2018 Speakers

Shawn Achor

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

Amal Clooney

AMAL CLOONEY is a British human rights lawyer practicing at Doughty Street Chambers in London, where she specializes in international law and h... Read Full Bio

Nick Clooney

NICK CLOONEY has been a broadcaster since he was sixteen years old. For most of the intervening years, his focus has been radio and television ... Read Full Bio

Elizabeth Gilbert

ELIZABETH GILBERT's memoir Eat, Pray, Love has been called “a generation’s instruction manual” by The Toronto Sun.... Read Full Bio

Jesmyn Ward

JESMYN WARD is a novelist, memoirist and essayist. She is a MacArthur Genius and two-time National Book Award winner and has been hailed as the... Read Full Bio

Maysoon Zayid

MAYSOON ZAYID is an actress, comedian, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of, and a guest comedian in residence at, Arizona Sta... Read Full Bio

Governor Charlie Baker

GOVERNOR CHARLIE BAKER was inaugurated as the 72nd Governor of Massachusetts on January 8th, 2015. Since taking office, h... Read Full Bio

Ali Bebo

ALI BEBO joined Hologic in February 2015, and entered the unchartered territory of the healthcare industry after an extensive twenty year ... Read Full Bio

Renee Connolly

RENEE CONNOLLY is global head of communications and corporate responsibility at MilliporeSigma. Her responsibilities include leading inter... Read Full Bio

Kathy Horgan

KATHY HORGAN is executive vice president and chief human resources and citizenship officer at State Street Corporation, responsible for en... Read Full Bio

Katie Thompson

KATIE THOMPSON is a general assignment reporter who joined WCVB in February of 2017.  She is a New England native who was born and raised ... Read Full Bio

Karen Holmes Ward

KAREN HOLMES WARD is the director of public affairs and community services as well as host and executive producer of CityLine, WCVB’s award... Read Full Bio

Yvonne Albert

YVONNE ALBERT is head of human resources for MilliporeSigma. Albert joined MilliporeSigma in 2006, and has since held various management p... Read Full Bio

Emilie Aries

EMILIE ARIES is the founder and CEO of Bossed Up. Formerly the co-host of HowStuffWorks’ fiercely feminist podcast, Stuff Mom Never Told You... Read Full Bio

Sally Bament

SALLY BAMENT is vice president of marketing, cloud and service providers with Juniper Networks. She brings more than twenty five years of expe... Read Full Bio

Brooke M. B. Bass

BROOKE M. B. BASS is the senior vice president and manager, property field operations for global retail markets US claims with Liberty Mutual ... Read Full Bio

Stacy Dawson Belf

STACY DAWSON BELF is a managing director for State Street Corporation’s alternative investment solutions business line, managing a team with... Read Full Bio

Melissa Ben-Ishay

MELISSA BEN-ISHAY is a mom, baker, and founder of Baked by Melissa, the New York City-based brand famous for its signature, bite-size cupcakes... Read Full Bio

Elizabeth Bolgiano

ELIZABETH BOLGIANO is executive vice president and chief human resources officer with AMAG Pharmaceuticals. Bolgiano is an experienced human re... Read Full Bio

Jane Bowman

JANE BOWMAN is the vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships for Boston Globe Media, where she works to develop new consumer and ... Read Full Bio

Lisa Brady

LISA BRADY is the director of supply chain sustainability at Cisco, leading programs in sustainability, risk, compliance and supplier diversity... Read Full Bio

Terri Bresenham

TERRI BRESENHAM is GE Healthcare’s chief innovation officer, leading innovation and incubation of new growth models for the company. In this ... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Briere

JENNIFER BRIERE is the vice president, HR business partnering and SWFP at National Grid US. National Grid is an electricity, natural gas, and ... Read Full Bio

Lauren Smith Brody

LAUREN SMITH BRODY is the author of The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby (Doubleday/A... Read Full Bio

Stephanie Browne

STEPHANIE BROWNE is vice president of talent acquisition and chief diversity and inclusion ... Read Full Bio

Valorie Burton

VALORIE BURTON is a best-selling author and founder of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute (CaPP). She has served clients in over fo... Read Full Bio

Courtney Carver

COURTNEY CARVER changed her life by simplifying it after a devastating diagnosis in 2006. She’s the founder of bemorewithless.com and mini... Read Full Bio

Francesca Cavallo

FRANCESCA CAVALLO is CCO of Timbuktu Labs, an award-winning media company founded in 2012 with CEO and co-founder, Elena Favilli. She is a New ... Read Full Bio

