2017 Agenda

8:00 am – 8:20 am: Your Brain Health

Speaker: Carly Pollack, founder, Nutritional Wisdom
Vegan. Paleo. Low-carb. Dairy free. Diets come and go, and it’s hard to keep up with the latest trends and newest health fads. Carly Pollack, voted Austin’s best nutritionist three years in a row, will help bust the myths and misinformation while providing you with sound building blocks for your personal approach to nutrition. Get off the weekend binge eating/Monday morning diet roller-coaster and find out how to nourish your true self.

8:20 am: 1:1 Q&A with Carly Pollack

12:35 pm – 12:50 pm: Probiotics as Functional Foods

Speaker: Lorena Asebedo Kaplen, registered dietician, H-E-B
One of the hottest topics in nutrition science explores the benefits of including probiotics in your dietary eating pattern. Including probiotics in your food choices results in a healthy gut, which is linked to the prevention and treatment of many digestive health issues, but emerging science is finding that probiotics have an even bigger impact on our overall health. This session will focus on the possible health benefits and explore how to include probiotics in your diet with fermented foods and supplements for healthy digestion.

12:50 pm: 1:1 Q&A with Lorena Asebedo Kaplen

2:45 pm – 3:00 pm: ENCORE | Probiotics as Functional Foods

3:00 pm: 1:1 Q&A with Lorena Asebedo Kaplen

3:30 pm – 3:50 pm: Improve Your Memory, Concentration, and Mood

Speaker: Shonté Jovan Taylor, neuroscientist & mindset success catalyst
We have learned how to keep our bodies healthy and fit, but few of us know where to begin when it comes to taking care of our brains. Do you want to improve your memory, sharpen your thinking, increase your attention span, and boost your mental energy? Attend this session with neuroscientist Shonté Jovan Taylor to learn the current research on which foods and nutrients promote brain health and the top tips for maximizing your brain function to achieve optimal brain health.

3:50 pm: 1:1 Q&A with Shonté Jovan Taylor

TRANSITIONS: Offering expertise for maneuvering career and life transitions.
Session I: 10:00 – 11:00 am
Ballroom D

In this increasingly visual age, images speak louder than words. Studies show that images also help people think. Visual note-taking such as doodling increases memory retention rates by nearly 30 percent, and opens creative pathways, strengthens focus, and inspires self-expression. Driven by these groundbreaking findings, entrepreneurs Nora Herting and Heather Willems founded ImageThink, and can help you visualize your ideas and transform your creative processes using simple drawing techniques that anyone can master. Do you have lots of ideas but feel immobilized and overwhelmed, and find yourself unable to turn those ideas into action? Attend this session and learn how to incorporate “Draw Your Big Idea” into your daily work life. This session will feature interactive drawing exercises tailored to help you brainstorm, refine, and execute ideas in the office, within your teams, and even at home. Learn how to beat creative block—for good—and turn your thoughts and dreams into reality!

Speaker: Heather Willems, co-founder, ImageThink, and co-author, Draw Your Big Idea

Emcee: Julie Watson, customer care manager, enterprise, Rackspace UK

CAREER ADVANCEMENT: Designed for the mid/senior level professional with significant experience looking for advice around professional skills and job advancement
Session III: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Ballroom F/G

Your work day is filled with them—people who frustrate, impede, maneuver, undermine, plot, connive, and whine. This session will detail specific techniques for handling all of them, with easy-to-follow scenarios for every situation. Taking into account the modern issues that play into our work, including technology, generation gaps, and language barriers, researcher Amy Cooper Hakim and a panel of executives who have expertly handled many of these situations, will guide you through the 10 kinds of culprits, from tyrants and bullies (regular and cyber) to the pushy and presumptuous to connivers and camouflagers; and offers helpful strategies and phrases for diffusing workplace tensions and effectively resolving conflicts.

Thought Leader: Amy Cooper Hakim, author, Working with Difficult People: Handling the Ten Types of Problem People Without Losing Your Mind 

Panelists:
⚬ Jane Gasdaska, GM, US product supply & distribution, Phillips 66
⚬ Amanda Gill, VP, North America Oracle Talent Advisory, Oracle
⚬ Tracy Quon, asset manager, Appalachian Basin, US onshore, Statoil

Emcee: Myrna Estrada, VP & regional general manager, Safeco Insurance

We have all heard about that Kickstarter campaign that reached its goal within the hour. Or that GoFundMe campaign whose idea seemed brilliant, but failed to meet its goal. What are the strategies that will make your crowdfunding campaign viable for success? Before you start, meet Kristal Johnson, who just finished a campaign and will share how to maximize this opportunity while minimizing the risk to your business idea.

Speaker: Kristal Johnson, founder, Fundjoy, LLC

How do you turn your concept or idea into a business or brand that is ready to command market share? In this roundtable discussion, learn from POP Austin founder, Lana Carlson, who brought to life her concept of an international art show and find out how she came up with a business plan, what it takes to compete, how to successfully manage your growth and how she created what she hopes is a lasting business.

