RESILIENT BY DESIGN

4 website aug event 2026

Event Highlights

Starts on: Saturday, 12 September 2026 9:30 am
Ends on: Saturday, 12 September 2026 11:30 pm
Where: Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola
Speaker: Marlene Gay
September Event

Building a Business That Can Adapt, Grow & Thrive

What happens when the environment around your business changes in ways you never anticipated?

Markets shift. Costs rise. Customers change. People leave. Unexpected challenges disrupt even the best-laid plans.

While we can’t control everything that happens around us, we can control how prepared our businesses are to respond.

Join us for an engaging and practical session with Marlene Gay, CEO of CFET and one of its founding members, as we explore what it really takes to build a business that can adapt, remain resilient, and continue to grow—even when circumstances are uncertain.

Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in leadership, capacity building, organizational development, and strategic planning, Marlene brings a unique perspective shaped by working with organizations and businesses in Haiti, an environment where political, economic, and natural disruptions can create extraordinary challenges.

Her experience has taught her an important lesson: resilience isn’t something you discover when a crisis arrives. It is something you build before you need it.

During this session, Marlene will share the practical approach her organization has developed to help small businesses strengthen their capacity for growth. Together, we’ll explore how leadership, people, processes, systems, and strategic decision-making can determine whether a business simply survives change—or is prepared to thrive through it.

And while Marlene’s experience comes from a uniquely challenging environment, the lessons are relevant to all of us. Whether you are building a business in Costa Rica, leading a team, managing growth, or simply trying to create a more sustainable organization, the ability to adapt is one of your greatest competitive advantages.

What You’ll Explore

During this event, you will:

  • Explore what business resilience really means—and why it goes beyond simply surviving difficult circumstances.
  • Identify the capacity your business needs in order to adapt, grow, and respond effectively to change.
  • Discover how leadership, people, processes, and systems contribute to a resilient organization.
  • Learn how to recognize capacity gaps and vulnerabilities that may be limiting your business’s ability to grow.
  • Consider whether your business is truly ready for the next stage of growth—or whether growth could create new challenges.
  • Explore practical approaches to making strategic decisions when you don’t have all the answers.
  • Reflect on what your business could do differently today to become stronger and more adaptable tomorrow.
  • Leave with practical ideas and actions you can begin implementing in your own business.

Who Should Attend?

This event is ideal for:

Women who own or are building their own businesses
Entrepreneurs and business leaders
Women managing growing companies or teams
Professionals preparing to take their business to the next level
Women navigating change, uncertainty, or organizational growth
Anyone interested in building a stronger, more sustainable business

Whether you’re a solopreneur, leading a small team, or managing an established organization, this session will offer practical insights you can apply to your own situation.

Why This Conversation Matters

Many of us think about resilience only after something goes wrong.

But what if we thought about it differently?

What if resilience became part of how we design our businesses from the beginning?

Marlene’s experience offers a powerful reminder that resilience isn’t only about responding to adversity. It is about building the capacity, systems, relationships, leadership, and flexibility that allow an organization to keep moving forward when circumstances change.

This is an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day running of your business and ask a bigger question:

Is my business built to adapt?

Come Ready to Connect

As always, this PWNCR event is about more than learning.

It’s an opportunity to connect with a community of accomplished and inspiring women, exchange experiences, share challenges and ideas, and build relationships that can support you personally and professionally.

Come ready to learn from Marlene, but also come ready to learn from one another.

You may discover that the woman sitting next to you has faced a challenge remarkably similar to your own—or has an idea that could change the way you approach your business.

Registration

Reserve your spot and join us for a morning of learning, reflection, practical ideas, and connection.

Come ready to look at your business through a different lens—and to consider what you can do today to make it more resilient, adaptable, and ready for growth.

And, as always, come ready to meet and connect with an inspiring community of women.

Entrance Cost

  • 3,000 colones for members

  • 6,000 colones for non-members

  • No Charge for Premium Membership holders (prepaid with membership)

  • Exact change or SINPE Móvil is appreciated.

For non-members, you can become a member at this event.

Notes

This month’s event will be held at the Delta Hotels by Marriott San Jose Aurola in downtown San José. Click here for the Google Maps pin.

If you are driving, parking is available at the hotel’s outdoor parking lot. This is located on the corner after the hotel’s main entrance. Event parking cost is ₡3,000 (instead of the hourly rate). Let them know you are attending an event at the hotel. Additional nearby parking options are available if this lot is full.

After the event, we’ll head to the Café Rojo a few blocks away. This is a great networking opportunity with fellow members and friends of PWNCR. Lunch orders will be taken during the event.

For non-members, you can become a member at this event.

Don’t forget to SAVE YOUR SPOT !! 

Please share this invitation with friends, colleagues, and family members who might benefit from this session. All guests, members or not, are welcome to join.

Don’t forget to SAVE YOUR SPOT !!

About The Speaker

Marlene Gay

President and Chief Executive Officer
CFET, S.A. – Human Capital Management & Consulting Services

Marlene Gay is one of CFET’s founding members and its current outgoing Chief Executive Officer, providing executive leadership for overall business operations, partnering, strategic planning, and corporate communication. Ms. Gay combines over 30 years of progressive leadership in CFET. Before founding CFET, she helped launch Peace Corps Operations in Haiti and served as its first Associate Director.

With a Master of Education from Teachers College, and a Master Degree in International Relations from New York University, Ms. Gay combines rigorous academic training with extensive field expertise in capacity development, and in the design and management of training programs implemented both in Haiti and in West Africa. She is a certified HPI professional. She has collaborated with ministries and key stakeholders to shape policies and strengthen institutional frameworks, particularly in the areas of capacity development and workforce development. Her areas of expertise include pre‑ and post‑project evaluationimplementation of organizational diagnostics, and institutional strengthening. She is a skilled facilitator and has led annual planning meetings for banks, local and international NGOs.

As its longest‑tenured founding member, Ms. Gay has led CFET’s various divisions to innovation‑driven growth by maintaining a focus on operational excellenceclient centricity, and an unwavering commitment to CFET’s vision, mission, and core values, as they foster capacity buildingsustainable development, and community‑driven solutions for local ownership.

Ms. Gay serves her community in a variety of volunteer roles, as a member of Partners World Wide’s Haiti Board and Fondation Haïtienne de la Santé et Education (FHASE) Board. She is also treasurer of her neighborhood association and a member of the parish committee of her church. Additionally, she is an active Rotarian and a member of the Rotary Club of Pétion‑Ville, having served as Club President, Treasurer, Secretary, Protocol, and Club Administrator. She is presently the Vice Chair of HANWASH Board, the initiative of District 7020 for sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Haiti. A long‑standing business leader, she has made the strengthening of Haitian organizations the common thread of her professional life as well as her volunteer commitment.

REMEMBER

WHEN/¿CUÁNDO?: Saturday, 12 September 2026 9:30 am
WHERE/¿DÓNDE?: Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola

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