Thanks to our sponsors, steering committee, tons of social media love, ticket holders, the city, county and state, we're making history here in Wisconsin and connecting our stories to a global community of women.
Many of the speakers are now on the website but we'll be announcing others as we get closer to November 19th. You can take a quick glance below too and know we have a great day planned for you in every way! Take a day for yourself. You're worth it and we would love to have you join us!
Thank you, friends for joining me on this grand adventure to empower, support and celebrate one another. We're just 5 weeks away now!
"CHARTING YOUR PATH AS A WOMAN IN LEADERSHIP OR IN BUSINESS"
Kim Sponem
CEO & President - Summit Credit Union
68% of us would rather talk about our weight than money. If we overcome that barrier, we can go places. In this breakout session with one of the leading women in finance, you’ll learn more about charting your own path as a woman in business and why your money matters.
Kim Sponem, the CEO of Summit Credit Union, a $3.2 billion organization with 181,000 members and 590 employees across 36 locations, will be speaking at WEDWisconsin. In addition to being one of the leading women in finance in the country, she is also the co-founder of STAR Credit Union, a credit union for kids offering hands-on learning about money and business.
Summit supports women in business. They support our future. They support our families and communities. Kim Sponem is a remarkable leader and she will be one of the leading women sharing their stories to guide you with yours at WEDWisconsin.
"NEUROSCIENCE - LEADING SELF AND OTHERS"
Dr. Niraj Nijhawan
Founder - Life Ecology Organization
See what Dr. Raj will be talking about.
Dr. Raj's presentation takes a deep dive into stress in the modern world, survival biology, applied neuroscience, and social, behavioral, and cognitive psychology. All of this can be applied to your life in a new way to help you lead like never before.
Dr. Raj is a practicing physician. He was raised in Milwaukee, WI, graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1992, and completed a medical residency in Anesthesiology/Critical Care at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Raj received a National Institute of Health Scientist Training Grant where he acquired a Master’s Degree in clinical research as he was trained as a clinical scientist and designed and conducted medical research. He is also a healthcare leader and was recruited to run and build several medical departments in a variety of hospitals and healthcare systems. Dr Raj has spent nearly 30 years cataloging, practicing, teaching, and helping people integrate the latest knowledge from the realms of medical, social, and neuroscience into their lives.
"THE POWER OF STORY"
Laura Gallagher
President - The Creative Company
Have you ever thought about yourself as a character in a story? What have you had to overcome to be where you are? Where is the character in your story going in the next chapter of your life? Learn how to put the power of story to work for you and your brand.
Laura is a visionary business and community leader with expertise in entrepreneurship, marketing, public relations, digital media and leadership. She is also one of 75 women in Wisconsin to be recognized by the Governor as a Trailblazer in Wisconsin. She is also the Regional Ambassador for WED North America representing the United States of America. As the founder and leader of The Creative Company, a full service public relations and web development agency she founded more than 25 years ago, she has led numerous campaigns for both local and national brands winning many awards along the way including a Gold Award for "Best Ad Agency in Wisconsin" by the readers of Corporate Report Wisconsin.
"A BETTER WORLD - HOW TO START AND RUN A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE OR NON-PROFIT"
Lisa Peyton-Caire
Founder & President - The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness
According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million tax-exempt organizations in the United States. Funding and sustainability remain among the top challenges for nonprofit organizations. In this session, you will learn what to consider before diving in, what works and what doesn’t in terms of fund development and which tools they are using to track outcomes and impact.
Lisa is an Educator, Social Entrepreneur, Non-profit leader, Women’s Health Advocate, and change agent whose work and service over the last 20 years has spanned the PreK through 16 education spectrum; merged the fields of education, human services, business, community and youth empowerment, and advocacy; and has included extensive leadership experience as a Manager and Administrator. Over the past 10 years, her work has expanded to include health advocacy with a particular emphasis on combating health disparities impacting African American women and their communities.
