Thank you to our 2022 attendees, sponsors and speakers!
Our 2022 Annual Conference, Cultivating A Holistic Work Culture: The Power of People, Purpose & Productivity was held virtually on November 3, 2022. Thank you to all who were able to join us!
2022 Keynote
An Inclusive Leadership Journey
Anne Chow
Former CEO
AT&T Business
Don’t miss this unforgettable keynote from one of the world’s most effective corporate leaders — Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business. Anne will share how her dedication to combatting unconscious bias, along with a passion for education, diversity and advancing women, has helped to cultivate a new generation of leaders and build an inclusive culture.
2022 Closing Keynote
Harness the Power of Good Anxiety
Dr. Wendy Suzuki
Professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Science
New York University
Award-winning NYU Professor of Neural Science & Psychology, Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a celebrated international authority on neuroplasticity and one of Good Housekeeping’s top ten women changing the way we see the world. Drawing upon her recent book, Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion, Wendy will share strategies for using anxiety as your superpower.
Wendy regularly serves as a sought-after expert for publications including The Wall Street Journal, Shape, and Health. Her TED talk has more than 55 million views and was the 2nd most viewed TED talk of 2018. She is also the author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life.
2022 Speakers & Honorees
2022 Conference Agenda
12:00pm ET
Welcome & State of the Workplace – Manar Morales
A Look Back at a Transformational Decade of Diversity & Flexibility
In celebration of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s ten year anniversary, President & CEO Manar Morales will share highlights and trends from the transformations in diversity & flexibility during the last decade, how the pandemic has changed the workplace, and our vision for the future of work. She’ll share how to take the best of who we were in person, merge it with the best of who we were virtually to create the successful hybrid workplace of the future.
12:25pm ET
Presentation of the 2022 Flex Impact Awards
The Power of Purpose: Balancing Organizational Success with People-First, Industry-Leading Initiatives
This panel of trailblazers will reveal their industry-leading, hybrid workplace initiatives that are preparing their organizations for the future. They’ll reveal cutting-edge strategies for how they are reinforcing purpose, implementing boundaries and encouraging healthy lifestyles to create inclusive cultures where everyone can thrive.
12:55pm ET
Keynote – Anne Chow
An Inclusive Leadership Journey
Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business, will share her commitment to combatting unconscious bias, her passion for education, diversity and advancing women, and her vision for cultivating a new generation of inclusive leaders.
1:25pm ET
Reflect & Connect Breakout Session
1:35pm ET
Innovative Insights – Dr. Milana L. Hogan
Leveraging Grit & Growth Mindset to Drive Team Success
Many of us are familiar with the concepts of grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals) and growth mindset (the belief that skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence) and know from personal experience just how important these traits are in achieving professional success. New research reveals that these traits are also critical in the team context. When team leaders lead in a growth mindset-oriented way, and team members work together to engage in gritty behaviors, the team thrives. Moreover, gritty team members are three times more likely to have a positive experience, which increases their job satisfaction and makes them less likely to look for other opportunities. In this session, Dr. Hogan will share the latest research and present a 5-pronged leadership model that is designed to help current and emerging team leaders harness the power of these important traits.
1:55pm ET
BREAK
2:05pm ET
Presentation of the 2022 Flex Success® Awards
The Power of Productivity: Remarkable Achievements with Reduced Hour Schedules
Sarah D. Rodriquez and her client Jamie Smith
Sheehan Sullivan and her client Carolyn Glenn
Hear from exceptional law firm partners, along with their clients, as they share how flexibility has enabled them to maintain their productivity, advance their careers and make time for volunteering, while managing their personal commitments. Hear how they have overcome challenges brought on by the pandemic, in particular increases in hours and fewer boundaries, and maintained a successful career path.
2:35pm ET
Innovative Insights – Vipula Gandhi
Cultivating People, Purpose, and Productivity in the Hybrid Workplace
The ‘Great Global Work from Home Experiment’ created by the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we work and expect to work far into the future. One such change is the blending of remote work flexibility and on-site work. In this session, Managing Partner Vipula Gandhi will share Gallup’s latest data and insights on what makes hybrid workplaces successful. Learn more about how leaders and managers are navigating new ways of working, from coordinating schedules to fostering a connection to culture.
2:55pm ET
The Alliance’s 2022 New Partner Report Findings & Trends and Recognition of Tipping the Scales Firms
3:05pm ET
BREAK
3:15pm ET
Presentation of the 2022 Flex Leader Award
Leadership Lessons for Cultivating Your Holistic Hybrid Working Culture
Eve Howard & Jason St. John (2022 Flex Leader Honoree)
This panel of extraordinary organizational leaders will share how the pandemic has challenged their organizations in the short-term, as well as the long-term opportunities and implications for the future of work. They’ll discuss how flexibility has evolved over the years and how their organizations are seizing on this moment to build more inclusive and holistic hybrid working cultures.
3:50pm ET
Breakout Session
4:00pm ET
The Power of People: Embracing Inclusion & Building a Successful Hybrid Team
Marlon Lutfiyya, Kay Nash, Meena Patel & Zakiyyah Salim-Williams
One of the biggest fears people have regarding a hybrid workplace is that you will have an “in-group” and an “out-group.” This panel of diversity experts will share how their organizations are embracing the power of their people and creating intentional, inclusive and iterative initiatives that enable everyone to thrive. They’re creating powerful hybrid work cultures that drive and enhance diversity, rather than act as a detriment.
4:35pm ET
Closing Keynote – Dr. Wendy Suzuki
Harness the Power of Good Anxiety
Dr. Wendy Suzuki, NYU Dean & Professor of Neural Science & Psychology, will draw upon her recent book, Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion, to share strategies for transforming anxiety into something productive and helpful.
You know when you get that ambiguous email from your boss, you start to feel sweaty palms and that empty, freaked-out sensation in your stomach? Then you know, it’s back again….. Anxiety. But what if anxiety isn’t always a bad thing? What if, by using tools from neuroscience and psychology, you could learn to turn down the volume on your anxiety and transform all that activation energy that’s making your mind race into something that’s actually helpful? That jujitsu move of transforming anxiety into something productive and helpful is the topic of Dr. Suzuki’s talk.
4:55pm ET
Wrap Up
CLE Credit
The 2022 Annual Conference has been approved for 4 CLE hours in Illinois.
Please contact Angela Whitehead Quigley if you have questions.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
2022 Platinum Sponsors
2022 Gold Sponsors
2022 Silver Sponsors
Thank You to Our 2022 Community Sponsors!
