Join YWCA Metropolitan Chicago for a month of dynamic and engaging virtual conversations with some of today’s leading voices on gender, racial and economic equity.

JOIN OUR FREE VIRTUAL EVENTS

THE BRIDGE TO CAREER EQUITY: How are companies evolving to support the next generation of people of color to fill in the economic gaps that persist?

Tuesday, March 12, 2024
11:30am – 1:00pm CT

Speakers:

  • Fellicia Foster, Head of Strategic Initiatives & Business Management, People, Culture & Brand Enterprise, BMO

  • Tamika Jean-Baptiste, Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, Amgen

  • Tonya Eggspuehler, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, Union Pacific

  • Nicole R. Robinson (Moderator), CEO, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

  • Amiee Bayer-Thomas, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Ulta Beauty

  • With $50B in revenue generated between Taylor, Beyonce, and Barbie in 2023, women have been celebrated as saviors of our economy. In truth, it is the resiliency of working women – their resourcefulness, ambition, and determination that has resulted in over 50% of new jobs created and the lowest unemployment rate for women in 70 years. Still, gaps persist, and women and people of color remain underrepresented in higher paying roles across sectors. Our panel of experts will celebrate the wins while reflecting on how their companies and industries are evolving to build bridges that support the next generation of women and people of color.

Monday, March 18, 2024
12:00pm – 1:30pm CT

Speakers:

  • Venoncia M. Baté-Ambrus, PhD, MS, MA, community psychologist and DEI practitioner

  • Tracie D. Hall, librarian, author and arts and culture advocate

  • Ankur Kumar, Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company’s Connected Leaders Academy

BLACK WOMEN THRIVE: What will it take to sustain Black Women’s Leadership in every sector?

  • Black women are the diamonds of leadership today - breaking barriers in corporate, non-profit, government and higher education.  However, we sit at a crossroads where the well-being and resilience of Black women leaders is at risk. Along with it comes the enormous value and creative genius they add to our community, politics, and economy.

    This virtual panel will participate in a solutions and systems-based discussion about the challenges and what needs to be done now, as well as what are the longer-term actions needed to root out persistent strings of racism that loom over our leadership.

SHE THE PEOPLE: What’s at stake for women and families in the 2024 elections, and what role will women play at the ballot box?

Thursday, March 21, 2024
11:30am – 1:00pm CT

Speakers:

  • Lisa Duarte, partner at Croke, Fairchild, Duarte & Beres,

  • Christy George, Executive Director, Chicago DNC Host Committee

  • Alex Niemczewski, Co-Founder and CEO, BallotReady

  • Monica Eng (Moderator), award-winning, veteran Chicago reporter

  • There is so much at stake for women in 2024. Women, particularly Black women, and young people have been game changing, turning out the vote at both the national and local levels. Our panel of experts will come together to discuss voter sentiment, education and what this year’s election will mean for women, children, and families.

OUR SPEAKERS

  • Enterprise Head of Strategic Initiatives and Business Management - Global People, Culture and Brand at BMO

    Meet Fellicia Foster

  • Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Nicole R. Robinson has spent her career building bridges between communities, individuals, government and business leaders. Today Nicole serves as the Chief Executive Officer for YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, a human centered organization dedicated to empowering women and eliminating racism. As a fierce advocate for women, girls and justice, Nicole is inspired by the resilience of the families who turn to YWCA for family supports, economic opportunities and collective healing.

  • Dr. Venoncia M. Baté-Ambrus has over 20 years of experience working in nonprofits, faith-based organizations, health and human services, academia, and workforce development. Her work has focused on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion for marginalized communities including African Americans, Latinx, and LGBTQI peoples. Her interests are behavioral and community health, healthcare diversification, policy, training, and leadership development. She is an experienced curriculum designer and has taught courses in Health Disparities, Race & Ethnicity, and CHW Leadership, among others. Dr. V is trained in restorative justice, circle keeping and Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) practices. Her pronouns are she/her/hers/ella. Dr. V has earned a BA in multicultural psychology via the University Without Walls at Northeastern Illinois University, a MS in Organizational Leadership from Dominican University, a MA in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University, PhD in Community Psychology from National Louis University and graduate certificates in healthcare administration, health psychology, health mission leadership, marketing management, fundraising management, mediation, negotiation, and conflict resolution.

  • A librarian, author, curator, and advocate for the arts who served as the executive director of the American Library Association from 2020 to 2023. Hall is the first African American woman to lead the association since its founding in 1876. Prior to the ALA, her most recent former posts include Culture Program Director at The Joyce Foundation where she was recognized for creating numerous programs to advance racial inclusion in arts administration and equitable funding for arts institutions; Deputy Commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Development at Queens Library; and several other library, non-profit, and public sector roles across the country. Most recently, she was named the 2023 recipient of the Literacy Leader Award by scaleLIT and in April of last year, TIME named Hall to the TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

  • Partner at Croke, Fairchild, Duarte & Beres and former First Assistant Deputy Governor for Budget & Economy in the JB Pritzker Administration in Illinois.

    Meet Lisa Duarte

  • Executive Director, Chicago Democratic National Committee 2024 Host Committee.

    Meet Christy George

  • Monica Eng is an award-winning, veteran Chicago reporter. She has worked in Chicago journalism for more than three decades starting at the Chicago Sun-Times and moving to the Chicago Tribune and WBEZ. She has served as an Axios Chicago reporter since the summer of 2021. She is a fourth-generation Chicagoan and her children are fourth-generation Chicago Public School graduates.

  • Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company’s Connected Leaders Academy

    Meet Ankur Kumar

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