Breakouts

Building a compelling professional presence online can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. This practical workshop walks you step-by-step through optimizing your LinkedIn profile, shaping an authentic narrative, and creating content that reflects your expertise. Explore simple systems for staying consistent, measuring what matters, and engaging meaningfully with your network. You’ll also uncover overlooked opportunities—from speaking engagements to industry events—that can elevate your visibility and accelerate your career.

Your Takeaways:

• A strategic checklist for fully optimizing your LinkedIn profile (including headshots, banner and “About” section), ready for immediate implementation.
• A clear framework for generating authentic, engaging thought leadership content and measuring its impact using LinkedIn’s analytics tools.
• Identification of at least three professional development avenues (e.g., webinars, speaking, industry events) to leverage immediately, solidifying your expert status beyond your internal company network.

Type: Facilitated Workshop
Who should attend: Women of all ages; mid-career and supervisors

Presenter: Jennifer Heilman Flanery ’07
Jennifer Heilman Flanery brings nearly 20 years of strategic communications and advertising expertise, specializing in transportation and public safety. As an equity partner at Stratacomm, she leads research-driven, creatively executed campaigns that inspire behavior change and deliver measurable results. Jennifer is known for her ability to pair strategic vision with operational excellence, developing structures that improve performance and accountability. For more than a decade, she has guided the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s high-profile traffic safety initiatives, including “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” An Elon alum with a BA in Journalism, she also holds a master’s degree from American University and a certificate in Agile Project Management. Jennifer has served in numerous leadership roles in the Washington, D.C., area and currently facilitates WTS-DC’s Executive Women’s Roundtable.

Sometimes the strengths that once propelled us forward can quietly start to hold us back. In this energizing session, explore how self-definitions, habits, and familiar ways of leading can become unintended barriers to growth. Learn how to recognize when it’s time to evolve, transform feedback into insight, and expand your leadership with confidence and flexibility. Leave with fresh strategies—and a renewed mindset—to rise into your next level.

Your Takeaways:

• A fresh perspective on how self-given labels can limit potential even when they feel empowering.
• Insight into how strengths can quietly become barriers and how to spot the signs.
• Tools to reframe feedback into a catalyst for growth.
• Strategies to grow authentically without needing to become someone else.

Type: Single Presenter
Who should attend: Women of all ages and stages

Presenter: Joy DeBolt ’13
Joy DeBolt is a transformative speaker who helps women break through self-imposed barriers and reclaim the strengths that fuel authentic leadership. With more than a decade of experience in high-performance industries—from medical devices to financial services and tech—Joy offers a grounded, relatable perspective on navigating ambition, feedback, and resilience. A Toastmasters-certified speaker, she weaves storytelling with practical frameworks that empower women to lead with clarity and confidence. Joy graduated from Elon University with a degree in Strategic Communications, where she was deeply involved in service and student life. Her time at Elon continues to shape her commitment to growth, community, and women’s empowerment.

Effective leadership begins with purposeful listening. This interactive session introduces practical approaches to different listening styles and when to apply them. Through reflection, partner exercises, and group dialogue, participants will build skills that strengthen communication, relationships, and decision-making. Whether you lead teams or aspire to grow your influence, you’ll walk away with tools to elevate your leadership through the power of attentive listening.

Your Takeaways:

• Ability to apply listening styles consciously and with intention.
• Awareness of your individual go-to style and areas for improvement.
• Improved ability to navigate management and performance discussions.
• Understanding of how utilizing different listening styles can enhance leadership capacity.

Type: Single Presenter
Who should attend: Women of all ages; mid-career and supervisors

Presenter: Amanda Aronson ’99 P’29
Amanda Aronson is the Founder and Principal Consultant of StoryB, an empowerment firm that helps people and organizations create meaningful, sustainable change through nonprofit consulting, strategic training, and leadership development. With nearly 30 years of experience across education, social services, philanthropy, healthcare, and emergency management, she brings a mission-driven, systems-minded approach to organizational growth and impact. Amanda is an active community leader, serving as a Board Ambassador for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Co-Chair of its historic Greater Futures Scholarship Fund Campaign. An Elon graduate with a BA in International Studies and an M.Ed from Lesley University, she is currently conducting an international field-research project, Women’s Work, exploring how women around the world build enterprises, create opportunity, and empower one another to thrive.

