Women Lead Change enters 19th year with ‘new energy’ for Cedar Rapids conference

CEDAR RAPIDS — As the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion takes a sharp turn in 2025, Women Lead Change is spearheading the same mission it always has at its annual Cedar Rapids conference.

With the 1,200-attendee event nearly sold out again this year, Women Lead Change CEO and Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell says there’s a “new energy” around the need to support advancement of women leaders.

“The times in which we live have something to do with that,” she said. “There’s a compelling case for diversity of thought in the workplace. We’ve long represented one of the largest groups of communities that weren’t represented as equally inside the workplace as outside.”

As scrutiny around the acronym intensifies, particularly among leaders in state and federal government, Women Lead Change has received many inquiries about executive orders on DEI. But the conversation for the privately funded, Cedar Rapids-based organization remains largely the same as it was before diversity, equity and inclusion became buzzwords in corporate settings.

Culture, values and leadership are a constant need for growing companies, no matter what language they’re packaged in.

“I continue to say if you need an acronym to do the right thing for your business, you’ve got bigger problems,” O’Donnell said. “Women Lead Change has been working in this space for almost 20 years. The need hasn’t changed.”

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With an intentional mix of current and emerging leaders, the two-day Cedar Rapids event will challenge, inspire, and offer tactical skills across small groups, breakout sessions and seven keynote speakers. Over the years, what started as a luncheon has grown into influential multi-day conferences in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and the Quad Cities, as well as monthly meet-ups for attendees.

Having male leaders and allies at the table to learn about challenges they may not have realized women face — what O’Donnell calls “light bulb moments” — has been critical to the mission as well.

“At the end of the day, it’s (about) workforce, it’s (about) improving the economy,” she said. “If you look at leadership in (Cedar Rapids), it is a paradigm here.”

How it helps women (and men)

Each year, there are constant offerings attendees rely on, such as communication skills, negotiation skills and career mapping. But other necessary skills have evolved. In a hybrid world of virtual and in-person work, women wanting to be seen and valued in their careers have to learn communication in a 2D world, how to enhance their visibility and what communication styles work best in various settings.

For many women, attending the annual conference helps them see new possibilities in themselves simply by seeing other women do it.

“It changes the trajectory for many people in that is shifts a paradigm,” O’Donnell said. “I like to think we’re here to change lives. I’m a walking billboard for that.”

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Standout features like the Speak Tank, started a couple years ago, help attendees find their voice. Attendees are chosen to give a speech in a blind selection based solely on the title and topic of their presentation. The winner of the competition gets a slot on one of the conference stages.

Brandi Spurling, 2023’s winner, said her Speak Tank win changed the course of her career.

“I asked everyone to close their eyes and asked anybody who had experienced this feeling of impostor syndrome before to raise their hand,” she said.

In a room of 100 people, almost every person raised their hand.

“It was validation that I’m not alone and reassurance that this is something I can talk about,” Spurling said. “I don’t think anyone realized we’ve all had that feeling before.”

Her learning and development company, Sage Culture Company in Columbia, Missouri, has earned about 80 percent of its business thanks to connections made at Women Lead Change. Today, she continues to motivate others at speaking engagements just like the one that took her company to new heights.

Within four months of that conference, she was able to leave her full-time job and dedicate herself to growing her own business.

“I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I am sitting within this amount of time if it hadn’t been for Women Lead Change,” Spurling said. “It exceeded my expectations. I was shocked at the scale of it, the quality of speakers they brought in and how easy it was to connect quickly with people.”

This year’s lineup

This year’s keynote speaker lineup features heavy hitters in journalism and athletics, a recruiting expert, an organizational psychologist and speakers that bring out each attendee’s authenticity.

But the most famous speakers aren’t always the ones with the biggest impact.

“Something reinforced by speakers is the imperative to chart your own path,” O’Donnell said. “Authenticity comes up often.”

Award-winning journalist, author and former First Lady of California Maria Shriver, will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Four-time Team USA Paralympian Mallory Weggemann will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Francesca Sipma, author of "Unblock Your Purpose: Breathwork, Intuition and Flow State" will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Charlie Saffro, a recruiting expert, will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Alison Fragale, an organizational psychologist, will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Rachel Eslick, founder of "Mae We All: Growth & Development" will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Former Minnesota Viking professional football player Chad Greenway will be a keynote speaker at Women Lead Change's 2025 conference in Cedar Rapids. (Women Lead Change)

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Maria Shriver, a Peabody and Emmy-award winning journalist and producer, is the author of seven New York Times bestselling books. She has served as the former First Lady of California, an NBC News special anchor, founder of ShriverMedia and The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, cofounder of the brain health brand MOSH, and publisher of The Open Field. Her latest book, “I AM MARIA: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home,” was released on April 1.

Mallory Weggemann is a four-time Paralympian for Team USA who won a gold and silver medal in swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. As a multi-time American and world record holder, ESPN ESPY Award and seven-time Paralympic medalist, she has utilized her platform in professional swimming to be a fierce advocate for the disability community.

Francesca Sipma, author of “Unblock Your Purpose: Breathwork, Intuition, and Flow State” is the founder and CEO of Mastry, the creator of HynoBreathwork and an international speaker. She offers courses and training for C-suite executives, world-renowned producers, celebrities, artists and athletes. Her work has been featured by Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Inc., Bloomberg, Forbes, NBC and ABC.

Charlie Saffro, founder of CS Recruiting, is a recruiting expert with a passion for human leadership, talent acquisition, employee engagement, company culture and retention. Her goal is to make meaningful connections that lead to long-lasting relationships.

Alison Fragale is an organizational psychologist, professor at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and bestselling author of “Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve.” Her academic research on status, power, negotiation and influence have been published in her field’s top academic journals as well as national media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Rachel Eslick is the founder and energetic speaker of Mae We All: Growth & Development. She helps others kick the “be your best self” mentality to the curb and proudly advocates for others to embrace their “favorite self” instead. She empowers, educates and energizes others to get out of their own way to start living an authentic, exciting life that’s “on their heart.”

Chad Greenway is a former professional football player. After finishing an All-American career at the University of Iowa, he played for the Minnesota Vikings for 11 years.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.