Whole, Women Strong Leaders
There are certain conversations that don’t usually happen in the middle of a busy workday, not because they aren’t important, but because there isn’t always space for them.
Most of the women I know, and the women I work alongside, are not trying to figure out how to lead. They are already leading. They are running businesses, guiding teams, making decisions that carry real weight, and moving things forward in environments that are often complex and constantly evolving. And most of the time, they are doing that in motion.
That’s something both Dr. Denise Bowls and I recognized early on as we began talking about this event. In our own work, we are both in regular conversation with women who are carrying a great deal of responsibility, and we kept coming back to the same observation: there isn’t always a place for leaders to step into a room where the conversation actually reflects the level at which they’re operating.
Not a room built around general advice or broad ideas, but one grounded in real leadership, real responsibility, and real experience. That shared understanding is what led to Whole Women, Strong Leaders.
This event is something Denise and I have been intentionally building together, bringing both our perspectives, our experiences, and our communities into one space. Through our partnership between the Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce and the Green Valley Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce, we wanted to create something that aligned with the reality of leadership today, particularly for women navigating growth, complexity, and high-level decision-making.
We are honored to welcome Jan Lesher as our keynote speaker, someone who brings both credibility and perspective to this conversation. Her experience reflects what it means to lead over time, across different roles and responsibilities, and through the kind of complexity that many leaders are currently navigating. Alongside her, we’ve invited a panel of women who are leading across business, healthcare, and community, each bringing insight grounded in what they are actively doing, not just what they’ve already done.
What matters most to me about this event is not just the structure or the speakers, but the kind of room it creates.
A room where the conversation feels accurate, where leaders can listen and recognize pieces of their own experience in what’s being shared, and where the discussion reflects the reality of leading in the middle of growth, responsibility, and ongoing change.
Leadership doesn’t pause while life is happening. It happens alongside it, and that’s something that doesn’t always get acknowledged in the way it should. This event is our way of creating space for that acknowledgment and for a conversation that feels both practical and relevant to the women already doing this work.
I’m grateful to be building this alongside Dr. Denise Bowls. There’s a shared respect in how we both approach leadership and community, and that alignment is part of what has made this event come together in a way that feels both intentional and meaningful.
I’m looking forward to bringing this room together and to the kind of conversation that happens when the right people are in it.
