Speakers

Thank you to our amazing 2016 speakers!

We are no longer accepting speaker proposals for 2017. Click here to learn more about speaking at the PA Conference for Women.

2017 speakers will be announced here as they are confirmed. 

Main Stage Speakers

Former First Lady Michelle Obama

FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. As a transformative First Lady, Mrs. Obama launch... Read Full Bio

Shawn Achor

SHAWN ACHOR is the New York Times best-selling author of The Happiness Advantage and Befo... Read Full Bio

Dr. Brené Brown

BRENÉ BROWN is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate Co... Read Full Bio

Carla Harris

CARLA HARRIS is a vice chairman, wealth management, managing director and senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley.  She is responsible for... Read Full Bio

Diana Jones

DIANA JONES is associate director of experiential learning at the Drexel LeBow College of Business. In this role, Jones builds initiatives that... Read Full Bio

Shonda Rhimes

SHONDA RHIMES is the prolific writer, executive producer and creator of the hit ABC series "Grey's Anatomy," and "Scandal."  In addition t... Read Full Bio

Special Guest Speakers

Tamala Edwards

TAMALA EDWARDS joined 6abc in January of 2005. She is the weekday co-anchor of Action News Mornings from Read Full Bio

Ehrika C. Gladden

EHRIKA C. GLADDEN is vice president, market strategy, enterprise infrastructure solutions group (EISG) for Cisco Systems. She leads a global o... Read Full Bio

Mayor Jim Kenney

MAYOR JIM KENNEY is a lifelong Philadelphia resident. He grew up the oldest of four children in a South Philadelphia rowhome. His father, a fi... Read Full Bio

Sandra Leung

SANDRA LEUNG is the executive vice president and general counsel with Bristol-Myers Squibb. She serves as legal advisor to the board of direct... Read Full Bio

Monica Malpass

MONICA MALPASS is co-anchor of Action News at 5pm. She joined WPVI-TV/Channel 6 in January ... Read Full Bio

Joanne Ryder

JOANNE RYDER is executive vice president and chief administration officer with Beneficial Bank. In this role, she plays an i... Read Full Bio

Niharika Shah

NIHARIKA SHAH is VP and head of brand marketing and advertising for Prudential. In her role she heads Prudential’s fully-integrated in-house... Read Full Bio

Tom Wolf

TOM WOLF was sworn in as Governor of Pennsylvania on January 20, 2015. Wolf grew up in Mt. Wolf, a small borough outside of York in central Pe... Read Full Bio

Breakout Session Speakers

Maddie Brooks

MADDIE BROOKS is a manager of financial services for The Prudential Insurance Company of America. She started as a financial... Read Full Bio

Anna Akbari

ANNA AKBARI, PhD is a sociologist, entrepreneur, and writer. She is the founder of Sociology of Style, an image and life coaching company, and ... Read Full Bio

Susan L. Anderson

SUSAN L. ANDERSON has been a board member and the treasurer of the Pennsylvania Conference for Women since its inception. After completing 20 ... Read Full Bio

Jenice Armstrong

JENICE ARMSTRONG is an award-winning Metro columnist who writes about local and national news for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ph... Read Full Bio

Megan Aubrey

MEGAN AUBREY is head of Macquarie Investment Affiliates within Macquarie Investment Management. Her group is responsible for all external mana... Read Full Bio

Patrice Banks

PATRICE BANKS is a former auto airhead and founder of Girls Auto Clinic (GAC). She’s taking on the automotive industry with her inspiring and... Read Full Bio

Lisa Bodell

LISA BODELL is an award-winning author and CEO of futurethink. As a futurist and expert on the topic of change, she serves as a globa... Read Full Bio

Karen Cahn

KAREN CAHN is the Founder & CEO of iFundWomen, a crowdfunding platform for women-led startups and small businesses. The mission of iFundWom... Read Full Bio

Stephanie Lim Capello

STEPHANIE LIM CAPELLO is chief development officer with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. In this role, she crafts and spearheads compr... Read Full Bio

Janet Crawford

JANET CRAWFORD is CEO of Cascadance, a Bay Area-based firm supporting leaders in building brain-friendly organizations. A female scientist... Read Full Bio

Pamela Cyr

PAMELA CYR is the executive vice president and chief retail office for Beneficial Bank. She is responsible for fulfilling the Beneficial Bank ... Read Full Bio

Amber Czonstka

AMBER CZONSTKA is a principal and head of Institutional large market sales with Vanguard. In this role, she leads a team of sales executives r... Read Full Bio

Kathy Ditto

KATHY DITTO is the senior director, U.S. public sector marketing with Cisco. Ditto is the senior director of marketing for Cisco's U.S. public... Read Full Bio

