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Lifestyle & Learning Hub

Located in the Virtual Exhibit Hall


From Resignation to Retention: Building a Culture of Inclusion, Trust and Empowerment

How has your organization fared during the great resignation? Have you built an environment that EXCITEs the high potential and high performing employees? Research shows that when people find meaning in their work and feel valued, they stay. Furthermore, on average employees are willing to take 23-32% less salary to have a job that is meaningful. But how do we create an environment that supports this? Creating an environment centered on empowerment is a powerful strategy for combating The Great Resignation. This learning burst will share our evidence based EXCITE framework and provide strategies to develop an exceptional culture of inclusion, trust and empowerment.

Lauren D’Innocenzo, PhD, Associate Professor, Organizational Behavior & Provost Solutions Fellow, Drexel LeBow College of Business 


Growing Older, Better and Louder

Thriving in the 2nd half of life takes a little self-acceptance, a big sense of humor and, according to acclaimed humor writer Wendi Aarons, an appreciation of age-appropriate fashion pajamas. After years of self-doubt, Aarons began to unapologetically chase her dreams and, in this session, will share her inspirational and hilarious takeaways about disregarding others’ expectations for you, pivoting careers, self-acceptance and how to become the person you never know you wanted to be.

Wendi Aarons, Freelance Humor Writer and Author, I’m Wearing Tunics Now


How Sponsors Can Help Grow, Reskill and Jumpstart your Career 

Mentors are important resources to help guide your career journey. Sponsors however, play an invaluable role in moving your career forward – helping to unlock doors and elevate your visibility. It’s not easy to find sponsors, but it’s possible. Offering  a mix of personal experiences and practical advice, this session will provide you with actionable tips to help you find the right sponsor so you can grow, reskill and jumpstart your career. 

DeShane Hambrick, VP, Project Management & Customer Experience, Comcast NBCUniversal, Keystone Region


How to Harness the Strength of Introverts

Studies have shown that introverts tend to be the most creative people on a team. But, bringing out the creative best of your introverted team members can be challenging in this new hybrid world of work, where speaking up is more difficult and the most assertive team members often dominate.  Here are a few ways to empower the introverts on your team and how to ensure they are heard.

Daniela Mardarovici, Cohead, Multisector/Core Plus Fixed Income, Macquarie


Lessons Learned from a Career Pivot

Although it’s not easy, it’s never too late to take a leap and make a career pivot. In this session, we will learn how one executive transitioned from the retail world to a new career in diversity and inclusion with absolutely no experience. Learn insights and tips to help you navigate the decision making process, overcome fear and anxiety, identify the skills and people to help you along the way  and transition with ease and confidence.

Lisette Martinez
, EVP & Chief Diversity Officer, Jefferson Health and Thomas Jefferson University


Navigating Organizational Power & Politics

Organizations are inherently political arenas, requiring discernment and social astuteness. Your ability to navigate organizational politics and appropriately assert your power are key skills that enable professional growth in your company and throughout your career. This session will explore personal, positional and relational power as well as offer an understanding of how we make sense of, and enact, the “rules of the game”.

Flannery Stevens, Assistant Professor, Villanova School of Business 


Negotiation Tips for Success

During this time of record unemployment when many are working remotely, a pay raise may seem out of the question. Or maybe not. Whether you’re interviewing for a new job or want a raise in a current role, Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of Villanova School of Business, shares negotiation tactics that are effective even in a pandemic, where some employees may actually have even more leverage than usual. Join this session to learn the best ways to advocate for yourself, know your value and treat the negotiation like a collaboration, not a battle.

Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, Helen & William O’Toole Dean, Villanova School of Business

Strategies to Address Gender-Related Microaggressions

Gender-related microaggressions have a cumulative impact on self-confidence and workplace performance; they can influence how a woman sees herself, but they’re also a reflection of how society sees women. In this session, interactive examples and exercises will be used to help you identify microaggressions when they occur and ways to respond when they happen to you or colleagues in the workplace.

Seina Lee, PharmD, MS, Group Product Director, Cardiovascular Organization, Johnson & Johnson 

Ana Raposo, Business Unit Director, Johnson & Johnson 


Succeeding Professionally When You’re in the Minority

Have you ever been in an environment where you looked around and no one else looked like you? Have you ever been in a meeting, and you were the only one with a different thought, perspective, or even experience? You’re not alone. This session will explore how to navigate situations where you may be the first, the only, the minority. Learn practical and actionable steps you can take now, to use your voice, leverage your skill sets and showcase your unique value to succeed in the workplace. 

Nkem Okafor, VP, Corporate Strategy & Transformation, Independence Blue Cross


Timeless Tips for Job Seeking and Interviewing

Between the pandemic, generational shifts in the workplace and talk of an impending recession, we’ve experienced dramatic shifts in the job market over recent years. Rather than focus on how to approach your job search in the current environment, this session will offer timeless tips to help you prepare for career moves within any climate. We will explore how to create an inventory and ways to best prepare so you are able to land the right opportunity for you. 

Mayra Bergman, Vice President, Communications, PECO