Dr. Dwayne Whitehead, Speaker, Coach, Trainer, The Whitehead Group

Are you ready to break free from average and step into your true potential? Dr. Dwayne’s keynote is designed to challenge, equip, and inspire you to elevate beyond the ordinary. This dynamic session unpacks the power of asking the right questions, being intentional, and doing what sets you apart. You’ll discover how to harness your strengths, cultivate a mindset of flexibility and purpose, and take bold steps that separate you from the crowd. With compelling stories, powerful insights, and actionable strategies, this keynote will shift your perspective and ignite your drive to stand out and make a lasting impact.

Beverly Walker, Program Manager for Career Development, VCU Human Resources

Bobbi Gouffon, Director, Organizational Effectiveness, VCU Human Resources

In this workshop, attendees will discuss SMART performance goals and career development goals, the importance of both in the employee experience and how to utilize VCU's tools and resources to craft their performance plans. Participants will have the opportunity to practice creating both SMART performance goals and career development goals based on their current roles, work plans, and aspirations. 

*NOTE: Due to the "working" component of this session, participants must bring with them (physically or electronically) their individual role descriptions, duties, etc., and their VCU job titles. 

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration

Tanisha Tate, Employment Specialist, Department of Education

In this workshop, participants will explore how to harness confidence and emotional intelligence to build and empower effective teams. Through real-life insights and interactive learning, this session will cover core strategies for leading with empathy, fostering open communication, and creating a supportive, purpose-driven work culture. Guided by a leader with deep experience in professional and emotional growth, attendees will learn techniques to balance authority with empathy, resulting in a confident, resilient, and highly engaged team environment.

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration

Jenna Lenhardt, Ph.D., Director of Strategic Recruitment and Outreach, School of Education, Student Affairs

Jana McQuaid, Ed.D., Associate Dean, Academic Programs and Student Success, School of Business

Joining a large university like VCU can be intimidating, even for the most outgoing. Making connections across campus is important for professional development. This workshop offers practical networking strategies, tips for overcoming social anxiety, and techniques for building meaningful connections. Participants will learn how to leverage campus resources, initiate conversations, and cultivate professional relationships in a comfortable, approachable way. Whether you’re looking to expand your network or connect with peers, this session will help you step out of your comfort zone and embrace the power of connection.

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration

Michele Olson Pancoast, BS, RN, Clinical Informaticist, Employee Health

Jennifer Bucknam, NP, Nurse Practitioner, Employee Health

Employee well-being initiatives can be difficult to implement in a way that makes employees feel valued and helped in a real way by participating. Using a combination of technology and one-to-one interaction with a clinician, a wellness screening can be a tool to increase individual well-being and establish a culture of workplace well-being.  

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation

Roy Roach III, Director, Health Sciences Office of Student Engagement

The workshop will equip higher education professionals and administrators with actionable strategies to promote career development and lifelong learning. By applying the Bronfenbrenner Ecological Framework, attendees will explore how to create intentional and meaningful opportunities within and outside their institutions. The session will include; collaborative activities, self-reflection exercises, and a take-home action plan.

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation

Mary Riddick, Senior Director of Development, College of Humanities and Sciences

In this session, participants will discover how to effectively deploy coaching skills and techniques to strengthen relationships with both internal and external partners. By integrating these strategies, you will learn how to understand the principles of coaching, listen at a deeper level, and ask powerful questions to unlock potential in partnerships and increase collaboration towards shared goals.

Conference Tracks: Culture of Care and Appreciation, Team Building and Collaboration

Haley Sims, Senior Associate Director, Career Advising and Discovery, VCU Career Services

Moving from individual contributor to supervisor can be challenging. Similarly, coaching someone to become a new supervisor requires a new skill set that often isn’t explicitly taught. This presentation will outline best practices and strategies for success for new supervisors and those who lead new supervisors.

