Leadership for the Future & Harnessing Uncertainty

Mark Smith is the Owner of four Richmond area Midas shops. Mark is a passionate community advocate and his leadership style is a shining example of authenticity, humility, and gratitude.

A great example of the way Mark leads can be seen in a challenge he created in May 2020 called, “More Good Deeds.” He challenged Richmond area residents to do 30 acts of kindness, writing them all down daily, and at the end of the month he’ll pay it forward by giving you a year’s worth of free oil changes.

Dr. Tiffany Jana is a widely respected expert in the area of diversity, equity & inclusion and the Founder of TMI’s Portfolio of companies. Dr. Jana's TEDx talk The Power of Privilege has been viewed more than 280,000 times. This interview about race, leadership, and what it means to be part of humanity will change you from the inside out!

Stephanie Wright is a Navy veteran and a Product Management Director at a large Financial Services company in San Antonio.  After serving for 10 years in the Navy on the faculty at the US Naval Academy and as an Intelligence Officer deployed onboard the USS Nimitz, Stephanie brought her leadership skills and experience to corporate America.  She is married to Randy, also a Navy veteran, who is currently a UT Health physician, and she’s a mom to two teenagers:  Grady and Maryn

As leaders, we are called to see the humanity in one another. No one knows that better than Honesty Liller, CEO of McShin Foundation in Richmond, VA. As the opioid crisis continues to devastate lives, Honesty Liller is a woman leader who strives to change lives for the better, one life at a time. Honesty lives in long-term recovery from a Substance Use Disorder since May 27, 2007. Honesty's mission as CEO is firmly rooted in community outreach and involvement.

As a graduate student at George Washington University, my work has been deeply inspired by Dr. Shaista E. Khilji's research and philosophy of leadership.  She is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the South Asian Journal of Business Studies, and Director of the Organizational Leadership & Learning program at GWU. Most recently, Dr. Khilji launched the Humanizing Initiative with two recent graduates of GWU. 

John Petrie is an accomplished senior executive with more than 26 years of success in the information security space.  He's also a father of three grown daughters and an advocate for women leaders, especially in the tech industry. Most recently, John published a memoir entitled From Private to CEO about his personal leadership journey. 

Michele McCauley is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Apex Systems, a Richmond-based staffing firm. Michele is also the creator of Apex’s Woman’s Leadership Group and a strong voice for working mothers. 

An activist for radical self-acceptance and female empowerment Eva DeVirgilis has gone around the globe speaking to women about 'Ending the Apology. ' Her TEDxRVAwomen talk was named by HER Magazine as one of their "Top 6 inspirational TEDtalks to help you change your life.