Join us for Family Business Day for a keynote from J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works Co-Founder Nancy Bruns, hear Pat Soldano, President of Family Enterprise USA (FEUSA) share important insights collected from the FEUSA’s annual family business survey, and engage with other family business leaders during this interactive morning program.
All family members in your family business are invited to attend!
About the Keynote Speaker, Nancy Bruns
Nancy Bruns was born and raised in Charleston, WV. She is a graduate of Bucknell University and the New England Culinary Institute. With a passion for food, and over two decades experience in the culinary world, Nancy sought to marry her love of food with her family heritage in a meaningful way. She returned to her roots as a seventh-generation salt maker, partnering with her brother in 2013 to revive West Virginia’s salt industry as J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works.
Currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of the John L. Dickinson Family Holding Company, Nancy manages assets and drives business growth in West Virginia. She is actively involved in shaping West Virginia’s future as an “all of the above” energy state, with a particular focus on repurposing former mine lands into renewable energy complexes. Additionally, she sits on the family foundation charitable giving committee which allocates annual gifts in the region.
Nancy’s community engagement extends to various local boards, such as the Charleston Area Alliance, where she serves as Chair of the Community Development Committee, and the LIFT Center advisory committee. She is also a member of boards for the University of Charleston, CAMC Foundation, Herscher Foundation, and has contributed to the WVSU President’s Campaign Council.
In 2023, Family Business Magazine recognized Nancy as one of ten Transformational Women in Family Business.
About Pat Soldano
Pat Soldano has spent over 30 years providing family office services as the owner of Cymric Family Office Services, Managing Director of Western Region for GenSpring Family Offices and a Family Office Consultant.
Currently, Soldano is President of Family Enterprise USA. Its mission is to promote the growth of generationally-owned family businesses in the US. Additionally, she is President of Policy and Taxation Group, which she formed in 1995. Policy and Taxation Group works to reduce onerous tax and economic policies affecting successful families, family offices and family business.
She is Principal Advisor and Senior Fellow to the Drucker School Global Family Business Institute, and a member of CSUF Family Business Center facilitating the Women in Leadership Affinity Group, as well as on the Family Business editorial committee for Trust & Estate Magazine.