Breakout Session Descriptions
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Your Career, Your Rules: Building a Sustainable Path in STEM
Every year, talented women leave STEM careers, not because they lack ability, but because they lack the playbook for navigating unclear expectations, missing support systems, and toxic workplace dynamics. This interactive session tackles the retention challenge head-on by equipping attendees with immediately actionable strategies to build a sustainable, fulfilling career on your own terms. You'll walk away with: a personalized Career GPS framework to gain clarity on your path forward, proven scripts for advocating for resources, boundaries, and recognition, and a strategic approach to building your "Board of Advisors" even in unsupportive environments. Drawing from 12+ years in biomedical research and her work coaching STEM professionals through The PhD Playbook, Dr. Lilli Wright combines research-backed strategies with real-world experience to help you make empowered decisions about your career. This session gives you the tools to thrive without sacrificing yourself in the process. |
Dr. Lilli H. Wright
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Bombs Have More Fun: A Playful Approach to Failure
Failure—or the fear of it—has likely squashed more great ideas and innovations before they were ever even voiced than can be calculated. As we grow in our careers, especially as women, we are more likely to self-censor out of perceived self-preservation in the workplace. But actually, embracing failure leads to more growth and the birth of new innovation. We just have to learn how to let it in. In this fun, interactive session, participants will:
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Lauren Minors
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Beyond Resilience: Cultivating Sustainable Leadership as a Woman in Tech
Based on personal experience of building enterprise software companies for 40+ years women leaders are constantly told to be "resilient or have no choice but to be resilient". But resilience implies constantly bouncing back from stress. This session moves beyond resilience to explore a framework for sustainable leadership. Learn practical strategies to integrate well-being into your career strategy, ensuring professional growth is built on a foundation of health and longevity, not burnout. Will incorporate personal examples in my session. |
Wendy M Petty
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Aligning Passion with Purpose: Lessons I learned from Anne of Green Gables
Aligning passion with purpose is one of the most powerful catalysts for impact—especially for women in STEM who often feel pressure to fit a mold. In this session, I explore how embracing what makes us different can fuel innovation, leadership, and fulfillment. Drawing inspiration from Anne of Green Gables, I'll highlight how Anne Shirley’s curiosity, imagination, and comfort in being “the odd duck” mirror the experiences of women forging careers in technical fields. Participants will leave with a customized stepping-stone map to help translate their passions into purposeful influence within their organizations and communities. |
Marcella Whitfield
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New and Improved: The Power of Reinventing Yourself at Any Stage
Career reinvention isn’t just for early-career professionals. It’s for women at every stage - especially those who have spent years building expertise and now find themselves wanting something more aligned with their purpose, energy, and evolving identity. This talk highlights the courage, strategy, and mindset required to reinvent yourself at 35, 45, 55, or beyond. Through compelling stories, real-world examples, and practical takeaways, attendees will explore how reinvention is not a setback - it’s a leadership move. |
Kelly Starnes
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The New Era of Intelligence in Business
Step into the next chapter of technology and beauty. In this session, Toni Vanschoyck CEO/Founder of FermaGlo will unpack how artificial intelligence is transforming the way modern beauty businesses create, connect, and grow. From smarter product development to enhanced customer experiences and more efficient operations, AI is opening the door to a new level of innovation and scalability. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a creator, or part of a growing beauty brand, you’ll learn how to leverage intelligent tools to work smarter—not harder—while staying rooted in authenticity and human connection. Discover what’s possible in this new era of beauty, and how embracing AI today positions your brand for long-term success tomorrow. |
Toni Vanschoyck
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Know Your Numbers: Heart Health for Women in Tech
IHeart disease is the #1 health threat to women, yet most women don’t know the critical numbers that could save their lives. As professionals who manage complex systems, deadlines, and constant change, women in technology need to apply the same intentional care to their health that they apply to their careers. In this session, we’ll demystify the essential heart-health metrics every woman should know: cholesterol, blood pressure, A1C, and more. We’ll discuss which tests to request, what the numbers mean so you can advocate for yourself. We’ll also explore applying leadership principles to the doctor–patient relationship. You’ll learn practical strategies for communicating with your healthcare team, asking effective questions, navigating dismissal to build a partnership that supports your long-term well-being. Participants will leave with actionable knowledge, and—thanks to WomenHeart’s Red Bags of Courage—resources to continue their heart-healthy journey |
Maggie Teliska PhD
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Fearless & Fabulous: Discover Your Unique Leadership Voice!
Join us for an engaging and transformative session designed to empower women leaders through the power of honest self-awareness and effective communication. Drawing from personal experiences, I will share how embracing self-awareness has been a pivotal turning point in my career. Recognizing my unique strengths and areas for growth has not only shaped my professional identity but also influenced my approach to leadership. With the insights gained from the DISC assessment, I learned to adapt my communication style to different audiences, leading to more productive conversations and relationships. |
Peggy Anderson
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The Marketing Campaign of One: Building a Recession-Proof Personal Brand for Pivots and Promotions
Stop treating your career like a job description and start treating it like a strategic, data-driven marketing campaign. This session, led by a seasoned Growth Marketing leader from the B2B tech and FinTech sectors, translates core business principles into a powerful framework for career resilience and growth. Attendees will learn to use A/B testing to optimize your professional narrative, define your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) as your Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy, and build a professional "pipeline" that prepares you for any pivot or promotion. This session is essential for career women ready to gain control of their trajectory and actively engineer a recession-proof, high-value career. |
LaCrystal Robinson
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Lead by example–How your personal brand shapes your leadership and your team
Every leader has a personal brand, even if they’ve never named it. Brand is the distinct presence, style, and impact they’re known for. In this interactive session, participants will create a real-time Groundwork Clarity Map™ to illuminate how their values, strengths, and behaviors shape their leadership style. Drawing on principles from equine-assisted learning, we’ll explore how presence, boundaries, and congruence influence how teams perceive and follow us. Attendees will also learn how to use the Groundwork Clarity Map™ framework to mentor and develop their people—helping team members understand their own leadership style, communicate more effectively, and grow with confidence. Participants leave with a personalized leadership snapshot and practical tools for coaching others, improving communication, and creating a more aligned, empowered team culture. |
Jocelyn Ring
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LinkedIn Leadership Branding: 5 Strategies to Accelerate Your Career!
