Speakers

2024 Keynote Speaker: Evy Poumpouras

For more than 12 years, Evy Poumpouras served as a Secret Service special agent in an action-packed career during which she was responsible for protecting the world’s most high-value assets. She was a member of the Presidential Protective Division for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and also protected Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. Today, she is a widely recognized multimedia journalist, host, and producer who uses her skills in front of the camera and behind it to conduct headline-grabbing interviews and investigate the biggest stories in the media. She appears regularly on “TODAY,” NBC, MSNBC, and “Good Morning America” to share her sought-after expertise on national security, law enforcement, and crime, and is the host of Bravo TV’s competition series “Spy Games.” Having mastered the arts of communication and psychology in a wide-ranging career that has taken her from the Secret Service to the TV screen and everywhere in between, Poumpouras offers unconventional strategies for crushing any challenge and living life fearlessly. 

 

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Poumpouras has been described as “the epitome of a badass” as she brings a welcome edge to talks focused on looking inward to begin the journey to becoming your best self at work and beyond. Her positivity emanates from the stage and through to the audience as she reveals hard-won lessons on building a more confident and resilient mindset, communicating for maximum impact, and unleashing your inner fighter as you push past the obstacles on the path to success. Poumpouras shares thrilling anecdotes from her experiences in the Secret Service, offering a rare behind-the-curtain look at one of the oldest and elite security forces in the world, and showing audiences how they can apply Secret Service principles of communication, leadership, psychology, and inclusion in their own pursuits. 

 

In addition to safeguarding our nation’s heads of state, during her tenure in the Secret Service, Poumpouras worked complex criminal investigations, operated undercover, and was an interrogator for the agency’s elite polygraph unit specially trained in the art of lie detection, human behavior, and cognitive influence. She was among the first responders during the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and was honored with United States Secret Service Valor Award in recognition of her heroic efforts. In parallel to her work as a journalist and TV personality, Poumpouras is an adjunct professor for The City University of New York, where she teaches criminal justice and criminology. 

Poumpouras’ online interviews and her TEDx talk on “Words: Your Most Powerful Weapon” have drawn millions of views, and she has spoken worldwide in front of many of the world’s top organizations, including NASDAQ, McKesson, United Technologies, Wells Fargo, and Corcoran Group. She is also the author of the bestselling book Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, Live Fearlessly, in which she introduces unique and actionable strategies for influencing any situation and transforming yourself into a stronger, more confident, and more powerful person.

 

Break Out Speakers

 

Maghon Taylor – Author, Artist, Educator: Allshewrotenotes.com

Topic: Brighten the Corner where you are

Maghon Taylor is on a mission to spread happiness through her handwriting as the founder of All She Wrote Notes®, a calligraphy studio based in Gibsonville, North Carolina. She’s the bestselling author of Happy Hand Lettering, 100 Days of Praise and Positivity and The Betty Confetti Children’s Book Series. 

She’s an award winning artist who’s life motto is Work Hard, Stay Sweet, Trust God and Love Deep. Her work has been featured nationally with Hallmark, Good Morning America, Medium and Parade and she’s worked with well loved brands such as Starbucks, QVC, Michael’s, Walmart and DaySpring. Her happy hand lettering can be found on gift shop shelves nationwide and she opened the doors to her her colorful Brick and Mortar Studio in Gibsonville in May 2022 . She loves bright colors, making people smile and turning her mistakes into confetti. Maghon is living her dream with her middle school sweetheart Chris Taylor and their 7 year old son Vance.

 

Lynn Wells – Recipe Developer, Our State Magazine; Chef/Owner, Thyme Well Spent Personal Chef Service; Freelance Food Stylist & Writer; Culinary Consultant, Cone Health Greensboro, North Carolina

Topic: “The Power of Connecting” – How connecting intentionally with others can make a positive impact on your life.