The relationships we build with other women often become our greatest sources of strength. This candid panel highlights the friendships that sustain us through ambition, burnout, transition, and growth. Hear inspiring stories of connection and discover how community, compassion, and shared experience fuel resilience and leadership. Join us for a heartfelt conversation about the role of sisterhood in helping women thrive—professionally and personally.

Your Takeaways:
Using the real-life experience of a friendship that has endured for more than 35 years, participants can expect to:

• Gain insight into how authentic female friendships foster resilience, confidence, and emotional well-being.
• Learn practical ways to nurture meaningful relationships.
• Discover how shared experiences can inspire leadership, creativity, and collaboration.
• Explore strategies for maintaining supportive relationships through change, stress, and transition.

Type: Moderated Panel Discussion
Who should attend: Women of all ages and stages

Presenters: Stephanie K. Dawkins ’90 and Suzanne Saunders Woods Hawes ’91 

Stephanie K. Dawkins, retired ICMA-CM, brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in local government, having served in diverse communities across Kansas, Colorado, Florida, and Illinois, including as City Administrator for Geneva, IL. An Elon graduate with a degree in Psychology, she went on to earn a master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a Juris Doctor, and has contributed extensively as an instructor, coach, and board member throughout her career. Stephanie has been honored with multiple professional recognitions for her service and leadership. Today, she continues to teach in the MPA program at Northern Illinois University and delights in planning travel adventures and hosting an annual women’s retreat that has grown into a beloved tradition.

Suzanne Saunders Woods Hawes, an Elon alum with a degree in Leisure Sports Management, built a distinguished career in public service, fitness training, and federal law enforcement. After earning her master’s in Exercise Fitness and Health Promotion, she served as a Firefighter/EMT and later as a Physical Fitness Trainer at the FBI Academy, preparing new agents and senior law enforcement leaders from around the world. Suzanne went on to become a United States Secret Service Special Agent, serving under five U.S. Presidents and working with domestic and international partners across the globe. Now retired from the Service, she continues her security career as an Executive Protection Agent for a Fortune 150 CEO. She proudly embraces the number two—with two children, two cats, and two dogs.

You have a personal leadership brand. But do you have the right one? A dynamic leadership brand conveys your identity and distinctiveness as an empowered leader. It communicates the value you offer. A strong personal leadership brand allows all that’s powerful and effective about your leadership to become known to your colleagues up, down, and across the company, enabling you to generate maximum value. This session will connect, inspire and transform participants to define and build their own personal brand through networking.

Your Takeaways:

• How to engage trusted people to share 3 words to describe you. Look for themes, what are they saying, what are they not saying.
• How to stay authentic while also being strategic about your brand.
• Steps to find a Mentor or Sponsor.
• How to sell and tell your story; learn what role does storytelling play in your personal brand.
• Ways to extend your leadership impact outside your organization.

Type: Moderated Panel Discussion
Who should attend: Women of all ages and stages

Presenters: Becky Witmer Lane ’95 (moderator), Ariene Bethea ’00, Melissa Jordan Johnson ’04, Jill Rose ’00 

Becky Witmer Lane brings more than two decades of experience in business development, external engagement, and enterprise-level program activation. As Senior Vice President of Business Development for Global Community Opportunity at Bank of America, she leads initiatives that unite profit and purpose—advancing Responsible Growth while expanding community access to the bank’s products, services, and financial education. Becky is recognized for creating dynamic, cross-functional environments where marketing, communications, talent resources, and external partnerships come together to deliver measurable social impact. A champion for neurodiversity in the workplace, she plays an active leadership role on the Disability Action Network’s Enterprise and Charlotte teams, helping build more inclusive pathways for employees and clients. An Elon University alumna with a BS in Corporate Communications, Becky also serves on the university’s Women of Elon Advisory Council. She lives in the Charlotte area with her family and remains deeply engaged in community leadership.

Ariene Bethea is the Founder and Creative Director of Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio, an award-winning Charlotte-based design studio and vintage retailer celebrated for its bold, soulful approach to interiors. With a leadership style grounded in creativity, cultural storytelling, and entrepreneurial vision, Ariene has built a nationally recognized brand featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Veranda, Essence, and The Washington Post. She pairs strong business acumen with an instinct for design that honors individuality, helping clients and creatives alike unlock their unique perspectives. As a mentor and industry voice, Ariene champions authenticity, collaboration, and the transformative power of embracing one’s narrative. Through her work, she inspires others to turn imagination into opportunity and lead with confidence, curiosity, and purpose.

