Featuring Keynote Speaker, Gwen Ifill

Moderator and Managing Editor
PBS’ Washington Week and Co-anchor, PBS NewsHour
A calm voice in the chaotic world of political news and rhetoric, Gwen Ifill is known for reporting the substance of stories and events that really make a difference in the world.

Join WELD at our Keynote as we launch our theme for 2013: Making Your Voice Heard. In honor of Women’s History Month, WELD’s annual Keynote event brings nationally known speakers and leaders to Columbus to advance the dialogue around women’s issues, challenges, and opportunities.

Colleen Marshall, Anchor, NBC4 WCMH-TV, will emcee a night that will deliver compelling strategies for women to make their voice heard through public policy, civic engagement and business leadership.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Barb Smoot at smootb@weldoh.org | (614) 890-2586.

In 2011, WELD embarked on an exciting journey with renewed focus to bring change to the landscape of leadership in Central Ohio and with it the financial prosperity to our professional community that comes when Boards of Directors and senior leadership teams include more women in their ranks. With the release of the Central Ohio Leadership Census (COLC) at the 2011 Keynote, we provided Central Ohio with a scorecard to see where we are and what areas we must focus on to achieve this goal. Join us at the 2013 Keynote for the release of the latest COLC numbers, including the presenting of an award to one of Central Ohio’s companies doing their part to ensure women are advancing to these key leadership positions. We’re excited to host our 2013 Keynote Speaker, Gwen Ifill, Moderator and Managing Editor of PBS’ Washington Week and Co-anchor, PBS NewsHour, to shed light on what we can do as individuals and a community to support this effort.

Always engaging, Gwen Ifill prides herself on being above the sound bites, the spin and the hype, believing instead that reporting news of substance—stories that explore the rich truths of a changing world—are more rewarding. Bringing her natural wit and wisdom to some of the most complicated political issues of the day, Ifill serves as both moderator and managing editor of PBS’ Washington Week, recipient of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. Her clear voice and articulate commentary have made her one of the most respected and popular television journalists of our time. From her unique vantage point as a veteran journalist, Ifill ushers audiences into the very corridors of power—taking an in-depth look at the Obama Administration, how it is working with a divided Congress and what all of it means for the 2012 elections. A trailblazer in every sense of the word, Ifill also looks at issues of race and diversity and shows just how far society has come from the early days of the civil rights movement. Prior to her current role as a co-anchor and senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, she has served as national correspondent for NBC News, in addition to covering politics and government for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American. Ifill is the author of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.

Click here for general registration details!

PAST SPEAKERS

• Patricia Sellers, Editor-at-Large for FORTUNE magazine
• Irene Natividad, President, Global Summit of Women, and Co-Chair, Corporate Women Directors International
• Beth Brooke, Vice Chair of Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, Ernst & Young
  
• Nell Merlino,founder, president, and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and co-founder of Take Our Daughters To Work Day
• Marie Wilson, President of the White House Project and former president of the Ms. Foundation
• Gail Evans, best-selling author and former Executive Vice President of CNN
• Ilene Lang, President of Catalyst, Inc., the leading research organization working globally with businesses to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women