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The 2020 Pennsylvania Conference Center

“Leading the Way Forward”

The 17th annual Pennsylvania Conference for Women was held virtually (for the first time ever) on November 11, 2020.


KEYNOTE RECAPS

Viola Davis, Academy Award winning actor, producer, and philanthropist, shared what she sees as the opportunity for women in this moment.

Tara Westover, American historian, memoirist, and best-selling author, Educated, shared her thoughts on how we lead the way forward in a conversation with Kelly Corrigan, author and host of PBS’ Tell Me More and the Kelly Corrigan Wonder podcast.

Iyanla Vanzant, award-winning host and executive producer of OWN’s Fear Not, offered insights into why women were born for such a time as this.


Leadership Session Recaps

Dr. Susan David, author of Emotional Agility, inspired us to stop getting caught up in our own thoughts and emotions as she explored the habits that enable us to be resilient, thrive, lead teams, cultivate emotional agility, and change work culture.

Marcus Buckingham, New York Times best-selling author, founder of Strengths Revolution, and head of the ADP Research Institute, taught us how to maximize our unique leadership strengths so that we and our teams can all contribute our best selves now.

Lily Zheng, diversity, equity and inclusion thought leader, offered opportunities for personal and organizational growth as she shared why we need to move the conversation from individual bias to systemic bias—and how we can make real change by leading and strategizing with our own biases in mind.


Career Advancement Session Recaps

Charmaine McClarie, communications expert and C-suite leadership coach, taught us how to perfect our communication styles to ensure that our ideas are heard, our value is clear, and our opinions are remembered.

Annie Duke, decision strategist, former poker champion, and bestselling author of Thinking in Bets and How to Decide, offered strategies for not only avoiding decision making paralysis in times of uncertainty, but also becoming more comfortable with uncertainty itself.

Arlan Hamilton, venture capitalist and author, It’s About Damn Time, revealed the upsides to being undervalued as she taught us how to find our voices and work our way into any room that we want to be in while defying other people’s expectations of us.


Personal Development Session Recaps

Suze Orman, America’s favorite personal finance expert and bestselling personal finance author, shared practical and personal strategies for pivoting financially, spending wisely, and creating happy and secure financial plans.

Dr. Nina Vasan, psychiatrist, executive director of Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, and chief medical officer of Real, taught us how to hack our mental health and maximize our well-being through high-yielding, science backed strategies and solutions.

Esther Wojcicki, educator and author, How to Raise Successful People for Radical Results, shared her secrets on how to stop helicopter parenting and start raising, educating, and managing successful young people.


Special Appearances

Dzung Lewis, YouTube star and chef performed a Fall Harvest Salad cooking demo during the Conference Day lunch break.