2025 Panels

Title: Empowered and Unapologetic: Cultivating Voice, Presence, and Belonging

Description: Women leaders are often navigating what it means to be heard, seen, and supported. This panel brings together dynamic voices to explore how we can each find our footing, our voice, and our power. Together, we’ll unpack the challenges and triumphs of speaking up, especially when you’re the “only” in the room. We’ll explore how to build meaningful mentorship and sponsorship relationships, create inclusive spaces from wherever we lead, and harness executive presence without compromising authenticity. We’ll also offer a fresh perspective on imposter syndrome—how to name it, reframe it, and move forward with clarity and confidence.

Key Takeaways:

• How to find and use your voice in spaces where you may feel outnumbered or underestimated
• The difference between mentorship and sponsorship—and how to cultivate both
• Ways to build inclusive spaces by showing up authentically and encouraging others to do the same
• Tactics to project executive presence without losing your unique leadership style
• Reframing imposter syndrome and replacing it with grounded confidence and community

Panel Coordinator: Jacqui Pomales

Panelists: 

Title: She Speaks: Communicating with Confidence and Authenticity

Description: Confidence grows every time you speak up, take action, and show up as yourself. In this session, we’ll explore how to stay grounded and communicate with confidence and authenticity, especially during life or career transitions. We’ll dive into personal branding – the impression you leave through how you show up and what you say – and why it matters. You will also do quick, creative exercises to help tap into your confidence and express yourself with clarity and boldness.

Key Takeaways:

• Make small changes for big impact. Discover how everyday wins (even tiny ones!) build your confidence and choose one bold move to try this week. Hear ways to make transitions in your life work for you, not against you.
• Find your 3-word brand. Define how you want to show up and see if your current message is sending the right signal.
• Get creative, get confident, get connected. Through a fun, low pressure exercise, tap into your natural voice & bring more of you to the table. Learn the best ways to connect with others to amplify your voice and grow your community.

Panel Coordinator: Ashley Lemons

Panelists: 

Title: Success, Reclaimed: Redefining What Drives You Beyond the Hustle

Description: What if the version of success you’ve been chasing… isn’t actually yours?

In this honest, energizing session, three ambitious women share how they climbed the ladder, checked the boxes—and still felt unfulfilled. Through real talk and reflective prompts, they’ll unpack how they each redefined success in ways that feel more honest, more aligned, and more sustainable.

You will leave with new clarity on what truly drives you, a mindset shift you didn’t know you needed, and a practical tool to help you reclaim success on your own terms—without the burnout.

Key Takeaways:

• Insight into how ambition and burnout are often intertwined
• Tools to question and redefine success in their own terms
• The courage to give themselves permission to pursue what truly matters
• A practical mindset tool to help make space for intentional growth

Panelists: 

Title: Own Your Power: Strategies for Career Growth and Leadership

Description: No matter what stage you are at in your career, women face unique challenges that can slow down or hinder their growth and success. This interactive panel, led by veteran leaders and leadership experts will unpack topics such as self-limiting narratives, uneven playing fields, and common behaviors that diminish status and visibility. You’ll discover strategies to confidently know and articulate your value and expertise in the community, workplace, boardroom– wherever you lead, so you can optimize your career. Expect to gain fresh insights, practical tools and increased confidence from our discussion to boost your continued leadership growth.

Key Takeaways:

1. Discover self-limiting thought patterns so you can lead in alignment with your natural strengths and aspirations.
2. Gain practical insights to avoid common pitfalls that may diminish your leadership presence.
3. Learn proven strategies for elevating your leadership and advocating for your desired career growth.

Panelists: 

Title: This is Too Dang Hard: Uncomfortable Doesn’t Mean Impossible

Description: Holding it all together while trying to grow, heal, or simply get it all done is hard – whether it’s in business or in life. This panel explores what it means to live fully in the tension between vulnerability and strength.  Together, we’ll talk about navigating uncomfortable moments, reclaiming self-worth, and finding power in being seen – just as we are.  Whether you’re in a season of change, healing, hustle, or just holding on, you’ll leave with a new perspective, practical encouragement, and a deep reminder: uncomfortable doesn’t mean impossible.

Key Takeaways:

1. You don’t have to have it all together, give yourself permission to be both polished and in progress.
2. Learn practical strategies to navigate discomfort in business, leadership, and life without shrinking who you are.
3. Discover why putting your self-worth first isn’t selfish, it’s foundational.