Eat well. Love food. Live life. These words are the mantra behind Lynn Wells.  Lynn gained a fond respect and interest in cooking from her mother and Aunt Addie at the age of 8 in North Carolina. During college Lynn worked in a wide range of restaurants, from fine dining to family owned restaurants.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Nutrition Management and Hospitality, Lynn began a 21-year career at Cone Health in the Nutrition Department. In 2014, Lynn started Thyme Well Spent Personal Chef Service, an in-home cooking experience for private clients, which continues today. Lynn is also a food writer, food stylist, culinary consultant, and the recipe developer/writer for Our State Magazine. 

Lynn travels to Charleston, South Carolina and Georgia annually to cook at food & wine festivals. In the spring of 2023, Lynn was part of a BBQ pitmaster team with Guy Fieri in California. In addition to traveling Lynn is a member of the Piedmont Culinary Guild, and Les Dames d’Escoffier, a worldwide philanthropic society of diverse professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality. March 2024 marked her

 

Melissa Greer – Sales Associate, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Yost and Little Realty, Greensboro, NC

Topic: Building Success With Passion and Service

Melissa Greer, a licensed Realtor/Broker, has provided Greensboro, North Carolina, and the surrounding areas with award-winning service for over 39 years. Melissa was recognized as #1 out of 50,000+ Sales Associates in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices International Network for Closed Transactions in 2021 and 2022, in addition to placing within the top 10 in the nation for closed transactions 2017-2022. She holds designations as a Graduate Realtor Institute and as a Certified Residential Specialist, placing her among only 4% of agents nationwide. Melissa has consistently placed among the top 2% of agents in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network since 2010, taking the Chairman’s Circle Diamond Award for ranking in the top one-half percent in 2014 and 2017-2022. 

In 2019 Melissa was recognized as an Outstanding Women in Business by the Triad Business Journal. Also, in 2019 Melissa began a successful podcast called Melissa Unscripted where she shares her best tips, most interesting stories, and the unadulterated truth about what it’s like to buy and sell a home. You can find her podcast on iTunes, Spotify, I Heart Radio, Google Podcasts and more.

Melissa has focused her entire career on providing heart-based guidance and dedicated service to all clients, always keeping in mind the meaning of home and community, and the importance of investing in both.

 

Carla Franklin-Richards – Senior Leader, Amazon Web Services, Technology Influencer

Topic: Unlocking the Sister Code: Tips on how female leaders avoid pit-falls

Carla Franklin-Richards is a senior leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where she heads Worldwide Go-To Market Strategy for new enterprise customers within the corporate Partner organization.  With 20+ years of experience honed at top management consulting firms and her own advisory company, Carlin Solutions, Carla has deep expertise in project management, global business transformation, and corporate strategy.  She has led initiatives within the C-suites of public and private sector organizations such as Estee Lauder, Pfizer, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in the areas of marketing, operations, digital innovation, data science/AI and mobile application development.     

Carla is also a technology influencer who blogs and speaks frequently on gender and cultural trends in social media and technology. Her topics of focus include women in technology, online safety, and bridging the diversity divide in technology. In the past, she served as a guest technology commentator on the CBS News and Arise TV.  Carla was selected to speak at the 2014 SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, TX, on the topics of Technology and Women’s Empowerment.. In 2012, she was featured as one of Newsweek / The Daily Beast’s Women in the World. Also, Carla was one of 50 women featured on More Magazine’s 2011 “Fierce List” for her fight against cybercrimes in New York State. Her work against online, gender based harassment has been covered by The Daily Beast, Forbes.com, Time.com, NPR, Hot97 FM (New York City), AOL’s “You’ve Got” series, HuffPost Live and the CBS Morning show.

In her spare time, she is an active volunteer and public speaker.  Carla received her B.S. from Duke University, and an MBA from Columbia University School of Business. She currently resides in Greensboro, NC with her husband and three sons.

