WLS 2022

Presenters: Amy Moreno and Dr. Jessica Rush Leeker
Location: UMC 235

Utilizing our own experiences, literature and research around authenticity, Amy Moreno and Dr. Jessica Rush Leeker will guide you in experiential practices to cultivate and demonstrate your authenticity as a leader more intentionally.

Presenters: Sarah Broadhurst and Danie Edwards
Location: UMC 247

Have you ever felt overlooked, unseen or passed over for opportunities because you’re not confident enough? Have you tried speaking up, power poses and other confidence-boosting tips to advance your career without seeing results? In this session, we will discuss the value of self-confidence in the workplace and how confidence shows up differently among men and women. We will debunk the myth that women aren’t as confident as men in male-dominated professions and discuss strategies to level the playing field. This program is intended to benefit women at all stages in their careers, from new professionals to supervisors. Participants will engage in group discussion and activities designed to build confidence in themselves and teach skills that promote advocating for gender equity in the workplace.

Presenters: Becky Yeager and Shelley Knuth
Location: UMC Aspen Rooms

What is the current state of female leadership in tech? What are some of the biggest roadblocks women face when working in the industry? How can the university create a more inclusive work environment so that women can advance in their careers?​​​​​​​ Hear from leaders at the university and join us for small group breakout sessions.

This discussion will focus on women in leadership roles in tech at the university and how women and leaders have a significant influence on the culture of their organizations. We will look at how women can establish the agenda, prioritize tasks, manage, lead and inspire. This talk will also focus on recruitment and mentoring within the workforce.

Presenters: Ysatiz Piñero and Nicole Laverty
Location: UMC 415/417

Interrupting Sexism is a workshop designed for attendees to recognize sexism and gender bias and learn strategies to promote gender equality.

Presenter: Frances Stephenson
Location: UMC 235

My job is to develop and maximize skill sets in athletes to improve performance in sport and competition. Physical skills are evaluated and recruited by coaches to create teams that fit their systematic approach to success. Beyond physical skills, we look for people who fit our team culture. Confidence, I’d argue, is the most valuable trait that can be recruited to any team–sport or otherwise. A confident athlete is more likely to step outside their comfort zone during training leading to larger performance gains at a faster rate. A confident athlete is more likely to take risks in practice and competition and be in ideal positions to “make plays.” A confident athlete is more willing to put themselves in circumstances where they might potentially fail–consequently building their skills sets further. A confident athlete is more likely to positively affect the energy of the group in times of adversity–like being behind in score during an important competition. Like any physical skill to be developed, confidence can be trained. As a leader of young women, I work hard to create scenarios where confidence can be practiced and developed within my female athletes. Confidence is a building block to strong, driven leadership.

We know from an abundance of social studies that boys and girls are groomed for specific traits, however unconsciously, from a young age. As women, we grow up with conflicting messages about leadership, the way we speak about ourselves, our “role” in social situations and self-image. Our confidence is something that often suffers in consequence and becomes underdeveloped in the areas needed to thrive in leadership roles. If we are intentional about practicing confidence, we can build strong female leaders. I am excited to share the ways I practice this with the young women I train.

Presenter: CJ Llewellyn-Ryan
Location: UMC 247

Attendees should bring a device through which they can access the internet (e.g. smart phone/laptop).

Our values drive everything we do, whether we realize it or not. Many successful companies define and share their values to attract like-minded individuals, retain staff and customers, and make decisions. This is an increasing trend in modern business because working to a set of defined principles can promote employee engagement and lead to 50% more productivity, according to LinkedIn (2014). In this workshop you will define your own values, learn the values of others and how to apply that knowledge in a team, and collaborate to create a list of team values in a hypothetical situation to see how they can be applied to areas such as decision making and accountability. We will also apply these understandings to Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team to show how successful application of values can help develop the foundation of any successful team: trust. This will be a hands-on and fast-paced workshop led by CJ Llewellyn-Ryan, a Master of Science in organizational leadership graduate. CJ has more than 10 years of experience in education and team development, and she has developed this workshop from her own practical experience as assistant director of CASE building services on CU Boulder’s central campus.

Presenters: Pamela Epstein, Martha Piper, Adele D’Ari, Tania Guzman Jurado, and Cade Ponder
Location: UMC Aspen Rooms

Two student mentees and two mentors will share their partnerships and experiences as participants in the Boulder-CU Leadership (BCLP) mentorship program, a program of the Center for Leadership. The mentees are both students at CU Boulder, and the mentors are professionals in the Boulder community who have been involved with the CU and Boulder community for many years. The panel is being moderated by Pam Epstein from the Center for Leadership. The participants will begin by talking about the overall benefits of mentoring. Then they will focus more specifically on how mentor relationships can help young women be successful and take on leadership roles in the workplace and beyond. The mentors will be invited to talk about how they have navigated gendered challenges in their careers, and what they do to support their female mentees (as well as other women) to be ready for those challenges. The mentees will talk about what they are learning or have learned through their mentorships and how they will take that knowledge into the workplace (or have already done so). To the theme of “filling each other’s cups,” both the mentors and mentees will talk about how mentorships are not a one-way street. Rather, the mentors have benefitted from the relationships as well as imparting knowledge; for example, better understanding generational challenges and becoming involved in causes that are important to their mentees.

Presenters: Margie Rodgers and Brie Jutte
Location: UMC 415/417

We will look at key takeaways from the book The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker to help others organize and create meaningful events and gatherings. After discussing some of the considerations of gatherings, we will also have participants do an activity where they brainstorm a meeting makeover for one of their work meetings or a personal gathering. We will also describe the research around gendered expectations society places on event planning in both professional and personal settings.