Jean Chatzky

JEAN CHATZKY is the financial editor of NBC’s TODAY show, is an award-winning personal finance journalist, AARP’s personal finance ambas... Read Full Bio

Lida Citroën

LIDA CITROËN is an international branding and reputation management expert who designs and enhances the identities of executives, entrepreneu... Read Full Bio

James Clear

JAMES CLEAR is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the New York ... Read Full Bio

Kem Danner

KEM DANNER is the head of human resources and senior vice president for State Street Global Advisors. She is also a member of the State Street... Read Full Bio

Meredith DeWitt

MEREDITH DeWITT is the founder and principal of MJD Associates, LLC, a boutique donor advising practice that supports private individuals,... Read Full Bio

Kellyanne Dignan

KELLYANNE DIGNAN is director of global corporate affairs with Ocean Spray. In this role, she oversees strategic development and execution of t... Read Full Bio

Kate Dobbs

KATE DOBBS has the privilege to serve as senior vice president of marketing and communications for Fresenius Medical Care North America. O... Read Full Bio

Kristy Dunchak

KRISTY DUNCHAK is a senior director of product management for Tyco converged solutions, building technologies and solutions at Johnson Control... Read Full Bio

Judy A. Durkin

JUDY A. DURKIN is vice president of financial planning and analysis at Raytheon Company. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2017 sales of $25B... Read Full Bio

Christine M. Fandozzi

CHRISTINE M. FANDOZZI, PhD is associate vice president at Merck Research Laboratories in the department of pharmacokinetics, ... Read Full Bio

Dr. Christina Farup

DR. CHRISTINA FARUP is vice president of transformation and change management for Johnson and Johnson medical devices. In this role, she helps... Read Full Bio

Sanam Razzaghi Feldman

SANAM RAZZAGHI FELDMAN leads global people strategy and development initiatives across Rapid7 as the senior director of people strategy.  In ... Read Full Bio

Meredith Flynn-Ripley

MEREDITH FLYNN-RIPLEY is vice president of mobile messaging at Salesforce, where she is responsible for the vision and strategy of messaging ... Read Full Bio

Mary-Jo Gagliardi

MARY-JO GAGLIARDI is a senior vice president of human resources and leads HR for Wells Fargo Capital Finance, a global $45B lending division wi... Read Full Bio

Francesca Gino

FRANCESCA GINO is an award-winning researcher, and the Tandon family professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Her cons... Read Full Bio

Melody Godfred

MELODY GODFRED is an entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She practiced law as a litigation attorney before founding Write in Color, a full-serv... Read Full Bio

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH is the world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior, for themselves, thei... Read Full Bio

Loi Sessions Goulet

LOI SESSIONS GOULET leads the research team at TripAdvisor. After establishing the research function as a team of one, she is now building out... Read Full Bio

Sarah Grimwood

SARAH GRIMWOOD is the head of portfolio, strategy and operations, and chief of staff, for the Rare Disease Research Unit with Pfizer Inc. She ... Read Full Bio

Kate Gulliver

KATE GULLIVER oversees the talent team at Wayfair, where she is responsible for global human capital management including recruiting, organiza... Read Full Bio

Blair Hammond

BLAIR HAMMOND is a global marketer, specializing in digital brand management. As Reebok’s director of brand management for footwear, she earn... Read Full Bio

Martie Haselton

MARTIE HASELTON, PhD is the world’s leading researcher on sexuality and the ovulation cycle. She is a professor of psychology at UCLA, and th... Read Full Bio

Fran Hauser

FRAN HAUSER is a long-time media executive, startup investor and author of The Myth of the Nice Girl. She's held senior positions at some of ... Read Full Bio

Susan Hayes

SUSAN HAYES is a supply chain vice president in product operations, with Cisco Systems, Inc. Hayes’ responsibilities include new product int... Read Full Bio

Amanda Healy

AMANDA HEALY is an award-winning B2B marketing demand generation leader and social media expert, national speaker, and syndicated blogger.... Read Full Bio

Sally Helgesen

SALLY HELGESEN is considered the gold standard among experts on women’s leadership, and was the first to focus on what women have to contrib... Read Full Bio

Dr. Ellen Hendriksen

DR. ELLEN HENDRIKSEN is a clinical psychologist who helps millions calm their anxiety and be their authentic selves through her award-winning ... Read Full Bio

Linda Henry

LINDA HENRY is the managing director of the Boston Globe and Stat News. She is a co-founder and chair of HUBweek, a civic collaboration betwee... Read Full Bio

Meredith (Max) Hodges

MEREDITH (MAX) HODGES joined Boston Ballet as executive director in 2014, and leads the company in partnership with Artistic Director Mikko Ni... Read Full Bio

