a tram flap in the summer of 2019.
MELISSA MILLER BIO - Breast Cancer Survivor
In March of 2019, Melissa was diagnosed with stage 3B triple positive breast cancer, just 3 short weeks before her wedding. Since that diagnosis she has made it her “why” to help empower other women to fight “the pink dragon” with everything they have inside, so that they too, can be a survivor!