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Want to Join the IWL Male Advisory Group?
This summer, IWL is launching a male ally advisory group, and we'd love to include you. If you are a man who is interested in being a part of a network of allies, sharing best practices, and helping shape programming at IWL, contact
kgrahamlee@iwlfoundation.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
IWL
10th Annual IWL Indianapolis Women's Leadership Conference
"Uniting Our Power"
Early Bird Registration
opens June 1!
Monday, September 16, 2019
7:00am - 5:00pm
JW Marriott
We are unique individuals with our own experiences, skills and journeys. And while ultimately it comes down to each of us identifying and pursuing what we need at work and at home to be fulfilled, it is in the coming together that we are able to expand our thinking, our perspective and ultimately our impact.
IWL has always been a place where leaders from different companies, backgrounds, races, genders and perspectives come together to focus on our individual development, but also on our shared challenges and opportunities in pursuit of better, more sustainable solutions. This year's IWL conference is focused on how we can unite the power of the many who show up, speak up and stand tall to advance the inclusion conversation in our companies, our homes and in our communities.
Join us on September 16 with 1,500 other women and men to Unite Our Power.
Cost:$380 Early Bird, $399 General Admission, or $3,750 for a table of 10
The Low Cost and High Impact of Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace
Featuring Doneisha Posey
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
8:00am - 10:00am
United Way of Central Indiana
2955 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Doneisha Posey is currently the Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. Ms. Posey serves as the chief legal officer of the agency and oversees its team of staff attorneys responsible for all aspects of civil rights enforcement around the state. In addition, she manages the daily operations of the state agency.
Learn more about th
e Indiana Civil Rights Commission and your rights and responsibilities under the Indiana Civil Rights Laws, Title VII, and the ADA. Posey will focus on reasonable accommodations in the workplace and who pays for them. The law requires many employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. But did you know that approximately 60% of all job accommodations cost absolutely nothing? Additionally, the process for providing reasonable accommodations and best practices in finding a resolution will be discussed.
Further, the presentation will delve into the high impact of workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities and moving towards more diversity & inclusivity in the workplace.
Featuring past IWL Conference speaker, Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
7:30am - 9:00am
The Hatch
6161 Hillside Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Charlotte is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Management and Business Law at the Kelley School of Business - Indianapolis where she teaches undergraduate and MBA courses focused on team dynamics, leadership, negotiations, and cultural intelligence.
Charlotte's academic insights are enhanced by her practical and senior managerial experience leading professional development initiatives and inclusive diversity programs at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), University of Iowa, Purdue University and Rockwell Collins.
Charlotte is a highly sought-after consultant and speaker that works with organizations who seek to foster and support a culture of inclusion and innovation. Charlotte is known for her ability to engage and teach audiences how to effectively communicate and develop collaborative skills to enable individuals to build and sustain inclusive high-performing teams in all functional areas of an organization. Charlotte is a regular contributor to the Indiana Business Journal and the Hamilton County Business Journal.
Enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres while browsing through booths and meeting with female entrepreneurs and business leaders. Confirmed vendors thus far include Susan Tinder White Consulting, Purple Ink, Performance 3, Sunday Afternoon Housewife, Goelzer Investment Management, Wine & Candles, Relocation Strategies, Tapestry and Grow Bar Organics. A variety of industries will be represented, including:
Health, fitness and nutrition
Music and art
Interior design
Caterers
Financial advising
Motivational speaking and storytelling
Real estate
Life and team coaching
Professional development and career coaching
Hair, beauty and makeup
Human resources
Diversity and Inclusion
Register by June 17 and receive a goody bag courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue!
Monthly Membership Meetups provide an enviroment where members and perspective members can come to network, build relationships, gain resources all with splash of material that you can start using the next day.
This months speaker is Demetria Gilkey, NAWBO's EPIC 2019 Emcee, 2018 GROW Survive graduate, newly published author and owner of Demetria Gilkey, LLC.
Demetria is a confidence coach, professional speaker and host. Her mission is to help you strengthen your confidence, eliminate your fear, and unlock your potential so that you can maximize your life and achieve your goals. Demetria believes that life is not about existing, but it is about living.
HR is a critical function in organizations and is a fantastic profession !! Too often we sell ourselves short versus leveraging the value and strength we bring each day. This session shows practitioners tangible ways to own their role in their company, effective ways to integrate across departments, and how to build and sustain the human factor in the workplace.
Help us have a greater impact. While we're proud of the progress that's been made, we know how far there still is to go to move the needle on gender equity.
Yourdonationcontributes to equipping women with the tools to connect, grow and advance as leaders and activating men as allies to support their progress.
