First Dubuque leadership conference generates energy
BPC Staff Oct 11, 2015 | 1:00 pm
3 min read time
612 wordsAll Latest News, Arts and Culture, Lift IOWA
DUBUQUE – More than 300 women, men and undergraduate students from area colleges came together at the Grand River Center here last week to hear the wisdom of four nationally recognized speakers on female leadership as part of the inaugural Iowa Women Lead Change Dubuque Conference.
State Sen. Pam Jochum and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds kicked off the conference, encouraging women to take risks and to support one another in leadership endeavors.
Legal analyst Lisa Bloom urged conference attendees to “turn off trash TV and reclaim your time.”
Bloom embarked on what she called a “deep investigation into where women stand in the world,” and what she found was shocking.
“More women knew about the Kardashians than the wars America is in,” she said. She now speaks to groups about the “dumbing-down” of citizens and how to combat it, because “there are so many issues crying out for our time and attention.”
Business consultant and speaker Cy Wakeman admonished attendees to “ditch the drama.” She noted that the average woman spends two hours per day on what she called drama. As a leadership consultant to many Fortune 500 companies, her advice is “Do not ask for benefits on the promise of results. You deliver results first, and the benefits will come.” Wakeman implored attendees not to judge situations or others if they are unwilling or unable to help solve the problems.
“I don’t have any extra energy — and neither do you — to put into drama,” she said.
Erica Williams Simon, political strategist and advocate turned digital media-maker, speaker, coach and writer, said that each person’s story is “sacred.” She counseled female leaders to “find your truth, which can sometimes be scary. Write your story. You have to figure out what your leadership is, and it may not look like everyone else’s.”
History-making polar explorer and mountaineer Alison Levine, who served as a team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, imparted wisdom gleaned in her ascent of Mount Everest.
“The challenges I have met on the mountains helped me overcome challenges in the business world,” she said. “There are times in your life when you just have to step up, regardless of whether you think you’re ready.
“We all tend to think progress only goes in one direction; backtracking can be an opportunity to regroup and be better out of the gates the next time around. Backing up is not the same as backing down.”
Nancy Van Milligen, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, was “excited and inspired” by the inaugural conference.
“The level of professionalism and the quality of speakers have been delightful,” she said. “There is a joy in having so many professional women in Dubuque and the networking opportunities that abound here at this conference.”
Rujuta Vidal, a clinic manager at the University of Iowa, traveled from Iowa City to attend the Dubuque conference. “This is a goose-bump experience,” Vidal said. “It is enlightening, and has made me feel validated. Women have so much power, and this shows that we are not alone.”
The genesis for an IWLC conference came from Dubuque residents who attended IWLC conferences in eastern Iowa and Central Iowa.
“I went to an IWLC eastern Iowa conference, and I became excited about bringing a conference to Dubuque,” said Jason Norton, senior vice president for marketing and business development at DuTrac Community Credit Union. “When I left that conference, I imagined 900 new believers supporting women’s leadership. I said to myself, ‘I’m going to make sure these opportunities for women are available in Dubuque.’ “
Photos from the event are available online.
The 2016 IWLC Dubuque Conference is slated for Oct. 11.
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