17th Annual HIGHER Ground Women's Leadership Conference
Friday, November 3, 2023
Plan now to attend the 17th Annual HIGHER Ground Women’s Leadership Conference on Friday, November 3, 2023.
This highly rated leadership experience celebrates who you are in all aspects of your life, providing a tremendous opportunity to grow, develop, and learn with practical solutions for success at home and work. The conference is for emerging and experienced, creative and bold leaders who are motivated and positioned to maximize their potential through educational and empowering sessions. This full-day event will be an interactive learning experience designed for women who are or are aspiring to be transformational leaders within their organizations. This event challenges participants to develop a deliberate practice of strategic foresight to aid in facing the challenges and opportunities that exist beyond us. Participants will be challenged to capitalize on this time of era-defining moments and to imagine what is possible, translating their values into actions, dreams into reality, and their hopes into happens. Content will be delivered through a high‐impact combination of short, narrative‐driven lectures, interactive panels with industry leaders, and individualized strategic reflection activities, culminating in an action plan for moving forward with your leadership growth.
Questions? Feel free to contact The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs at gehli@vcu.edu.
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Sponsorship Opportunities
If you or your organization would like to participate in this year’s event as a Sponsor, visit the sponsorships opportunities page for more information.
About the Conference
The Annual HIGHER Ground Women's Leadership Conference provides high-quality education and networking opportunities. Each year, more than 300 participants come together to share ideas, illuminate innovative leadership practices and explore factors that influence their effectiveness at work, at home, and in their communities. This conference provides participants with a tremendous opportunity to grow, develop and learn with practical solutions for success in their personal and professional lives. Our one-day, multi-track format offers a self-directed facilitated learning environment with education sessions and interactive forums. Key features include plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and regional and national speakers highlighting timely issues of importance to women. Continuing Education Units (CEU) are available for full participation in this event.
This one-day event celebrates who you are as a woman in all aspects of your life. The conference will provide you a tremendous opportunity to grow, develop, and learn with practical solutions for success at home and at work. Guided by The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, with presentations from regionally and nationally known workshop leaders, participants will explore the latest and innovative practices in leadership excellence. Come spend a day with great leaders, find what motivates you, and build leadership skills that last!
This conference is open to all. We embrace the fullness of womanhood in all its inclusive paths, intersectional journeys, and for all interested in how womanhood has shaped their leadership journey.
Past Conferences
2021, 15th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: November 5, 2021
Conference Keynote Speakers: Kiko Davis Snoddy, Trustee, Donald Davis Living Trust Founder and President of the Don Davis Legacy Foundation, Managing Director of Groovesville Productions & Publishing LLC; and Dr. Susanna Wu-Pong Calvert, Founder, and Executive Director of the Foundation for Family and Community Healing
Opening Plenary Speakers: The Honorable Ida Chen, Judge, Court of Common Pleas, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Adria Cordova, President, Association for Latino Professionals, Philadelphia Chapter; Abby Credicott, Chair, HYPE (Helping Young Professionals Engage); Marcelle Wilson Davis, DSL, Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, VCU Health System; Ka'Myia Gunn, Student Emory University School of Law; Chrissy Keeton, Founder & CEO, Control Y Consulting; Ryann Lofchie, Chief Executive Officer, Viveki Consulting, LLC; Maria Morukian, MA, PCC, President and Founder, MSM Global Consulting, LLC; Jennifer Y. Scott, Director, The Americas, Global Workplace Solutions Team, The Coca-Cola Company; Janice Underwood, PhD, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia; Elizabeth Veliz, Assistant Vice President, Talent Management & Organizational Development, VCU Health System; and Omega Wilson, Founder, Innovative Strategies Consulting, LLC
2021 Conference Program (coming soon)
2020, 14th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: November 6, 2020
Conference Keynote Speaker: K. Renee Horton, PhD, Space Launch System Quality Engineer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Opening Plenary Speakers: Jennifer Boykin, Executive Vice President and President, Newport News Shipbuilding and Huntington Ingalls Industries; Rita Davis, JD, Counsel to the Honorable Ralph S. Northam, Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia; Carmen Orozco-Acosta, PhD, Senior Advisor to the President, Community Change; Kelli Palmer, PhD, Head of Global Inclusion & Diversity and Corporate Citizenship, CFA Institute; Majorie Powell, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), AARP
2019, 13th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: November 1, 2019
Conference Keynote Speaker: Gayle Elizabeth Harris, MSW, QMHP, Founder and COO, LivingLifeMatters, LLC; Chef and Co-owner, 2U4U Mind, Body, and Soul Found Master
Opening Plenary Speakers: Paula Otto, Partner, LeadSpark Consulting; Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn, Director, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute; Carmen Foster, Principal Consultant, Forward and Wise; Susan Wilkes, Preseident, Wilkes Consulting
2018, 12th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: November 2, 2018
Conference Keynote Speaker: Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor, Graduate Department of Public Policy and Administration, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Opening Plenary Speakers: Christy Coleman, CEO, American Civil War Museum; Monique Greenwood, Chief Operating Officer, Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns; Aradhana Bela Sood, Professor, Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University; Pauline Weger, Founder, Quotabelle, Inc.