Catch a Glimpse of the 5th Annual
IWL Louisville Conference
Watch this recap video to feel the impact and energy of the day!
On April 25, a sold out group of nearly 550 women and men came together at the Louisville Marriott Downtown for a powerful day of learning, connecting, and inspiration. Attendees learned
how to use their authentic voices, celebrate their victories, and let go of the things that are holding them back from reaching their highest potential.
What we learned at #IWLLouisville
Each and every speaker brought us impactful and practical lessons to take back to our life and workplace - and we want to share those lessons with you!
Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, President of University of Louisville, taught us how to let our values guide our authentic voice, and that the 3 skills critical to being a leader are:
Diagnose where you are
Figure out where your headed and rally people around it
How to intervene skillfully
"Your voice needs to be authentic and effective, and begins with your core values."
From
Sheri Riley, Empowerment Speaker at Exponential Living LLC, we learned to leave behind the things that aren't serving us well, express gratitude for the things and people who are, and celebrate the victories - no matter how small.
"Every time you say 'I don't know,' you rob yourself of everything you do know."
Victoria Russell was joined on this panel by (from left) moderator Dawne Gee, News Anchor at WAVE 3 News, Mike Nettles, EVP, Chief Operating and Growth Officer, and Lyndsay Railey, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
The "Courageous Conversation Panel" panel of Papa John's leaders
challenged us to dig deep and find the power within to stand up for something bigger than ourselves and even our organizations. We learned from their experience how to use crisis as an opportunity to come back even stronger.
"Why would you know? That's what your place of privilege affords you. But now that you do know, you have to do better."
-Victoria Russell, Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Papa John's International
Darleen Santore ("Coach Dar"), Founder & CEO at Performance Meets Purpose, empowered us to let go of the fear and doubt and lean into the challenges of life that usually come before "taking flight" toward something greater.
"Be happy about all the highs and lows in life because those mean your heart is beating and you are here to live another day."
In addition to a powerful mainstage, breakout sessions were offered covering a wide range of relevant topics building off the conference theme. Here are highlights from just three of them.
Amanda Main was joined on this panel by (from left) Tanya Bowman, Member at Frost Brown Todd LLC, Christy Ames, SVP, General Counsel at Republic Bank & Trust, and Celia Catlett, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Texas Roadhouse.
"Negotiate Like a Lawyer" taught us that if you truly listen and are hearing what is concerning someone, you can begin to pull those fibers and touch on what is most important to them in your negotiation. The best people to negotiate with are those who expect to win, and your preparedness is your secret weapon.
"The key to a successful negotiation is that everyone has to give a little something up."
- Amanda Main, AVP, Senior Attorney and Privacy Officer, Brown-Forman
In
"The Power of Being the CONFIDENT You!" we learned to normalize the practice of self-promotion, frame achievement in communal terms, and track and verbalize team contributions.
"We all have voices and we all have something we need to say."
-Hope Zoeller, Founder and President, HOPE (Helping Other People Excel), LLC
Dustin Hall was joined on this panel by (from left) moderator Kim Graham Lee, CEO of IWL Foundation, Paul Sowerby, Executive Director of Global Technical Operations at Cummins, and Daniel Byrne, Neuro Market Access Senior Director at Eli Lilly and Company.
"Navigating the New Landscape" - an IWL session designed for male attendees -
challenged male allies to step up to the plate and use their privilege to move the needle on gender equity. We learned that being an ally means you're advocating for women even when they aren't in the room.
"As you
grow in your allyship, being able to share personal stories makes things come to life. Those one-on-one connections are better than anything you can read in a book."
We're celebrating a milestone year with the biggest and best IWL conference yet - and a compelling theme:
Uniting Our Power. The 10th Annual IWL Conference will focus on how we can unite the power of the many who show up, speak up and stand tall to advance the inclusion conversation in our companies, our homes and in our communities.
Join 1,500 women and men at the JW Marriott on September 16, 2019 for a day you won't want to miss! Learn more on our
website.
Take advantage of Early Bird Registration to get the discounted price of $380 for individuals in the month of June!
Interested in Sponsorship Opportunities?
Wondering how your organization can get involved? We invite you to become a sponsor and showcase your organization as a leader in gender inclusion. Learn more on our website or contact CEO Kim Graham Lee, at
To celebrate our 10th year as an organization, we are sharing some of the incredible stories that we've heard from people whose lives and leadership journeys have been positively impacted by IWL Foundation. Hear from Virginia Rauh, grandmother of IWL team member Anna Rauh, on how her first experience at a women's leadership conference opened her eyes to the powerful support network that exists in her own community.
