Women’s Leadership Summit

Tyson Strandberg President 2021-2022

The Junior League of Greensboro was proud to host its 11th Annual Women’s Leadership Summit on April 22 & 29, 2022. Celebrating the theme of “Equipping You to Make an Impact,” attendees joined for both virtual and in-person speaker sessions.

Friday, April 22 began with virtual speaker Kathie Niven, CEO of Biscuitville. The Elon ‘89 alumna joined the North Carolina company in 2011, first as Chief Brand Officer, and later promoted to President. Ms. Niven has brought tremendous success to her company, expanding Biscuitville to the Charlotte and Fayetteville markets, and advancing the company’s brand positioning, making it no wonder why Nation’s Restaurant News named Niven in their list of “2018 New Top Restaurant Executives.” Examining her long line of hard work and success as a trail-blazing woman, including marketing for Quizno’s, RTM/Arby’s Roast Beef Corporation, Burger King COrporation, and Krispy Kreme Corporation, Ms. Niven believes “we cannot limit our vision of what leadership may look like.”

Attendees then heard from virtual speaker Dr. Mary Hemphill, an NC A&T graduate with over 15 years experience as a teacher, administrator, state director, and university professor. Dr. Hemphill is the first North Carolina director of Computer Science and Technology Education, shining a light on gender and equity disparities in computer science, outside of her time as an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill Dr. Hemphill is the CEO and founder of The Limitless Leader, a company that helps individuals ignite the leader in themselves, so they may better serve their community, company, and personal career. She is also the author of The One-Minute Meeting, an instructional practice to authentically glean information from students, allowing educators to fully engage with and empower their students.

Friday, April 29 concluded our Women’s Leadership Summit with a networking breakfast and keynote speaker, Kendra Adachi, at Elm & Bain in downtown Greensboro. Ms. Adachi is the New York Times best-selling author of The Lazy Genius, empowering people to be a genius about the things in life that matter, and allowing them to be lazy if they don’t. Ms. Adachi is also the creator of The Lazy Genius podcast. Her Lazy Genius Collective website sees nearly one million visitors annually. Lazy Genius Way and creator of The Lazy Genius Podcast. As a systems expert and professional permission giver, Kendra helps others stop doing it all for the sake of doing what matters. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children.