2017, 11th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: November 3, 2017
Conference Keynote Speaker: Vida Williams, Founder and Managing Partner, AXIS Partners, Inc.
Closing Plenary Speakers: Aaron Anderson & David Leong, Virginia Commonwealth University
2017 HIGHER Ground Conference Program: Front Matter, Agenda, Speakers, Back Matter
2016, 10th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: January 29, 2016
Conference Keynote Speaker: Freda Thornton, President & CEO, FWL & Sons Inc.
Morning Plenary Speakers: Gwen Williams Dandridge, Former TV News Anchor and Professor, Mass Communications, Virginia State University; Melanie H. Green, Vice President and Provost, Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing; Kelli Lemon, Social Entrepreneur; Colette McEachin, Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Richmond
2015, 9th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: January 30, 2015
Conference Keynote Speaker: Suzanne Malveaux, CNN Award Winning Journalist
Morning Plenary Speaker: Ava-Joye, Anchor/Video-Journalist, WRIC-TV; Ruth Jones, Executive Director, YWCA South Hampton Roads; Nancy Rodrigues, Secretary Administration, Commonwealth of Virginia; Angela Wilkes, Director Supplier Diversity & Sustainability, Owens & Minor
2014, 8th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: January 31, 2014
Conference Keynote Speaker: Anne Goddard, President & CEO, ChildFund International
Morning Plenary Speaker: Suzette Denslow, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia; Tiffany Jana, CEO, TMI Consulting, Inc.; Ruth Jones, Executive Director, YWCA South Hampton Roads; Jennifer McClellan, Delegate, Commonwealth of Virginia's 71st District; Colleen Quinn, Attorney & Partner, Locke & Quinn Personal Injury & Law Attorneys; and Gayle Jessup White, Communications Consultant, Writer, Realtor
2013, 7th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: January 25, 2013
Conference Theme: Destination HIGHER Ground: Your Guide to Excellence in Leadership
Conference Keynote Speaker: Sonia Aranza, Global Consultant, Executive Leadership Expert, Aranza Communications
Morning Plenary Speaker: Mary Foley, Bodacious Ventures, LLC; Debbie Lennick, Vice President, Market Innovation, CREATIVE; Susan Mitchell, President, Guardians of Honor, LLC; Wanda Mitchell, Vice President, Diversity & Equity, VCU; Katherine Winstch, Founder, The Mom Complex
2012, 6th Annual HIGHER Ground Conference
Conference Date: January 27, 2012
Conference Theme: Maximizing You: Unlocking the Treasures Within
Conference Keynote Speaker: Mary C. Doswell, Senior Vice President- Alternative Energy Solutions, Dominion
Afternoon Plenary Speaker: Mary Foley, Bodacious Ventures, LLC
2012 HIGHER Ground Conference Program
2011, 5th Annual HIGHER Ground Luncheon
Conference Date: January 21, 2011
Conference Theme: Transforming Ourselves Transforming the World
Conference Keynote Speaker: Gail Letts, President and CEO of the Central Virginia Region, SunTrust Bank
2010, 4th Annual HIGHER Ground Luncheon
Conference Date: January 15, 2010
Conference Theme: Celebrating a Decade of Women in Leadership
Conference Keynote Speaker: Daphne Maxwell Reid
2009, 3rd Annual HIGHER Ground Luncheon
Conference Date: January 23, 2009
Conference Theme: Living Today, Leading Tomorrow
Conference Keynote Speaker: Eva Teig Hardy, Executive Vice President, Retired, Dominion
2008, 2nd Annual HIGHER Ground Luncheon
Conference Date: January 18, 2008
Conference Theme: Born a Woman, Born a Leader
Conference Keynote Speaker: Stacy Hawkins Adams
2006, 1st HIGHER Ground Luncheon
Conference Date: December 1, 2006
Conference Theme: Leadership Presence: Courage and Confidence as Women Leaders
Conference Keynote Speakers: The Honorable Jean W. Cunningham and The Honorable Anne G. “Panny” Rhodes