GENERAL SESSIONS
The Power of Profitable Conversations
AmyK Hutchens
In this compelling and energetic session, leaders will be inspired and equipped to raise performance & productivity levels in an era of unprecedented change. Those leaders who hone their communication skills & learn how to turn a tough conversation into a highly profitable one WIN. With humor and wisdom AmyK shares practical tools for choosing and crafting conversations that fuel top performers, expand partner relationships, promote inclusion & engagement, and drive profitable results. From mindset and motivation to conquering our biggest challenges, AmyK shares with leaders how to ignite their own brilliance & harness the collective intelligence in their teams to create unprecedented competitive advantages that drive their business forward faster.
Speaker Bio: AmyK Hutchens is a catalyst for maximizing your brilliance. She’s an international award-winning speaker with over 2700+ presentations, Amazon #1 bestselling author of two books, The Secrets Leaders Keep and Get It!, and has over twenty-three years’ experience training, coaching and consulting with clients such as Whole Foods, Expedia, Starbucks Canada, UBS and hundreds more. AmyK founded the global Self-leadership platform www.shegetsit.com, received her M.S. from Johns Hopkins University, and has been a featured guest on numerous TV, radio & print networks including Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, USA Today, US News & World Report, NBC & ABC. She resides in San Diego, California with her favorite human, Scott, and their bulldog Moose.
Level Up: Elevate Your Leadership Game
Alyson VanHooser
People everywhere are scrambling to figure out how to lead, influence, and impact today’s generationally diverse workforce in their businesses. It's been a struggle for decades, and the challenge is ever more increasing! Is there a practical solution? Absolutely! And it starts with a perspective shift. To level up your success, you must start creating a deep connection with people across the entire organization -- those you like and those you don't, those you understand and those who confuse you most -- this connection is the foundation for success! To begin building an authentic connection with people of any generation, experience level, or department/division, you must start with the stories, not just statistics. It's in a person's individual stories where you will find answers to exactly what motivates, drives, and connects you with others. The 'Level Up Your Leadership Game' keynote will reveal a proven leadership strategy that creates a breeding ground for empowerment, ownership, and high-performance accountability and success!
Speaker Bio: Alyson is on a sold-out mission to help leaders succeed in the complex, post-pandemic workforce! As President & CEO of Van Hooser Associates Inc., and as a trusted authority and resource for effectively leading people, Alyson uses her management experience with Walmart, her leadership experience in the financial industry, and her work as an elected city council member – all by the age of 26 — to relate authentically with the challenges leaders are facing. Tough beginnings taught Alyson the radical power of an ownership mindset–one that transforms the trajectory of your life and helps you achieve audacious goals. Alyson’s work reveals future-proof, practical, immediately actionable, strategies for captivating, connecting, and compelling people to move forward with you, whether it be customers or employees! Her results-obsessed inspiration guides people at all stages of their careers to make practical changes that drive real-life results!
The Transformative Power of Mentoring & The Impact on Company Culture
Amber Fields
In today's ever-changing work environments, the need for companies to stay competitive has never been more crucial. Companies must not only adapt but also redefine their company culture to be attractive to top talent. Creating a strong, authentic, excellent, and sustainable company culture has become paramount to keep up with the workforce's expectations and to not lose unsurmountable amounts of money in turnover. The responsibility of building a positive company culture falls on everyone, not just the executives or HR, but most importantly the mid-level managers who must ensure that the company culture is upheld across all business units by managing up and leading down. With everyone working together, we can create a corporate culture that is not only sustainable but also thriving. To accomplish this, the mid-level managers must be invested in and given the resources and tools they need to accomplish this, and mentoring is one of those ways. So many people are promoted because they are good at their jobs but not given the appropriate tools to be effective leaders. Helping them gain insights from mentors is just the beginning and is crucial in growing oneself & creating value to the bottom line of the business.
Speaker Bio: Amber Fields is a culture enthusiast committed to helping businesses drive results through their most valued asset, PEOPLE. She is intentional about creating culture where people want to be a part of the mission & vision every day. Amber has been the lead culture advocate and advisor to nonprofits and business leaders in our community to help them be efficient, stay competitive, cutting-edge & innovative. She is a dynamic connector, bringing all the right people to the table to achieve desired results. She is passionate about leadership development that allows for people and businesses to reach their highest potential. She is a philanthropist who cares deeply about serving the community through building awareness, raising funds and providing resources to help organizations like Damar Services,The Damar Charter Academy, Hope Anchor & Crew and other organizations.
