Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Becky Blalock

Author of DARE - Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for WOMEN IN CHARGE

Becky Blalock is the Managing Partner at Advisory Capital, a strategic consulting firm that provides insight and expertise to companies involved in the energy, information technology and medical industries. She is the author of “DARE - Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for WOMEN IN CHARGE.”

As former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Southern Company, Blalock spent nearly a decade directing IT strategy and operations for the 3rd largest utility company in the world. In addition to her work in information technology, Blalock spent over two decades serving Southern Company in leadership positions including accounting, corporate communications, customer service, economic development, external affairs, finance and marketing.

A sought‐after speaker, Blalock has long been recognized as a thought leader in the IT and utility industries.

Blalock successfully completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University. She holds a master’s degree with honors in finance from Mercer University and an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of West Georgia.

Keynote Speaker: Professor Maja

Sociologist, Author, Guest Expert, CTV's The Social

Professor Maja is a sociologist, author, regular guest expert on CTV’s The Social, and a TEDx speaker. She is an apology-hater, confidence-builder and recovering make-up addict. She also hates the word humble. To deal with the lack of confidence and incessant apologies she witnessed daily, Prof. Maja authored two books (“Hey Ladies, Stop Apologizing…and other career mistakes women make” and “Hey Ladies, Stop Apologizing, THE WORKBOOK”). Professor Maja runs a leadership organization that trains women to improve their confidence, communication, and mindset. Maja also speaks to women of all ages on topics such as: confidence, perfectionism, people-pleasing, imposter syndrome, time-management, and body positivity. Professor Maja holds a PhD in sociology from McMaster University where she also teaches. Maja was nominated for the YWCA’s 2017 Woman of Distinction Award, in the category of Education and Mentorship for her commitment to the development of young women.

Interactive Session: Jennifer Hebblethwaite

Senior Vice President & Champion, All Things Grace

Jennifer Hebblethwaite, Senior Vice President & Champion of All Things Grace, heads up the Graceworks Atlanta office. From commercial real estate to coaching at the Forest Park Police Department, Jennifer is an experienced corporate trainer. She’s spent 10 years as a Teaching Artist for a Tony Award-winning theatre and has taught everything from playwriting to MBA Leadership/Communication on an undergraduate and graduate level. Jennifer’s teaching style is big and bold.

 

Interactive Session: Clay Kirkland

Chief Consultant, Wisdom & Creativity Consulting

Clay is the chief consultant for Wisdom & Creativity Consulting and offers a variety of consulting and coaching services. He has been a Gallup Certified Strengthsfinder Consultant since 2008, and in the past decade, he has worked with over three thousand individuals and dozens of corporations and businesses including, Salesforce, BMW, Sherwin Williams, Valspar, Novarits, Merial, and Elanco Pharmaceuticals, Chick-fil-A, University of Georgia, Jackson Spalding, and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. Clay combines a high level of expertise from extensive training with a lively and engaging presentation style. The result is a professional and practical experience that delivers enjoyment and invaluable returns for both the individual and team. He resides near Athens, Georgia, with his wife and six children.

Moderator

Kiz Adams

Kiz Adams is a human resource specialist in Wellbeing, Work/Life Balance, and Human Relations at the University of Georgia. She is an advocate on campus for promoting balance and wellbeing among faculty and staff and for creating a healthy, positive, productive work environment at the University. She’s a “Double Dawg,” having earned her undergraduate degree from the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. Kiz has spent much of her career at Georgia Law in teaching and administrative positions, but has had a lifelong passion for helping people live healthy lives. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and retreats on topics such as work/life balance, stress management, productivity, and engagement, and facilitates team trainings. She is also certified in Hogan Personality Assessments, Sherpa Executive Coaching, Real Balance Health and Wellness coaching, and is a personal trainer and Pilates instructor.

Panelist

Jhenielle Brown

Jhenielle K. Brown is a double dawg. She graduated from the University of Georgia with her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 2008, and her Master of Business Administration in 2013. She has almost a decade of experience in marketing and mass communication in the financial service technology, CPG, and retail industries. She is currently a Merchandise Marketing Manager at The Home Depot. She lives just outside of Atlanta with her husband and son.

 

 

Tricia Dempsey

Tricia Dempsey is the founder and CEO of Thrive-Her, where she helps ambitious women live their purpose, and love what they do! 

Unlike traditional coaching or training models, Thrive-Her combines digital courses, group coaching and a thrive-tribe community to strengthen the long-term results women can achieve.  Thrive-Her’s signature program, The Next Level, helps women realize complete clarity and build bold confidence to achieve their goals, while aligning with their purpose and strengths, communicating their value, increasing their visibility and building a vibrant community of support.

Tricia has transformed her own career from a 7th-grade school teacher to an 8-figure CEO.  Before starting Thrive-Her, Tricia started, scaled and sold her IT staffing firm, Agile, which was recognized for being the #2 fastest growing staffing firm in the nation, and a 3-time Inc. 5000 company.  During this time, Tricia coached over 4,000 women to take their careers to the next level, providing her first hand learning with how to best support women to realize their goals.

Always a passionate advocate for women, Tricia has served on the boards of Susan G. Komen, where she raised over $320,000 through her own fundraising event as well as Women in Technology, where she volunteered for over 10 years, and served as the President of the organization.

Tricia describes Thrive-Her as a movement and her life calling and has a vision for helping over 10,000 women create thriving careers and lives they love.