.jpg)
Fall 2025 Conference
Conference Date: November 7, 2025
Theme: Resilience and Renewal: Navigating Leadership in Changing Times
Conference Keynote Speaker: Khalid Jones, Executive Director, Virginia Lottery
Session Speakers:
- Emcee: Jasmine Turner - Anchor and Reporter, NBC12
- Patricia Moore - Senior Manager of Innovation Programs, Boomi
- Karla Almendarez-Ramos - Manager, City of Richmond, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Engagement
- Holly Coates - Regional Director, South and West Regions, Shineforth Family Services
- Tynesha O’Quinn - Founder, FINE HR Consulting
- Charm Bullard - Senior Advisor to the CEO, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities
- Jill M. Butler - Director of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor, Widener University
- Linnie S. Carter - Vice President of College Advancement at HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College
- Lauren Jenkins - Founder, Journey2Well, LLC
- DaVonne Garner - Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Trinity Care
- Tyee Mallory - Senior Political Professional, Adjunt Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Previous Conferences
Conference Date: February 28, 2025
Theme: Stepping In: Cultivating Graceful Leaders – A Legacy of 25 Years
Conference Keynote Speaker: CJ Gross, CEO, TEDx Speaker, Author, Cultural Change Management Expert
Session Speakers:
- Michelle Johnson- Consultant and Leadership Strategist
- Patricia Moore- Senior Manager of Innovation Programs, Boomi
- Kimberly Dabney- Senior VP & Treasury Services Product Manager, Atlantic Union Bank
- Yedda Stancil- Executive Director, The Innerwork Center
- Eastan Weber- Student Activist
- Amma Gatty- Nonprofit Founder/Family Life Educator/Coach
- Lauren Jenkins- Owner of The Journey2Well
- Letitia McMillion- Facilitator The Journey2Well
- Dr. Shakema Sanders- Deputy Director of Administration, DHCD
- Rebecca Rowe- Community and Economic Developmentalist
- Dr. Lisa Johnson- Educator/Minister/Workshop Facilitator
- Stacey Woodson- Dietitian/Media Consultant/Author: Delicious and Nutritious
- Viola Baskerville- Historian and Genealogist
- Moira Lethbridge- Executive coach/Author/Speaker
- Dr. Omega Wilson- Founder and CEO Innovative Strategies Consulting
- Dr. Gretchen Neigh- Neuroscientist and Professor, VCU
- Ella Danilovich- Web Developer, VCU
- James Warren- Strategist/Author
- Leonina Arismendi- Activist
- Sheila Battle- Executive Director, The BattleStation
Conference Date: November 3, 2023
Theme: Overcoming Grief, Grudges, and Guilt with Grace
Conference Keynote Speaker: Debbie Johnston, RN, Founder of Serenity First Hospice, Founder of Care Advantage, Inc. and All About Care LLC, Founder of Connecting Hearts Foundation, and ABC’s Secret Millionaire.
Session Speakers: Dr. Antoinette Allen, Katrice Mayo, Dr. DeSena-Jacobs, James Wasilewski, Dr. Faith Wilkerson, Thurmond Alford, Sherida Haughton, Dr. Keyanna Hawkins, Sheila Battle, Dr. Alesia Johnson, Ann Rosser, Paula Otto, Holly Alford, Angela Patton, Danielle Taylor, Clovia Lawrence, Yvonne Crenshaw, DaVonne Garner.
Conference Date: November 4, 2022
Theme: Seizing Tomorrow, Today
Conference Keynote Speaker: Janet Taylor, MD, MPH, Executive Coach, Community Psychiatrist Centerstone of Florida
Featured Speakers: Gege Beall, Culture Speaker and Consultant, Engaged@Work and Shelby Brown, WTVR-CBS 6 News Reporter and The Metropolitan Business League Marketing & Communications Director
Session Speakers: Chantee L. Christian, MBA, PMP, CCMP, ELI-MP, CLDS, PCC-CPC
Professional Certified Coach, Author and Chief Executive Officer, My Best SHIFT; Antoinette Allen, PhD, BCC, CPTM Coach, Founder and Chief Storyteller, Leadership Institute of Forgiveness and Truth; Ann Rosser, Leadership Development Consultant, Finding Resolution Consulting; Anda Webb, Leadership Coach and Vice Provost for Administration, University of Virginia; Jan Nelson, MBA, MA Leadership Consultant and Strategist, JRNELSON Coaching and Consulting; Barrhonda White, PCC Certified Executive Coach and Founder, The Bink Group, LLC; Charlotte R. Jacobs, MBA, PCC, CPC, ELI-MP Executive Leadership Coach and Organizational Strategist, lnvestNLead, LLC; Stephanie Brown, PCC, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Coach and Consultant, FWD Coaching Concepts, LLC; Kathy Harman, MCC Leadership Coach and Director of Education, Radiance Partners LLC.
Conference Date: November 5, 2021
Theme: Pivoting Forward: The LeaderSHIFT
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
Conference Date: November 6, 2020
Theme: Not Waiting to Lead
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
Conference Date: November 1, 2019
Theme: Building Bridges Together, Past, Present, Future
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, President, Wilkes Consulting
Conference Date: November 2, 2018
Theme: The Power of Collective Action: Shifting the Leadership Culture
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.
Conference Date: November 3, 2017
Theme: Challenging The Narrative: Creating Change for Ourselves And Our World
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
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