Leadership is for everyone. No matter your age, gender, race or social status, you can be a leader worth following. To help you on your leadership journey, we’re hosting the second annual Leadercast Women, taking place Oct. 12 live at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta or at a location near you.
Leadercast Women brings together leaders from all backgrounds to learn from incredible women in the leadership space. This event is open to anyone who wants to learn to better themselves as leaders, so both women and men are invited to attend. The 2018 speakers include global activists, individual influencers, leadership coaches and business experts. These professionals will deliver empowering messages of what it looks like to lead yourself first before leading others.
Learn about each of the speakers taking the stage this year at Leadercast Women:
1. Barbara Bush
Barbara co-founded Global Health Corps in 2009 to mobilize a global community of young leaders to build the movement for health equity. To date, GHC has fostered more than 900 young leaders who take an innovative approach to solving some of the world’s biggest global health challenges. Previously, Barbara worked at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Red Cross Children’s Hospital in South Africa; UNICEF in Botswana; and the UN World Food Program. Barbara is a member of UNICEF’s Next Generation Steering Committee and on the board of directors of Covenant House International, PSI and the U.N.’s Social Entrepreneurship Council.
As the chair of UNICEF’s Next Generation, an initiative dedicated to reducing the number of preventable childhood deaths around the world, Jenna traveled throughout Latin America and the Caribbean with UNICEF where she saw firsthand the plight faced by the underprivileged. Her experience inspired her to write Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope, a New York Times best-seller based on the life of a 17-year-old single mother living with HIV who was determined to shield her child from the abuse and neglect that riddled her own childhood. Jenna previously served as a teacher in Baltimore and is passionate about literacy, education and improving inner-city schools.
“We must learn how to talk to one another and, more important, listen to one other. We must learn to talk to people we disagree with, because you can’t unfriend everyone in real life.”
In a time when conversations are often minimized to a few words and a lack of meaningful communication and conversation abounds, Celeste sheds a much-needed light on the lost and essential art of conversation. She is an award-winning journalist, professional speaker and author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter. Her TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation was named the No. 1 must-watch TED Talk by Glassdoor with 12.5 million total views to date. She has spent two decades as a radio show host and journalist in public radio. Celeste knows the true power of conversation and its ability to both bridge gaps or deepen wounds.
“I’ve seen enough to know that you can be a human with a mountain of resources and you can be a human with nothing, and you can be a monster either way.”
Clemantine is a human rights advocate who inspires others through the power and art of storytelling. Born in Rwanda and displaced throughout war-torn countries and various refugee camps, Clemantine received no formal education before the age of 13, but went on to graduate from Yale University with a bachelor’s in comparative literature. She published her memoir, The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, in April 2018. Her personal story has encouraged myriads of people to persevere despite great odds. Clemantine challenges audiences to reexamine the way they interact with one another in order to work toward the shared goal of improved equity across all communities.
5. Jess Ekstrom
“I’m living proof that you’re never too young to start something you believe in.”
While interning with a wish-granting organization for kids with life-threatening illnesses, Jess spent her junior year at North Carolina State University developing her company, Headbands of Hope. The company partners with retail stores and for every item sold, a headband is given to a child with cancer. By the time she graduated, she had donated thousands of headbands to kids with cancer and was elected to give the commencement speech at her graduation to 20,000 people. Today, Headbands of Hope is in more than 2,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada, including all Ulta locations. In addition to serving as CEO of her business, Jess speaks more than 40 times a year at campuses, corporations and conferences. Jess believes that you shouldn’t have to choose between making a living and making a difference.
“When you have full belief in yourself and the need to make things happen, that’s the most powerful force behind being successful.”
Julia is a two-time champion NASCAR racer from New York City, now making history on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. More than a racecar driver, Julia is a graduate of Stanford University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in science, technology and society. During college, she was also a contestant on season 26 of Survivor on CBS. In January 2017, Forbes listed Julia as a 30 Under 30 honoree in the sports division. Julia has collaborated with Spotify, Disney/Pixar and GIRLBOSS Radio, and has been written about by The New York Times, Entrepreneur and espnW, to name a few. As Julia continues to develop her career and brand on and off the track, she uses her platform to advocate for STEM education and women’s empowerment.
“A belief in something greater than ourselves sustains us when we are in pain, scared or in dire need. That same power enhances positive experiences and gives us more joy, compassion and energy.”
Marilyn grew up as an abused and neglected child in Hong Kong, and left home as a teen to come to America alone. Following her life mission, she achieved international business and humanitarian success. She now helps people and organizations find and fulfill their life’s purpose, and provides them with the principles and actionable steps to help them reach their goals. She is a speaker, best-selling author, consultant, board-certified executive and corporate coach, CEO of Marilyn Tam & Co., and founder and executive director of Us Foundation. Marilyn also formerly served as CEO of Aveda Corp., president of Reebok Apparel and Retail Group, and vice president of Nike Inc. She is also a successful entrepreneur who has built four companies and is author of How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want, available in six languages, and Living the Life of Your Dreams.
“We’ve got to step into our opportunities. They’re not always going to come to us.”
Molly Fletcher is a true trailblazer in every sense of the word. As CEO of The Molly Fletcher Company, she shares her unconventional and unique techniques that made her one of the first female sports agents in the high stakes, big ego world of professional sports to teach others the art of negotiation. Molly was dubbed the “female Jerry Maguire” by CNN when she served as president of client representation for sports and entertainment agency CSE. As one of the world’s only female sports agents, Molly recruited and represented hundreds of sport’s biggest names, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA Tour golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews, and basketball championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers. Molly is the author of four books: Fearless At Work, A Winner’s Guide to Negotiating, The Business of Being the Best and The 5 Best Tools to Find Your Dream Career.
9. Ritu Bhasin
Ritu didn’t always feel empowered to be an unapologetic, fiercely authentic leader. While she was highly successful and living the corporate dream in her early career, she realized the person she was in her daily life bore little resemblance to her true self. Her experiences with racism and bullying caused her to minimize the racial, religious, gender and class-based aspects of her identity so she could fit in among business circles. In doing this, she was profoundly unhappy. In turn, Ritu decided to transform her life—she completed her MBA, left her corporate job, launched her own business, became a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, and dedicated her life to helping others become more empowered and inclusive. In 2010, Ritu launched bhasin consulting inc., a diversity and inclusion-focused consulting firm, and has since gained a global reputation for her work in leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and women’s advancement. Ritu lives in Toronto, but travels all over the world to eat, swim, hike, dance and work. Her first book, The Authenticity Principle, was released in October 2017.
10. HOST: Dana Barrett
Dana is an award-winning TV and radio personality, speaker, political and business commentator, and social critic. She is host of The Dana Barrett Show, which airs weekdays on Talk Radio 640 WGST in Atlanta. Her on-camera credits include host of Atlanta Tech Edge on Atlanta’s NBC affiliate and Tech’d Out TV for Cox Communications, as well as playing a reporter in both TV and feature films. Dana is active in the community as a speaker and emcee for business, technology and nonprofit events, and is the official spokesperson for TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation. Before moving to radio and television, Dana was both an entrepreneur and a corporate executive, working in a variety of industries including publishing, media and IT.
* * *
You can register your organization to be a Host Site for the event by contacting us at sales@leadercast.com. For more information about the event, please visit women.leadercast.com.
