2017 Speakers - Coastal Carolina University
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Seventh Annual Women's Leadership Conference Speakers

Held Feb. 7-8, 2017

The Women's Leadership Conference seeks to educate, motivate and challenge women to lead change in their own lives, their communities and the world. Since 2011, the Women's Leadership Conference has featured more than 250 world-class speakers. Following are the 2017 speakers. To learn more about past speakers, select from the menu (right).

2017 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS •

Julissa Arce

2017 WIPL Speaker Julissa ArceJulissa Arce is a writer, speaker and social justice advocate and author of the recently released book, "My (Underground) American Dream." She made national and international headlines when she revealed that she had achieved the American dream of wealth and status while undocumented.

Arce is the co-founder and chairman of the Ascend Educational Fund, a scholarship fund for immigrant students regardless of their immigration status. She is also on the board of directors of the National Immigration Law Center and the national board of directors of CollegeSpring. Prior to becoming an advocate, she built a successful career on Wall Street as a vice president at Goldman Sachs and a director at Merrill Lynch.

Arce immigrated to America from Mexico at the age of 11 and was undocumented for almost 15 years, including some of her years rising to prominence on Wall Street. In order to help other young people in similar circumstances, Arce co-founded the Ascend Educational Fund. She was officially sworn in as an American citizen in August of 2014. She now uses her inspirational story to change the conversation around immigration.

Samantha Ettus

2017 WIPL Speaker Samantha EttusSamantha Ettus is a work/life expert whose goal is to help people find their spark within and turn it into a fire. She is a best-selling author, a writer for Forbes, a sought after speaker, a Harvard MBA and host of a nationally syndicated call-in radio show. Her fifth book is The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe for Success and Satisfaction.

Ettus has shared her advice on hundreds of television shows and media outlets including The TODAY Show, Access Hollywood, NBC Nightly News, CNN, The Doctors, and Fox and Friends, and in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.

Jan Fields

2017 WIPL Speaker Jan FieldsJan Fields, the former president of McDonald's USA, LLC, is one of the most widely recognized women in business leadership and a popular public speaker. Her incredible career story started with French fries in a McDonald's restaurant in Dayton, Ohio, in 1978. Her hard work and dedication took her through all levels of the company, from restaurants to management and into the executive suite. Before leaving McDonald's USA, Fields was responsible for the strategic direction and overall business results of the 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the United States.

An advocate for people development, an accomplished marathoner and a respected speaker, Fields regularly gives motivational speeches on the topics of women’s empowerment and the importance of health and nutrition.

She serves on the boards of St. Louis-based Monsanto, Chico's FAS and The Global Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities. She is a member of The Chicago Network, an organization of professional women in the upper echelons of business, the arts, government and academia, as well as C200 and Women Corporate Directors.

Fields has been named to Forbes' list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business list, The Wall Street Journal's 50 Women to Watch list, and Crain's Chicago Business' list of 25 Women to Watch.

Vanessa Gualy

2018 WIPL Speaker Vanessa Gually imageInspired by clean cosmetics and driven to create a women-empowered empire, Vanessa Gualy is the co-founder and CFO of Nailing Hollywood Management Inc. With a background in marketing, advertising and public relations, her intuitive business sense motivates her team of agents, nail stylists and hand models to break new ground in the beauty industry through celebrity and editorial clientele, elevated nail design, trendsetting nail looks and product development.

Brokering deals and negotiating contracts comes second nature to this entrepreneur who is honored to call Jenna Hipp her business partner of eight years. Gualy surrounds herself with creative minds, friends and family. Along with an active interest and talent in interior design, you can find her planning her next trip abroad. Experiencing other cultures and ways of life inspire her and she looks forward to sharing these experiences and travels with her daughter.

Jenna Hipp

2017 WIPL Speaker Jenna HippJenna Hipp is a "celebrity green nail stylist." Clients such as Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle feature her expert, eco-friendly advice and request her services regularly on cover photo shoots.