Sakina Ibrahim

SAKINA IBRAHIM is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author, social entrepreneur, and professor of dance. She has been featured in publications su... Read Full Bio

Cynthia Johnson

CYNTHIA JOHNSON is the VP of global data center sales at Cisco. In this role, she is charged with developing and leading growth strategies tha... Read Full Bio

Katie Rosen Kitchens

KATIE ROSEN KITCHENS is co-founder of FabFitFun. She has led the company’s evolution as a female-focused media brand, from writing about gre... Read Full Bio

Laurie Knocke

LAURIE KNOCKE is senior employment counsel at Boston Scientific Corporation. In this role, she advises and counsels Boston Scientific’s car... Read Full Bio

Nataly Kogan

NATALY KOGAN is the creator of the Happier Method™, and an entrepreneur, speaker, and author. Her mission is to help millions of people impr... Read Full Bio

Janet Kraus

JANET KRAUS is co-founder and CEO of Peach, a lifestyle brand with a mission to help women “elevate their everyday” and thrive personally... Read Full Bio

Kathy Krisch

KATHY KRISCH is a director in Bose’s consumer wellness division, responsible for establishing hearing assistance as a new, direct-to-con... Read Full Bio

Rakhi Kumar

RAKHI KUMAR is a senior managing director and head of ESG investments and asset stewardship at State Street Global Advisors.  She leads SSGA'... Read Full Bio

Raquel (Rocky) Lachman

RAQUEL (ROCKY) LACHMAN is a brand marketing leader and recently VP of marketing at S’well, where she focused on brand marketing, collabo... Read Full Bio

Ali LaValley

ALI LAVALLEY is the director of global Converse procurement at Converse.  She leads global procurement strategy for the renowned foot... Read Full Bio

Kristen LaVerghetta

KRISTEN LaVERGHETTA is head of life science global internal communications with MilliporeSigma. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing... Read Full Bio

Cara Alwill Leyba

CARA ALWILL LEYBA is a best-selling author, master life coach, and creator of The Champagne Diet She encourages women to live the... Read Full Bio

Des Linden

DES LINDEN braved headwinds and torrential rain to become the first US women’s champion at the Boston Marathon since 1985. Her win this past ... Read Full Bio

Joanne Lipman

JOANNE LIPMAN is the best-selling author of That's What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Togethe... Read Full Bio

Cate Luzio

CATE LUZIO is the founder and CEO of Luminary, the premier collaboration hub and meeting space for women in New York City. A long-time advocat... Read Full Bio

Ellen McGirt

ELLEN McGIRT is an award-winning feature writer who also covers race, culture, and leadership in a daily column&n... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Meade

JENNIFER MEADE currently serves as the vice president of sales and commercial excellence for the breast and skeletal health division of Hologi... Read Full Bio

Gillian Meek

GILLIAN MEEK joined the Keds team as president in 2016. In this role, she leads a cross-functional team which includes product creation, mark... Read Full Bio

Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan

DR. MYECHIA MINTER-JORDAN is president and chief executive officer of The Dimock Center. The largest employer in Roxbury, Massachusetts and t... Read Full Bio

Jessica Morris

JESSICA MORRIS is the digital lumen’s director of application engineering for OSRAM. In this role, she leads the team responsible for the d... Read Full Bio

Diane Mulcahy

DIANE MULCAHY is the author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Wa... Read Full Bio

Kathleen Murphy

KATHLEEN MURPHY is president of Fidelity Investments personal investing division, which provides a full range of investment and financial plan... Read Full Bio

Nathalie Molina Niño

NATHALIE MOLINA NIÑO is a serial entrepreneur, a super connector and an investor, focused on high-growth, innovative businesses that deliver ... Read Full Bio

Laura Okmin

LAURA OKMIN has been covering the biggest names in sports on the biggest stages, for more than twenty five years. She is the founder of GALVANI... Read Full Bio

Anthony Ostler

ANTHONY OSTLER is currently a senior vice president in the Global Services Americas division of State Street. In his role, he is responsible f... Read Full Bio

Mona Patel

MONA PATEL is vice president of clinical training and fellowship education for the neuromodulation division with Boston Scientific. Her team ... Read Full Bio

Carmen Perez

CARMEN PEREZ is something of a Renaissance woman in modern-day activism. She has dedicated twenty years to advocating for many of today's impo... Read Full Bio

Maci Peterson Philitas

MACI PETERSON PHILITAS is the CEO and co-founder of On Second Thought (OST), the definitive delay-recall mechanism for mobile communications pl... Read Full Bio

