When women flourish, communities flourish. That is the resounding mantra of the nearly 100 powerful women executives who gathered at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis on Friday, October 25. They joined together to learn the art and science of flourishing, which will allow them to attain the highest levels of excellence in their businesses and to increase success, influence and impact in all areas of their lives.
Hosted by Flourish Leadership, LLC, the annual event brings together the region’s top female leaders to discuss pertinent issues facing women executives and entrepreneurs while being fully immersed in workshops and speaker sessions designed to help them break through to the next level in their careers or community and civic ventures. Conference host and Flourish founder Dr. Rachel Talton is a renowned leadership and brand expert, entrepreneur and executive coach.
“The Flourish conference provided women leaders inspiration from some of the top trailblazers in their fields,” said Dr. Talton. “Most important, we take that inspiration and use it to help women reflect on what they want to achieve and help them develop customized strategies for their own growth—in career, business and life. This was our first year in Indianapolis, and I was delighted to meet such a wonderful range of dynamic women who are making significant contributions to the vibrancy of the businesses and communities throughout the city.”
Dr. Talton designed Flourish to provide skill-building tools and resources to top female executives and entrepreneurs. Content-rich workshops provide participants key strategies for harnessing the power of inspired, yet rigorous, strategies for transformation.
The day’s inspiration began with an opening keynote address by Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, followed by an empirical discussion about the art and science of flourishing by Dr. Talton. This was followed by the executive fireside chats – a unique offering at Flourish Conferences. These intimate discussions included Indianapolis’ own Dr. Lisa E. Harris, M.D. (CEO, Eskanazi Health Center), Steven Alonso (President & CEO, Greater Indiana 5th/3rd Bank), Ann Murtlow (CEO, United Way of Central Indiana), Kathy Cabello (CEO, Cabello Associates), and Mandy Selke & Carly Swift (Co-founders of Just Pop In!) and several others. They were joined by Nichole Barnes Marshall (Global Head of Inclusion, Aon), who flew in from Chicago. These top executives shared personal challenges and triumphs that led them to their success in an intimate setting that began the transformational process for the day.
The keynote feature for the day was Amy Hilliard, president of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, who talked about her path from entrepreneurship to corporate leadership. Participants gained life lessons from Hilliard’s transparency and authenticity about her own struggles and successes as she worked toward her goals.
Attendees included female leaders from various careers including banking, the non-profit sector, entrepreneurs, government, insurance and retail. Each attendee was lead through a proven process to develop a customized 100-day plan to help her flourish and achieve her goals. Also, in the spirit of ensuring continued growth throughout the greater Indianapolis area and beyond, many women made financial contributions to help emerging women leaders have a similar experience in the future.
Flourish also celebrates the achievements of executives and entrepreneurs who are not only making great strides for themselves, but they are also paving the way for women to be given equal opportunities for success. Flourish presented two awards in Indianapolis:
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Crystal Grave, CEO of Snappening, for her commitment to the advancement of women and girls through philanthropic work and her innovation in the marketplace with her firm. Crystal is transforming the event planning industry and creating opportunities for women along the way.
- Executive of the Year: Steven Alonso, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank, Greater Indiana, for his advocacy for the inclusion of women at every level of the bank’s ranks and his ongoing and tireless work as a civic leader who champions women at every opportunity.
The Flourish Conference for Women in Leadership began in Washington, D.C. this summer and will also engage women leaders in Cleveland on October 30. For more information about the Flourish Conference for Women in Leadership, visit FlourishLeaders.com, visit the Facebook page, or follow Flourish on Twitter.
