2021 SPEAKERS

Kelly Sue DeConnick

MORNING KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Kelly Sue DeConnick is the iconic comic book and television writer whose long run on Marvel’s Captain Marvel inspired the record-breaking 2019 film starring Brie Larson. She’s also an outspoken feminist activist who is on a mission to make art thattruly reflects the world around us. Her fiery keynotes challenge us to engage critically with the media we consume, getcomfortable with being uncomfortable, and do anything we can to make our voices heard. “What I bring to the table matters,”she says. “I know that heroes—even the really gothy ones—don’t limit themselves to battles they know that they can win.”

Kelly Sue DeConnick is a comic book and television writer. Her long run writing Marvel’s Captain Marvel put Carol Danvers in the Captain’s role and inspired the 2019 film that made over a billion dollars at the box office. She served as a consultant and also appeared in the film.

In addition to her two award-winning independent series, Pretty Deadly and Bitch Planet , she currently writes Aquaman for DC and develops television for Legendary TV. Her writing has been nominated for Eisner and Hugo awards.

Nataki Garrett

AFTERNOON KEYNOTE

Nataki Garrett is Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s sixth artistic director. As the former associate artistic director of CalArts Center for New Performance, Garrett has been hailed as a champion of new work as well as an experienced, savvy arts administrator. 2019 was Garrett’s first season at OSF, where she directed How to Catch Creation. At CalArts, Garrett oversaw all operations of conservatory training and produced mainstage, black box, developmental projects, plays, co-productions and touring productions. She is currently on the nominating committee for The Kilroys, and she recently served on the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Distinguished Playwright Award nominating committee and the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship panel.

Garrett is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group Career Development Fellowship for Theatre Directors and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Garrett is also a member of the board of directors for Theatre Communications Group, a company member at Woolly Mammoth and an advisory board member for Mixed Blood Theatre.

Garrett is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts with an MFA in directing.

Erin O’Kelley Muck

BREAKOUT SESSION

Erin O’Kelley Muck started Ruby Slipper Designs in 2002 – a web design company born from a dash of daring, a stubborn streak, and a leap of faith. Eighteen years and hundreds of websites later, her thriving company is known for beautiful design, great customer service, and websites that get results. What started as a one-woman show now includes a team of web and graphic designers, internet marketing pros, and a bevy of programmers. Erin has had the honor of guiding each and every client – many of whom are entrepreneurs – into a place of clarity about their business and how to communicate with their audience to achieve their goals.

https://www.rubyslipper.com

https://www.facebook.com/RubySlipperDesigns

https://www.instagram.com/rubyslipperweb

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinokelleymuck

https://twitter.com/rubyslipperweb

Kate Ingram

BREAKOUT SESSION

Kate Ingram is a life transitions coach, counselor, speaker, and writer who is passionate about helping people discover joy and meaning through the tough stuff of life. Her father’s death when she was eight and the loss of her husband in a plane crash were the catalysts that inspired her exploration of depth psychology and spiritual wisdom traditions, Taoism in particular.

Kate received degrees from Northwestern University, the University of San Francisco, and did doctoral work at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the award-winning author of Washing the Bones: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Transformation, and recently published The Grab & Go Grief Kit: A Practical Workbook to Help You Understand, Navigate, and Heal Your Grief. Her newest book, The Grief Girl Guide: How to Grieve, Why You Should, and What’s In It for You will be published this spring. In addition to her writing and private practice, Kate is the creator of Soul Matters Live!, a popular, monthly salon exploring ways to live a more joyful, meaningful life.

Kate has performed on stage in the Ashland New Plays Festival and the Rogue Opera. She loves dogs, blue jeans, authenticity, good wine, Giants baseball, and anything Italian. She lives with her family and a quirky little dog named Baci in the beautiful Southern Oregon wine country.

Cynthia Scherr

BREAKOUT SESSION

Cynthia Scherr has been coaching leaders, working with executive teams and facilitating strategic planning processes for over 20 years with innovative, complex and thriving organizations such as Lithia Motors, Alaska Airlines, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her approach includes drawing out an inspirational vision of the future, exploring alternative strategies, creating realistic plans, and developing team alignment and commitment. As an executive coach, Cynthia supports and develops senior leaders using insightful assessments, growth-oriented development plans and supportive coaching approaches. She worked with Brené Brown to become a Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator and with Mary Beth O’Neill in Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart.

