ECCO Women's Conference Guest Speakers Booklet 2023

Wednesday, May 10 |

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Wednesday, May 10 |

Thursday, May 11, 2023

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPEAKER’S ORGANIZATIONS

Ladies, welcome to the first ECCO Women's Conference, in Indianapolis, Indiana!

We hope you're excited to spend a few days to recharge, build relationships, and gain a new perspective from other women and their experiences. A special thank you to our speakers and panelists for taking the time to be an integral part of this conference. In Striving for Excellence, your insight and wisdom will be invaluable over the next two days.

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

EMILY SHAW

Keynote Speaker

Emily is a consultant and coach at Lushin. She works with leaders to develop themselves and their people, their business strategies, and the processes that support those strategies. Emily has formed and participated in many women’s groups and is passionate about empowering other women along her own journey. As a psychology major, Emily understands the importance of humans being seen, heard, and understood.

As the only woman on her team, selling in to and consulting within predominately male-driven industries, she has first-hand experience as to the importance of knowing how to navigate those waters.

Finally, her work is personal, as a mother of two girls Emily is determined to be a leading example that they too can do hard things and make their mark on the world.

Write Your Own Story: Three Keys to Rise and Thrive as a Badass Career Woman by Rebecca Fleetwood Hession. Rebecca is an executive coach with nearly three decades of experience, a $35M sales track record, a popular TEDx talk, inclusion in a best-selling business book, and 15 years in the esteemed President’s Club at FranklinCovey. The books are a gift from the author.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

DENISE SOOTS Moderator

With a focus on understanding client needs, Denise Soots, Commercial Business Development Manager, is all about building and maintaining relationships with her clients. Her love for construction began in college while majoring in Architecture. Her career path took a turn when she realized that her proficiency in getting to know people met an intrinsic need she didn’t even know she had. The breadth of Denise’s experience comes from her 20+ years in large-format print sales, including interior and exterior architectural design. With a history in recruiting and sales, she works daily on problem-solving to find solutions for our client partnerships. She also comes by construction honestly, having been married to a residential general contractor for over 40 years. Denise’s time away from the office is spent riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle and spending time at their family’s lake house with her four children and three grandchildren.

JAMIE CHADWICK

Three-time W Series Champion, Jamie Chadwick joined Andretti Autosport for her United States racing series debut for the 2023 INDY NXT season. Chadwick was inspired to start racing at age 11 after her brother, Ollie, attended a karting party and good old-fashioned sibling rivalry led her to achieve numerous wins at club level in the Junior series. A British Racing Drivers’ Club ‘Rising Star’, Jamie was the youngest –and first female–driver to win a British GT Championship and then became the first female winner of a BRDC British Formula 3 race and the MR Challenge Championship. Chadwick was selected to compete in the inaugural W Series season in 2019. Two race victories and three other podium finishes saw Jamie crowned the inaugural W Series champion in 2019, leading Chadwick to be named as a Development Driver for the Williams F1 team. The 2021 and 2022 W Series seasons followed suit with Chadwick at the top of the Championship standings.

BETH VALDETTARO

Beth Coleman Valdettaro is the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Indianapolis-based Fineline Printing Group. A 1981 graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, Ms. Valdettaro holds degrees in Journalism and History. Her graphic arts industry expertise spans a career of 42 years, featuring various positions within small family-owned businesses, to large corporation assignments, to C-Level and Executive Team roles. A mother of two adult children and a wife of 25 years, she considers her family her greatest gift. As a 22-year breast cancer survivor, Ms. Valdettaro works to help the newly diagnosed with the first few months of treatment. Her personal interests focus on travel, outdoor gardening, and pool-time, as well as being a Girl Scout Troop leader for 12 years. Aside from a couple of short-breaks of no more than six months, Ms. Valdettaro has always worked full-time-plus. Life balance has always been a focus, with some years being more successful than others. Even at age 63, Ms. Valdettaro has no immediate plans to retire. She feels strongly that she is making a contribution on a daily basis for company team members and customers. She feels strongly that the key to work-life balance is to listen closely to your mind and body, and know when to stop for a break, be it for an hour or a month.

