8:00am-9:30am:  OPENING GENERAL SESSION

8:15am
Maxine Clark
Live in a World of Possibilities
Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop® Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Bear shares her entrepreneurial story behind the creation of Build-A-Bear Workshop® and its success. She will inspire you to live in a world of possibilities and always dream big!

9:30am-9:45am:  BREAK
 
9:45am-10:45am:  MORNING BREAKOUT SESSION 1
 
1) Valorie Burton
Resilient and Ready:  How to Thrive through Challenge and Change
One of the most important skills in today's marketplace is the ability to adapt to change and thrive despite the challenges that come your way. In this highly relevant and entertaining presentation, Valorie Burton helps audiences understand and create the building blocks of resilience so they can bounce back from setbacks, withstand pressure, and maintain a positive perspective. Using practical takeaways and how to's, she equips your audience with a survival toolkit for any challenge that comes their way!
 
2) D. Troy Curry, MD
Sleepless in St. Louis
Experts are increasingly aware of how important of a role sleep plays in how we live, think and function – and of the adverse effects on the mind and body when sleep is disturbed. In this session, D. Troy Curry, MD, a sleep medicine specialist with the Sleep Medicine and Research Center at St. Luke’s, will offer the facts on common sleep problems, abnormal occurrences during sleep, how much sleep our bodies really need and how to make sure we get it. Sleep – we all need it, but rarely get enough. That in itself is an important health issue. But many of us also contend with sleep disorders, which often go unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. And did you know that certain sleep disorders are more common in women and some sleep issues have a greater physical impact on women?
 
3) Elizabeth Mannen, AAMS
Weathering Market Volatility & Developing Your Investment Plan
This breakout session will focus on:
• Providing tactics for investors struggling with recent market volatility.
• Developing and executing a personal wealth building strategy that works for you.
• Understanding your investment personality, risk tolerance, and long term financial objectives.

 
10:45am-11:00am:  BREAK
 
11:00am-12:00pm:  MORNING BREAKOUT SESSION 2
 
1) The Fab Factor: How to Stay Healthy at Every Age
What’s the secret to being fabulous? We may not have all the answers, but good health is a great place to start. We all know that women typically take care of everyone else in their life first and themselves last. So we’re bringing the doctors to you. This moderated physician panel gives you the opportunity to learn what you should and can do for yourself, and to ask the questions you never have time to ask your doctor.
 
Get answers directly from our physician panelists to help you stay fabulous at every age:
• Internal Medicine Specialist Diane Hood, MD
• Neurologist Frasat Chaudhry, MD
• Obstetrician/Gynecologist Caroline Morgan, MD

2) Appsolutely
There's an app for that, but do you know how to use it? In this session, AT&T representatives will discuss some of the newest smart phone apps and how to make them work for you.
 
3) Women at the Leading Edge: Influencing Public Policy
Both Catherine Hanaway, Partner of Ashcroft Hanaway and former U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Missouri, and Joyce Aboussie, CEO of Aboussie & Associates, have lived in the public arena for all of their careers. They have written laws, recruited candidates, raised significant campaign funds and built reputations as women who make things happen. They come from different political perspectives but have a common belief in the democratic process and governing for the greater good. This session focuses on how women can change the world and why they should.

4) Speed-coaching
A repeat of last year’s well-received speed coaching session is planned! The point—to encourage conference attendees to interact with women business leaders. This time around we’re offering the session to attendees at three different times throughout the day. We’re looking for open, honest and to-the-point Q&A; it should work as a sort of rapid fire Q&A. Think of speed dating at a high level with influential women. It will be fun and energetic!

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF WHO YOU CAN MEET


 
12:00pm-1:45pm:  LUNCHEON GENERAL SESSION
 
12:45pm-1:45pm:  Claire Gaudiani
Women's Leadership in American Philanthropy
Our Declaration of Independence promises the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens. These rights are guaranteed by 'we, the people.' American women have shouldered these responsibilities throughout the history of our nation, demonstrating the same entrepreneurial skills that built our market economy. Claire's stories provide both inspiration and practical advice for sustaining this great tradition in the 21st century.
 
1:45pm-2:45pm:  BOOK SIGNINGS
 
1:45pm-3:45pm:  HEALTH SCREENINGS
You know you need to make your health a priority, but life is busy. While we still recommend regular visits to your doctor, we’re providing an easy, convenient way for you to get some important health results today.
 
Stop in the St. Luke’s Health Screening Room for these free screenings: bone density; blood pressure; and personalized health risk assessments for various conditions including heart disease, diabetes, sleep problems, and neck and back pain. Plus, take advantage of the opportunity to discuss your results one-on-one with our health experts.
 
2:45pm-3:45pm:  AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSION
 
1) Social Networking Panel
Social media can grow your career, your business, your non-profit. Leslie Bradshaw of JESS3 shows how to enhance your personal brand; Allison Collinger of AHC Consulting knows how to apply social media to your business and Kate Kromann will talk about what she's done to bring the United Way into the new media world. They'll talk tools and trends.
 
2) Lorraine Gustavis
Great Customer Service is Good for Business
Delivering exceptional service remains a constant matter of importance to many businesses and organizations. In today’s economic climate, understanding customers’ needs, wants and expectations is essential, and preparing employees to fulfill them can help companies gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

In "Customer Service – From Inside Out," the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission's Brand Experience Trainer Lorraine Gustavis offers insight into providing an exceptional visitor experience. In addition to showing the CVC’s best practices in customer service training for the St. Louis hospitality and tourism industry, Gustavis speaks from her experience of working with a world class organization known for excellence in the field. The program is based on benchmarks critical for exceptional customer service – better known as the four Es: Expectations, Empowerment, Environment and Engagement.

If your company is looking for a competitive edge, this is a must-attend session.  
 
3) Lumiere Place’s Poker 101
Tony Russo, assistant casino shift manager at Lumiere Place, will teach basics for poker newcomers, as well as more advanced techniques for wannabe card sharks. Learn about poker etiquette, terminology, rules and strategy. You’ll become a poker pro in no time.
 
4) Speed-coaching
A repeat of last year’s well-received speed coaching session is planned! The point—to encourage conference attendees to interact with women business leaders. This time around we’re offering the session to attendees at three different times throughout the day. We’re looking for open, honest and to-the-point Q&A; it should work as a sort of rapid fire Q&A. Think of speed dating at a high level with influential women. It will be fun and energetic!

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF WHO YOU CAN MEET


 
4:00pm-5:00pm:  CLOSING GENERAL SESSION
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
From Jim Crow America to Apartheid South Africa and Beyond: An Activist Journalist’s Journey
Charlayne Hunter-Gault describes her historic entry into the University of Georgia as its first black woman student and the road she took through Jim Crow South to get there. She chronicles her rise from there to the top of her profession and the stories she covered in the US, and eventually in South Africa, along the way. This includes South Africa and its "Jim Crow" like system of apartheid, the victory of its people over the system, and where that has taken them and the continent. She’ll also touch on contemporary South Africa and the challenges it faces, some of which mirror challenges in the US today.
 
5:00pm-6:00pm:  COCKTAIL RECEPTION