New York Business Women Mentor Teen Girls in Entrepreneurship at Girls Going Places Conference

New York Business Women Mentor Teen Girls in Entrepreneurship at Girls Going
Places Conference
New York State's First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson Welcomes Girls at Hunter
College

NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 100 teen girls from New York City
area schools will attend the Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship Conference
this week, presented by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
(Guardian), in partnership with Wealth Advisory Group and Hunter College of
CUNY. New York State's First Lady, Michelle Paige Paterson, will speak at the
event to discuss the importance of financial independence and education for
young women.

During the event, New York women business leaders will mentor girls ages 12
through 18 about entrepreneurship, using the conference as a platform for
inspiring and encouraging teen girls to pursue their own entrepreneurial
endeavors -- from starting non-profits or authoring books to launching new
products or managing a business.

"Guardian is proud to partner with New York business women to present girls
with this excellent opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs who can
educate them about the challenges and rewards of being a business owner," said
Maria Umbach, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Individual Product
Marketing at Guardian Life. "At Guardian, we have a longstanding commitment to
supporting women business owners, who represent one of the fastest growing
segments of the economy. This program is designed to open teen girls' eyes to
the potential of entrepreneurial career paths."

Speakers at the conference will include Jennifer Raab, President of Hunter
College of CUNY, Howard Elias, Chairman & CEO of Wealth Advisory Group, as
well as Guardian's Umbach.

During the interactive conference, local business women will guide the girls
through various activities such as "Hot Company®," an entrepreneurial board
game that introduces girls to the advantages and challenges of owning one's
own business. They will also team up for an exercise called
"Product-in-a-Box®," in which they will have the opportunity to design a
product and present a marketing plan. The mentors will share their experiences
as successful women in business.

2009 New York Girls Going Places® Award Finalist Claudia Geib, 16, will be
presented with her award check for her science fiction book, Light Years.

Since 1999, Guardian has hosted 80 Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship
Conferences across the country. Created ten years ago as part of Guardian's
Women's Initiative, the national Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship Program
annually awards $30,000 in cash prizes to 15 teen girls who demonstrate
outstanding entrepreneurial abilities and service in the community.

For more information about the program, its awards and conferences, please
visit www.GirlsGoingPlaces.com. Information is also available on MySpace,
Facebook and YouTube; keyword Girls Going Places.

About Guardian
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), one of the largest
and oldest mutual life insurance companies in the United States, is known for
its stability and strength. A Fortune 300 company, Guardian is the only major
life insurer to earn upgrades from two major rating agencies in 2008: A++
(Superior) by A.M. Best and AA+ (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor's. As of
July, 2009, three major rating companies have affirmed Guardian's ratings:
Fitch (AA+/Very Strong); Moody's (Aa2/Excellent); and Standard & Poor's
(AA+/Very Strong).

Founded nearly 150 years ago, Guardian and its subsidiaries are committed to
protecting individuals, business owners and their employees with life, long
term care insurance, disability income, medical and dental insurance products,
and offer 401(k), annuities and other financial products.

Guardian operates one of the largest dental networks in the United States, and
protects more than six million employees and their families at 120,000
companies. The company has more than 5,400 employees in the United States and
a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies
nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com.

SOURCE The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Victoria Steiner, +1-510-635-4150, vsteiner@hardenpartners.com or Christine
Cannon, +1-631-776-0247, ccannon@hardenpartners.com, both of Harden Partners
for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America