NAWBO’s 50th anniversary event calls for some incredibly accomplished and inspirational keynote speakers. More will be announced in coming weeks, but here’s what you can look forward to so far:
Ashley is a Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress who stars in both indie gems and box office hits. A social justice humanitarian, she is the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, advocating for rights and health for girls and women worldwide. She has traveled to 22 countries to advocate for these causes she’s so passionate about. Her New York Times bestselling book, All That Is Bitter & Sweet, chronicles these journeys. Additionally, Ashley has been Leader in Residence at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School, serves on several boards, including the International Center for Research on Women, and is chairperson of the Women’s Media Center Speak Project. Ashley was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2017. In 2019, the United Nations honored her as Global Advocate of the Year.
Cynt has been a dynamic force in business over a 36-year career at AT&T and almost seven years as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks. She has been a champion for achieving business results through inclusion and a relentless focus on people and operational excellence. When Cynt was hired as Mavericks CEO, her vision was for the organization to become the NBA standard for inclusion, diversity and workplace culture, and they twice received the NBA’s Inclusion Leadership award. Prior to this, Cynt founded Marshalling Resources, an award-winning consulting firm specializing in leadership development, culture transformation and optimization of people resources. She also served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer at AT&T, leading the team that created a world-class culture and spearheaded the work that for the first time, placed AT&T on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Cynt’s first book, You’ve Been Chosen, was nominated for an NAACP Image award.
Other much-anticipated speakers who will be featured at NAWBO’s 50th anniversary event include:
Luly is a business and life strategist who supports women through transformative experiences and community where they release guilt and self-doubt, align with their lifestyle and family priorities, take action and achieve results. She is a dynamic Cuban-American mom and entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in marketing strategy, communication, business consulting and leadership. She is fortunate to share her message of empowerment, leadership and confidence with thousands of women across the country, as well as with select corporate clients and partners, including Procter & Gamble, GE, Macy’s and Dell.
Over her 30 years with Bank of America, Jill has held leadership positions across the company, including positions in Consumer & Business Banking, Wealth Management Banking and Global Corporate & Investment Banking. She currently serves as a Managing Director and head of sustainability for the Business Banking Division. Additionally, Jill is an adjunct professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. She is the co-chair of Bank of America’s Domestic Violence Taskforce and serves on the National Advisory Board for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). She is a recipient of several accolades including the NAWBO Gillian Rudd Business Leadership Award for her longstanding commitment to women business owners worldwide. Jill is also a board member for Community Servings, a non-profit providing medically, tailored meals to chronically and critically, ill patients and their families; and is the past President of the Susan G. Komen New England Board of Directors.
Catherine has been a force for positive philanthropic change over the past two decades. As a dedicated advocate and founder of Shane’s Inspiration, established in 1997 in memory of her son Shane, Catherine has led global initiatives to create inclusive sensory- and literacy-rich playgrounds throughout the world that unite children of all abilities, creating a worldwide inclusion movement. In 2020, Catherine expanded her impact by co-founding She Angels Foundation, which awards monthly grants to grassroots organizations supporting young women and girls. A fervent advocate for women’s empowerment, she shares her wisdom and passion through teaching and speaking.
Janine is the bestselling author of Be Brilliant: How to Lead a Life of Influence, It’s Who You Know: How a Network of 12 Key People Can Fast-Track Your Success and From Me to We: Why Commercial Collaboration Will Future-Proof Business. She is a global thought leader on connection—obsessed about the power of connection and how it helps to build brilliant relationships, unlock innovative collaborations, unleash leadership potential and ultimately help businesses make money, drive performance and fuel momentum.
Shauna has spent her career looking for ways to improve the business operations process, and empower entrepreneurs. Her early background in public and corporate accounting combined with experience in entrepreneurship provided Shauna with the foundation to start Fortiviti. Shauna has spent the last 15 years building a company and team whose primary goal is to support the success of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Shauna served on the board of the NAWBO Kansas City Chapter, first as president and then as treasurer. She supports the ScaleUp program through Kauffman and the Small Business Development Center, by educating participants on their business finances, and has recently added an Accounting Bootcamp to her consulting and educational activities. Shauna’s favorite activity is spending time with her husband, two kids, friends and family.
Dr. Janis Shinkawa (aka Dr. Jan) is the Medical Director and Partner of Ohana Pet Hospital, a small animal veterinary general practice established in 2012 by four women veterinarians in Ventura, California. They acquired Santa Paula Animal Clinic in August 2019. Dr. Jan now has collective partnerships in 3 veterinary hospitals. Dr. Jan has assisted with the creation of the veterinary assistant program at a local Charter College in Oxnard and at the Career Education Center for Ventura County high school students. She and her business partner developed an Associate’s Degree program in Veterinary Technology at Ventura College, a California Community College, which launched in Spring of 2021. Prior to attending veterinary school, Dr. Shinkawa was a CPA with Ernst & Young, LLP (EY). She left EY public accounting as a trained manager and business consultant. Dr. Jan has a passion for creating sustainable business strategies and compassionate management training that enable companies to develop healthy and happy employees. At the end of the day, it’s all for the animals!