Every woman in business is a leader but are they claiming that as part of our brand on LinkedIn? Historically, many female professionals don’t want to come across as bragging or “too strong” on LinkedIn. That’s a missed opportunity, according to Thomas Heath. Thomas is one of the nations top foundational messaging and branding experts with a specialty in helping professionals radically transform their LinkedIn profiles. What’s that lead to? More credibility. More conversations. More business. More impact. The possibilities are endless if you apply the five strategies that Thomas Heath will teach you as part of a fun and engaging session! |
Thomas Heath
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Reinvent Yourself: A Blueprint for Women Navigating Career Transitions
Women reinvent themselves constantly — not out of confusion, but out of courage. We outgrow roles, industries, expectations, and the stories others write for us. Yet we’re told to “stay steady,” even when everything in us knows it’s time for something new. This session dismantles that pressure. Ramona Montjoy brings a straight-talk perspective on what reinvention really takes. Her career jumps — from the music business to education, global IT, corporate leadership, and higher ed — show how powerful it is to walk away from what no longer fits. You’ll leave with a bold, practical blueprint for recognizing when a chapter is done, reclaiming the skills you’ve earned across your life, and stepping into the future you’re meant to build. This isn’t about coping with change — it’s about owning it, driving it, and refusing to apologize for evolving. |
Ramona Montjoy
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The Art of Boundaries: Leading Without Losing Yourself
Boundaries aren’t walls, they’re how you make sure your time, focus, and sanity don’t get spent proving yourself to everyone else. In this interactive session, Angela Ortiz shares real stories from the plant floor, the boardroom, and her own “always say yes” seasons—and what changed when she stopped trying to manage other people’s opinions and started honoring her limits. Together we’ll explore simple ways to say yes, without saying no to yourself, reset expectations, and have hard conversations without feeling like you’re letting people down. Through reflection, small-group discussion, and a few short grounding practices, you’ll leave with language you can use in real work situations and a framework for leading and mentoring in a way that truly lets you lift as you climb—without losing yourself in the process. |
Angela Ortiz
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The Emotional Side of Leadership
This session invites aspiring executives to explore the emotional side of leadership. Climbing toward the C-suite demands more than technical expertise. Leadership from the top requires deep self-awareness, consistent self-regulation, intrinsic motivation, revitalizing empathy, and impactful social skills. Rising leaders face competing priorities, unspoken conflicts, shifting expectations, and personal demands alongside their personal responsibilities. Used as a strategic discipline, emotional intelligence strengthens leaders' ability to manage conflict, make clear decisions under pressure, and to lead with confidence even when scrutiny is high because they have honed the skill to manage emotions intelligently. Cultivating EQ shapes credibility, culture, and lasting influence at the executive level. |
Eva Singleton
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Zinnia Wellness Painting Workshop
This is a self care and team-building activity I've designed specifically for non artists. (I set up and provide all art supplies) Zinnia Wellness Painting encourages a focus on process over product, mindfulness and letting go through imperfection. Fostering a welcoming environment, we will listen to music and get into “flow” using non toxic watercolor paints and oil pastels to create an abstract “zinnia” flower. Join Katherine in this relaxing and low stakes activity. Perfect for employee on-sites, leadership development training, continuing education and corporate retreats. Get outside your comfort zone, try something new and lower your cortisol levels with Zinnia Wellness Painting! The program is based on the premise of self care: take care of yourself so that you can show up for those who depend on you. |
Katherine Gagnon
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Women Who Lead: The Shift from Survival to Embodied Power
Women often lead from places rarely named out loud: systems not designed for them, unrecognized emotional labor and invisible responsibilities, and expectations that push them into over-functioning or burnout. This session invites participants to examine the patterns that shape “survival leadership” - staying small, staying grateful, staying quiet - and offers a path to embodied leadership, where women lead with grounded presence, strategic clarity, and genuine confidence. Participants will learn why women’s intuitive intelligence, contextual awareness, and relational leadership are core competencies that transform teams, culture, and results. Through storytelling and practical tools, this session helps women reclaim their power, recognize the value of their emotional and invisible labor, and lead with an identity rooted in agency, not exhaustion. It also underscores the importance of community, lifting each other strategically, and building networks that honor our brilliance. |
Ericka Plater
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Keynote: Balance is Bullsh*t: Rewriting the Work/Life Balance Myth
This is a provocative look at the myth(ology) of work/life balance and why it doesn't actually exist. By reframing some of the words we use to describe how we live, what we do, and what is required of women who work, we can reject the shame and unworthiness narrative and embrace FLOW. Key Takeaways:
Whose line is it anyway? Setting boundaries and redefining success on our own terms. This session explores the internal pressures many women place on themselves while also navigating expectations others may set about what success should look like. Through sharing her own unexpected and nontraditional path into the tech industry, Jamie will discuss overcoming doubt, redefining success on your own terms, and learning how to set boundaries and expectations while building a fulfilling career. |
LB Adams
Jamie DeMent |