Divas Doing Business: What The Guidebooks Don't Tell You About Being A Woman Entrepreneur
Monique Hayward is President & CEO of Nouveau Connoisseurs Corporation, which she founded in April 2004 and most recently owned and operated the award-winning Dessert Noir Café & Bar in Beaverton, Oregon.  Monique is also a marketing director at Intel Corp. in Hillsboro, Oregon, and a former partner in Cerise Noire Software, LLC, a mobile software applications company.  Monique has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, public relations, business development, and entrepreneurship.  She shares her knowledge and expertise as a contributing writer and interviewee for mainstream media like The Oregonian, The Denver Post, Woman’s World, and CNN and online and print publications for entrepreneurs like American Express OPEN Forum, Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success Blog, Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise, and Restaurant Startup & Growth.  In Feb. 2009, Monique published her first book, Divas Doing Business: What the Guidebooks Don’t Tell You About Being a Woman Entrepreneur, which includes a foreword by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman.  In Feb. 2014, Monique released her second book, Get Your Hustle On! It’s Not Just About Getting a Job, But Building a Rewarding Career.  She’s also a dynamic speaker and a mentor to up-and-coming professionals and entrepreneurs.   Monique was selected as a winner in the 2008 Make Mine a Million $ Business program, Portland Business Journal’s 2009 “40 Under 40” award, and Diversity MBA’s 2010 “Top 100 Under 50."  She also has worked as a commercial model and spokesperson and served as executive producer, writer, and host of her own talk show on a local cable TV station.   A native of New York City who also spent part of her childhood in Columbia, S.C., Monique has a master of business administration in marketing from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor of arts (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in journalism from the University of Maryland College Park.  She is an inaugural fellow of the ASCENT Mastering Management Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and participates as a visiting fellow for the Austin Entrepreneurship Program at Oregon State University.  She also is a member of the National Black MBA Association, National Association of Female Executives and Entrepreneurs, and National Association of Women Business Owners.  Monique is married to Tom Freeman and the couple resides in Beaverton.