GRAVITAS GIVEAWAY

IMPACT Keynote Speaker, Lisa Sun, is giving away $100,000 of clothes to help women look and feel their best as cities reopen.

Lisa would like to give $1,000 in GRAVITAS clothing to a deserving leader in our community.

Do you know a woman who has gravitas? Tell us why she is so special and she deserves the Gift of Gravitas.

Nominate

IMPACT DINNER

We are excited to celebrate CWLI’s 25th Anniversary this year with our 16th Annual IMPACT Dinner. IMPACT is a leadership dinner where we will explore provocative topics related to attracting, retaining and elevating female talent throughout our region.

We know that where women lead, the world follows.

The dinner is intended for anyone who wants to know more about how to activate the social and economic engine that is high-quality female talent. Women and men alike will benefit from the keynote presentation geared toward advancing women in our region.

Annual Partnerships Available

Scroll below to learn more.

Read Press Release

IMPACT brings the value of awareness. It gives CWLI the stage for one night, and now one day, to show the region who we are, what we do, who we do it for and how important it is that we do it, Lisa will bring value in her energy, her ‘real’ness, and the connection I believe she will make with CWLI and Chattanooga for a long time to come.

Julie Davis - 2021 IMPACT Co-Chair

I love gathering with a group of supportive women. We discuss matters that affect us. It is important to have these conversations, because we owe it to ourselves to realize that these issues are real. Our speakers will set the underlying tone and deliver a message that will inspire women of all ages. Events like IMPACT leave the participants ready to take action!

Sharon Law - 2021 IMPACT Co-Chair

Founder & CEO, GRAVITAS
Former Associate Principal in McKinsey’s Global Apparel, Fashion and Luxury Practice

What would happen if you let go of fear, got off the sidelines, and jumped boldly into the game of life? Lisa Sun, founder and CEO of GRAVITAS, electrifies audiences as she unpacks this vital question in her moving, motivating, and empowering talks. Catalyzing confidence and inspiring innovation, Sun seamlessly blends stories from her personal journey with data and experience-driven insights from her 11 years at McKinsey & Company to encourage audiences to choose self-confidence, work to harness their “superpower,” and use gravitas to advance personally and professionally.

Sun founded GRAVITAS in 2012, and its origin story dates to her first professional review. The feedback that changed her life? Being told that she “comes across as young and overly enthusiastic at times,” that she “lacked gravitas,” and “should go buy a new dress, big jewelry, and great shoes.” With those words in mind, an understanding of the transformative power of clothing, and a determination to create a game-changing company, Sun filed for a global patent to build shapewear directly into dresses. She launched GRAVITAS as a “confidence company” that offers innovative apparel and styling solutions designed to makeover women from the inside-out. Two months after launch, her first collection was featured in O, The Oprah magazine, PEOPLE, and The TODAY Show in the same month. Sun and GRAVITAS have not slowed down since; she has been featured on CNN and in Forbes, Fast Company, New York magazine, Elle, Marie Claire, InStyle, and more.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Sun explores why it’s vital to push past your potential, how to transform an idea into a movement, and why you’ve got to bet on yourself every single day. Praised for her passion and warmth, she has spoken for groups including JPMorganChase, Mortgage Bankers Association Summit for Women in Real Estate Finance, HSN, Dress for Success Global Success Summit, The Nantucket Project, and more.

Prior to founding GRAVITAS, Sun spent 11 years at McKinsey & Company where she advised leading luxury, fashion and beauty brands and retailers in the US, Asia, Europe and Latin America on strategic and operational issues. At McKinsey, Sun was considered one of the firm’s top experts in the luxury and fashion space, Lisa published perspectives and gave keynote speeches at forums such as the American Express Luxury Summit. In many ways, Lisa “grew up” at McKinsey, being mentored by the firm’s best thinkers, learning from top executives, and having the privilege of leading teams of talented colleagues around the world.

Lisa Sun on “Owning Your Moment”

partner brochure

Purchase bronze + sapphire partnerships

Purchase Bundles or individual tickets

Symposium postponed until Spring 2022

Jennifer is a Partner at McKinsey and leads McKinsey’s Sales and Channel Management Practice in North America. She has 20 years consulting experience specializing in B2B GTM and serves a range of B2B companies, including OEMs, financial / professional services, software and distribution-driven businesses. She is a frequent speaker at sales conferences and author of publications related to B2B sales in the digital era; she also frequently speaks on topics related to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

Jennifer is based in McKinsey’s Boston location. Prior to McKinsey, Jennifer held various sales and marketing roles while completing her higher education. She also taught sales at the university level. Jennifer was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, holds a MSc. with distinction in international political economy from the London School of Economics and has her BA from the University of Tennessee.

Jennifer lives in Chattanooga and is passionate about speaking on a topic “near and dear to her heart.”

“Activating Diverse Talent” Panel

Our lunch keynote, Jennifer Stanley, is a partner at McKinsey & Company. Immediately following, we will have a panel of local civic, government, and education leaders exploring the topic of “Activating Diverse Talent”.

We are thrilled to announce that our moderator for the panel is Joan Cronan, the Women’s Athletic Director Emeritus at the University of Knoxville.

__

Panel will include:

Commissioner Chip Baker – Hamilton County Commissioner

Christy Gillenwater – President & CEO, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

Quincy Jenkins – Executive Director Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Chattanooga State

Mayor Tim Kelly – Chattanooga City Mayor

Stacy Lightfoot – Vice Chancellor Diversity & Engagement, UTC

Joan Cronan is Women’s Athletic Director Emeritus for one of the most visible and respected programs in the country. She strives not only to keep UT at the top in the nation, but also to improve women’s athletics on a local, regional and national level. Cronan, a graduate of LSU, earned her B.S. in 1966 and her M.S. in 1968, both in physical education. She served a two-year stint at Tennessee from 1968 to 1970.

Cronan returned to the University of Tennessee in 1983. Under her direction, the women’s teams (in 23 years) had a cumulative record of 6,293-2,825-52 and a .689 winning percentage. Her teams have won seven NCAA titles, 37 Top-five NCAA finishes, 66 Top-10 NCAA finishes, 25 SEC Regular-Season Crowns and 18 SEC Tournament Championships. In 2006-2007, the Lady Vols ranked in the top 10 of Sports Academy Directors’ Cup Standings. The Lady Vols captured three of the last four SEC Women’s All- Sports Crowns and all 11 teams in the UT women’s Athletics Department advanced to their respective NCAA Championships – the third time the Lady Vols have accomplished this feat in as many years.

Breakout Sessions

Morning Session

Making the Ask: How to Negotiate Your Salary?

Morning Session

Mentorship to Sponsorship: How to champion this change and why is it important?

Morning Session

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable: How to have uncomfortable conversations and get things done?

CEU Credit Session

Have you heard (or thought) these statements?“Motivation?!?“They’re professionals, they don’t need motivation.” How about this…“My people aren’t producing… they need motivation.”

Motivation is the most over-rated and over-used concept in management. Jennifer Goodrich will debunk the myth that worker productivity is always a function of their motivation or engagement levels. She will expand the focus to four factors which cause productivity loss; Capacity, Attitude, Skills, and Habits (i.e., The C.A.S.H.®model). Jennifer will explain the model as well as how to distinguish between someone who is trying their best but lacks ability and someone with abundant ability who is not applying their talents.

This seminar is approved for continuing education units (professional development hours) for HRCI, SHRM, NASBA and more.