If you are interested in speaking at Women in Industry Day, please download our call for speakers information sheet, available on the left, or contact our Sponsorship Coordinator, Krista Grooms, at [email protected].
2026 Conference Speakers
Dr. Lilli Wright
Dr. Lilli Wright is a biomedical scientist and entrepreneur on a mission to stop the exodus of talent from STEM. As Founder & CEO of The PhD Playbook, she tackles the hidden crisis costing research billions: high-performers leaving not from lack of ability, but from lack of clarity and support. With 12+ years spanning biomedical research, and preclinical drug development, Dr. Wright has had diverse professional experiences such as securing $350K+ in grants as a PI, leading regulatory strategy at KOR Life Sciences, and completing fellowships at MUSC and University of South Alabama's Cancer Institute. Raised in SC, this Google AI Fellow, and member of Delta Sigma Theta, now channels her expertise into coaching that helps STEM professionals reach their goals faster, healthier and wealthier.
Lauren Minors
Lauren Minors is the Director of Partnerships and Marketing at Reason One, a web agency and Certified B Corporation serving hospitals and healthcare systems. Outside of her many professional interests, she is an improviser and comic, and is just a little obsessed with using levity as a tool in the workplace. Fun fact: she was among the organizing crew of the first few WIIDs back in 2018!
Wendy Petty
Wendy Petty is an inspirational executive sales leader with a 40+ year career marked by evangelizing new technology and building seven software companies with successful exits. As an entrepreneur and executive in the enterprise software industry, she has demonstrated unwavering resilience in navigating challenges. She possesses both technical and business acumen, specializing in leveraging deep expertise in AI, Data Governance, and Cloud solutions to build and lead top sales teams and propel revenues. Serving on the Board of Advisors for CompTIA, she is now focused on her second half of life and possesses a deep passion for mentorship. Her goal is to help women leaders cultivate the sustainable strategies needed to thrive in the demanding tech sector
Marcy Whitfield
Marcy Whitfield splits her time between increasing energy resilience as a research engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ( Department of Energy) and serving as a Colonel and engineering leader in the Air Force Reserves. Marcy lives in Hanahan, SC, USA where she lives with her husband Chuck and their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. When not working, Marcy serves as a board member of Vantage Point Foundation, a nonprofit that helps veterans transition to civilian life. She also enjoys traveling to places without postcards all around the world.
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they shall never sit in.” – Greek Proverb Kelly Starnes
Kelly Starnes is a seasoned consultant, facilitator, and certified coach who partners with individuals and organizations to unlock potential, clarify purpose, and navigate change with intention. She specializes in helping early to mid-career leaders and high-performing individual contributors prepare for their next level of impact.
Kelly holds an ACC credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has more than 30 years of experience in sales, coaching, training, marketing, and management within the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She earned her B.S. in Biology and MBA, with concentrations in Human Resources and Marketing, from Wake Forest University. Toni Vanschoyck
Toni Vanschoyck is a powerhouse entrepreneur who started with two successful brick-and-mortar businesses before diving into network marketing nearly 30 years ago. She’s played key roles in launching a multi-million dollar brand and helping grow a billion-dollar company from the ground up. Now, Toni is the founder of FermaGlo—her own vision come to life—where she's combining industry disruption, AI, technology, Automation, leadership, and legacy-building in a whole new way.
FermaGlo is a next-generation network marketing company built on clean science and unstoppable vision. FermaGlo uses a proprietary fermentation process to create high-performance haircare that actually works—without compromising on ingredients or integrity. It’s a movement for the modern entrepreneur Maggie Teliska
Maggie Teliska is a woman in technology, a WomenHeart Champion, and a columnist for the Chronic Boss Collective, where she writes The Professional Patient. Blending leadership experience in battery technology with her personal journey through complex medical advocacy—including the fact that she quite literally has a battery for her heart—Maggie offers a distinctive perspective on resilience, data-driven decision-making, and patient empowerment. She is deeply passionate about helping women understand their heart health, advocate for themselves, and navigate the healthcare system with confidence.
Peggy Anderson
Meet Peggy – a vibrant force of nature with an incredible career at top-tier companies like Apple, Microsoft, Under Armour, Blackbaud, and Shutterfly! With a sprinkle of high energy and a dash of radical self-awareness, she brings a fresh perspective to everything she touches.
Over the years, Peggy has worn many hats, coaching leaders and driving business initiatives that focus on spotting and snagging amazing talent, leading dynamic teams, and mastering the art of creative talent management. She’s all about making connections and inspiring others to reach their full potential – and she does it with a fun twist! Ericka Plater
Ericka Plater is an executive strategist, certified leadership coach, and CEO of GroundWell Collective. Known for blending strategic clarity with identity-centered leadership, she helps leaders and mission-driven organizations navigate complexity with confidence and purpose for long-term impact. Ericka has almost 30 years of senior leadership experience in executive leadership, organization development, business and strategic planning, leadership development, strengthening teams, and redesigning culture, she’s led transformative initiatives with both national organizations and grassroots communities. A sought-after speaker, facilitator, and writer, she integrates strategy with lived experience to help leaders rise with intention, integrity, and meaningful influence.
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LaCrystal Robinson
LaCrystal Robinson is a Senior Growth Marketing Manager at CSG. She is a high-achieving leader with over 11 years of strategic experience in B2B technology. Beyond driving significant business results, she is an expert in career resilience, forged through navigating her own professional pivots including layoffs, relocations, and family expansion while advancing her career.
