About the Founder

Linda Jo Thornberg

Embrace Life.

President and Owner of the Women Who Embrace Life conference women’s membership organization and leadership conference, as well as the Annual Pittsburgh Business Show, a Business for Business Trade Show, Conference and Networking Event held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Her passion

for living life and Embracing Life it no matter what comes her way began at a very young age. She was raised by her grandparents since the age of 2 and finally adopted at the age of 11. Her sister by adoption was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the age of 16 and she was deeply affected by her loss at the age of 21.

Her Past

At Age 25, the same age as her sisters cancer diagnose, Linda Jo was treated for Cervical Cancer as well as lost her father to Lung Cancer after being diagnosed just 3 months earlier. She struggled with the acceptance and continued to struggle personally and professionally until she started her career in the bridal industry, starting at a smaller boutique Bridal Elegance in Erie, PA and transitioning into a corporate career with David’s Bridal. In 2001 she was notified that her biological mother had passed away from a possible overdose. In 2011, she left her career at David’s Bridal when her adoptive mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and chose to ensure that she was taken care of until she passed away.

During this time

Linda Jo was in a deep state of depression and relocated to the Indianapolis area where she attempted to heal herself by working endlessly at White House Black Market and ultimately had a breaking point and knew that it was time to relocate back to the Pittsburgh area after the encouragement the support of her college girlfriends and work colleagues had suggested that being alone was not the best situation to be in.

After meeting a woman who was interviewing for a position she was recruiting for, Linda Jo had a conversation that was the wake-up call that she needed as this stranger seemed to be in her eyes, telling her that she was the saddest person she had ever met and gave her book called The Message to read. She had highlighted some passages for her and Linda Jo began reading the book and the passages every day.

Finally

She grew stronger by believing that she was not alone and it gave her peace to know that somehow everything was going to be ok. No matter how sad she was or how lonely, she was going to Embrace her Life and make all the experiences that she had been through come full circle and place her trust in not controlling the future but trusting others to help her become the person she always wanted to be.

She moved back to the Pittsburgh area in April 2014 and was reunited with her aunts who she dearly calls her prayer warriors who welcomed her home with loving arms and was reunited with her extended family. Later that year in November she met her soon-to-be husband Bryan and had never felt so much love and support since she had lost what she felt was her entire family. It is because of his support that she feels that she has healed and it was his recommendation to name the Women Who Embrace Life conference based on her story of Embracing every situation and becoming successful in spite of it all. Her inspiration to empower women who have had challenges in their life comes from these experiences and having the ability to achieve her goal of helping people in any aspect that she can.

The
Conference

She measures her success each day by taking into account all of the help that she can give to others.

She has had the pleasure of working and learning from some of the most respected professional women leaders in the industry. These mentors taught her life lessons and business skills that she has used to help create the Women Who Embrace Life conference organization and the Pittsburgh Business Show. These experiences allowed her to grow as a leader and ultimately be in a position where she was able to help build teams, increase sales in numerous organizations, and empower women all over the country. She also became involved in event management, focusing on women-inspired businesses.

Her
background

has uniquely positioned her to create these organizations and to make them successful. She has over 20 years of experience running large-scale events at multiple venues across the country, including social events, fundraisers, weddings, bridal shows, golf outings, recruitment fairs, corporate retreats, conferences and trade shows. “These experiences have prepared me to create the Pittsburgh Business Show, which is one of the largest B4B shows in the Northeast United States. We’re building annual events that will resonate in the business community for years. I want business owners to see the vision of Women Who Embrace Life conference and the Pittsburgh Business Show and to help them make connections, learn about new products, and drive their revenue through relationships and leads. We are creating a legacy for businesses for years to come” says Linda Jo.

The Event

Women Who Embrace Life Conference will be a place for women to come together to learn, grow and stay connected through events as well as through a membership based platform. The Women Who Embrace Life Conference was created to provide a supportive community to women who have faced challenges and have embraced these challenges and overcome them to create success. Our community of bright, successful women serve to acknowledge all that these women have accomplished and how much can be accomplished when they join together in celebrating the success of our lives, big or small. The first of many conferences will begin on May 6th, 2020 in Pittsburgh, PA.

This year she was awarded Empowering Women in Business Award presented by Inspiring Lives Magazine, a national magazine honoring and celebrating women in the business community who exude the core feminine values of connection, collaboration, inspiration, and motivation in their business and their lives. She was also recognized as a CEO You Should Know in Pittsburgh, PA. She was recognized as a nominee for Women of the Year from the National Association of the Women’s Interactive Network. Linda Jo serves on committees for various non-profit groups and recently was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Bourbon Gala supporting Care For A Cure.

She has been awarded the Alumni on the Move Award from Edinboro University of PA and serves as a Facilitator of the Athena Leadership Program teaching the tenants of Living Authentically and Acting Courageously.

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