2023 Keynotes, Panelists & Special Guests

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Keynotes & Special Guests

Keynote Speaker

Nicole Perry
Emcee

Jackie Bruno
Comedian

Katie Arroyo
Goddess Award

Susan McDonough

Keynote Speaker

Nicole Perry

Nicole Perry is an author, speaker, mental health advocate, and entertainer. She published her debut book in 2020, has facilitated over 200 masterminds to support the entrepreneurial-spirited businesswoman, and won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Sound Bites Award for a featured show she did on suicide prevention in 2018. Nicole has been an entrepreneur for almost 18 years, is currently facilitating her Powerful Women Rise masterminds in the South Shore and South Coast areas, and is eagerly anticipating releasing her second book in 2025.

Emcee

Jackie Bruno

If you look up “social butterfly” in the dictionary, you might find Jackie’s picture. She is a natural networker who loves to meet people and help them achieve their dreams.

Jackie has accomplished many of her own dreams. As a small-town girl from Massachusetts, Jackie had three major goals: Be a news anchor in her home state, graduate from Boston University and represent the Commonwealth at a nationally televised pageant.

Check, check and double check! Jackie graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in 2006 — while representing the Bay State at two nationally televised pageants. And in 2008, she secured her first on-air job at WWLP in Springfield as a field reporter, covering breaking news and honing her craft as a video storyteller.

Boston came calling after that, and Jackie kicked off 2012 as the weekend anchor and morning reporter at New England Cable News. There, Jackie secured exclusive stories like her interview with Chad Ochocinco ahead of his Super Bowl appearance with the New England Patriots. She also covered the arrests of Aaron Hernandez and Whitey Bulger and was an eyewitness reporter to the Boston Marathon Bombing.

Jackie then helped launch NBC Boston in 2017 as the station’s entertainment and lifestyle reporter, securing countless interviews with local and national celebrities.

Through it all, Jackie has become an expert at creating connection; networking; researching; writing; and making moments memorable! Her work has been honored with three Emmy Awards, and countless nominations. 

She also started her own women’s network in 2020 to crowdsource life experience among working professional women. “The Connect-Her” now serves hundreds of women with local networking events and virtual programming. They say “Success is about who you know”, so as Jackie tells her group: “We’ll know everyone!”

All these achievements and experiences have led Jackie to create Newsmaker Marketing. As the Founder and CEO, Jackie will tell your story directly to your key audience and spread your message far and wide.

When she’s not working, Jackie loves spending time with her two boys, Jack and James, her husband, Joe, and her beloved shih tzu, Buddy. She splits her time between Massachusetts and Maine and loves exploring her hometown region of New England.

Comedian

Katie Arroyo

Katie Arroyo is a comedian who has performed throughout New England and featured in clubs in New York and Boston. With an aggressive-good natured act, her varied life experiences have given her the ability to connect with any audience. 

Katie has become a favorite in the New England scene- featuring frequently at The RI Comedy Connection and performing in the Rogue Island Comedy Festival. Her love of projects and fear of missing out on anything is in your favor as you can listen to her as the co-host of The Messy Show Podcast. 

Audiences love Katie because her philosophy in life is to try it all- and fortunately for us on stage is where she shares it all. 

Goddess Award

Susan McDonough

Susan McDonough is a South Boston native and resident of Holbrook, Massachusetts who leads the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Women Veterans’ Network, a program of the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services that seeks to provide connection and resources to women veterans across the Commonwealth.

Her advocacy on behalf of women veterans comes naturally and is ingrained in family tradition. She is a veteran herself, having served in the United States Army from 1994-1998, and in the Massachusetts National Guard from 2000-2002. Susan’s stations include the 29th Signal Battalion at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, and the 16th Medical Logistics Battalion in Taegu, South Korea.

Susan is the first female in her family to serve in the military, though  her family’s military service is long and deep, tracing back to the Civil War.  Her fourth great grandfather, Willian Newland, received the Congressional Medal of Honor for engagement, resulting in the Union victory in Mobile Bay, under the leadership of Navy Admiral David Farragut.

Susan also serves as the Commander of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, and former Commander of the American Legion, Martin F. McDonough Post #368 in 2019 – 2020, 

A longtime advocate for women veterans, Susan also serves on the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. 

2023 Panel Descriptions

PERMISSION TO PIVOT: MANAGING LIFE TRANSITIONS AT ANY AGE OR STAGE

DESCRIPTION:  Join us for an enlightening and empowering session that’s all about taking back your power and owning your story! We’ll explore how to shift from feeling stuck to embracing endless possibilities. Whether you’re looking to pivot, change, or evolve, this panel is all about granting yourself permission to live your best life.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Understand that it’s okay to change, evolve, and re-evaluate your path.
  • Explore questions to ignite new possibilities towards living authentically.
  • Feel empowered through the experiences and stories of others.

PANELISTS: 

IGNITE SUCCESS: CULTIVATING AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS FOR LASTING IMPACT

DESCRIPTION:  In the busi-ness of life it is often the quality of relationships that suffer. In actuality, it is the relationship, shared interests and shared humanity that are the most important for success. This panel will highlight the importance of getting “out of the bubble” to connect with new people, and how to create a different way for living and working, through quality relationships.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Explore strategies to ignite genuine relationships, not just transactions.
  • Understand the importance of humility and vulnerability, for the know, like and trust factor.
  • Discover ways to nurture relationships that support collaborative opportunities for lasting success.