Speaker: Lana Carlson, head curator & co-founder, POP Austin International Art Show

You’ve learned how to identify prospects, make a great presentation and sell your product. But, in order to close the deal, you need to communicate effectively and your prospect’s communication style may be different from your own.  Sales mentor Stephanie Chung will share her research on how to communicate effectively (both verbally and non-verbally) with people based on their communication style. Starting by identifying your own style, she will share how to quickly spot others’ style and how to adjust the conversation so that your buyer is encouraged and your prospects for success are maximized.

Speaker: Stephanie Chung, founder, Stephanie Chung & Associates

A poorly timed tweet, a mis-worded caption, or an inappropriate hashtag can lead to a cringeworthy moment online with real-world ramifications. Even the most conscientious person can have one. Publicist and communications expert Rachel Green dissects real social gaffes and responses so that, should the unintended happen to you, you’ll know the steps to make changes and move on.

Speaker: Rachel Green, CEO, A Brand Called U

Culture may trump strategy, but intentionally creating your company’s culture takes strategic thinking and planning. It’s worth the effort, too; how we get things done drives performance, innovation, retention, and ultimately profits. 360Partners CEO Barbara Cavness walks participants through how to determine and define your company culture, why it matters, and steps you can take immediately to start establishing yours.

Speaker: Barbara Cavness, CEO, 360Partners Consulting

Snapchat reaches more than 40 percent of 18-to-34-years-olds in the U.S. on a daily basis, so there is no doubt that to be a savvy social media marketer, you need to be using this tool. But how do you promote yourself or your business on this disappearing media app? Join this roundtable to get familiar with this platform, explore marketing and branding stories from organizations utilizing this tool, and learn how this quirky app can be used to show your brand’s personality. Participants will walk away with simple-to-use, creative ways to use Snapchat to brand their business, product, and organization.

Speaker: Alice Chase, creator, Thrill of the Chases

With eight billion views every day, social video is becoming an essential, non-negotiable tool for us to connect with our audiences and customers as creatives, bloggers, and businesses. In this session, VideoPop founder Andrea Corson will teach you how social video can help your brand, blog, or business (no matter the size of your budget!), which platforms are right for you, and the tools and strategies needed to create effective video.

Speaker: Andrea Corson, founder, VideoPop & La Label Junkie

You love blogging about your passion and have built a following. Your blog has started to build traffic, attract new readers and is receiving increasing attention. So, how do you take the next step to monetize your content and create an actual business? This roundtable will explore your options from sponsored content and affiliate programs to advertising sales so that you can make the transition without losing your readers’ trust.

Speaker: Jamie Dorobek, founder, C.R.A.F.T.

Social media is the primary hub for many PR efforts as both the content you post and the content others post on social can generate media coverage for your brand or business. How do you take it one step further and inspire the traditional media to cover your story? Emmy-award winner Gaby Natale will share her suggestions for getting the attention of overworked and overwhelmed media professionals. Whether you are in the for-profit world trying to maximize exposure, an entrepreneur trying to secure press or spearheading a cause in the non-profit arena, attendees will learn specific do’s and don’ts and explore how new mediums in the digital space are changing the way media is covered and how you can be heard.

Speaker: Gaby Natale, host, Emmy Award-winning syndicated TV show SuperLatina and co-founder and president, AGANARmedia

Instagram has become the app of choice for many looking to promote their business, blog, or passion. Find out how to use this image-based social network to connect and engage personally and professionally. Whether you are corporate, small business, or a nonprofit, you will leave inspired with ideas on how to propel your work forward. Be sure to bring your smartphone and be ready to dive in!

Speaker: Connie Gomez, creator, Momma of Dos & cofounder, Houston Latina Bloggers

Websites capture interest with content that is informative, challenging, amusing, and provocative without taking it too far—a tough ask in this competitive space. This session will walk you through the process of creating website content that meets your business goals AND attracts customers. From determining your unique value proposition and ideal customer personas to mapping out a site structure, this session will help you determine what content needs to be created to create customer engagement and action.

Speaker: Lindsey Tyner, owner & founder, Alt Creative

Studies have shown that approximately 80 percent of job seekers turn to social media to search for a new job. Whether you are looking for top talent or searching for a job, you’ll want to leverage social media. Join this roundtable with personal branding expert Maddie Highsmith to discuss the latest trends for finding your next job or attracting the right talent through digital technology. By using social and mobile strategies, you will learn how to broaden your reach to attract more job offerings or find a greater talent pool if you are a hiring manager.

Speaker:  Maddie Highsmith, enterprise account executive, Oracle

Social media offers unprecedented opportunities to define and build your brand. But each social channel is unique, and a cookie-cutter approach just won’t cut it. How can you create consistency across multiple platforms and leverage different channels to support your message? Lisa Pearson, CEO of Umbel, which specializes in increasing customer engagement, will share which channels are ideal for your message and how to target the right audiences.

Speaker: Lisa Pearson, CEO, Umbel

The end of Conference Day is just the beginning! Connect with us on your favorite network: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or join our email list to receive updates, original articles and news about year-round events – including free monthly teleclasses. Also, don’t forget to download the TexasWomen App to connect with fellow attendees and speakers!