March is National Women’s History Month — a month dedicated to celebrating all the confident, courageous, and committed women that have changed American history. The Howard County Chamber of Commerce is kicking off this year’s Women’s History Month with its ninth annual Women’s Leadership Conference, taking place on March 3, 2023 at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. This year’s theme, much like the month it takes place in, embraces and encourages the advancement of women in all arenas using the title, “Being UNSTOPPABLE: Confident, Courageous, Committed.”
The Chamber’s Women’s Leadership Conference was originally created as a vehicle to support women in the government contracting arena. Over the years, the event has evolved to a regional platform where women of all walks of life, in every stage of her profession are recognized and encouraged. Over the past eight years, the user experience has continued to the conference has grown to continually offer more notable speakers, improved sessions, and an overall better experience year after year. Conference attendees will be offered specific tools, learned takeaways, and countless networking opportunities throughout the full-day conference to grow professionally and to continue successfully advancing their career.
This year’s conference will be headlined by our three keynote speakers with vastly different backgrounds. Lakey Boyd, current President and CEO of Columbia Association, will open the conference with her keynote, “Change Takes Courage: Being a Changemaker in Your Community.” The lunch keynote, “Leadership Integrity in Times of Turmoil,” will be presented by Mary Ann Scully, Founder of Howard Bank and current Dean of Loyola University Maryland Sellinger School of Business and Management.
To close out the conference, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, current President & CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), will speak on “Leadership is: Be the First, Don’t Be the Last.” O’Mara Vignarajah came to the U.S. at nine months old as her parents escaped Sri Lanka, a country on the brink of a civil war at that time. After making a life in Maryland, she went on to become a lawyer, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, Senior Advisor at the State Department under Secretaries of State John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Policy Director for first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” initiative before taking her current position at LIRS.
The program will also include four different breakout sessions, an afternoon mini session, breakfast, lunch, and countless opportunities for networking and making new connections. Ava-joye Burnett of WJZ CBS Baltimore will emcee the conference.
For a full list of speakers, conference schedule, and the link to register, please visit www.HowardChamber.com/Womens-Leadership/.