Panel Coordinator: Kimberlee Blocker

Panelists: 

Title: Community is the Capital

Description: Behind every founder is a community, whether it’s a close-knit circle of friends and family or a wider network of collaborators, mentors, and supporters. She is shaped by those who offer direct support, advice and resources, and also by those whose words, work, or examples left an unexpected but lasting mark on her path.

This panel brings together three women who’ve built, paused, restarted, and grown ventures, and not always by following a perfect plan. Together, they’ll unpack the messy realities of scaling, the power of self-acceptance in leadership, and what it really means to invest – in yourselves, in others, and in a vision that goes beyond just profit.

This is a session for women in motion, those building with purpose, rethinking traditional metrics of success and looking for a community that gets it.

Key Takeaways:

1. Scaling isn’t one-size fits all. Learn how to define growth on your own terms, and when to pause, pivot, or protect your peace.
2. Self-acceptance is a power move. Hear how embracing identity, imperfection, and pace has led to better leadership and bolder decisions.
3. Investment has many forms. Reframe capital beyond money and discover ways to fuel your business and yourself through community, knowledge, and aligned resources.

Leave with tools and tangible ways to connect with a supportive network of founders who are walking the same winding path.

Panelists: 

Title: Manage Stress Better By Learning About the Mind / Body Connection

Description: Stress affects everyone, but the usual advice to “just push through!” or “think positive!” doesn’t always work. Why? Because real stress reduction means understanding the mind / body connection.

Join three experts who each bring unique perspectives on handling stress: from trauma-informed insights to science-based reset techniques, to behavior modification skills—showing you how these approaches work together for lasting change.

In this panel, we’ll share how stress works and how to work better WITH it. You’ll learn why lasting stress reduction happens when we help the whole system: what’s stored in our bodies, how to reset our stress responses, and how to choose thoughts, behaviors, and reactions that stick.

You’ll leave with tools you can use right away, plus a better understanding of why lasting change takes more than just willpower.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why trying to push through doesn’t work (and what does work)
2. How to spot what’s causing your stress
3. Easy tools to reduce stress right away that work with your body, not against it
4. Simple strategies that help both your body and mind adapt for lasting change

Panelists: 

Title: Breaking Rules and Building Empires

Description: This conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really means to lead as a woman in industries where we’re often the “only,” the “first,” or one of just a few. We’ll talk about the tightrope we walk—being assertive without being “too much,” holding composure when challenged, and carrying the invisible weight of performance, perception, and pressure. Through stories, humor, and hard truths, we’ll explore how we lead with both strength and softness, and how we’ve learned to trust our own wisdom even when the room says otherwise.

This is not about proving ourselves—it’s about staying ourselves.

Key Takeaways:

How to navigate being the “only one” without shrinking or overcompensating

– Practical tools to hold your ground and stay visible in male-heavy or dominant spaces.

– Understanding the silent pressure to prove yourself—and how to choose presence over performance.

The emotional and mental toll of performing versus leading authentically

– Recognizing signs of burnout, people-pleasing, and emotional exhaustion that come from constantly “code-switching” your personality.

– Tools to reset and re-align with your values and purpose when leadership starts feeling like a mask instead of a mission.

How women’s emotions are judged differently—and why that matters

– Honest conversation about how women are labeled as “emotional” or “too much” while men are seen as passionate or driven.

– How to reclaim your emotional clarity and express yourself without second-guessing, apologizing, or watering yourself down.

– Why emotional expression isn’t a weakness—it’s a signal, and learning to read it is a leadership strength.

Strategies for commanding authority without abandoning your personality

– How to lead from a place of self-awareness and internal power instead of mimicry.

– Finding your voice and rhythm in a room that wasn’t built with you in mind.

The hidden costs of “fitting in” and how to redefine belonging on your own terms

– Naming what you’ve sacrificed to “belong” and whether those trade-offs are worth it.

– How to build connection and community even when you’re the only woman—or the only one who looks like you, thinks like you, or leads like you.

Why wit and wisdom are power tools—not soft skills

– Reframing humor, emotional intelligence, and instincts as strategic—not secondary—leadership traits.

– Learning how to use these tools to influence, connect, and hold authority in a way that’s natural, not performative.

Panelists: 

•      Managing Vulnerability of Learning Something New
•       Who’s the judge of “expertise”?  You ARE!
•       Building your new Community

Panelists 2025