NE WIL 2023 Annual Conference Update

Northeast Women in Leadership Update

Special

Edition

Northeast WIL 2023 Conference 2023

Read our newsletters for interesting content on Lockton Northeast women. Stay up to date with all our stories, inspirations, programs, spotlights, as well as future and past events.

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• Participate in WIL Committees!

Opening

Liz Spencer

With the sun shining in through the large windows of the Farmington Polo Club, Liz Spencer took the podium to open the days’ events and acknowledge the room full of nearly 200 “powerful people.” The energy in the room was buzzing as it had been 4 years since Northeast WIL (Women in Leadership) hosted its annual conference in person with all offices in one venue. With so many new faces in the room, Liz took the opportunity to share NE WIL’s core Mission and how associates can get involved. Liz also thanked all of our carrier sponsors, including our Diamond Sponsors Arch Insurance, Everest Insurance and FM Global. See the full list of carrier sponsors on the previous page. The impactful opening ended with a story about “the bear scene” from Working Moms

Keynote Speaker

Jennifer Openshaw

Patti Berger-Friedman, a prominent member of the WIL steering committee, was tasked with introducing the keynote speaker, Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Girls with Impact. Jennifer’s story is not only inspiring, but empowering. Jennifer built herself from a 14-year-old working as a maid in a small motel to a financial wiz who has held top roles at JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, and others. Her focus has always been to educate women and arm them with the necessary tools to successfully manage their financial future, which has rounded out to her role today at Girls with Impact.

Jennifer shared eight lessons for career success, all developed from her own life experiences, and all focused on how to build and achieve your dream career. The one lesson that seemed to resound into other segments of the day was leveraging your “home zone” and not to go it alone. Jennifer acknowledged that she had often found herself facing challenges on her own but recognizes the power of tapping into your network to yield greater success. This network, or “home zone”, includes immediate family, friends, and neighbors. Many fail to reap the benefits of engaging those connections for insights or assistance in a new initiative or career growth opportunity. She then opened the floor to questions, which she answered on the fly and with a direct, real-talk approach.

After Jennifer’s session concluded with a huge round of applause, attendees had the opportunity to participate in facilitated discussions around the major themes from the keynote. These sessions, led by our valued sponsors, consisted of engaging, thoughtful and animated conversations to advance the day’s theme of “Creating Dream Career[s] & Legac[ies].”

EIGHT LESSONS FOR CAREER SUCCESS

1. Focus on Signature Moves

2. Look for Signals of Change

3. Know & build your personal brand

4. Persevere

5. Don’t give up

6. Move outside your comfort zone

7. Don’t go it alone

8. Be prepared

Executive Sponsorship

Bob Connolly

The important mission of NE WIL has always been strongly supported by Lockton’s executive leadership, and this was on full display for attendees and carrier partners at this year’s conference. In attendance were Bob Connolly, CEO of Lockton Northeast; Tim Ryan, COO of Lockton Northeast; Bill Husic, President of the Lockton Hartford office; and Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard, a member of the NE Executive Committee and founding member of NE WIL. Bob Connolly spoke after the keynote address and opened his commentary by remarking on Jennifer’s inspiring story and incredible non-profit organization, Girls with Impact. He then revealed that the Lockton leadership team agreed to donate $15,000 to Girls with Impact to support the future generations of women in leadership. Bob also demonstrated vulnerability when recalling how his own mother was a true trailblazer, helping his father run the family business while being an “all in mom.” He encouraged those in the room to dream with tenacity because “if you can dream it, it’s possible, particularly at Lockton.”

At the close of the conference, Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard addressed the Lockton associates and carrier partners in attendance. She asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine the people who were critical in helping them get where they are today, while describing short vignettes of those who helped her along the way. As the group opened their eyes, Jenna posed the idea “in 20 years when asked that same question, who will mention your name?” It was a powerful reminder to continue to support each other and advocate for the next round of leaders.

Fireside Chat

Stephanie Robinson

Adding to the tremendous impact of the day, the group participated in a fireside chat with Lockton’s newly appointed Chief Diversity Office, Stephanie Robinson. Stephanie shared her life’s journey and how it shaped her ultimate interest in DEI. She highlighted some of her team’s current priorities this fiscal year, including understanding and influencing how Lockton selects vendor partners, supporting LEAN initiatives, and advancing college level recruitment processes. Her strongest call to action for the Lockton members in the audience was “if you’re someone who’s responsible for or involved in hiring, hire someone who does not look like you.”

The Smiles Say It All!

We thought it might be difficult to capture the passion and empowerment from this year’s Northeast Women in Leadership Annual Conference, but these photos certainly did that and more!

Dropbox - Lockton WIL Conference 2023 - Simplify your life

Thank you to Keith Claytor of TimeFrozen Photography for giving us a wonderful time capsule of the day!

Thank You to our Carrier Sponsors

We also heard from our Diamond Sponsors, Arch Insurance, Everest, and FM Global about how their respective organizations are supporting DEI initiatives and creating spaces for women to elevate to leadership roles.

Diamond Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Women in Leadership Committee Members

Steering

DePalma VP, Claims Consultant Philadelphia Georgia Giamalis New York Ryan Murphy Boston Mary O’Brien New York Jessica Long Philadelphia Caren Huminski Washington DC Kelly Krause Blue Bell

Alyson Ferguson Hartford Michele Ford Hartford Jen Feenstra Boston

Cassano New York Jennifer Amend Washington D.C. Caroline Buckley Boston Alyssa Thomas New York Charlotte Toomey Washington DC Adriana Tavares New York Meg Ramsey New York Monica O’Ravitz Hartford Val Paolucci New York

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