Past Conferences

Watch Deborah’s Keynote

Deborah Roberts is an award-winning ABC News senior national affairs correspondent for “20/20,” “Nightline,” “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight with David Muir.” A media veteran, Roberts is a highly respected journalist who has traveled the world for her reporting. She has also served as a substitute anchor for “Good Morning America,” “World News Weekend” and “20/20,” as well as a guest co-host on “The View.”

Roberts has been awarded multiple Emmy® Awards for her international and national coverage of world events, including her poignant reporting on an Ethiopian American woman’s emotional journey back to her African village to discover her long-lost mother. In 2021, Roberts was awarded a Peabody Award for the “20/20” special “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor,” which featured her extensive reporting on Taylor’s tragic case.

Roberts’ long-form reports on “20/20” have consistently produced extraordinary narratives, such as an intimate profile of former first lady Michelle Obama and former first daughter Ivanka Trump. She was also part of the historic coverage of the inauguration of former President Barack Obama.

Roberts is the author of “Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom For Modern Times,” a book written with her husband, Al Roker. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children.

Watch Minda’s Fireside Chat

Minda Harts is the CEO of The Memo LLC and an award-winning and best-selling author of The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table. Minda is a Professor at NYU Wagner and hosts a live weekly podcast called Secure The Seat. In 2020, Minda was named the #1 Top Voice for Equity in the workplace by Linkedin. She is an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar and has been featured on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Fast Company, New York Times, and Time Magazine. Minda frequently speaks at companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Nike, and Bloomberg on topics such as Managing Diverse Teams, Courageous Leadership, and Advancing women of color in the workplace.

Watch Christopher’s Breakout Session

Christopher Kurtz is the CKO (Chief Kindness Officer) of Do Good. Be Kind.®, an organization whose mission is to reintroduce the values of kindness and accountability into schools and the workplace. He is also the Founder and Principal at PeerThru, LLC, an independent agency that helps clients manage and capitalize on insights from team member feedback. His most recent venture is The Corndog Company of Central Oregon, food trailers specializing in corndogs and a moment of happiness.

Prior to forming Do Good. Be Kind.®, Chris led a wide range of high-performing, diverse teams in both start-up and large multi-nationals.

Chris believes that people perform best when they feel appreciated, that leadership is simple but not simplistic, and that the secret to a happy life is found in the pursuit of harmony, not balance.

Chris is a devoted husband and father of four stinky boys and currently resides on the North Shore of Oahu.

Watch Courtney’s Breakout Session

Courtney has found success by living her life as a leader. Notable achievements include her nine years of service as a Marine Corps officer, managing a top-notch sales team for Rational Software, earning her law degree at William & Mary, practicing at one of the nation’s leading law firms, and creating Lead Star (www.leadstar.us)– a premier leadership development consulting firm that works globally with leading organizations. She has also served as an elected official and recently completed a hiatus from her consulting work, during which she served as Chief Operating Officer of a rapidly scaling technology company.

Beyond Courtney’s government and corporate accomplishments, she is a business owner, thought leader, and New York Times best-selling author of Spark and Leading from the Front. Her success has been recognized throughout her professional career, but most recently she was awarded the National Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur and BusinessWeek profiled her achievements as a leadership expert. A dynamic guest on CNBC, FOX News, and CNN, Courtney’s efforts with Lead Star have been noted in publications ranging from Harvard Business Review and Fast Company to The Financial Times.

Courtney is married to Patrick Lynch and is the proud mother of three children. She resides in the Washington, DC area.

Watch Maria’s Breakout Session

Maria Regan Gonzalez is part of a movement to change the face of politics and leadership as the first Latina Mayor in in the Midwest and the state of Minnesota. She leverages her passion and skills to support institutions and companies in better including and serving more people and create equitable outcomes for all in her roles as mayor and as a Principal Sustainability Design Consultant in Population Health at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota.

Maria is committed to advancing racial and social justice issues by bringing people together to improve health outcomes, ideate and pilot innovative solutions and create more equitable systems and policies. She is known for her authentic leadership style and connecting the needs of the community to corporate and government strategy. Maria’s heart is in mentoring youth, women, and people of color as they grow their leadership.

Watch Tina’s Breakout Session

Tina Rae Vansteenbergen has been speaking professionally since 2013 with a fairly simple message: women need women. To be successful in the workplace. To feel understood. To feel less alone in the world… women need women. And that’s the message she flies thousands of miles to spread. Her speaking style gives women permission to open up, have honest conversations, and connect. With a combination of authenticity, storytelling, and humor, she’s been able to help hundreds of thousands of women tear down the walls we’ve built between us. Together with her audience, she helps women build relationships with one another, believe in themselves, and take up space at companies, campuses, and organizations.

Her work sets her soul on fire. So does a good nap. An excellent pour of bourbon. A beautiful snow. A peaceful and reflective sunset flight. A well-written West Wing quote. Her husband, her son, her dog, and a Minnesotan accent, of course.

Watch Tiffany’s Breakout Session

After spending 25 years working for Thomson Reuters and developing leaders and teams, Tiffany Mattick took her passion for women’s leadership development and started her own company, There she Grows.

Through speaking, facilitation and personal coaching, Tiffany lives her purpose by creating experiences for women to connect, grow and become the best version of themselves at work and at home. Tiffany’s vast experience, met with her keen and compassionate insight, comes to life through unforgettable workshops and life-changing connections that provide the catalyst to help women shine their light on the world, and unleash their potential.