CONFERENCE SESSIONS AND SPEAKERS
Monday, Sept. 18 – 9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Leadership Workshop – From Oppression to Leadership: Women Redefine Power
How do you feel when you think about power? Does it fill you with dread, exhilaration, or confusion? It’s the relationship women have with power that helps or hinders them when it comes to moving up the ranks of management into senior executive roles. Many external barriers have fallen, but most women still do not walk through the open doors into top leadership. This signature program from Take The Lead, a national gender leadership parity organization, prepares women to take their fair and equal share of leadership roles in partnership with men by 2025.
About the Workshop
The focus will be on identifying and transforming the learned internal barriers that prevent many women from claiming their fair and equal place in leadership. Women in early career, midlife and senior management will benefit. Participants will leave this highly interactive session with:
- Clear understanding of the status of women in leadership today
- Comfort level with exerting their “power to,” in contrast to the old oppressive “power-over”
- Power Tools to define themselves as leaders and identify their unique resources
- Plan for using the energy of chaos to create new opportunities
- Specific power intention and action steps to pursue right away
This program was developed by leadership icon Gloria Feldt, based on her book No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power. Feldt is a co-founder of Take The Lead, whose mission is to prepare, develop, inspire and propel women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025.
Speaker
Maggie Castrey is a certified Take The Lead Leadership Ambassador. Castrey is a member of the Association for Women in Communications and the League of Women Voters. She also works as Team Leader for Women Connect4Good, Inc., a 501(c)4 foundation dedicated to empowering women.
Monday, Sept. 18 – 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Breakout Session #1
Becoming a Person of Influence
Learn simple, insightful ways to interact more positively with others, and watch your personal and organizational success go off the charts.
- People will respond with new enthusiasm
- They will connect with everyone in their lives on a deeper level
- Working with clients will be improved
- Speakers will reach more people
- Salespeople will be able to achieve more
With influence, we can achieve success at home, at work, and in every other area of life. John C. Maxwell believes leadership comes from having influence so it is important that we all focus on this skill.
Speaker
Dana Vogelmeier is a certified speaker/facilitator on the John Maxwell Team. While at State Farm she made several presentations, as well as at many civic organizations (Rotary, Chamber of Commerce), and with other companies (District level McDonald’s, Illinois State University). In October of 2016 she was selected as a TedX Normal speaker and her speech can be viewed on Youtube.com at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wbO2lg8Fwg. Because of her experience, Vogelmeier has been selected to be on the Ted Committee for 2017. She is also on the Rotary District level where she works as a District Trainer and Visioning Program Trainer.
Monday, Sept. 18 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Breakout Session #2
Digital Advocacy: The importance of storytelling and advocacy when information moves at the speed of light.
We are all bombarded with information and are left to decide what is fake news and what is fact. Stories cut through the clutter and help people connect to causes they believe in.
About the workshop: Nicole Nascenzi and Sara Delgado will use examples from their work for a Fortune 400 energy company to show how companies and organizations can energize their employees, volunteers and stakeholders to share important information and take action on the organization’s behalf.
Attendees will learn about and see examples of:
- Storytelling in words and video to advance your particular cause
- Technologies to help broadcast your message
- Ways to use social media to reach your target audience
- Communications strategies for launching an advocacy program
- Thoughts to keep your advocacy program dynamic and driving results
Sara Delgado is a senior communications specialist with proven experience in media relations, crisis communications, project management and executive communications. In her 20 years with Fortune 400 energy company Williams, she has provided communications support for mergers, acquisitions, infrastructure projects and internal change management initiatives. She’s the author of the popular #Natgas Mom series on Williams’ PipeUp blog and immediate past president of the AWC Tulsa Chapter.
Nicole Nascenzi, APR, is passionate about strategic digital communications. Her experience comes from a diverse background in journalism and public relations. Today she manages all digital communications for Williams, a Tulsa-based Fortune 400 energy infrastructure company. In the past, Nicole worked as the public relations coordinator of Oklahoma’s fastest-growing university and as a beat reporter for her city’s largest newspaper.
Monday, Sept. 18 – 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
General Session
What’s next? The technologies that are changing the way we communicate
Communicators historically have been caught unawares by technologies that massively disrupted the way we work. Desktop publishing, the Web, social media, the rise of visual communication and the transition to mobile have all challenged communicators to rethink their messages and how to deliver them. The pace of change isn't slowing down; if anything, it's accelerating.
In this eye-opening session, communication technology writer and consultant Shel Holtz will share the technologies that will shake the communications profession in the next few years.
You'll learn about and see examples of:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Chatbots and voice technology
- The rise of live-streaming video (and other video trends that may surprise you)
- Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
- Blockchain
Speaker
Shel Holtz is an affiliate partner at Ragan Consulting Group and a veteran communications consultant who has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world. He has written six communication-themed books, including "Tactical Transparency" and "Corporate Conversations." Shel is a pioneer podcaster and a prolific blogger. Learn more about him at http://holtz.com.
Tuesday, Sept. 19 – 9:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Breakout Session #3
Leading the Ethics Charge
Communicators in every field play a key role in ensuring ethical standards are front and center! That is one of the reasons the AWC Matrix Foundation has added an ethics component to the Certified Communications Professional (CCP) application. In this interactive session, participants will learn about the revamped CCP application, how to create a culture of ethical behavior and build employee buy-in, and how to maintain ethical standards in reporting and on social media. Pulitzer Prize Winning reporter, editor, author, professor, and independent contractor Gayle Reaves will share her experiences and advice, as well as facilitate small group discussions on how to respond to sample work scenarios. Session attendees will also receive a copy of the Annual Ethics Issue of the Quill magazine published by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).
Speaker
Gayle Reaves has covered everything from local to international news, edited the award-winning Fort Worth Weekly alternative newspaper, and now freelances for regional and national publications as well as teaching journalism at the University of North Texas. Her honors include the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting in 1994 as part of a team at The Dallas Morning News and a George Polk Award for courageous regional journalism. Recent work has appeared in the Texas Observer, American Way, and D Magazine. She specializes in explanatory and investigative reporting.
The Texas native is working with co-authors on a nonfiction book; her poetry chapbook Spectral Analysis was published in 2015. A former national president of the Journalism and Women Symposium, she is also a former president and current vice president of the Fort Worth pro chapter of SPJ. She earned her BA and BJ degrees from the University of Texas and her MJ from the University of North Texas’ Mayborn School of Journalism. For the last two years she has edited the Best American Newspaper Narratives anthology, which collects the winners of the newspaper narrative contest sponsored annually by the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference and The Dallas Morning News. Reaves lives in Fort Worth.
Tuesday, Sept.19 – 9:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Women in Leadership: Lessons in How to Build Your Brand, Expand Influence & Lead Change
During this panel session senior executives will share their leadership journeys, while offering insights into the importance of building your brand, overcoming obstacles, expanding influence and leading change in today’s dynamic business environments.
Speakers
Lesley Harris,Vice President, Global Service Delivery, Sabre Hospitatlity Solutions
Kim Leible, AVP, Campaign Management, USAA
Kim is an innovative business leader with a track record of developing effective cross-channel customer experience strategies. She has an expert understanding of channel management with extensive experience in Internet, Inbound and Outbound marketing and email.
Kim is currently responsible for the development, planning and execution of all direct marketing tactics at USAA, a financial services company whose mission is to facilitate the financial security of its members, associates, and their families through a full range of highly competitive financial products and services. That unique mission of serving those who serve our country is what gives purpose to our work.
Patti Johnson, CEO, People Results