19 May IgniteCHANGE: It’s a Wrap!
We are now a few days out from the conclusion of PBWC’s 32nd Annual Conference and the energy is still soaring through me–from the highlights running through my mind to the amazing contacts I made still messaging me and others daily to continue the rich dialogue on how to IgniteCHANGE!
And, what a conference it was. Like last year, our conference was three days–this year filled with legendary, current and upcoming game changers, trailblazers and truly amazing women. Not to mention that starting us off was a poem delivered by Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman and written just for PBWC! How honored we are!
Watching Amanda read her poem was a moment I will never forget. Following on that with luminaries such as Gloria Steinem, Dr. Bernice A. King, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; to the inspirational Jessica Cox and business leaders Angela Ahrendts and Valerie B. Jarrett; to our future leaders–and futurists such as Anat Baron. These women helped lift all, and inspired growth, self-affirmation and empowerment to IgniteCHANGE. And, I am over the moon at the level of truly interactive networking between our over 4,000 attendees fully engaged in, and on, critically important topics….those dialogues continue today and the community plans to keep it going! Kudos all!
Also truly empowering was the non-stop live chat each day with attendees from around the world, and the true support between attendees to try to help each other elevate in their personal and professional lives. As I said at the opening of the conference, “The time for change is now!” What better way to ensure change than to convene with thousands of like-minded professionals during our conference and then to take that dialogue and continue it into the future. From our young Poet Laureate to our futurist stage, our future looks bright!
I met so many PBWC annual conference first-timers this year who let me know they were blown away with the quality and depth of our programming. I hope you were as inspired as I was by the tremendous speaker line-up and networking during our three-day virtual conference IgniteCHANGE.
Personal takeaways for me include Gloria Steinem saying “do something outrageous every day to create change” to the game changers such as the sustainability panel on how to save the planet to Jasmine Crowe on how to stop world hunger–this group of speakers and attendees are focused on creating change! Change for equality for all, change for a better future, and change that will last.
Congratulations to you for attending, and to the PBWC Team and Board for making PBWC’s 2021 conference the best yet! Where to now? As we say, “To infinity and beyond.” And, of course, that must include, For Change!
We couldn’t have done this without you: our community, our sponsors, partners, volunteers and more. On behalf of the Board of Directors and PBWC Team, a HUGE THANK YOU!
And if you missed our conference this year, don’t worry. PBWC has other important and inspirational programming throughout the year. You can learn more at PBWC.org.
With Sincere Gratitude,
Dominica C. Anderson
PBWC President and Board Chair