Agenda

March 16, 2017

Seaport World Trade Center

11:00AM – REGISTRATION

 

11:45AM – LUNCH

 

12:15PM – OPENING REMARKS

Kathy Kiely
President, The Ad Club

 

12:30PM – GOT MY OWN THING

Grace Kelly
Musician, Singer, Entertainer, & Songwriter

First, the name stops you. It’s her real name. The surprises don’t stop there. She recorded her first album at 12, played with the Boston Pops at 14 and at President Obama’s Inauguration at 16! At 20-something, she’s shed the prodigy title and now plays with the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Grace is a standout jazz saxophonist and singer-songwriter who has muscled her way into the boys’ club. Being a female jazz musician is HerStory about embracing her differences.

 

1:00PM – THE TIPPING POINT

Dr. Miriam Meckel
Expert on Media Economics and Communication

Most successful women feel as though they have to run twice as fast as men just to keep up. Miriam is no exception. She was the youngest professor in Germany. She became a state secretary and government spokeswoman. She publishes articles and essays for the press, holds around-the-world talks, is a welcome guest at universities ,and moderates political talk shows. Already tweeting at six in the morning, she seldom slept more than three hours. And then she lost her balance. Letter to My Life is a book she wrote about her experience with burn-out syndrome, and she shares HerStory and the lessons she learned with you.

 

1:30PM – I AM JANE DOE

Mary Mazzio
Award Winning Director & Documentary Film Maker

Speak out. Fight back. It’s about taking on human trafficking in our own country. Hard to imagine. Harder still to avert your eyes once the facts are presented in the compelling documentary I am Jane Doe directed by Mary Mazzio and narrated by Jessica Chastain. In it, she chronicles the lives of the families of the young victims, follows the money trail to the website Backpage, and concludes with a January 2017 sub-committee hearing on Capitol Hill. If you think this only happens only in other places, to other people, Mary is here to tell you that is wishful thinking. HerStory is a cautionary tale to parents.

 

2:00PM – THE ADMIRATION AWARD PRESENTED BY JOHN HANCOCK

Award Presenter: Kate Ardini, AVP,  Brand Strategy & Advertising,  John Hancock Financial Services
Award Recipient: Collette Divitto, Entrepreneur, Collettey’s Cookies

When this talented baker with Down Syndrome could not find paying work at a bakery, she started her own. She didn’t let rejection get her down even after two years of interviewing for jobs she was qualified for but just not the “right fit.” She refused to accept her disability and started baking and selling her own cookies. Business is flourishing. Now she would like to help other people with disabilities by hiring them to help her.

 

2:30PM – COFFEE BREAK

 

3:15PM – ALLEN & GERRITSEN & MOBILE STÜ: HERSTORY IN SONG

 

3:20PM – PUTTING IT INTO WORDS

Sarah Hurwitz
Chief Speechwriter to Michelle Obama

Sarah is one of the privileged few who have landed somewhere – anywhere – in the world in a blue and white plane with “United States of America” stamped on its side. As chief speechwriter for two of the world’s most influential women – Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama – she’s an expert at helping women persuade and inspire with their words. In 2008, she wrote Hillary Clinton’s historic concession speech hailing “18 million cracks” in the “highest, hardest glass ceiling.” Two days later, the Obama team called to offer her a job. Her first assignment was so successful that it inspired the speech of another first lady eight years later. HerStory is about finding your own voice and using your words to lead. 

 

3:50PM – LISTEN CLOSELY

Madge Meyer
Public Speaker, Award-Winning Author & Former EVP, Chief Innovation Officer at State Street Corporation

It would not be wise to underestimate this petite, soft-spoken woman. Though her story is all about the power of listening and the power of passion, she also had to find her voice. Raised in Shanghai and Hong Kong, she began her career at IBM working on a NASA project when it was not easy for women, and harder for a Chinese female. Always uncomfortable with the status quo, Madge fearlessly embraced new technology and novel methods to exceed expectations. Listen closely as she shares HerStory and the lessons learned from a lifetime of shattering stereotypes and breaking glass.

 

4:20PM  –  HUMOR IS HER PLATFORM

Lizz Winstead
Comedian, Writer, & Co-Creator of The Daily Show

Lizz had always been funny. It was a surefire way to get attention as the youngest of five kids growing up in Minnesota. One of the top political satirists in America, she’s playing to a larger audience now with her very left-of-center-with-a-feminist-core view. Her satire has turned to activism with the founding of Lady Parts Justice, a comedy-based champion of reproductive rights. HerStory is rooted in a personal experience as a teenager and she strives to educate, galvanize, and support the women’s health mission with comedy.

 

4:50PM – COCKTAIL & NETWORKING RECEPTION