Tiffany Dufu

TIFFANY DUFU is chief leadership officer of Levo and launch team member to Lean In. She was named in the Huffington Post as one ... Read Full Bio

Anna Fieler

ANNA FIELER is the chief marketing officer of POPSUGAR, where she oversees marketing for the #1 lifestyle media company for young women that i... Read Full Bio

Joey Fortman

JOEY FORTMAN has more than 20 years of on-air radio and tv experience.  She took her career to a whole different dimension when she left the ... Read Full Bio

Yvonne Garcia

YVONNE GARCIA is an SVP and the global head of client solutions and PMO at State Street Corporation. In this role, she develops solutions for ... Read Full Bio

Teresa Ghilarducci

TERESA GHILARDUCCI is an expert on retirement, pensions and personal savings. She is the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz chair in economic policy... Read Full Bio

Murdo Gordon

MURDO GORDON is vice president and chief commercial officer with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s. In this role he is responsible for leading the exec... Read Full Bio

John Graham

JOHN GRAHAM is vice president and head of value, evidence and outcomes with GlaxoSmithKline research and development. He is ... Read Full Bio

Nina M. Gussack

NINA M. GUSSACK is a partner in and the chair of the health sciences department of Pepper Hamilton LLP. She is past chair of Pepper’s e... Read Full Bio

Amy Cooper Hakim

AMY COOPER HAKIM, Ph.D. is an industrial-organizational psychology practitioner and workplace expert. She is a speaker, author, and the executi... Read Full Bio

Jeffery Tobias Halter

JEFFERY TOBIAS HALTER is a gender strategist and the President of YWomen, a strategic consulting company focused on engaging men in women’s l... Read Full Bio

Nydia Han

NYDIA HAN is the 6abc consumer reporter, and co-anchor of Action News Sunday mornings. Prior to joining Action News in October of 2002, Han pro... Read Full Bio

Michelle D. Hare

MICHELLE D. HARE works with the State Farm® marketing department, managing national sponsorships pertaining to the life stages of getting mar... Read Full Bio

Denice Hasty

DENICE HASTY is senior vice president of business marketing for Comcast’s $5.6B+ business services group.  As CMO for Comcast Business, she... Read Full Bio

Celeste Headlee

CELESTE HEADLEE is an award-winning journalist and author of the upcoming book, We Need to Talk – How to Have Conversations Tha... Read Full Bio

Marian L. Heard

MARIAN L. HEARD is the president and CEO of Oxen Hill Partners, a Boston-based company specializing in leadership development programs and bran... Read Full Bio

Mellody Hobson

MELLODY HOBSON is president of Ariel Investments. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers six no-load mutual funds for individual investors a... Read Full Bio

Kelly Hoey

KELLY HOEY is the author of Build Your Dream Network (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee). She has been lauded from Forbes as “... Read Full Bio

Tricia Holck

TRICIA HOLCK is assistant vice president, field marketing and events specialist, Beneficial Bank. She is responsible for overseeing the Bank�... Read Full Bio

Kim Keegan

KIM KEEGAN is currently the manager of methods, training and mapping and document services at PECO Energy.  She has over 20 years of experien... Read Full Bio

Grace Killelea

GRACE KILLELEA is the CEO and founder of the GKC Group, a leadership development firm based in Philadelphia. A veteran of the telecommunication... Read Full Bio

Michelle King

MICHELLE KING is a leading global expert in gender and organizations. She is a keynote speaker, researcher, writer and advocate. She has signif... Read Full Bio

Kelli Kirwin

KELLI KIRWIN is the director for the value management office (VMO) with Cisco. She is responsible for licensing support and tools that enable ... Read Full Bio

Jessica Lahey

JESSICA LAHEY is a teacher, writer, and mom. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public... Read Full Bio

Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

STEPHANIE KAPLAN LEWIS co-founded Her Campus in 2009 as an undergrad at Harvard University. She has grown Her Campus to over 70 million mo... Read Full Bio

Julie Lythcott-Haims

JULIE LYTHCOTT-HAIMS is the author of the New York Times best-selling book How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting ... Read Full Bio

Eileen C. McDonnell

EILEEN C. McDONNELL is chairman and chief executive officer of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. She joined Penn Mutual in 2008 as its C... Read Full Bio

Margaret A. McKenna

MARGARET A. McKENNA is a lawyer and educator, and is a leading expert in educational opportunity, civic engagement and philanthropy. She is Pr... Read Full Bio

Carol Lee Mitchell

CAROL LEE MITCHELL is senior vice president, group head of U.S. markets leading the Bank of America Enterprise globally. In this role, she lead... Read Full Bio