Virginia Rauh attended the conference with her son, Steve Rauh, daughter-in-law, Molly Rauh, and granddaughter, Anna Rauh, who serves on the IWL staff.
"Five hundred women and also men (known as "allies!") attended - a diverse and inclusive group - awake, aware, listening. The energy in the room was electric. I was curious about IWL and open to whatever the day would bring. My expectation was that while it would be interesting, it probably would not offer much that would be helpful to a 91-year-old like me... but by the end of the day I was in awe of this diverse and inclusive group of attendees - awake, aware, listening. The energy in the room was electric."
"Activating Male Allies" with Executive Women in Finance
On May 14, the IWL team facilitated an abbreviated "Activating Male Allies" workshop to a full room of
Executive Women in Finance (EWF) members and their male allies.
IWL CEO, Kim Graham Lee, delivered this interactive workshop with Mike Messaglia, Managing Parter of Krieg DeVault. Attendees discussed the concepts of unconscious bias, privilege, what it means to be an ally and live it, and having "courageous conversations" in the workplace.
Participants walked away with some key takeaways:
We are all on an equality journey, and we can all do more to lift up someone with less privilege than us.
For women in the workplace, the road to career advancement can be longer and more difficult - but there are significant financial benefits gained when companies are gender-balanced.
Men AND women need to be allies to one another to create a workplace of respect.
It's encouraging to see groups like Executive Women in Finance inviting their male counterparts to join in the discussion on gender equity, because we know that we have to work together to truly move the needle. Thank you, EWF, for partnering with us!
If you are interested in bringing IWL into your organization to facilitate a workshop, please contact Kim Graham Lee at
kgrahamlee@iwlfoundation.org.
Nominate a Bold and Fearless Woman for the
2019 Christi Anderson Personal Innovation Award
Christi Anderson was one of the first board members for IWL, as well as a mentor, a friend, an advocate for women's leadership, a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and attorney.
Christi was passionate about helping other women in leadership, and we honor Christi by awarding a scholarship every year to a woman who is looking to innovate herself, to be better and do better - just like Christi did, and who could benefit from the financial assistance to do so.
It is our hope that this award will create opportunities for these young women and inspire them to lead their lives boldly and fearlessly and with the tenacity of our dear friend, Christi. If you know a bold and innovative woman who deserves this year's award, please nominate her by August 2. Donations can also be made to the scholarship fund.
We will be announcing the winner on the main stage at the 10th Annual IWL Conference in Indianapolis on September 16!
The IWL Team is Growing!
Meet our summer Marketing and Communications Intern
Brooke Blevins is a junior at Butler University studying Human Communication and Organizational Leadership, Strategic Communication, as well as Peace and Conflict Studies.
Brooke grew up in Annapolis, Maryland and has spent a majority of her time in Indianapolis working with non-profit organizations to help educate her fellow Butler students and create volunteer opportunities. With a strong passion for people, Brooke loves being able to build and maintain relationships with community partners in order to further educate herself and in turn, educate others on the endless knowledge that people have to share.
Through her leadership roles and passion for helping others, Brooke embodies the IWL message and looks forward to creating for and contributing to this mission of equality.
Brooke Blevins
Marketing and Communications Intern
We're already planning #6 in Louisville!
Planning is already underway for the 6th Annual IWL Louisville Conference, and we hope to see you there! In the meantime, stay connected with us at IWLFoundation.org and follow us on social media!
Last month we focused on stepping out of our comfort zone and trying something new at the 5th Annual IWL Louisville Conference, and we walked away with the inspiration and action steps to implement in the next few months.Our closing keynote, Coach Dar, drove home the day with the message that you have to "take off against the wind."
You've got to lean into the turbulence of life before you can truly "take flight." This month we encourage you to conquer one thing that is scaring you, and let go of the fear that's holding you down. A great tool to help you with this process is the
"rule of 6". When you feel stressed or the fear begins to creep in,
extend your arm and
let that symbolize your fear of what could happen - the "worst case scenario" - and then
count off on your fingers 5 other positive possibilities. This practice will ease your mind and open up other channels, giving you the boost you need to
take flight.
Thank you to our 2019 Conference Sponsors... and there's still an opportunity to join!
INDIANAPOLIS
LOUISVILLE
IWL Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
To give to the IWL Foundation or become a corporate sponsor of the IWL Women's Annual Leadership Conferences, contact Kim Graham Lee, CEO, at
kgrahamlee@iwlfoundation.org.
Better Together.
Integrating Women Leaders (IWL) Foundation accelerates the advancement of women to drive individual and organizational growth and impact.
