2024 Breakout Session Speakers

Room for EVERY Woman in EVERY Workplace
Marissa Bankert – Executive Director, Independent Electrical Contractors PA
Kristen Pucci – Owner/Founder, KRAE Consulting

During this presentation, Marissa Bankert and Kristen Pucci will discuss how women can fit into non-traditional careers at any age and make a difference in how the industry functions. This presentation will present from two different generational perspectives and be filled with tips and fun!

Owning Your Power with the Bossy Girl
Kristal Markle, President/Founder of Bossy Girl Leadership

Are you powerful? Do you believe that?? Are you valuable? Do you live that truth?? Your mindset and what you believe are powerful tools. Possibly the MOST powerful tools that you can wield. I’m Kristal, and I’m owning my power. I call myself the Bossy Girl because I refuse to play small or allow anyone to put my candle out with words like “bossy.” I want you to own your power too. If you don’t, we miss out on the best you. And that’s a loss that hurts. I had the opportunity to present a talk on Owning Your Power at Columbia University and now, I want to share it with you!

How to Stop “Guess-Marketing” and Build a Strategy That Works
Heather Hockenberry – Business Consultant & Coach, Hockenberry Management Consulting

Many small businesses try a variety of marketing techniques with the best of
intentions, but most end up wasting time, money, and energy in the process.
Unfortunately, the “see what sticks” method can be a long, non-productive journey that yields very few new customers for the business. By establishing the target market for the product, creating a message that relates directly to them, and pursuing that target audience at the right point in time, your marketing efforts will immediately be more impactful. Together, let’s stop “guess-marketing” and learn how to build a marketing strategy that actually works!

Women in the Workplace: Overcoming Challenges While Striving for Work-Life Integration
Linda Fedrizzi-Williams – President, Central Penn College

Women are under an enormous amount of pressure both in and out of the
workplace. For women with children and/or other caretaking responsibilities, these challenges are even greater. Using findings from her research conducted in 2016 for her study: Mothers as Leaders in Higher Education: The Pathway to Leadership for College Presidents, Dr. Linda Fedrizzi-Williams will take the audience through the unique challenges faced by working women and present solutions to overcome those challenges. Participants will leave with hands on, applicable examples they can implement that day.

Women & Wealth: Finding the Balance
Catherine Azeles – Investment Consultant, Conrad Siegel

Throughout the stages of a woman’s life, she faces many financial opportunities and challenges. The choices that she makes at each of these junctures can set her on the road to long-term financial peace of mind or chronic financial anxiety. This presentation travels through each stage of her life with true stories to frame the unique challenges faced by women of all ages. This presentation informs and empowers you to make the best decisions for your financial future.

Poker & My Pop-Pop: What They Both Taught Me About Running a Business
Dr. Ivy R. Buchan – President & Founder, Helix Strategies, LLC

Through storytelling and (hopefully) some laughs, we’ll cover tips to running a
business and general career advice. Tips will touch on the areas of communication, negotiation, grit, preparedness, resilience, and more. Rewind the clock with Ivy to find those little moments that offer the big lessons.

Engage! Empower! Retain! – Five Practices of Leadership
Kelli Gift – Owner, Striving 2 Thrive

Are you an employee looking to learn what it takes to become a leader? Are you in a leadership position and want to improve your skillset to motivate others to be their very best? Attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever! Participants of this workshop will learn to value their employees as their biggest asset and differentiate between managing and leading, build skills to inspire and challenge others, grow your biggest asset, your employees, appreciate the unique traits in others to empower them to perform their very best, and understand the five practices of effective leadership based upon the proven teachings of James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner in The Leadership Challenge.

Planning for the Aging Journey
Leigh Twiford – Former Owner, FirstLight Home Care
Allyson O’Neal – Director, Bayada Hospice
Jacqueline A. Kelly, Esq., CELA – Of Counsel, Halbruner, Hatch & Guise, LLP

Over 90% of seniors would like to age in place. As our parents age, planning their
care becomes the responsibility of their adult children, usually the adult daughter. If a parent is no longer able to live safely alone in their home, families may not be aware of the many options available to them. In this breakout session you will learn how to keep your parents safe, comfortable, and warm in their home. You will learn about the hospice benefit, and you will learn the fundamentals of elder care law and estate planning. This session will help you to be a strong advocate for your aging parents.