Beth Phalen

BETH PHALEN is president and GM of the data protection division at Dell EMC. She is responsible for leading a global team to deliver Dell EMC�... Read Full Bio

Deb Pine

DEB PINE serves as the executive director of the Gloria Cordes Larsen Center for Women and Business at Bentley University. She sets and leads ... Read Full Bio

Colleen Richards Powell

COLLEEN RICHARDS POWELL is the director of corporate citizenship and diversity with MFS Investment Management. In this role, she oversees MFS�... Read Full Bio

Franchesca “Chescaleigh” Ramsey

FRANCHESCA “CHESCALEIGH” RAMSEY is an actress, writer, producer, director and influencer.  The always busy Ms. Ramsey is the host of M... Read Full Bio

Sam Rapoport

SAM RAPOPORT is senior director of football development with the National Football League. Rapoport spearheads programming that serves to reta... Read Full Bio

Shannon Resetich

SHANNON RESETICH is head of rare diseases and rare blood disorders, North America, with Sanofi Genzyme. She is responsible for driving the gr... Read Full Bio

Selena Rezvani

SELENA REZVANI teaches women at all levels to negotiate like a boss. She also consults to employers on how to make work truly “work” for w... Read Full Bio

Cecile Richards

CECILE RICHARDS is a national leader for women’s rights and social and economic justice, and the author of New York Times best-selle... Read Full Bio

Britney Robbins

BRITNEY ROBBINS is the founder and CEO of The Gray Matter Experience, a non-profit organization founded in 2016 to help Black high school stude... Read Full Bio

Nishita Roy-Pope

NISHITA ROY-POPE is a senior consultant at Dell, where she has led high impact, strategic, global programs and initiatives to drive external t... Read Full Bio

Laurie Ruettimann

LAURIE RUETTIMANN is a former human resources leader turned writer, speaker, and entrepreneur who is known for her commonsense style and stra... Read Full Bio

Dr. Laurie Santos

DR. LAURIE SANTOS is professor of psychology and head of Silliman College at Yale University. Santos is an expert on human cognition and the c... Read Full Bio

Cathleen Scerbo

CATHLEEN SCERBO is VP and GM of technology services at Liberty Mutual. In an era of digital disruption, she is responsible for building and lea... Read Full Bio

Hana Schank

HANA SCHANK is a writer, design researcher and technologist. Her most recent book is The Ambition Decisions: What Women Know About Work, Fami... Read Full Bio

Jan Schwartz

JAN SCHWARTZ is senior director of engineering for enterprise management tools at Oracle Corporation. Her responsibilities include driving the... Read Full Bio

Deb Shapiro

DEB SHAPIRO is a global business executive in the biopharmaceutical industry. She leads the Sanofi Genzyme human resources organization, workin... Read Full Bio

David Smith

DAVID SMITH, PhD, is the co-author of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and associate professor of sociology in the Departm... Read Full Bio

Alison Smith

ALISON SMITH is a marketing manager at Reebok where she works with the brand's wholesale partners. Smith joined Reebok in 2015, and previously... Read Full Bio

Jessamyn Stanley

JESSAMYN STANLEY is the author of Every Body Yoga as well as an internationally recognized yoga teacher, award-winning Inst... Read Full Bio

Jane Steinmetz

JANE STEINMETZ is the first woman to lead an office for a Big Four accounting firm in the Boston area. She brings over twenty years of exp... Read Full Bio

Amanda Stern

AMANDA STERN was born in New York City, and raised in Greenwich Village. She’s the author of The Long Haul and eleven books for chil... Read Full Bio

Simone Stewart

SIMONE STEWART is a senior director for Akamai’s web strategy and operations organization based in Laurel, MD.  She leads a team of... Read Full Bio

Saron Tesfalul

SARON TESFALUL joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2012.  She is a vice president in the consumer, retail and dining vertical, and is a mem... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Tomosivitch

JENNIFER TOMOSIVITCH is the vice president of market development for the laboratory products group of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.  She is ... Read Full Bio

Ashley Tyrner

ASHLEY TYRNER is the founder and CEO of Farmbox Direct. She went from food stamps, to CEO of a national brand that aims to eradicate the Food ... Read Full Bio

Chris Voss

CHRIS VOSS is a negotiation expert, CEO of the Black Swan Group, and author of the national best-seller Never Split The Difference: Negotiati... Read Full Bio

Cy Wakeman

CY WAKEMAN is president and founder of Reality-Based Leadership, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author. Backed... Read Full Bio