Monica Moody-Wrenn

MONICA MOODY-WRENN is senior manager, human resources with PECO Energy, where she has been employed for over 30 years. In her current position... Read Full Bio

Robyn Moreno

ROBYN MORENO is the editorial director of Latina magazine and Latina.com; the largest media property aimed at acculturated Latinas in ... Read Full Bio

Loraine Ballard Morrill

LORAINE BALLARD MORRILL is currently news director and community affairs director for iHeartMedia’s six Philadelphia stations. They are ... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Mueller

JENNIFER MUELLER earned her PhD in social and developmental psychology at Brandeis University, and has been on the faculty of many top business... Read Full Bio

Courtney Mullen

COURTNEY MULLEN is a young professional skilled in pediatric physical therapy. She started at Shriners Hospitals for Children—Philadelphia a... Read Full Bio

Becky O’Loughlin

BECKY O’LOUGHLIN is vice president of global human resources with QVC. She joined QVC in 2004. She started as an organization development p... Read Full Bio

Jamila Payne

JAMILA PAYNE brings a new twist on personal development to busy professionals. Forget what you thought you knew about having it all. Payne has ... Read Full Bio

Esther Perel

ESTHER PEREL is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and provocative voices on personal and professional relationships. A celebrated ... Read Full Bio

Christine Porath

CHRISTINE PORATH is a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Prior to that, she taught at Marshall School of B... Read Full Bio

Ashley Primis

ASHLEY PRIMIS is the executive editor of Philadelphia magazine. She joined the magazine in 2005 as managing editor and has also been l... Read Full Bio

Suzanne Quigley

SUZANNE QUIGLEY has over 20 years’ experience in corporate philanthropy, community involvement and project management. In her current positio... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Roberts

JENNIFER ROBERTS is the head of Chase Pay and Digital Products at JPMorgan Chase, which has relationships with half of the households in the U... Read Full Bio

Joyce E. A. Russell

JOYCE E. A. RUSSELL was named The Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business (VSB) in 2016. The dean serves as the ch... Read Full Bio

Alice Rutkowski

ALICE RUTKOWSKI is a vice president at SAGIN, where she serves nationally as executive communications coach. Rutkowski joined SAGIN with more ... Read Full Bio

Tracey Santilli

TRACEY SANTILLI is executive vice president, director of paid, earned and owned media at Tierney. She oversees the agency’s public relations... Read Full Bio

Niharika Shah

NIHARIKA SHAH is VP and head of brand marketing and advertising for Prudential. In her role she heads Prudential’s fully-integrated in-house... Read Full Bio

Ruth Sherman

RUTH SHERMAN works with global CEOs, international celebrities, and public figures looking to have a greater impact in their personal, public c... Read Full Bio

Ann Shoket

ANN SHOKET is the author of THE BIG LIFE:  Embrace the Mess, Work Your Side Hustle, Find a Monumental Relationship, and Become the Bad... Read Full Bio

Emily Esfahani Smith

EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH is the author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters (Crown). In her book, articles, and... Read Full Bio

Lisa Stone

LISA STONE is an entrepreneur, community leader and movement builder with a 20-year track record of creating and launching products and strate... Read Full Bio

Rene Syler

RENE SYLER is a television personality, who, somewhere between her first and second kids and coming to grips with her imperfections, realized ... Read Full Bio

Lisa Tanzer

LISA TANZER is president of Life is Good. She has over 25 years of consumer brand experience. Prior to her current role, Tanzer served as the ... Read Full Bio

Lisa Skeete Tatum

LISA SKEETE TATUM is founder and CEO of Landit, a technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women in the workplace,... Read Full Bio

Tracey Welson-Rossman

TRACEY WELSON-ROSSMAN is one of the founding members and CMO of Chariot Solutions, a premier software development consulting firm in Philadelp... Read Full Bio

Denise Viola-Monahan

DENISE VIOLA-MONAHAN is executive vice president of corporate banking with PNC Bank. Her responsibilities include coordinating existing and new... Read Full Bio

Celeste Warren

CELESTE WARREN is vice president, human resources and Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence with Merck. In this dual role, she ha... Read Full Bio

Caroline Webb

CAROLINE WEBB is CEO of Sevenshift, a firm that shows people how to use insights from behavioral science to improve their working life. Her boo... Read Full Bio

Ebony Staton Weidman

EBONY STATON WEIDMAN is assistant director of marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business where she oversees brand strategy, ... Read Full Bio

Karen Farmer White

KAREN FARMER WHITE is an education consultant. Previously, she was a managing director for the Pittsburgh office of Mesirow Financial. She att... Read Full Bio

