Sessions

Our Purdue Women’s Network community is made up of strong Purdue women from all over the globe. It is passion, commitment, and love for our alma mater that motivates us to continue our own journey while influencing the next generation of Boilermaker women. Hear from some of our volunteer alumnae leaders, including a member of the Purdue Board of Trustees, to better understand our past milestones as well our path forward. You will leave this session with a better understanding of and excitement for things to come.

Maureen Breeze and Annette Watkins | Cofounders | Retreat Reinvent Recharge

Women transition personally and professionally many times over the course of their adult lives, yet there is little research documenting this very normal process. Watkins and Breeze have begun researching women’s transitions and will be sharing their early findings about emerging themes they are discovering. From common expectations and fears, to challenges and opportunities, you’ll learn about trends and experiences women face as they move through various life chapters.

Carla Bass (LA’77) | Colonel | US Air Force (Ret.)

Change your life! Propel your business! Galvanize your audience! Nail a dream job with a stellar resume. Score a promotion with puissant input to a performance review. Expand a client base with marketing tailored to their needs. Win a grant or contract with a compelling bid. Powerful writing undergirds them all. Bass will highlight 10 areas to leverage the reader’s time to your advantage and techniques to do so. Private businesses, NGOs, corporations, academia, and government agencies benefit from this interactive, engaging workshop based on Bass’s book “Write to Influence!” winner of eight national-level awards. And bring your sense of humor because Carla refers to Rumpelstiltskin, Goldilocks, hard-boiled eggs, and scavenger hunts.

Rochelle Asberry (LA’85) | CEO/Owner | Dominique's Enterprise LLC

Honor your journey by reflecting on the past. Enter the present with gratitude, and be inspired as you look to the future. With this interactive experience, we will share, uplift, and encourage each other as we: Reflect on the past through guided meditation; journal thoughts about your journey; discuss/share your thoughts and discoveries; share where you are now; establish goals and action steps to design your journey; and honor your journey by connecting/helping others support their journey.

Beth Hobson (MS LA’20) | Fundraising Campaign Director | Hosparus Health

Did you know you can have a big impact on the organizations you love even when you can’t write a big check? Beth Hobson will provide tips and techniques you can use to support the organizations you love even when working with a limited budget. Hobson is both a professional fundraiser and a philanthropist. During this session, she will bust common fundraising myths while introducing everyone to the power of the blended gift model. Audience members will learn about easy ways to help missions without breaking the bank. Be prepared to make impact!

Laura Downey (DVM’88, MS M’97) | CEO | Concordance Health Solutions

Women often struggle to be heard by people in powerful roles in their company, which can lead them to back away from their own convictions, doubt themselves, and create a vicious cycle that undermines their effectiveness as leaders and influencers. Downey will share research findings and her journey of learning to manage institutional and cultural biases, her own barriers, and differences in leadership styles between men and women to find her most effective voice.

Jokima Hiller (BS’96) | Assistant Professor | Missouri State University

Do you find yourself saying “I just can’t give any more?” Trying to meet the needs of all stakeholders is challenging! Many times, women put these stakeholder needs above their own. “What about me,” you ask? In this session, our focus will be on you as we walk through some proven ideas taken from Hiller’s book, “The RevPAR Formula,” on what causes burnout, how to identify burnout in yourself and others, and how to prevent and recover from burnout.

Jill Barclay (LA’03) | Cybersecurity Communications Specialist | CommonSpirit Health

If you’ve ever downplayed your own abilities or questioned your value in the workplace, you’re not alone. Working in a large organization with people from a wide range of backgrounds, it can be hard to recognize your worth. Women in particular are more likely to believe that they’re inadequate despite evidence that indicates they’re skilled and quite successful. With this workshop, we’ll explore how differences make you valuable, and how perceived weaknesses can in fact be used to your advantage.

Danielle Bryan (A’10) | Meditation Teacher/Speaker/Spiritual Mentor | Self Love Society

This interactive session is an experience that will take you through the release of your top four feel-good brain chemicals — dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins — by using the tools of movement, meditation, authentic relating, and loving kindness. 'Be the Change' is designed to get you to connect on a deep level, to yourself and one other. Come learn about and experience your hidden superpower! You will leave with new tools to implement throughout your life moving forward.