Born in West Virginia, raised in Hawaii surfing and homeschooled, Hipp grew up with a "natural is better" mindset. A short stint in modeling and a budding make-up career led her to the industry she was born to belong.

Hipp moved to Hollywood in 2005 to open Hipp Artist Management, an agency that represented celebrity and fashion photographers. A year into her career as an on-set nail stylist, she began experiencing negative side effects from the nail products. Nosebleeds and rashes led her to "green up and clean up" her at-home and on-set manicure routine. This was all she needed for the motivation to develop a brand without worry.

In 2010, Hipp teamed up with RGB Cosmetics founder Gina Carney to create the award-winning HIPPxRGB "Nail Foundation" concept. Hipp has since teamed up with Hatch Beauty and partnered with Costco as a style-maker for the Beauty's Most Wanted program alongside world-renowned hair and makeup artists Pati Dubroff, Kristofer Buckle and Orlando Pita. In less than two years, Hipp has launched 48 5-Free nail polish colors, Essential Nail and Hand Cream, Prime and Shine Base and Topcoat, Clean Sweep Remover Wipes and her most recent venture, Pout Polish Lipgloss. Also 5-Free, Pout Polish is infused with all-natural essential oils for a silky, fresh finish.

In July of 2012, Hipp launched Nailing Hollywood Management Inc., the first agency to solely represent the industry's top nail stylists specializing in celebrity, fashion, editorial, advertising and product development.

Lynnette Richmann

2017 WIPL Speaker Lynnette RichmannLynnette Richmann joined Walmart in February 2015 as vice president of global audit services. She leads Walmart's U.S Audit Team, covering Walmart U.S. and Sam's Club. She also leads globally focused audits across finance, compliance and business operations.  

During her career, Richmann has gained extensive leadership experience in risk management and internal audit practices with large consulting and corporate firms. Prior to joining Walmart, she served as the vice president of finance and enterprise risk management at BMC Software in Houston. Richmann's background also includes living for 21 years in Seattle, Wash., where she worked for several companies. She was the vice president of risk management, compliance and audit at Clearwire Corporation, an early-stage national 4G wireless provider, prior to its acquisition by Sprint. As a partner with KPMG, working with its IT advisory and risk advisory services practices, she worked with many large, multinational companies across several industries. Richmann also was an audit manager with Arthur Andersen and a chief compliance officer for a large regional health care system.   

Richmann earned both a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance and management information systems from Michigan State University. She is a licensed CPA in Washington.

2017 BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS/PANELISTS •

Tracy Brown

2017 WIPL Speaker Tracy BrownTracy Brown has several titles including entrepreneur, coach, speaker, mother, wife and sister. Most recently, cancer patient was added to the list. Determined to do more than survive, she is on a mission to thrive through life's obstacles. For nearly 20 years, Brown has been a Mary Kay sales director, coaching female entrepreneurs to build businesses that make an impact. She also is an ambassador for the Mary Kay Foundation, the coordinator of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Pink in the Park fund-raiser and a certified leadership coach, speaker and trainer with the John Maxwell Company.

Jan Fields

2017 WIPL Speaker Jan FieldsJan Fields, the former president of McDonald's USA, LLC, is one of the most widely recognized women in business leadership and a popular public speaker. Her incredible career story started with French fries in a McDonald’s restaurant in Dayton, Ohio, in 1978. Her hard work and dedication took her through all levels of the company, from restaurants to management and into the executive suite. Before leaving McDonald's USA, Fields was responsible for the strategic direction and overall business results of the 14,000 McDonald's restaurants throughout the United States.     

An advocate for people development, an accomplished marathoner and a respected speaker, Fields regularly gives motivational speeches on the topics of women's empowerment and the importance of health and nutrition.      

She serves on the boards of St. Louis-based Monsanto, Chico's FAS and The Global Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities. She is a member of The Chicago Network, an organization of professional women in the upper echelons of business, the arts, government and academia, as well as C200 and Women Corporate Directors.