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Pascale Cook-Fernandes

HOW TO TREAT YOURSELF BEST: COMBINING MEDICINE EAST & WEST

DESCRIPTION:  Do you choose Eastern or Western medicine? Have you ever thought about choosing both?  This panel will explain what Eastern and Western medicine are, and how to weave the best of both, into your life. Plus, discover where to find those complimentary resources to find your best self.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Eastern and Western medicine, what are they, and why they matter.
  • Weaving alternative treatments into your life.
  • How to find resources.

PANELISTS:

WE’RE HAPPY, FREE, CONFUSED, AND LONELY IN THE BEST WAY: RESILIENT WOMEN 

DESCRIPTION:  Gain valuable insights from three local business owners as they reveal the power of reinvention and prioritization in empowering ambitious women to achieve their goals. Through their personal narratives, attendees will not only receive practical advice and discover resources but also walk away with a profound sense of validation and empowerment. Armed with these newfound perspectives, individuals will be inspired to make meaningful changes in their lives, striving to strike a harmonious balance and define their unique path to success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Success looks different for everyone. Identify what is important for you to lead a happy and healthy life and make decisions around those non-negotiables. 
  • Priorities change as life changes. Be prepared to pivot and unapologetically make changes depending on your season of life.
  • Not everyone has a village, but we can build our own support system through coaches, and mentors, and by finding people with similar circumstances and priorities.  

PANELISTS:

IGNITE AND EMPOWER: LIVING YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

DESCRIPTION:  This session addresses the power of bringing your authentic self to your personal vision of success to further empower both your personal and professional aspirations. If you have ever experienced a disconnect between who you are and what you do, you are not alone. This session offers practical tips, personal stories, and time-tested approaches that will help you bridge the gap between your authenticity and your experiences of success. Don’t miss out!  

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Determine what makes you feel successful.
  • Consider how authenticity is an important consideration to personal success.
  • Address what prevents you from feeling empowered in order to move towards greater success.

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Kelly Golden

HOW DO YOU BUILD BRAND POWER? MAXIMIZE YOUR BRAND, ELEVATE YOUR BUSINESS

DESCRIPTION:  In today’s rapidly evolving and competitive marketplace, how can you build an authentic and effective brand with staying power? With a focus on real stories, strategies, and lived experiences, this session will inspire, educate and equip entrepreneurs with the tools needed to elevate their brand and grow their bottom lines.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Insights into why your brand matters.
  • Insights to crafting an effective branding strategy.
  • Insights into branding design.

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Linnea Walsh

CREATING A CUSTOMIZED TOOLBELT FOR SELF-CARE

DESCRIPTION:  Discover the power of various holistic practices for well-being to fortify your mind, body, and spirit to live a healthier life. Delve into the world of wellness by exploring the benefits of various modalities, including plant-based medicines, yoni steaming, and therapeutic yoga for emotional wellness, to prevent disease, and cultivate a lasting legacy of vitality that transcends through time for future generations. We hope you’ll be inspired to try new approaches for sparking a journey of healing and harmonizing your life.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Learn practical tools for preventative self-care.
  • Develop new proactive (instead of reactive) behaviors for health and wellness.
  • Explore the benefits of facilitating generational healing. 

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Michele Giovannini

FROM BURDEN TO RELIEF THROUGH EMOTIONAL OUTSOURCING

DESCRIPTION:  Many of us are used to doing everything by ourselves and we are very good at it. Therefore, delegating and outsourcing can be very challenging and something we keep postponing, regardless of the emotional price we pay. This safe and honest conversation will remind you that you are not alone.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Differentiate between real expectations vs societal expectations and discuss what fear of failure has to do with this.
  • Create space to be honest to yourself and ask for the help you need.
  • Come up with the smallest actionable step you can take today to delegate something in your life. 

 PANELISTS:

LIGHTING YOUR FIRE: FINDING YOUR PASSION IN THE MIDST OF LIFE’S TRANSITIONS

DESCRIPTION: Sometimes life throws you curve balls.  Other times, you may find yourself initiating a transition in your life related to work, family or otherwise.  This panel will highlight the importance of preparing for the lemons that life might hand you, and the ways to make yummy lemonade out of those lemons by relaying on the women and others in our lives.  Our panelists will share their personal stories of finding themselves in transition, and how they used those transitional periods to discover and tap into their true passions.  They will also share best practices for our audience as they inevitably encounter life’s transitions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Explore strategies to help you navigate planned or unplanned transitions in your work and personal life.
  • Discover ways to capitalize on the transitional periods by using them to find your passions, to literally “light your fire!”
  • Learn how to rely on your networks, women or otherwise, to help you through these transitional periods and come out your best self on the other side.

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Allison C. Walsh

EMBRACING YOUR NEXT CHAPTER WITH CONFIDENCE AND CLARITY

How do you know when you’re ready to make a change in your life? So many women find ourselves in a place where we’ve checked off a lot of achievement boxes, and we’re feeling antsy about taking the next step.  Join a group of women with diverse life paths as they share how they knew that it was time for them to make a change in their lives. We’ll dig deep into the challenges that come with wanting to pivot, and share tactics for identifying your strengths and how to leverage them. We’ll discuss how we took the challenges that come with change to explore opportunity with faith and optimism. you will leave with concrete steps to pursue your next chapter (or your journey) and inspired to keep moving forward!

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • A fire burning inside to get started on your next chapter, and a community to do it with.
  • Ideas to handle the internal and external challenges that get in the way of moving forward.
  • The next step you need to take to make that change in your life a reality.

PANELISTS:

PANEL COORDINATOR: Minessa Konecky