Sharrie Williams

SHARRIE WILLIAMS joined the Action News team in March 2014. Before arriving in Philadelphia, she was the weekend anchor and weekday... Read Full Bio

Carmen Rita Wong

CARMEN RITA WONG is an author and the founder and CEO of Malecon Productions. She is the former co-creator and television host of On th... Read Full Bio

Alison Young

THE HONORABLE ALISON T. YOUNG currently serves as managing director of leadership and civic engagement at Drexel University’s LeBow College ... Read Full Bio

Health & Wellness Pavilion Speakers

Dr. Namita Ahuja

DR. NAMITA AHUJA is the senior medical director of Medicare and Geriatric Programs with UPMC Heal Plan. Previously, she was a clinical instruc... Read Full Bio

Raquel Arredondo

RAQUEL ARREDONDO is assistant director of graduate career services at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. In this role, she combi... Read Full Bio

Carmita Champ

CARMITA CHAMP is interim director of graduate programs at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. In this role, Champ is responsible fo... Read Full Bio

Angela Dowd-Burton

ANGELA DOWD-BURTON was appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter in 2010, and reappointed by Mayor Jim Kenney, to serve as deputy director of commerce... Read Full Bio

Elaine Goldwater

ELAINE GOLDWATER is director of global marketing for anti-infectives for Merck & Co. Inc. She is in charge of the global marketing team wi... Read Full Bio

Estella Hyde

ESTELLA HYDE is a lead spokesperson for AARP Pennsylvania on the CARE Act. Hyde’s presentations on the CARE Act, and how it benefits caregiv... Read Full Bio

Stephanie Johnson

STEPHANIE JOHNSON is director of graduate career services at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. She is passionate about helping ... Read Full Bio

Angela Steel

ANGELA STEEL is vice president of clinical operations for infectious diseases at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.  She came to the USA in 199... Read Full Bio

Karla Trotman

KARLA TROTMAN is the executive vice president of Electro Soft, Incorporated, the largest African-American electronics contract manufacturing a... Read Full Bio

Chef Fabio Viviani

CHEF FABIO VIVIANI is a nationally recognized chef and restaurateur based in Chicago, IL. He is perhaps best known as a finalist on Bravo TV'... Read Full Bio

Social Media Roundtable

Jackie Kollar

JACKIE KOLLAR leads the development and execution of key strategy and campaign work at ChatterBlast Media. She has spearheaded projects for va... Read Full Bio

Shari Medini

SHARI MEDINI is a content creator and consultant living in Lititz, PA with her supportive husband and two little boys. In 2010, she quit her f... Read Full Bio

Nicole Michalik

NICOLE MICHALIK is a woman who defines the term "social.”  She is the on air midday host on Real 106, on air as Q102’s “Nik the Web Chi... Read Full Bio

Rakia Reynolds

RAKIA REYNOLDS is founder and CEO of Skai Blue Media, a multimedia communications agency that boasts an all-star roster of lifestyle, technolo... Read Full Bio

Charlie Widdoes

CHARLIE WIDDOES is entering his second season as the director of digital content and media for the 76ers, overseeing the team’s social media ... Read Full Bio

Small Business Roundtable

Erica Booth

ERICA BOOTH is president and CEO of Erica Booth Tax & Accounting Services, LLC. She has more than a decade of experience specializing in f... Read Full Bio

Tracy Buchholz

TRACY BUCHHOLZ works as the communications associate for the Support Center for Child Advocates, a nonprofit agency providing legal and social... Read Full Bio

Vanessa Chan

VANESSA CHAN is an entrepreneur, consultant and angel investor who thrives on growth through market­-backed innovation. In 2015, she left McK... Read Full Bio

Rita Friedman

RITA FRIEDMAN is a coach, speaker, and consultant focused on helping jobseekers strategically navigate career transitions. She works with clie... Read Full Bio

Tonushree Mondal

TONUSHREE MONDAL leads her own consulting business in strategic HR. She has over 20 years of global experience working with leadership teams i... Read Full Bio

Hannah Moulden

HANNAH MOULDEN is account director and content strategist at Tierney. She has experience crafting social strategy and developing engaging edit... Read Full Bio

Parisnicole Payton

PARISNICOLE PAYTON is a communications executive, publicist, marketer and business manager. She helps sports and entertainment public figures, ... Read Full Bio

Archna Sahay

ARCHNA SAHAY works with for profit and nonprofit organizations and government entities to help develop innovation strategies, design ecosystem... Read Full Bio

Haniyyah Sharpe-Brown

HANIYYAH SHARPE-BROWN is a driven leader. She is a creative thinker and innovative in her approach to create collaborative opportunities for o... Read Full Bio