Amber is an Indiana native and received her under grad at the University of Indianapolis. She has been married to her husband Daniel for 21 years, has five beautiful kids and resides in Fishers, IN and is expecting her first grandbaby in March.
Connecting Women: The Art and Science of Making Meaningful Connections
Juli Lynch, Ph.D
Many women think “ugh” at the idea of having to “network” in order to grow their career or be visible for future opportunities in their professional life. This is because “networking” often feels inauthentic, awkward and self-promoting in an uncomfortable way – especially if you are more introverted.
In this session Dr. Juli Lynch will share with you how authentic, heart-based, and life force invigorating connecting with others – especially women - can be when you approach it from a new perspective based in the psychology and physiology of women’s need to connect with one another.
In this high-energy, interactive session you will laugh, you may cry, and you will certainly feel the ease at which you can reach out and connect with other women by engaging in behaviors and conversations you have naturally wired into your heart and your brain.
Learn how to approach another with confidence, start a conversation that sparks interest and use the art of questioning to showcase your genuine, authentic character.
Speaker Bio: Juli Lynch has a doctorate in human and organizational psychology. She is a psychologist, organizational consultant, management and leadership development expert and executive coach. She has over 25 years of experience working as a consultant and coach with leaders, teams, and organizations to create dynamic and engaged cultures with visionary leaders and high-performance teams.
Juli primarily works in the banking industry as a consultant, leadership development facilitator and executive coach.
She is a member of the faculty of Texas, Indiana, and Minnesota and Nebraska Bankers’ Leadership Development Programs – yearlong leadership and management training program with the mission of developing the future leaders of the banking industry.
Juli has been a speaker and presenter at Bankers Association conferences across the nation for over ten years. Her sessions focus on leadership development, including personality/trait dynamics, emotional intelligence, the neuroscience of leadership, visionary leadership, and executive development – from manager to leader. Juli also offers sessions on organizational cultures, vision, and mission creation, working across the generational spectrum, changing cultures and the bank culture of the future.
10 Myths Debunked: How to Inspire, Empower and Get Things Done
Amber Farley
Increasingly, women are filling—and excelling at—leadership roles in the banking industry, contributing unique perspectives and leadership styles, as well as positively influencing the industry and the communities they serve. Amber Farley, a partner and EVP of Brand Development at FMS, gives an insightful presentation on women in leadership, addressing topics such as what leadership looks likes today, how to strengthen leadership skills, some of the barriers to female leadership she's overcome, the differences between her style of leadership to that of other male leaders at FMS, and ways to empower and inspire your team. Amber’s observations are gleaned from many years of being a consultant, speaker and teacher in the banking industry, working alongside other strong bank leaders across the country.
Speaker Bio: Amber Farley, Partner & EVP of Brand Development at FMS, is a well-known and respected teacher, presenter, consultant and thought leader on bank branding, marketing, leadership, and digital marketing strategies for banks around the country. She strategizes ways to help banks be purpose-driven, inspirational and more relevant to today’s customer—including both internal and external customers, and regularly presents and teaches at national banking schools, banking conferences, and other statewide banking institutions.
No Regrets, No Limits: Achieve the BIG Goals (That Really Matter)
LeeAnn Marie Webster
As successful leaders, we devote a lot of time, money, and energy into our careers, families, and relationships - which doesn’t leave much for US. Yet it doesn’t have to be that way. Through her No Regrets Formula, LeeAnn shares how to create life on your terms, learn from your experiences, and live life to the fullest.
Speaker Bio: LeeAnn helps women leaders achieve the BIG goals (that really matter) so they can live with no regrets and no limits. For over 30 years she has empowered thousands of people achieve their most important goals, using a process now known as the “No Regrets Formula.” LeeAnn is an attorney turned international Keynote speaker, Moth StorySLAM winner, and entrepreneur with 20 years’ experience in marketing and business development in a range of industries.