Beth (MS M’89) and Peter (MS M’89) Bostwick | Authors and Entrepreneurs

Do you ever wonder how to move ahead in life, with your career, or past a bad situation? Join us for a lively presentation with Beth and Peter Bostwick. They are both Purdue alumni who have moved through difficult experiences with their software startup in Silicon Valley to learn some powerful lessons about living an abundant life, despite challenging circumstances. They have developed tools you can use every day to keep yourself focused and, most importantly, to be your own best friend.

Karen McCullough | Director of Scholarship Stewardship and Development | Purdue for Life Foundation

Featuring Molly Grotjan | Purdue Agribusiness Student

Purdue has made numerous headlines for holding tuition flat for a full decade. While we celebrate this milestone, we also know that keeping costs down is just one piece in the puzzle of affordability in higher education. In this session, we will highlight the role that scholarships play in making a Purdue education accessible for all students, and we will hear a firsthand account of the impact scholarships have had in the life of one of our amazing scholarship recipients.

Karen Bishop Morris (MA’96, PhD LA’02) | Associate Professor | Purdue University Northwest

Storytelling is a strategic tool that encodes memories, engages constituencies, cements connections, and distributes vision. Our epic journeys — from street corners to C-suites, in labs and lecture halls — hold the keys to inspired leadership and service. Participants will unpack their education, experiences, and expertise to consider new ways to tell stories that inspire risk-taking and myth-making. In this interactive session, participants will tap into audio and images to unlock their super powers, tell new stories, or tell old stories in new ways to reclaim their identities or solve problems for clients and communities. Participants will be provided with customizable strategies based on audience (boss/shareholders, direct report, mentee, board member, family member), communication channel (digital, print, other), message (risk management or roll out), and purpose (to convince or persuade).

Michelle Layman (BS’88) | President | reDefined

The workshop will focus on creating and executing one’s life vision by incorporating a very simple credo: plan, do, check, act. Layman will share her journey, using key decision points that allowed her to live her best life. Raised by a single mom with limited income, Layman became hooked on engineering in fourth grade, when she toured the Ford Motor plant. She pursued math and science when it really wasn’t a girl thing, graduated from Purdue, chose to work in a male-dominated field — petrochemicals — and created a women’s group at BP in 2000, before it was commonplace.

Mariya Petrenko (PhD S’12) | Life and Leadership Coach

Based on the revolutionary work of Bruce D. Schneider, the founder of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), this workshop introduces the concept of seven energy levels — victim thinking, defiance, cooperation, service, acceptance, wisdom, and creation — and their interplay within a person. Participants learn to see that many options are possible in virtually any situation, and how the choices we make affect the results we get. The simple realization that being positive is a choice, can be learned, and there is a system to shift energetically to where you want to be is freeing, inspiring, and motivating. Learn how to serve and lead from your core in the most powerful way.

Tess Devinger (BS IE’20), Kate Henn (BS AAE’97), and Asha Hosangadi Smith (MS AAE’11) | Engineers | General Electric

Have you ever felt like you were failing at your job, despite all evidence to the contrary? Are you worried that you can’t do it all? Do you want to reinvent your career? Devinger, Henn, and Smith will answer these questions and share their unique journeys from Purdue graduates to GE engineers. Warning: There is no single recipe for success! There are many different paths to reaching your goals and destinations. After sharing their stories, the women will host an interactive panel discussion driven by questions from audience members.

Yvette Scheiber (LA’17) | Managing Director | Yvette Scheiber & Associates

Women account for 47.1% of the workforce. There are more women-owned businesses than at any other time in modern history. Success should bring happiness as well as monetary profits, but many successful women aren’t feeling warm or fuzzy about their lives. Why? The answer is guilt. Women are torn between the love of family and the need to be accomplished individuals. Scheiber will discuss how women can achieve success in the business world without feeling remorseful or ashamed. While no one can have it all, Scheiber wants each participant to understand their need for personal accomplishments does not mean they are neglecting or do not care about their families.

Kris Taylor (MS M'96) and Katie McNamee (LA'16) | Co-Founders | LEAP

If you are looking for ways to step into your own consulting business, especially in the current business environment, come to this presentation! Going out on your own always has an element to risk to it. But what most people don’t know is that while entrepreneurs take risks, they take MEASURED risks. But with risk comes reward. Independent consultants find they can enhance their earning potential while building a business that enables them to have more control over their schedule while being able to do the type of work they desire. In this session, you’ll learn five proven and practical ways to test the market, your skills, and your income potential, even in an economic downturn. Join us if you’d like to find a way to take a measured risk that enables you to explore independent consulting as a career option.