Elizabeth Wallace

ELIZABETH WALLACE is the author of The Ambition Decisions: What Women Know About Work, Family, and the Path to Building a Life (Viking, 2018... Read Full Bio

Nicole Wetmore

NICOLE WETMORE is the director of global HR compliance and Americas operations with Dell. She is focused on finding solutions to the complexit... Read Full Bio

Kristin Wong

KRISTIN WONG regularly writes about personal finance, career, and human behavior for The New York Times, ... Read Full Bio

Elizabeth Yancy Bostic

ELIZABETH YANCY BOSTIC is the founder of The Parent Coach LLC, specializing in special education advocacy and consultation. As a single mother... Read Full Bio

Megan Duelks

MEGAN DUELKS is the Americas lead in the Employee Health Innovation Center of Excellence at Johnson & Johnson (J&J). In this role, sh... Read Full Bio

Dr. Kristin Gabriel

DR. KRISTIN GABRIEL is a board-certified neurologist with sub-specialty training in neuro-oncology. She has nine years of pharmaceutical indus... Read Full Bio

Cathryn E. Gunther

CATHRYN E. GUNTHER vice president, global population health with Merck & Co, Inc. She started her career with Merck in sales, health scienc... Read Full Bio

Kristin Hendrickson

KRISTIN HENDRICKSON is a strategic business partner with Boston Scientific. She is an accomplished supply chain professional with more than twe... Read Full Bio

Maria Marlowe

MARIA MARLOWE helps busy women improve their health, clear up acne, and reach their ideal weight by upgrading their eating habits. She is a ce... Read Full Bio

Andrea M Morrison

ANDREA M MORRISON, RN is the National clinical manager for Cynosure, a division of Hologic.  She earned a BS in psychology at the University o... Read Full Bio

Nicole Pizzi

NICOLE PIZZI is a health engagement strategist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. She works to create, implement and evaluate wellnes... Read Full Bio

Meghan Rivera

MEGHAN RIVERA has over fifteen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in leadership roles focusing on digital marketing and commun... Read Full Bio

Robin Golinski

ROBIN GOLINSKI is an energetic and accomplished executive communication coach with The Speech Improve... Read Full Bio

Annemarie Riley Guertin

ANNEMARIE RILEY GUERTIN is a newly minted author. Her debut picture book How the Finch Got His Colors flew onto shelves in 2018 (Familius, 2... Read Full Bio

Cristen Tara Moore

CRISTEN TARA MOORE is a senior vice president of investments at Wells Fargo Advisors. She focuses on investment management for individuals and ... Read Full Bio

Britney Robbins

BRITNEY ROBBINS is the founder and CEO of The Gray Matter Experience, a non-profit organization founded in 2016 to help Black high school stude... Read Full Bio

Wendy Silver

WENDY SILVER is the founder and president of Beyond the Workplace LLC, a boutique HR consulting company specializing in employee relations. As... Read Full Bio

Yulkendy Valdez

YULKENDY VALDEZ is the co-founder and a managing partner of Forefront, a premier training provider that helps the Fortune 500 and other leadin... Read Full Bio

Natasha Zena

NATASHA ZENA is the co-founder of Lioness, the digital magazine for female entrepreneurs, and the first media outlet solely dedicated to helpi... Read Full Bio

Chrissy Carroll

CHRISSY CARROLL is a spirited blogger and social media enthusiast. On her blog, Snacking in Sneakers, she shares healthy recipes and training... Read Full Bio

Nancy Chen

NANCY CHEN is a staff scientist in the projects and solutions department at OSRAM Innovation Americas.  Her current interests include connect... Read Full Bio

Holly Chessman

HOLLY CHESSMAN was named one of New England’s Top 40 Influencers in content and digital marketing, She fully understands the power of online... Read Full Bio

Laurel Driskill

LAUREL DRISKILL, aka sugar boogerz, was in a dark place when she found autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). She moved out of her childh... Read Full Bio

Jodi Flynn

JODI FLYNN is the owner of Women Taking the Lead. She is an executive leadership coach, podcaster, author, speaker, workshop facilitator, and ... Read Full Bio

Shakti Routray Harris

SHAKTI ROUTRAY HARRIS is the global diversity and inclusion leader for the specialty products division of DowDuPont. In her eighteen years at ... Read Full Bio

Jessica N. Levenson

JESSICA N. LEVENSON brings over fourteen years as a straight-shooting innovative search and content thought leader to her role as VP of search... Read Full Bio

Angela Pitter

ANGELA PITTER is founder and CEO of LiveWire Collaborative, a digital marketing consultancy. Their services include online strategy developmen... Read Full Bio