With the theme "Design Your Future," the 18th annual Women in Leadership Conference will feature tech leaders from Synopsys, Lending Club, and Kaiser Permanente on March 15 at Haas.
"Having successfully used design-thinking tools in multiple projects since starting Haas, Lauren and I wanted to introduce women professionals in the Bay Area to these out-of-the-box tools to advance both their personal and professional lives," explains Stephanie Curran, MBA 14, who is co-chairing the conference with Lauren Fernandez, also MBA 14.
The conference will start with breakfast and then a discussion with Debra Martucci, chief information officer and VP of information technology at Synopsys, which provides tools and services for semiconductor design. Haas alumna Carrie Dolan, BS 87, MBA 97, CFO at Lending Club, an online financial website, and Christine Paige, PhD 86 (Poli. Sci.), senior VP of marketing and digital services at Kaiser Permanente, also will give keynote talks.
In addition to the keynote addresses, the conference will host afternoon interactive workshops emphasizing [re]Framing, [re]Telling, [re]Evaluating, and [re]Imagining. All workshops will involve formulating different perspectives and approaches in one’s life and career. For example, the [re]Evaluating workshop with career coach Michelle Florendo, MBA 10, called “Prototyping Your Future,” will focus on successfully navigating career changes and jumpstarting the transition process through introspection. A [re]imagine workshop will explore “authenticity in career and in life” with assistance from social entrepreneur, professional surfer, and motivational speaker Farhana Huq.
In a notable change from previous years, the conference will shift the focus of its panels from industry to function. The purpose is to provide women with access to other professionals working in a function or field, such as marketing, that relates to any industry and present a variety of career opportunities not previously considered.
The event, which is the longest-running student-organized conference at Haas, is expected to attract and sell out with 400 attendees, including current students, alumni, and other professionals from the Bay Area.
Tickets are available until March 14, with discounts for students, alumni, faculty, and staff. For more information and registration, visit wilconference.org.