Transformational Women NYC | December 9th, 2025

December 9, 2025

June 2024 | Gala Networking Reception & Dinner

5:30-6:00 PM | Gala Networking Reception (Business Attire, please.) 

6:00-7:30 PM | Gala Dinner Exclusive Interview & Audience Engagement
Strategic Ambiguity: Insights for CEOs Managing Through Turbulent Times
Special Guests:
Valerie Plame, “Outed” CIA Operations Officer, Best-Selling Author of Fair Game & Blowback
Cameron Munter, U.S. Ambassador (retired)

7:30 PM | Gala Networking Concludes

December 10, 2025

June 2024 | Full Conference Program

8:00-8:40 AM | Registration and Networking

8:40-8:45 AM | Welcome Remarks

8:45-9:20 AM | Keynote Speaker
A Look Over My Shoulder: Insights for Women Leaders, From My Own Experience
Presenter:
Valerie Plame, “Outed” CIA Operations Officer, Best-Selling Author of Fair Game & Blowback9:20-10:00 AMPanel Discussion
Yes, and Then What: Creating Discomfort and Getting to the Crucial Conversation 
Moderator:
Lisa Silverman, Senior Managing Director, Chicago Office Head, K2 Integrity
Panelists:

10:00-10:40 AM | Panel Discussion
Institutional Investors: Why Women are Factored into Company Performance
Moderator:
Jurgita Ashley, Partner, Thompson Hine LLP
Panelists:
John Glenn Grau, President and CEO, InvestorCom
Amy Borrus, Executive Director, Council on Institutional Investors

10:40-11:10 AM | Networking Break

11:10-11:50 AM | Panel Discussion, Board Directors 
Progress Report: New Appointments and Gender Diversity on Boards
Moderator:
Cindy Burrell, Founder and Director, CEO, Diversity in Boardrooms
Panelists:
Venita Fields, Board Director, Superior Group of Companies, IMA Financial Group, Inc
Jo Lynne Whiting, Chair of the Board of Directors, Boardbound by Women’s Leadership Foundation
JoAnn Lilek, CFO and/or and Director, Datum One Series Trust, Milton’s Distributing, Inc and Amalgamated Bank NY

11:50-1:05 PM | Networking Luncheon

1:05-1:45 PM | Panel Discussion
Moving Beyond Gender: A Discussion on Race, Religion and Multiculturalism
Moderator:
Neeti Dewan, Global Finance & Tax Leader, Author, Speaker, Board Director, Co-founder tech firms, Angel Investor, Wellbeing Guru
Panelists:
Kimberly Evans, Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion, and Social Impact, Northern Trust
Dwain Celistan, Managing Partner, DHR Global Diversity Practice Leader

1:45-2:40 PM | A Retrospective
Having It All: Helen Gurley Brown Through the Eyes of Today’s Leaders
Host:
Associate, Skytop Media Group
Guests:
Paxton Smith, Musician and Activist
Ellen Holloman, Partner, Global Litigation Group, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Joyce Winnecke, Advisor, Consultant Grown In Learning; President-Elect, IWF Chicago; Principal, JWinnecke Advisors

2:40-3:10 PM | Networking Break

3:10-3:50 PM | Interview
Finding Your Voice: How to Make Your Mark as a New Leader
Interviewer:
Katie Lever, Board Member & Audit Committee Chair, Bank of George
Interviewee:
Kimberly Evans, Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion, and Social Impact, Northern Trust

3:50-4:40 PM | Panel Discussion
The Long View: Tips on How to Manage Success and Leverage Opportunity
Moderator:
Maryann Waryjas, Corporate Board Director with ESG Focus, C-Suite Executive, SEC ACFE, ERM Leader, NACD Board Leadership Fellow
Panelists:
Julie Smolyansky, CEO and Board Director, Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY)
Dorri McWhorter, CEO, YMCA Metropolitan Chicago, Board Director, Wm. Blair Mutual Funds and Lifeway Foods, Inc.
Yolanda M. Daniel, Independent Board Director, Leslie’s Pool Supplies (NASDAQ: LESL), Valtir; Senior Advisor, Ready Life, US Medical Glove Company

4:40 PM | Closing Remarks/Conference Adjourns