Fifth annual women’s leadership conference inspires
BY MOLLY ALTORFER | IOWA WOMEN LEAD CHANGE
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| Girls Scouts of the USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez with Girl Scouts who joined the IWLC Central Iowa Conference Oct. 28 at the Iowa Events Center. |
The fifth annual Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC) women’s leadership conference kicked off in Des Moines last week with several speakers, including Anna MariaChávez, CEO of the Girls Scouts of America.
Before an audience of more than 900 women leaders and 200 undergraduate students from Central Iowa colleges, Chávez spoke with passion about elevating girls in leadership, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
She noted that Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low recognized that it is imperative “that girls understand the power of science and math,” in addition to financial literacy and philanthropy, and that commitment continues today in Girl Scouts.
“We are seeing a shift where girls are seeking even more activities and badges in math and science,” said Chávez. “We know we can provide the largest STEM program for girls in the country.” Additionally, she cited a Girls Scout troop in Iowa, “The Flying Monkeys,” who have a patent pending on a prosthetic finger device created specifically for a troop member who was born without fingers on one hand, as an example of Girl Scouts succeeding in STEM.
Other dynamic keynote speakers at the Central Iowa Conference included Arianna Huffington, chair, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group;
Carol Vallone Mitchell, author of “Breaking Through ‘Bitch’: How Women Can Shatter Stereotypes and Lead Fearlessly,” and Marietta Colston Davis, a Des Moines native and vice president of U.S. dynamics at Microsoft Corp.
Huffington said:”We have defined success as money and power, which is like trying to sit on a two-legged stool. We must expand the stool to include a third leg and metric that includes well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving.” Huffington spoke of her workaholic life, which began to change after she passed out, broke her cheekbone while falling, and woke up in a pool of blood. From this ordeal, she became more committed to better health and sleep, vowing to get at least eight hours each night.
Colston Davis described four areas in which women need to own their reality, including “owning your trade-offs” by forming your own definition of work-life balance; “owning your network” by creating your personal board of directors and realizing the power in your women’s network; “owning your opinion” by having a point of view and a solution; and “owning your career” by taking initiative and offering innovative ideas.
Principal Financial Group Inc. will be the presenting sponsor of the 2016 IWLC Central Iowa Conference, Oct. 17, 2016, at the Iowa Events Center.
Janice Ellig, co-CEO of Chadwick Ellig, was honored with the IWLC Founders’ Award. Ellig, who has been named by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of “The World’s Most Influential Headhunters,” was instrumental in 2007 in starting the conference that would eventually became IWLC.
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