Fields has been named to Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business list, The Wall Street Journal's 50 Women to Watch list, and Crain's Chicago Business' list of 25 Women to Watch. 

Henrietta Golding

2017 WIPL Speaker Henrietta GoldingHenrietta Golding joined the McNair Law Firm as a shareholder in its Myrtle Beach, S.C., office in May 2000. She practices preventive law and is involved in the defense of claims relating to commercial disputes. She previously was a stockholder and officer in the law firm of Bellamy, Rutenberg, Copeland, Epps, Gravely & Bowers, P.A.

Since 2009, Golding has been a member and treasurer of the Coastal Carolina National Bank board of directors. In 2014, she was elected to serve as a board member at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club. In June 2013, she was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly to be a College of Charleston trustee with her term to expire in 2018. Golding was a member of the city board for Wachovia Bank of South Carolina, N.A. (now Wells Fargo and Company) in Myrtle Beach, S.C. She served for eight years on the board of directors of the College of Charleston Foundation, is a member on the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business board of visitors at Coastal Carolina University, and is vice president, a member of the board of directors and Executive Committee for Partners Economic Development. She also served on the board for the Coastal Business Women's Association and the Long Bay Symphonic Society, Ltd.

She is a member of the South Carolina Bar Review Committee, and in January 2004, became a member of the Labor and Employment Law Specialization Advisory Board for the South Carolina Supreme Court. Golding is also a member of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association, and a former member of the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association board of directors. She served as secretary/treasurer of the Horry County Bar Association from 1980-1984.

Cheryl Grava

2017 WIPL Speaker Cheryl GravaCheryl Grava is managing director of Deloitte Wealth Office, where she leads the wealth management and overall financial well-being efforts for the firm.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration with an emphasis on accounting from Coastal Carolina University. Grava is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Christi Hucks

2017 WIPL Speaker Christi HucksChristi Hucks is a managing director and founding member of Beautycounter; she is one of 50 founding members of Beautycounter, and the only one from South Carolina. She oversees 300 consultants, for whom she trains, motivates, mentors and coaches. She also does advocacy work with Washington D.C., lobbying for safer beauty standards and regulation in the personal care industry.

She is a graduate of Conway High School and attended College of Charleston Law School at USC. She worked for Fowler Motors and then became a stay at home mom to two boys.

Lou Kennedy     

2017 WIPL Speaker Lou KennedyLou Kennedy is president, CEO and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. She joined Nephron in 2001 and accepted the position of president and CEO in September 2007. One of her notable achievements at Nephron was creating a national sales force, a rarity in the pharmaceutical industry. In the years following, this helped Nephron grow by 300 percent and increase shipped product to one billion doses each of the last six years. Kennedy also was at the forefront of Nephron’s recent expansion, which included the opening of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Columbia, S.C., in June 2014.

Along with her husband Bill, Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. She serves on a variety of business and civic boards, including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the National Bank of South Carolina board (a division of Synovus), Columbia College board of trustees, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance as well as the USC athletic department board. Lou and Bill Kennedy were named Ambassadors of the Year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in 2013. They also received the Lexington County Ambassador for Economic Development Award in 2014.

Kennedy earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Joe Moglia

2017 WIPL Speaker Joe MogliaJoe Moglia is the head football coach and chair of athletics at Coastal Carolina University, and board chairman at TD Ameritrade. This season will be Moglia's 25th as a football coach, but it's not a traditional 25 years: he began his career as a coach for 16 years, moved to the business world for more than 20, and back to coaching in 2009.

In the business world, in 1984 Moglia entered the MBA training program at Merrill Lynch, where there were 25 MBAs and one football coach. By 1988, he was Merrill Lynch's top producer in the world. By the time he left, he was a member of both the institutional and private client relative to the executive committees, and his final responsibilities were all investment products, the insurance company, the 401(k) business, and the middle market business.

He became the CEO of TD Ameritrade in 2001. During his tenure, shareholders enjoyed a 500 percent return as the firm grew its market cap from $700 million to $10 billion, and client assets reached $280 billion. In 2008, after the firm had its sixth record year in a row, Moglia stepped down as CEO and became board chairman.