Ashley Gilmore (LA’05) | Founder and CEO | Gilmore Counseling and Consulting Services, PLLC

This workshop will highlight the journey African American women face in securing management positions in professional settings. Contextualized within a narrative approach, statistics will provide attendees with the opportunity to understand racial microagressions and the toll these racial implications have on African American women. The workshop will engage conversation on why African American women have begun creating their own businesses to highlight the richness of our heritage and struggle for equity.

Michelle Gladieux (HHS’93 MS T’95) | President | Gladieux Consulting

Do you ever get nervous when you speak at a meeting? Do you know how to impact an audience? Can you help adults learn and recall information? It’s normal to experience anxiety when all eyes are on you, but with practice, it’s possible to add power to your messages and relax in front of the room. Join us to learn how to build positive rapport quickly with any audience. Each participant chooses goals to improve speaking style after gaining a more accurate perception of what’s going well and where polish is needed.

Toyinda Smith (HHS’98) | Principal | The Coaching Seat, LLC

Coaching yourself to action is both an art and a science. Every day in secret, women struggle with mastering the ability to win with certainty. Overthinking takes place, personal significant tasks are disregarded, and the development of inaccurate personal views arise. We remain inaudible and dormancy becomes normalcy. Packed with insight, Smith will use “The Handbook to Dominate Your Confidence” to challenge and equip you to self-coach your 4Vs leading to a transformation in leadership and team collaboration, positioning you for greater influence, opportunity, and access.

Susan Barnes (HHS’72) | President & CEO | The Landmark Group of Companies

Even with the best-laid Plan A, life’s journey is unpredictable. We will explore how to develop a Plan A — and how to segue to Plan B — while embracing serendipity and networking. The presentation taps into common threads that we all share, while recognizing each woman’s own unique abilities, interests, goals, background, and personality that propels her life’s journey. Barnes will use personal examples to illustrate how to get beyond the bump or pothole in the road. Each participant will learn tools to create her own unique Plan A and Plan B to navigate life, both personally and professionally.

Elizabeth Lape (T’83) | Deputy for Individual Training

Later this year, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security (WPS) will celebrate 20 years since its passage in October 2000. In 2017, the US Congress passed the WPS Act, making the United States the first country to have comprehensive legislation ensuring women’s participation and prevention from gender-based violence. To support these efforts, Lape has traveled around the world helping to train other militaries as well as our own. The course instructs military personnel from all over the world how to consider human security issues in the operations planning.

Maggie Kyle Petraits (HHS’80) | Owner/Artist/Coach/Designer | MKP Studio Koncepts

We all face life changes — both planned and unplanned. We can choose to transform our life by redesigning our thought process, connection to spirituality, and our health. Petrait’s workshop offers solutions and a journey to follow exploring the deep thought patterns that may be hindering or making change more difficult. By redesigning our interior connection to thoughts and emotions, we can transform our life and enjoy the journey!

Lora Williams (LA’93) | Attorney | Williams Law Office PC

Estate planning can be intimidating and even scary, but taking care of your family and future generations is incredibly important, especially for entrepreneurs, businesswomen, and leaders. Williams uses her knowledge and expertise in the complex area of estate planning to help families build legacies that reach into posterity, taking complex concepts and making them simple enough for the audience to understand and implement with confidence. In this presentation, Williams will review common and not-so-common estate planning techniques, as well as review the most important documents to include (and NOT to include) in those estate plans.

Jill Anderson | Senior Director of Development | Purdue Research Foundation

New graduate, saving for retirement, raising kids, college tuition – there are many obstacles to giving a cash gift to your favorite university and other not-for-profit(s). In this session, Anderson will help you explore nontraditional ways to give while meeting your philanthropic goals.

Carolyn Peck | ESPN Analyst | Former Purdue Women’s Basketball Coach

Hear from Peck, who led the Purdue women’s basketball team to the 1999 NCAA National Championship, as she discusses career milestones and shares details about her growth as a player, coach, and leader.