Women's Leadership Forum (VIRTUAL)

Speaker: Lisa Howze - Author, speaker, CPA, professional strategist, and founder/CEO of the Lisa Howze Experience

Feeling unseen or unheard in the male-dominated world of business? This session goes beyond simply "speaking up." We'll explore the critical, yet often overlooked aspect of internal communication – the messages you tell yourself. Learn to harness your story, unlock your inner voice, and silence self-doubt. Evolve into that force for change who confidently shares her experiences and expertise in ways that empower others.

Credits: 1.5 - Communications and Marketing

This session is available to registrants only.

Speaker: Stephanie Riccardino - Product Enablement Leader at Wells Fargo

Let’s talk about how to taste, touch, and see yourself on a path to career success, avoiding those “Sunday Scaries.” Learn how to read indicators around you, the good and the bad, and use those to make decisions in your career journey. In this interactive session, you’ll learn tools to help you be intentional, get feedback, and set plans into action. In the end, you’ll find how you show value to your employer and more importantly to yourself. 

We will walk through an experiment of how to treat your career as a product by applying product management techniques; giving your career direction and not letting you get too comfortable in your current role: 

• Define – Take time to focus on what you want, where your passion lies, and where you want to be. We will create a career vision statement together. 
• Discover – During discovery, we consider a wide range of opportunities and solutions to accomplish your intended outcome. You will walk away with techniques on how to expand your network internally and in the market.
• Deliver – Deliver is about taking validated approaches and ideas for solutions and bringing them to life. Create a personal backlog to work on and prioritize. You will write professional user stories for yourself, prioritize them and work on one or two a month. 
• Reflect – Continuous learning through inspection and adaption is critical to the success of any product. It is necessary to take time to reflect on successes and failures using measures and insights to course correct. You will learn how to commit to mini self-retrospectives and identify who is on your team, an accountability buddy. 

Credits: 1 - Personal Development

This session is available to registrants only.

Speaker: Jessica McClain - Chief Financial Officer for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital

In today's fast-paced and dynamic professional world, the pressure to conform can often overshadow the value of individuality and authenticity. This transformative session is designed to empower professionals to bring their true selves to the workplace, fostering environments where trust, innovation, and meaningful relationships thrive. 
 
Learning Objectives:
• Understand authenticity and courageous communication and their importance in the workplace. 
• Recognize the obstacles and challenges to authenticity and use your voice and strategies to overcome them. 
• Analyze the impact of authenticity and speaking up on individual and organizational success. 

Credits: 1.5 - Personal Development

This session is available to registrants only.

Speaker: Amy Yip - Mental Fitness Executive coach, keynote speaker, self-confidence trainer, and the author of award-winning book, Unfinished Business: Breaking Down the Great Wall Between Adult Child and Immigrant Parents

Reflecting on your achievements – big or small – improves your physical and mental well-being, fast-tracks your career advancement, and builds your self-confidence. Celebrating even the small wins stimulates dopamine release in the brain. This feel-good chemical reinforces the learning experience (spoiler alert: change and growth are promoted through positive emotions more so than through discipline).  
 
Yet, most of us don’t celebrate ourselves nearly enough.  
 
Through live practices and breakout sessions, attendees leave this talk with practical and creative ways to celebrate wins every day and greater self-confidence! 

Credits: 1.5 - Personal Development

This session is available to registrants only.

Speaker: Ashley Sullivan - Director at MS Consultants

A discussion on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by women on their path to leadership positions in the finance industry. We’ll uncover strategies for overcoming gender biases, building a supportive network, and leveraging one's strengths to ascend in traditionally male-dominated fields like finance and real estate. 

Credits: 1 - Personal Development

This session is available to registrants only.

Speaker: Eva DeVirgilis - Speaker, Writer, Communicator

Navigate your way to a “Yes” as you learn to embrace “No.” In this session, Eva shares evidence-based strategies that will revolutionize your approach to negotiating and the art of "making the ask." Theorizing will take a back seat in this workshop as we break into groups and dive into action.

Seminar highlights include:

• Building rejection resilience — Participants will cultivate resilience in the face of rejection, managing their Fight, Flight, or Freeze impulses that arise during negotiations.
• FUN — While refusing to take “No” for an answer in life can be intense, the breakout session is an enjoyable exercise.
• Knowing your worth — Understanding of the latest research on gender disparities in pay and negotiation, ensuring participants are well-informed advocates for their worth. 

Participants will receive a step-by-step guide to negotiation to successfully navigate future negotiations.

Credits: 1 - Personal Development

This session is available to registrants only.