Vera, “The Empathy Coach,” is a motivational speaker, author, life and leadership coach. She offers resilience, empathic leadership, communication, DEIB, mental wellness and conflict resolution keynote speaking and training. Vera is also a former ESPN, Fox Sports, MSG, WNBA and Big Ten Network Basketball Analyst. She has coached college basketball, performed on stage as an actress and entertained as a stand-up comedian. As founder of the Perseverance Speakers Academy, Vera helps students and professionals confidently polish their public speaking skills.
With more than 20 years of combined law enforcement, ministry and executive leadership experience, Ryan is an internationally recognized conflict management coach and educator. He is a certified leadership coach as well as founder and chief conflict officer at Conflictish, a conflict strategy firm dedicated to helping leaders improve how they lead themselves and others through conflict. He is the creator of the Real Tact Model®, a custom framework for developing conflict competency that has been shared with organizations from Chic- fil-A to Yale’s Berkley Seminary.
Deanna is an award-winning, published author with over 20 years of experience writing about leadership, policy, law, business, genealogy and culture. She is the founder of The Write Journeys, where she provides ghostwriting, technical writing, copywriting and editing services for businesses of all sizes, marketing companies, entrepreneurs and novelists. Deanna is also the author of four award-winning personalized children’s books based on heritage and world culture, and founder of their publisher, kidsHeritage, through which she had successfully partnered with Walt Disney World. Deanna has served on the NAWBO Orlando Board of Directors as well as the South Florida Board. Demonstrating her commitment to entrepreneurship and lifelong learning, she won the 2009-2010 NAWBO Spirit Award and the 2015 NAWBO Business Plan Competition and attended both the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Entrepreneurship Program (2016) and the Home Shopping Network American Dreams Academy (2018).
Vicky is the CEO and co-founder of Dapper Boi, a body and gender-inclusive apparel line that emphasizes authenticity and confidence. Founded in 2015, Dapper Boi has been recognized in several national outlets such as CBS Morning News, ABC’s “Shark Tank” and the OUT100 2023 list and featured in the award-winning documentary “Show Her the Money.” Vicky is driven to be a standout CEO, founder and role model for her daughters and she continues to inspire the many Dapper Boi customers who share how the brand has positively impacted their lives.
Megan Patton is a co-owner and the Chief Strategy Officer of Beyond Strategy Partners, Inc. BSP, Inc. is an international consulting firm focused on fueling sustainable growth and enhancing wealth for entrepreneurial-minded businesses. The firm focuses on the alignment of strategy, people, operations and financial excellence. Megan worked in a “Big Four” consulting firm for many years and focused on business process reengineering, change management and learning system development. Her clients ranged from large multinational companies to internal constituents. She also ran a small family consulting firm, ODA Strategy for many years prior to the founding of Beyond Strategy Partners, Inc. Prior to her career in management consulting, Megan was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal. Megan received a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College, and an MBA in Strategy from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She is a certified and licensed affiliate of The One Page Business Plan Company and a Certified Professional Business Coach. Megan is a strong believer in lifelong learning, and continues to pursue certifications and take courses on a variety of subjects. Megan is an active member of the NAWBO Northeast Ohio Chapter and served as the Chapter President in 2015-2016.
Melissa lives at the sweet spot between strategy at 30,000 feet and activating across the last mile; with a passion for what makes consumers tick and how to use that to drive discovery of, engagement with and loyalty to brands. She’s helped shepherd strategy, creative, experiential, research, social, digital media and PR programs in four continents and five languages during her 25-year global marketing career. She’s launched over 20 products and programs in the U.S. and across the globe, including record-breaking products at Papa John’s and KFC.
Terry is a successful entrepreneur, international executive and award-winning small business advocate. She founded Terry Neese Personnel Services, National Grassroots Network and the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women. She also co-founded Women Impacting Public Policy. Additionally, Terry is a past NAWBO National president. Under her leadership, the organization led the passage of H.R. 5050, the historic legislation that made it possible for women business owners to obtain a small business loan or credit card without a male co-signer.
Lei is a leadership developer, executive advisor and keynote speaker who blends deep corporate expertise with transformative lessons from extreme adventure. A self-described “corporate nerd turned explorer,” she became the first Asian woman to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam—climbing the highest peak on each continent and skiing to both the North and South Poles. With a background in technology and finance, Lei also offers proven strategies and actionable insights rooted in real-world success.
If you would like to be considered as a speaker for NAWBO’s in-person and virtual events, please click here.