Her first national TV appearance was as a contestant on MTV’s Remote Control. Since then she has been featured in NBC, The Huffington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and dozens more.
LeeAnn is the co-author of the book “Mid-Life Without the Crisis” and was recently named one of the “Top 15 Coaches in Chicago.” She's also an Ironman triathlon finisher and recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Breakfast & Beyond the Court: Lessons in Leadership
After you’ve grabbed your breakfast from the buffet line, settle in for a C-Suite conversation with Amber Van Til, president and CEO of the Indiana Bankers Association, and Allison Barber, Ph.D., president of the Indiana Fever. These trailblazers discuss their leadership journeys, sharing insights on fostering women's advancement across industries.
CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Balanced Busy: How to Outsource Your Overwhelm, Take Back Your Time & Reinvent Your Relationship with Your Schedule
Vikki Duke
Vikki’s Elevate & Delegate model has been a source of great success for clients, giving people the tools to know they can accomplish their goals, appropriately ration resources, and prioritize their productive hours. She will share her breaking point breakthroughs, what helped, why you need it & 5 sanity savers you can start doing this weekend!
Speaker Bio: Vikki is a wife, mother, Realtor, entrepreneur & your full-time hype woman to take back control of your time. Her newest venture, Insomnia Mom helps busy parents & professionals find opportunities to outsource the often-overwhelming pressures of daily tasks. She is a Chicago native, Hoosier since 2007, book clubber, culinary crafter, TV fanatic, & raffle winner in Ms. Ernest’s 3rd grade class.
The Future of Banking for Generation Z: What They Want and What They Really Need
Virginia Heyburn
This session will help you better understand social media, as well as curate your own social presence. Remember when a “tweet” was something you heard out your bedroom window? LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and the many other social media channels are now essential elements of professional presence. It is important to take the time to stop, be sure you understand best practices for social and ensuring you are curating your presence to best represent yourself no matter where you are in your career.
This session will enable participants to:
- Better understand the use of prime social media channels
- Evaluate one’s current social media presence
- Brainstorm ways to update and enhance use of key channels
- Tap into “pro tips” to maximize time spent on social efficiently
Speaker Bio: Virginia Heyburn is Director, Research, Insights & Advocacy with Engage fi and a well-known and trusted industry expert in the field of banking and payments. Over a 25-year career, Virginia has been at the forefront of advising technology companies on innovation opportunities to solve complex banking problems and to improve the customer experience. Virginia has also served as a strategic advisor to financial institutions, helping them create essential distinction through rapid adaptation to industry and consumer trends, business drivers and technology change.
Virginia is a sought-after main stage speaker at financial industry events and conferences where she inspires her audience into new thinking about innovative ways to attract and delight a new generation of customers. She has been quoted by top-tier media and industry publications, including Fortune, Forbes, and American Banker.
In Flow: Fostering Happiness and Well-being with Emotional Intelligence
Patrice Borders, Esq., Founder and CEO of AmplifyEI
Join Patrice Borders, Esq., for an insightful session exploring how emotional intelligence (EI) can enhance personal and professional well-being and help you thrive. This interactive session will equip you with practical tools and strategies for leveraging EI for better well-being and workplace happiness. Patrice, also known as the EI Amplifier, will guide you through her 7 Keys to Emotional Intelligence model and show you how to harness them to unlock a more vibrant and fulfilling work life.&; Learn to navigate with resilience, adaptability, and a positive mindset. This session is more than a learning opportunity – it’s a transformative experience designed to empower you to lead a healthier, happier, and more balanced professional and personal life with greater harmony and flow.
Speaker Bio: Patrice Borders, J.D., is fiercely dedicated to her mission of transforming organizations through mindful, emotionally intelligent leadership. As an attorney, author, and workplace consultant, she equips leaders with neuroscience-backed tools to handle stress, uncertainty, and conflict while fostering well-being both personally and professionally.
For over 20 years, her company, AmplifyEI, has been at the forefront of developing authentic, emotionally intelligent leaders. Through dynamic executive coaching and tailored learning experiences, Patrice helps individuals and teams unlock their highest potential. Known as The EI Amplifier™, she teaches leaders to make inner microshifts that create profound outward impact, transforming workplace culture, engagement, and belonging.