ABIGAIL HARLAN

Abigail Harlan is a native Hoosier and bilingual career non-profit professional. She fell in love with cause-driven work as a Program Director with the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002. She spent nearly four years working for international agencies in Costa Rica and Guatemala before settling in Miami, Florida for over a decade. There she grew into executive leadership with the YMCA of South Florida and later lead national program development and fundraising initiatives for Best Buddies International, an organization that advocates for and empowers people with disabilities. She is currently the Executive Director at Pack Away Hunger, a non-profit whose mission is to end hunger through nutritious food, education, and service. Program development, fundraising, and board management are all things she enjoys in her career. Abigail is also a board member with the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, volunteers for Vote Safe Indiana, and is an active board member for the Boys and Girls Club of Boone County. She is a life-long sailor, chairing the Ladies Regatta at Eagle Creek Sailing Club, as well as leading all Safety and Education initiatives for the club. She loves dogs and fosters for Indianapolis Animal Care Services, much to her dog Suzie Q’s dismay. She lives in Zionsville with her partner Rick Graef-sailor, dog-lover, and classical musician with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

ALIX VOLLMER, ESQ.

Alix is the Chief Legal Officer and part owner of the Thornberry Group, LLC and a series of companies both nationally and internationally, spanning a multitude of industries including Aviation, Insurance, Manufacturing, Scientific Laboratories, CBD, Tech, Financial Services, Retail, and Real Estate. In her role as CLO, Alix manages and directs both the legal and the business sides of companies, from formation and compliance to operations and management ending with sales, mergers, and acquisitions, working hand in hand with Owners, C-Suite, and Board of Directors to see business goals maximized and legal formalities, processes, and protections met.

Outside of work, Alix heads the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Committee as President and the Public Outreach Committee as Co-Chair. Alix volunteers with programs providing pro bono legal advice and support to members of the community and is a member of the Advancement Committee for Coburn Place and the Young Professionals Group for the Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis.

Alix received her Bachelors of Art in history and political science from Purdue University in 2008, her Juris Doctor in 2012 from Indiana University, and is licensed to practice in both Indiana and California. Alix resides in Indianapolis where she spends her free time flying as a private pilot, traveling with family, reading as much as she can, gaming with her husband, and trying to keep up with their toddler.

LEILA SPANN

Leila Spann is the Director of Marketing at Qualifi, the on-demand phone interview platform for high-volume recruiting. She joined Qualifi as Marketer #1 and has helped build Qualifi’s brand and revenue-generating marketing team. Leila is a native New Yorker and IU grad who serves on the Marketing Board of the Pink Ribbon Connection and volunteers as a mentor with the AXIS Latino Leadership Program. She spent her early career at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Newell Brands, marketing Ball mason jars nationwide. She is passionate about holistic wellness and focuses on making sure she is pouring into herself as much as she is to those around her. She and her husband, reside in Indy with their daughter and 2 pups.

WELLNESS

Monisha is a lifelong Hoosier. She attended Indiana University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a graduate certificate in Public Management from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She received her Masters degree in social work and has a License in Clinical Social Work (LCSW). Monisha has 18 years experience as a mental health Therapist. She specializes in mood disorders and trauma. She also serves as a consultant in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Prior to starting her own business, Monisha worked for a Fortune 500 Company. Monisha served in administrative and executive leadership roles managing over 100 staff. She has worked for several non-profits.

Monisha believes service is at the heart of every good leader. She served at Wheeler Mission creating a vacation bible study type program held weekly. She served as co-chair of the charity committee of the Zionsville Mom’s Group a local non-profit that supports local children, mothers and family by creating opportunities to serve, play and grow together. As a small business owner, she also served as an Ambassador for the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce.

Monisha serves on the Zionsville Police Department Use of Force Board. Monisha serves as a member of the Pedestrian Mobility Advisory Committee. She will be serving on the Hussey Mayfield Library Foundation Board. As a consultant, Monisha worked with a bi-partisan group of community leaders to develop the Zionsville Alliance for Mental Wellness. She is committed to issues of health and wellness, mental health and healthcare equity. Since being diagnosed with a rare congenital heart condition in 2019, she advocates for heart health and healthcare equity. Monisha has been nominated as 2023 Woman of Impact by American Heart Association as part of the Go Red for Women national campaign.

Monisha has been a proud resident of Zionsville for 6 years. She lives with her son Braxton, age 7, and close to her adult children, Camryn and Tim. Her family attends Traders Point Christian Church. She enjoys working, shopping, serving and playing in Zionsville