In his last 10 seasons of coaching college football, Moglia has been part of eight championship teams. In his first five seasons at Coastal, he led the team to five national playoffs and four conference championships while being named conference coach of the year twice, the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year, and the Eddie Robinson Award for National Coach of the Year in 2015. Prior to CCU, he was executive adviser for football at Nebraska, where he was part of two Holiday Bowls and two Big 12 North championships. In 2011, he was head coach of the Omaha Nighthawks in the United Football League.

Moglia has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Sharp Trophy for Leadership. He has been honored by the National Italian American Foundation, the Columbus Citizens Foundation, the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame, and the American Institute for Stuttering. He has also been inducted into five Halls of Fame, is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and is also the only author in the world to have written books published on both investing and football.

Dorien Morin-van Dam

2017 WIPL Speaker Dorian Morin-van DameDorien Morin-van Dam is the owner and social media consultant with More In Media, located in Myrtle Beach, S.C. She consults about social media with small businesses and as a freelance social media marketer manages clients' social media accounts and online marketing. She also conducts a video coaching program. Her favorite things to do are to blog, teach and speak about social media. She is the mother of four teenagers, runs marathons and half-marathons, and loves to travel, read, cook and bake.

Gina Trimarco

2017 WIPL Speaker Gina TrimarcoGina Trimarco is the founder and chief results officer at Pivot10 Results (P10). She is an international speaker, trainer, business strategist, certified sales coach and serial entrepreneur who helps businesses shift from "people problems" to performance results. Her philosophy is that performance pays and people need to be trained to perform on the stage of business to achieve results. At P10, she designs, develops and delivers strategic training programs that address overall company culture, integrating leadership, sales and customer service skills. Her goal is to teach businesses that meeting sales goals and delivering stellar customer service starts with acknowledging communication and leadership challenges first. Further, her philosophy is that organizations with the best ROI for training programs are those that also invest their time post-training to ensure sustainability, utilizing experiential learning tools and strategies provided by P10.

With more than 20 years of experience in a variety of industries, Trimarco has worked in most areas of business including as a marketing director, sales director, public relations director, publicist, operations manager, media buyer, video producer and the all-so-important "general manager." From training and developing employees to analyzing profit and loss statements, she understands business and how to scale one. She has personal experience launching a business during a recession and then growing it into additional businesses. Industry experience includes hospitality, entertainment, franchises, medical, associations and financial. A Chicago native, Trimarco graduated from DePaul University and received additional training at The Second City Conservatory and The Players Workshop of The Second City. She also is a certified sales coach with Tim Hagen's Progress Coaching System. Trimarco resides in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Glenda Fleming Willis

2017 WIPL Speaker Glenda Fleming WillisAs Walmart's senior vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Division, Glenda Fleming Willis is responsible for the operations of 680 stores in seven states. She has been with the company for 22 years in various roles including district loss prevention supervisor, regional loss prevention supervisor, director of hourly development, divisional director of operations compliance, divisional director of asset protection, director of operations, and regional general manager. Most recently, she served as the senior vice president, Neighborhood Markets, East Division, where she was responsible for operations of 320 Neighborhood Market stores in 15 states.

Willis earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology from Western Kentucky University. She attained her degree in three and a half years while working two jobs. Willis also is an alumna of Chi Omega, the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. After graduating from college, Willis worked as a substation engineer but learned that schematics was not her passion. Her sister, who also works at Walmart, encouraged her to apply for a position with the company. At the time, Walmart officials tried to recruit her for management, but Willis decided to work only part time. However, after working for a few months, she decided Walmart was where she wanted to build her career.

She lives in Bentonville, Ark., with her husband Ken and their daughter Maysa.

 

2017 Highlights

Thanks to our sponsors for making the 2017 Women's Leadership Conference a success.

Deloitte Women and Financial Well-Being Presentation