Patrice has partnered with global powerhouses like Danaher, Kroger, Dropbox, and Disney, consistently delivering transformational coaching and training. Her signature approach, the 7 Keys to Emotional Intelligence™ Model, is a proven roadmap for self-awareness and growth that drives stronger results, deeper insight, and greater empathy. One client described her as “the perfect blend of IQ, EQ, facilitator, and wizard.”
An advocate for the power of hitting pause, Patrice finds joy in mindful walks with her husband and their fur baby and treasures the moments spent catching up with their two adult daughters as they navigate the world.
AI Simplified: Unlocking Success for Women
Kendra Ramirez
AI is rapidly changing the business landscape. This session will demystify what AI is and offer real-world use cases to inspire women leaders to embrace this powerful technology. You'll walk away with an understanding of AI tools that enhance decision-making and operational efficiency, while also learning how to navigate common pitfalls in AI.
Speaker Bio: As the CEO of KR Digital Agency, a leader in Digital and AI solutions, we spearhead initiatives that drive digital and AI transformation in B2B markets. Since building bots in 2018, I have become an AI advocate, serving on the Cincinnati AI Catalyst Committee and co-hosting the Greater Cincinnati region’s largest AI meetup. With a track record of delivering 54 AI talks last year, my commitment to educating and engaging professionals in AI is my driving force. Additionally, I am globally recognized on LinkedIn.com’s homepage, recipient of the Women of Influence Award, John Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award, Cincy Chic Woman of the Year, and STEM Influencer. As the best-selling author of “Marketing Fusion” and “Micro Shift,” I share insights on leveraging digital technologies and the importance of understanding our mindset. With over 15 years in technology companies, my leadership is focused on navigating change in sales, marketing, and recruiting for B2B clients.
The BankHer’s Playbook: Mastering Influence & Amplifying Your Impact in Banking
Susana Briscoe-Alba
This dynamic and empowering session will equip attendees with practical strategies and insights to enhance their professional presence, influence, and overall impact in the competitive world of finance. Through interactive exercises and actionable strategies, this session will empower women in banking to overcome challenges, seize opportunities, and thrive in their careers. Attendees will leave with a personalized playbook for success, ready to amplify their influence and make significant strides in the financial industry.
Speaker Bio: Susana Briscoe-Alba is a passionate Leadership Mentor and Career Consultant with a mission: to empower women of color to reach new heights in their careers. With over a decade of experience in various leadership roles within higher education and sales Susana has honed her skills and expertise to guide others toward success.
Her journey from higher education leadership to career coaching and consulting is a testament to her resilience and dedication to helping others maximize their potential. With a heartwarming smile and a dedication to creating opportunities, Susana is a true advocate for those she serves, making her an inspiring figure in the world of leadership and career development.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Susana's personal life reveals her warmth and vibrancy. She currently resides in New York with her husband and their son, a LEGO enthusiast. In her downtime, she delights in building LEGO forts with her son and sharing Marvel movie nights with her husband. Her infectious smile and her genuine commitment to ensuring everyone feels seen, valued, and heard define her character.
6 Levels of Empowerment
Alyson Van Hooser
Whether you want to empower others or are the one wanting to be empowered to rise in the organization, this proven process will walk you through exactly what to say and to do to develop skills, mitigate risk, grow your bench strength, and communicate effectively throughout the process. With this tool in hand, you have the power to transform individual and team success across the entire organization!
Speaker Bio: Alyson is on a sold-out mission to help leaders succeed in the complex, post-pandemic workforce! As President & CEO of Van Hooser Associates Inc., and as a trusted authority and resource for effectively leading people, Alyson uses her management experience with Walmart, her leadership experience in the financial industry, and her work as an elected city council member – all by the age of 26 — to relate authentically with the challenges leaders are facing. Tough beginnings taught Alyson the radical power of an ownership mindset–one that transforms the trajectory of your life and helps you achieve audacious goals. Alyson’s work reveals future-proof, practical, immediately actionable, strategies for captivating, connecting, and compelling people to move forward with you, whether it be customers or employees! Her results-obsessed inspiration guides people at all stages of their careers to make practical changes that drive real-life results!