Cynthia currently serves on the Board of Directors of Wholesale Solar and as a Trustee of the Pacific School of Religion. An advocate for entrepreneurship, Cynthia chairs a CEO peer group and a peer group for women executives. She co-founded Southern Oregon E2E (Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur) and curates The Ground Floor podcast, featuring interviews with entrepreneurs on JPR. Cynthia holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MTS from Harvard Divinity School.

www.ScherrConsults.com

www.linkedin.com/in/scherrconsults

Michelle Hynes

BREAKOUT SESSION

Michelle Hynes has more than 25 years of experience as a nonprofit executive, consultant, board member, and volunteer. She is a founding member of ninety-nine girlfriends, a regional women’s giving collective that’s given more than $1.2 million in high-impact grants in its first four years. Michelle’s formal education includes a Master’s in Education from University of Pennsylvania, a certificate from the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and a certificate in Strategic Organizational Management from Portland State University. A skilled meeting facilitator and certified coach, Michelle loves to help leaders navigate from what is to what’s possible.

Diahana Barnes

BREAKOUT SESSION

Diahana is an award winning Trainer, Speaker, Success Strategist, and Executive Consultant with over 23 years of experience.  Mom, former corporate woman, and entrepreneur she built her own successful consulting business after leaving a demanding corporate job leading $40 Million dollar sales and service teams and email marketing campaigns.

She’s worked with Fortune 500 executives to strategically execute their events and keynotes, has been personally trained by their executive coaches and spoken on stages with audience sizes ranging from 25 to 500.

She’s the founder of the Speak to Inspire Method™ a trend setting modality that teaches business owners and entrepreneurs how to speak in a way that creates momentum and drives results.  Her mission is to help 10,000 heart centered business leaders be the Harmonious CEOs of their business.

Elizabeth Miner

BREAKOUT SESSION

As an international life and business coach Elizabeth has been encouraging women to live into their dreams for years through her company Thrive This Day. Recently she has added an empowerment element to her business in response to the “me too” movement enabling women to feel confident, safe and to stand in their power.

Certified by ESD Global and using her 20+ years as a corporate paralegal, Elizabeth has customized workshops to specifically respond to the needs of women in the changing world. This workshop is an opportunity to build empowerment by focusing on skills to create subtle and bold boundaries, teaches de-escalation techniques and promotes situational awareness.

Attendees leave the workshop with tools they can use in their everyday lives empowering them to engage and contribute with confidence.

Dr. Sheree Bryant Sekou

BREAKOUT SESSION

Dr. Sheree Bryant Sekou is an author, motivational speaker, international facilitator and positive change catalyst whose work is grounded in a strengths-based philosophy of searching for the best in individuals and organizations. She is the author of What A Difference A Change Makes! and owner of Sheree Sekou Consulting, a global learning and development firm. As a coach and leadership expert, Dr. Sheree works with people who want to thrive through change and lead themselves so they can love their lives. Dr. Sheree holds degrees in Human Development, Educational Leadership and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of San Francisco. An active member of the International Leadership Association’s Women in Leadership Affinity Group, her research includes educational leadership success, women leader purpose/calling and leadership development for women of all ages. Born and raised in Texas, Dr. Sheree has journeyed to six of the seven continents, and she currently resides in the Houston area and the U.S. Virgin Islands with her hubby. She considers herself a lifelong student of spirituality, personal empowerment, self-mastery, and cultural enlightenment and she believes that the power to change your life is in your hands.

Joy Taylor

BREAKOUT SESSION

Joy Taylor is the founder of A Soul-Inspired Life, a personal development company dedicated to the evolution of consciousness. Author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book Inspired, she is passionate about empowering and educating people to contribute to a better world through transformation and sacred action. As a companion guide, Joy leads with her compassionate heart and offers a variety of group and private online programs for those ready to live and work in alignment with their values. As a companion guide, Joy leads with her compassionate heart and offers a variety of group and private online programs for those ready to live and work in alignment with their values. Her background includes serving as a somatic practitioner and intuitive healer, corporate marketing and sales trainer, college-level business faculty, and Director of The Women’s Business Center in Northern California. Joy is an ordained priestess, devoted partner to her Beloved Kirk, and lover of nature. Her background includes serving as a somatic practitioner and intuitive healer, corporate marketing and sales trainer, college-level business faculty, and Director of The Women’s Business Center in Northern California. Joy is an ordained priestess, devoted partner to her Beloved Kirk, and lover of nature.