The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce held its 12th annual Worcester Women’s Leadership Conference October 28 at the DCU Center, where women were able to connect with one another, hear from keynote speakers, and participate in breakout sessions. 

“It is tremendous to see everybody back in person,” said Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve all endured and navigated a lot over the past few months.”

The day-long event was the largest women’s leadership conference in Central Massachusetts. Last year’s session was virtual.

“Now, when I look around, it’s very special,” said Dr. Shlomit Schaal, a professor and chair of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at UMass Memorial Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “Today is all about connecting.”

Women were able to cover a lot throughout the almost ten-hour conference. Many speakers discussed issues of the pandemic, and how different areas, like leadership or mindfulness, were affected by Covid-19. Women had a chance to network and grow with each other throughout the day.

“Today is your time. It is about you,” said Kimberly Salmon, the AVP of community relations at The Hanover Insurance Group. “You’re in a room with hundreds of others that understand what most women went through this past year.”

The keynote speakers were Cynt Marshall, the CEO of the NBA’s  Dallas Mavericks, and Michelle Poler, the author of “100 Days Without Fear,” a book that follows Poler’s journey toward dealing with fear and living to the fullest.

The  conference offered the following eight breakout workshops throughout the day, and women were able to go to whichever they felt would best support their experiences:: 

 

  • “Leading through Lemons” was led by Dr. Schaal. The session was formed by a panel, consisting of four other female doctors in addition to Schaal. They discussed leadership, burnout, empowerment and more during a pandemic.

 

  • “Laughter. Leadership. Motherhood. Wine” was led by Christine Tieri, who is, as she called herself, a “recovering ad agency owner.” She discussed how parents, as leaders, can navigate between profession and parenthood.

 

  • “Building Dream Teams” centered around personal leadership journeys with Adriana Vaccaro from Culture Redesigned.

 

  • “Leading through Organizational Change” worked with Bowditch & Dewey’s Tina Bussone on leadership qualities and what is necessary to sell and affect change.

 

  • “DEI: Creating and Sustaining Workspaces that Promote Inclusion and Wellness” worked with Maria Fernandes-Dominique and Nicole Ferraro from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts on what inclusion looks like and how meaningful dialogues around race, equity, and difference can be facilitated in the workplace.

 

  • Author, educator, and public speaker Wendy OLeary facilitated a discussion on mindfulness and managing difficulties in life to cultivate happiness and wellbeing.

Seven Worcester Public School high school students were also in attendance, in accordance with the Susan Mailman Aspiring Young Women Leaders Scholarship.

“I think it is so important,” Salmon said. “Thank you ladies so much for being with us here today. We hope that you enjoyed it and were able to get something out of it.”

“It’s really incredible seeing everybody,” Salmon said. “We are the resilient ones. We are the women that kept this country running.”

Presenting sponsors were the Hanover Insurance Group, as well as UMass Memorial Health. The keynote sponsors were Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA and the DCU.