She is also the Founder of Cre8torzone, a digital marketing agency that supports businesses in the Charleston area. With a passion for diversity and inclusion in tech, she founded and co-led two separate Black Employee Affinity Groups at major technology firms. She's a fierce advocate for diversifying the tech industry and creating pathways for people of color and women to thrive. Jocelyn Ring
Jocelyn Ring is the Founder of The Ring Effect and a brand strategist and leadership coach who helps people see what they can’t always see in themselves. With an MBA from NYU, multiple coaching and facilitation certifications, and a previous career on Wall Street, she understands the real pressures leaders face. Jocelyn has supported everyone from solopreneurs to multi-billion-dollar global organizations, guiding them toward clearer brand communication and more confident leadership. Known for her warm, visual, down-to-earth style, she makes complex ideas easy to understand and apply. Jocelyn has spoken at DisruptHR, SC ATD, SCORE, CreativeMornings and industry groups nationwide, helping leaders understand their personal leadership brand and develop others with clarity and intention.
Thomas Heath
Thomas Heath, a renowned expert in foundational messaging and branding, is the founder of The Brand Builders Network, an online community for entrepreneurs. His expertise in leveraging LinkedIn to accelerate business and career growth has led him to present at several prestigious events, including DisruptHR, 1 Million Cups, Dig South, SHRM, and the Charleston chapter of the American Marketing Association, among others. Thomas is a long-time mentor at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center and the College of Charleston's MBA mentor programs, specializing in foundational messaging and personal branding. Follow him on LinkedIn at Ask Thomas Heath.
Ramona Monty
Ramona Montjoy has never followed a straight line — she’s built a career by breaking the ones handed to her. From the music business to classrooms, from global IT teams to manufacturing floors and university halls, she’s made a habit of walking away from chapters that no longer fit and creating new ones from scratch. Ramona speaks openly about the courage, chaos, and clarity that come with rewriting your life at any age. Her work helps women challenge expectations, claim their power, and choose growth over permission.
Dr. Eva Singleton
Dr. Eva Singleton is an Assistant Professor in Engineering Leadership and Program Management at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. She is an internationally certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and serves the Tri-county area as the VP of Community Outreach for PMI Charleston. Her industry experience includes government contracting, manufacturing, healthcare, publishing, and entrepreneurial work. Her research explores how project management connects with business, engineering, social sciences, and family and consumer sciences. Dr. Singleton, a married mother of five, is a Charleston native living in Summerville, SC embracing the challenges and rewards of her greatest project, her family.
Katherine Gagnon
Katherine Gagnon is an artist, educator and the Founder of Zinnia Wellness Painting LLC. I enjoy leveraging my passion for teaching art with my executive functioning skills. After earning my undergraduate degree in art and art history from Colby College, I continued my art education at the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where I received an MFA. I also hold a Certificate in the College Teaching of Art from MICA. Before founding Zinnia Wellness Painting, I worked as an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was responsible for sales administration at an international auction house and managed a commercial art gallery in New York City. I was a featured speaker at Disrupt HR Charleston in Spring 2025.
LB Adams
LB Adams, CEO of Practical Dramatics, is a TEDx speaker & three-times TEDx Emcee, a DisruptHR speaker, former actor & shark-diving scuba instructor. She spent years in corporate America, and using the skills and strategies she learned in the theatre, was able to move up through executive leadership positions.
With Practical Dramatics, she's connected theatre strategies & corporate communication training to provide humorous & engaging learning events and keynotes a variety of teams. She's a Contributor to Forbes & Entrepreneur, and has worked with a host of companies on the Fortune 100/500. LB consistently delivers tactical and practical skill building strategies, as well as a unique, humor-centric perspective. She is the author of "The Irreverent Guide to Spectacular Communication." Angela Ortiz
Angela Ortiz is a technology leader, speaker, and entrepreneur who brings a heart-centered approach to the IT industry. For 15+ years she has worked in business development, marketing, and strategy, partnering with manufacturers and logistics teams to solve problems on the plant floor and in the warehouse. As Co-founder of a company delivering AR, AI, and smart-glass solutions, and with an MBA in project management, Angela leads cross-functional teams from idea to implementation. She also owns a yoga studio and is an experienced yoga instructor and Reiki Master Teacher, sharing straightforward mind–body tools that help busy professionals manage stress, set healthy boundaries, and lead sustainably.
Jamie DeMent
Jamie DeMent is the Director of Technology Initiatives/SC Tech at the SC Council on Competitiveness. Jamie works to connect, and strengthen South Carolina’s technology sector and cyber ecosystem (collectively, “Tech-Cyber”) to accelerate growth and innovation in the state’s Tech-Cyber cluster, both within its stand-alone sector and its engagement with other signature SC Competes industry clusters.
Jamie is an Honorary Commander with Joint Base Charleston and sits on the Board for Palmetto Goodwill. She is a Women of Influence – Charleston (2023) and Columbia (2024). She also is a 2022 Riley Fellow – Diversity Leaders Initiative Graduate and a 2019 Forty Under 40 Award winner, recognized for her success and community involvement in the Charleston region. A native of West Virginia, Jamie began to fall in love with South Carolina when attending Clemson University where she earned a B.A. in Communication Studies. She currently lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband, son and two dogs. Jamie loves camping, the Clemson Tigers, Steelers, and photographing Charleston’s natural beauty. |