Melissa Jordan Johnson brings more than 20 years of experience in personal development, leadership coaching, and organizational growth, helping individuals and companies realize their highest potential. She holds a BA in Psychology from Elon University and an MS in Human Services with a counseling concentration from Capella University. As a Senior Program Manager at Amazon, Melissa leads initiatives designed to elevate underrepresented talent and strengthen leadership pipelines across corporate environments. Her work integrates presence, performance, and personal growth to create spaces where professionals can thrive authentically. Beyond her corporate roles, Melissa is a dedicated personal development coach known for her heart-centered approach, guiding clients to build purpose-driven leadership brands grounded in clarity, confidence, and self-authority. She empowers others to own their narrative and lead with intention in every arena of their lives.

Jill Rose serves as Senior Vice President of Client Operations at Wrapbook, a Series B, Andreessen Horowitz–backed startup modernizing production payroll and accounts payable for the entertainment industry. With more than 20 years of leadership experience across fintech and financial services—including tenure at PayPal, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Toast—Jill is known for driving operational transformation, elevating customer experience, and developing high-performing, mission-aligned teams. At Wrapbook, she oversees end-to-end client operations, guiding organizations from onboarding through payroll execution while supporting the company’s expanding footprint in film and television. An Elon University alumna, Jill holds a BS in Business and an MBA from John Carroll University. She now resides in Charleston, South Carolina, where she enjoys exploring the outdoors and discovering new local restaurants with her husband.

Soft skills often create the strongest results. This engaging session explores how skills like empathy, communication, and emotional intelligence can shift frustrations into clarity, deepen influence, and inspire those you lead. Through thoughtful reflection and interactive exercises, participants will identify personal growth goals and learn how small shifts can drive meaningful impact. Come prepared for honesty, insight, and practical tools you can apply immediately.

Your Takeaways:

• Strategies to increase relational capital within your community to enhance future collaborations.
• Renewed self-awareness to aid with connections and role identification.
• Defined opportunities for increased satisfaction and retention of the right people in your chosen communities
• Clear vision for next steps.

Type: Single Presenter
Who should attend: Women of all ages and stages

Presenter: Dr. Renita L. Webb ’04
Dr. Renita L. Webb is a dynamic educator, leadership strategist, and advocate whose career spans teaching, school leadership, ministry, authorship, and nonprofit work. A proud Elon alum and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she holds degrees in English, Education Administration, and a PhD in Leadership in Education Administration. Dr. Webb helps leaders strengthen authenticity, elevate influence, and expand impact—work that inspired her online show Leadership Live, her podcast Room for Refinement Radio, and her nonprofit, The Refining Life, Inc. She is the author of multiple books, including Stepmom: Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs and The Case of the Unlikely Leader. A mentor, speaker, and creative force, Dr. Webb continues to champion growth and empowerment in every space she enters.

In this guided Embrace by Marcy workshop, participants will explore the emotional and relational importance of boundaries through an embodied, reflective experience. We’ll discuss how boundaries aren’t barriers, but bridges that help sustain healthy connections, self-trust, and peace. Utilizing real-world examples, mindfulness-based tools, and group reflection, attendees will learn how to identify where they may be overextending themselves, communicate their needs with clarity and compassion, and regulate their emotions when discomfort or guilt arises. This session is designed to restore confidence in self-expression while nurturing a more authentic relationship with self and others.

Your Takeaways:

• Tools to identify emotional and physical cues that signal boundary fatigue or overextension.
• Communication scripts and reflection prompts for setting boundaries clearly and compassionately.
• A self-regulation grounding technique to use during emotionally charged moments.
• A practice kit from Embrace by Marcy, featuring reflection cards and journaling prompts designed to support continued grounding and self-awareness.

Type: Facilitated Workshop
Who should attend: Women of all ages and stages

Presenter: C. Marcy Harris ’15
C. Marcy Harris is the founder of Embrace by Marcy, an advocacy-centered brand that creates emotionally safe spaces for connection, healing, and expression. As an Intimacy Wellness Practitioner and Intimacy Coordinator, Marcy is trained in professional boundary-setting and emotional wellness practices, guiding individuals and leaders in establishing healthy boundaries and fostering safe, empowered relational practices. Her work bridges the worlds of emotional awareness, embodiment, and advocacy, supporting participants in cultivating more grounded, heart-centered relationships with themselves and others. Rooted in lived experience and compassion, her facilitation blends reflection, mindfulness, and emotional safety practices to help participants navigate vulnerability, rebuild trust in their intuition, and embrace the wholeness of their humanity.