"THE ART OF IMPERFECT ACTION - ALL SUCCESS COMES FROM DARING TO BEGIN"
Allison Liddle
President, Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, Coach, Trainer
Through Allison's presentation, you’ll get the practical tools you need to move forward in your life. You’ll understand some of the reasons you may feel stuck and how to break through them. You’ll be equipped, energized, and ready to create massive success in your life through practicing the art of imperfect action!
Allison provides clients massive results, strategic vision, and creative solutions to their challenges. She is an award-winning entrepreneur and a best selling author that teaches from experience on how to build sustainable businesses. She is a leadership expert on change and communication that knows how to engage teams to move forward quickly and get massive results. Allison has spoken at companies in the TOP 15 on the Fortune 500 and many other Fortune 500 Companies. She speaks at many State and National conferences.
"BEG, BORROW OR BOOTSTRAP"
Chandra Miller Fienen
Director of Operations & Program - StartingBlock Madison
According to the Kauffmann Foundation, the average cost of starting a new business is about $30,000. As a business grows, it needs additional influxes of capital. In this session, you’ll learn about various funding routes including SBA loans, angel investors, venture capital and more to take your business to the next level.
As a former attorney-turned entrepreneur, Chandra has a wide set of varying leadership skills including legal, public policy development and implementation, pre-ideation and emerging company business development strategy, community building, charitable organization inception and management, and fundraising. At StartingBlock Madison, she gets to engage in her passion to help cultivate entrepreneurs, accelerate startup growth and drive innovation.
"HOW THE AGILE APPROACH DRIVES INNOVATION WHILE BUILDING BRAVE"
Mary Burke
CEO & Founder - Building Brave
See clip from 2017 keynote address.
Mary's keynote address will be about the importance of remaining agile, creative and brave. In this keynote address, you will learn the tools and principles for innovative thinking and why seeing your work as an experiment on the way to a solution is essential.
After 20 years in business, Mary left the corporate world to use her talents and energy to try to make the world a little better place. She focused on improving educational opportunities for students at-risk by co-founding the AVID/TOPS partnership between the Madison Metropolitan School District and the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County. Along the way, Mary was unexpectedly drawn into politics, serving as Secretary of Commerce for the state of Wisconsin and in 2014 running for governor of Wisconsin. She lost that race but the experience changed her life and inspired her to start Building Brave.
"YOU, INC."
Grace Trewartha
Financial Educator
What are you really communicating when you present, whether to large groups or in more intimate settings? Investors have a saying, “Bet on the jockey, not the horse.” In other words, choose the A+ team with the B- idea over the B- team with the A+ idea. Unfortunately, a compelling startup or business idea (or potential employee!) can all too often be overshadowed by a B- presentation--poorly-organized slides, an unfocused narrative, nerves.
In this talk, you'll learn simple strategies and techniques to convey the right information about what you’re actually selling - YOU.
- Three presentation no-nos
- The surprising power of silence
- How to get the audience on your side
- The one thing you can never do too much
Grace's background includes leadership roles in finance and real estate for Fortune 500 companies including Clinique, Estee Lauder and Revlon. She is a graduate of Stanford University and has her MBA from Harvard Business School. She is the CFO of her family of five and a tutor for Manhattan Prep as well as an entrepreneur!
Grace is just one of the many leading women who will be your guide at WEDWisconsin.
Save $20 now! Early bird rates will go up on October 15th!
*Please note we sold out last year and may again.
Full Conference Pass
Register to celebrate and learn with us in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, November 19th, 2018. Registration includes all conference materials and sessions, healthy snacks at breaks, and a beautiful lunch.
Get Your Tickets Now
Instill brand loyalty, cultivate valuable relationships, showcase your brand's commitment to leaving a positive economic footprint and more by becoming a sponsor of WEDWisconsin on November 19th!
Partner/Sponsor
Please contact The Creative Company event organizer, Kirstie Warren, or WEDWisconsin Ambassador and Producer, Laura Gallagher by calling (608) 442-6336 (between 8am-4:30pm) to showcase your company at WEDWisconsin. There are swag bag opportunities for both large and small swag! Product must be Wisconsin made and preferably by a female entrepreneur. A jury panel will decide what gets to go in the bag for WEDWisconsin attendees!
Laura Gallagher
Kirstie Warren