 

Megan Metzger – Founder/Owner of Preferred Childcare and Megan Metzger Consulting

Topic: Beyond Profit: Building a Business You Love Every Day

Megan Metzger is an experienced business owner and certified business consultant. Her passion led her to establish a successful nanny agency, Preferred ChildCare (PCC), that has provided quality child care in the Triad for over 22 years. Her knowledge and expertise led to her establishing Megan Metzger Consulting (MMC) to help women become financially independent. Megan was a founding member of the North Carolina Board of Entrepreneurship and served as the President of the International Nanny Association (INA) Board of Directors.

Beyond her remarkable professional career, she is a mother to four wonderful children (Hunter, Emma Grace, Lily, and Mason) and teaches business courses at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Through Megan’s knowledge, experience, and unwavering passion, she continues to help business owners, families, and caregivers alike. Megan is honored to be invited to speak at The Women’s Leadership Summit. 

 

Deidra Willis – Wealth Management Advisor

Topic: Investing With Power

Deidra Willis, CFP®,CLU® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM and Financial Advisor affiliated with theNorthwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company.

Deidra started her financial services practice in 2012. Prior to Northwestern Mutual, Deidra began her professional career with International Paper and achieved success in her roles as Financial Analyst, Internal Auditor, and Business Development Manager.

With her true passion of financial literacy and appetite to equip others in building wealth never escaping, Deidra decided to return to her finance roots and exit Corporate America in 2012. Today, her practice is in constant growth mode and values working with women mastering their careers, professionals on the move, business owners, executives, and physicians who find value in the strategic comprehensive planning she provides.

Deidra’s vision is to empower each individual she has the opportunity to meet through financial knowledge, education and know how. Implementation follows knowledge. “The goal is to ensure you are better equipped to create wealth, sustain it, and preserve it for the next generation. Knowledge makes the key difference as it relates to money. It is truly by design to have the opportunity to serve others and impact present and future generations.”

Deidra is a Mississippi native. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a B.A. in Banking and Finance. Deidra is heavily involved in the community and serves on various community service organizations in the local Charlotte community including her church, her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and serves on the board of Career Mastered Magazine Executive Advisory Board, Northwestern Mutual’s Women’s Field Association, and Northwestern Mutual’s African American Advisory Council. She also serves on the Social Action for Racial Equity Task Force with Northwestern Mutual’s CEO. She was awarded with the 2021 Charlotte Business Journal Women in Business award and the Career Mastered Emerging Leader Award. She enjoys bringing out the best in others, a great workout challenge, and redeeming time with dear family and friends.

 

Maribeth Geraci – Owner of Dresscode

Topic: Dressing Your Standard

Is the owner of DressCode Style stores and True U Consulting. She is a premier stylist and personal brand coach. She believes in a realistic down to earth approach to style and focuses on helping her clients show up authentically and with impact. She has 3 decades of experience in fashion and has received recognition for her work. For the past 18 years she has consulted in fortune 1000 companies and coached hundreds of women on workwear. She also uses her coaching skills when working with women in life transitions like decade changes, divorce, going back or leaving the workforce or new leadership roles. Her joy comes from listening to her clients and offering attainable action steps that are easy to execute to help them look their best and shine their brightest.

 

 

 

Chelsea Young  – Nursing Professional Development Specialist

Topic: “DEI-alogue”

Chelsea Young (she/her) is a Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina. She attained her Bachelors in Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2013 and a Masters in Nursing Education from Western Governors University in 2018. As a member of the Cone Health Nursing Professional Development Team, Chelsea leads nursing-focused education and professional development opportunities for the organization. She is a recipient of the Great 100 Nurse of North Carolina award in 2016 and received a Nursing Excellence award within Cone Health in 2023. Chelsea is the proud chair of the Cone Health Women Inspiring Women Inclusion Network Group, one of seven Diversity, Equity and Inclusion groups open to all Cone Health employees.

Chelsea has a passion for emotional intelligence, mental wellness, and unapologetic self-love. Her favorite Glennon Doyle quote is “I believe in everything a little bit, but nothing all the way.” She enjoys quiet mornings with coffee and a non-fiction book, walking her 3 rescue dogs, doing home improvement projects with her partner, and volunteering at a local therapeutic horse-back riding center.