2023 Women’s Empowerment Summit

Detailed schedule of events

  • 6:00 - 9:00 PM: Opening Reception
    Featuring Dean Siân Mooney and Keynote Speaker Jori Mundy

  • 8:00 - 8:30 AM: Registration opens!
    • Light breakfast and Meet & Greet with Dean Mooney in the O’Neill Atrium
    • Check in and pick up your name tag, program & swag
  • 8:35 - 8:50 AM: Dean's Welcome in Room 167
  • 9:00 - 9:50 AM: Breakout Session 1: Self-Exploration
    • Session A: Launching Your Personal Brand with Marti Kovener in Room 167
      • Your brand isn’t what you do, it’s why and how you do it - the impact you want to make on the world. This interactive workshop will give you a framework to define what is uniquely you and discover and amplify your professional brand.
    • Session B: Lipstick, Love, and Leadership: One Woman’s Journey to Mission-Driven Leadership with April Grudi in Room 169
      • In this session, you will learn how a health crisis led our speaker to discover her mission and authentic leadership style. April will lead participants through exercises to help them discover or rediscover their mission statement, empowering them to live authentic, personal and professional lives.
  • 10:10 - 11:00 AM: Breakout Session 2: Mentorship
    • Session A: Why Mentoring Matters - Influencing Your Career with Traci Jovanovic in Room 167
      • This session will focus on collective learnings in approaching mentorship. The intent is to assist all participants in maximizing outcomes of the mentoring relationship.
    • Session B: Allyship in the Workforce with Ellise Smith in Room 169
      • Allyship can no longer be a choice if we plan to make a difference in the workplace and the world. This session will explore what it means to be an ally for identities you may not hold, while working towards becoming an accomplice. We will explore critical topics that bring forth the importance of challenging programs, practices, and policies to create work environments that intentionally support those historically excluded and erased. 
  • 11:20 AM - 12:00 PM: Focused Group Networking
    Opportunity for creating a network of resilient women. Atrium.
  • 12:00 - 1:00 PM: Complimentary Lunch
  • 1:00 - 1:30 PM: Legislative Update with Vi Simpson in Room 167
    Learn about upcoming state and federal legislation affecting women.
  • 1:30 - 2:20 PM: Breakout Session 3: Workforce
    • Session A: Transferable Skills with Lauren Hall Riggins in Room 167
      • No matter your experience  - be it from your schooling, internships, volunteer opportunities, or industry- you will find that the skills you have learned from each can be taken and translated into new settings towards new roles. Lauren Hall Riggins has worked in education, non-profit leadership, and policy and advocacy research for over a decade and will talk through how you can understand that pivoting into an unknown territory takes reflection and is ultimately rooted in your "why". Come learn about how to define your "why" and hear Lauren's story, as well as how important it is to adapt to and understand the changing world.
    • Session B: The Art of Being a Good Team Member with Rachael Sargent in Room 169
      • While everyone has a method to contribute to a team, this presentation will give an overview of interpersonal skills learned as a student that transfer to the workforce. Being a good team member is more than simply getting work done by a deadline, but rather has many intricacies and often changes due to the team dynamics.
  •  2:40 - 3:30 PM: Breakout Session 4: Workplace
    • Session A: Cultural Inclusion (Being Heard, Being Questioned) with Dr. Cheryl Hall Russell in Room 167 
    • Session B: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Overcoming the Female Leadership Double Standard with Melissa Cantarero Weiss in Room 169
      • Despite advances in gender equality, women in leadership roles still face unique challenges that their male counterparts do not. One of the most prevalent issues is the female leadership double standard, where women are held to different standards and expectations than men when it comes to leadership qualities and behavior. This double standard can manifest in various ways, such as being perceived as too aggressive or too emotional, or having to navigate a narrow range of acceptable leadership styles.

        In this conference session, we will discuss the female leadership double standard and its impact on women in leadership positions. We will examine the different ways in which the double standard can manifest and the negative consequences it can have on women's careers and organizations as a whole. We will explore strategies and best practices that women can use to overcome this double standard and thrive as leaders.

        This session is ideal for anyone interested in gender equality and the advancement of women in leadership roles. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the female leadership double standard and actionable strategies to overcome it.

  • 3:50 - 4:40 PM: Roundtables
    • Facilitator Follow-Up in Room 167
    • Roundtables to discuss salary negotiation, work-life balance, career transitions, and more in Room 169
  • 4:45- 5:00 PM: Wrap up in Room 167

Meet Jori Mundy, our keynote speaker

Jori Mundy

 Award-winning keynote speaker, executive, #1 best selling co-author, life and career coach, Jori Mundy is known for taking her audiences on a journey by captivating them in edge of the seat story-telling eliciting laughter, joy, happiness, and even tears. 

Learn more at jorimundy.com