Conference Tracks: Culture of Care and Appreciation, Team Building and Collaboration

Cait Burns, Director, Student Engagement, Student Engagement, School of Business

Ann Griffin, Student Success Operations Manager, Business Student Success, School of Business

The idea for the VCU Business Professional Development Fund was dreamt up in the Summer of 2023 as a way to provide students with an opportunity to expand their perspectives, gain real-world networking experience, and learn from successful leaders they otherwise would not have the chance to meet. By the fall of 2024, the pilot was launched and by spring 2024, $45,000 of funding had been awarded to applicants. While the program was initially designed based on best practices in mind, the manual process that emerged had bottlenecks and was time-consuming. In this presentation, we will cover the journey of creation, implementation and streamlining of an inefficient process by utilizing Smartsheets to manage workflow and automate communications.

Conference Track: Innovation and Technology

Dr. Dwayne Whitehead, Speaker, Coach, Trainer, The Whitehead Group

Growth isn’t automatic—it’s intentional. Level Up: Growth Principles for Maximum Impact is a powerful workshop designed to help you break through limitations and accelerate your personal and professional growth. Participants will explore four invaluable laws that are necessary to grow and have an impact. You will be equipped with the mindset and strategies to develop consistency, overcome obstacles, and maximize your potential. Wherever you are in your journey, this session will provide practical tools to elevate your thinking, actions, and results.  

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration

Career Development Resource Fair

Maya Rogers, Lead Financial Specialist, Office of the Provost

James Romanik, Director of Development, Campus Development

Lloyd Young, Director of Innovation and Design, VCU da Vinci Center and SHIFT Retail Lab

Jenna Lenhardt, Ph.D., Director of Strategic Recruitment and Outreach, School of Education, Student Affairs

The Leadership Career Community (LCC) would like to host an expanded version of our current engagement series, LCC Leadership Story Hour. In this expanded story hour, we will explore different leadership themes and discover inspiring stories from colleagues. We will also incorporate informal networking conversations.

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation, Team Building and Collaboration

Cedar Smithson, Accessible Technologies Specialist, Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity - DSA

This talk will include an introduction to different tools (including assistive technology and communication strategies) for success as a neurodivergent individual in the workplace, the importance of modeling authenticity, and considerations around self-disclosure and unmasking.

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation

Taylor Jackson, Event and Systems Coordinator, The Commons

Sensiere-Yanti Thompkins-Harris, Coordinator for Student Programming, Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning  

Andy Riddler, Coordinator for Orientation Programs, New Student and Family Programs

This session will explore how the Commons, Student Engagement, and Student Orientation offices create a culture of care and recognition for their respective student workers. It will also address the challenges of coordinating efforts and supporting student workers across various departments on campus. Through discussion and sharing of best practices, we will examine strategies for fostering a supportive environment that benefits both student workers and the campus community.

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation

Tiera Byrd, Assistant Director Alumni Career and Personal Development, Development and Alumni Relations

Dannita Trice, Alumni Engagement Officer, School of Education, Social Work, and the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation, Team Building and Collaboration

Jeremy Bost, Senior Consultant, Organizational Effectiveness, VCU Human Resources

Lori Pyle, Personal and Professional Development Coach, Stonewave Leadership

Kaisha McCrea, Career and Leadership Coach, Author, Radio Personality and Consultant, CEO, and Founder, Growing Perspectives

Karen Gulliford, Professional Certified Coach and Workplace Mediator, Great Workplaces

This session is a coaching panel to highlight the benefits of leadership coaching as a tool for personal and professional growth. The panel members are 3 coaches from external coaching firms who we are already partnered with through the leadership coaching program. 

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation

Darby Libka, Academic Advisor, University Academic Advising

Brianna Wayne, Business Foundations Advisor, University Academic Advising

The interconnectedness of collaboration and a welcoming environment are the core foundations of an ideal workplace. In this session we are going to explore these concepts through looking at practical examples, completing an exercise to help participants understand their strengths, and practicing collaboration to solve a workplace problem. This session will be divided into three objectives: understanding context, discovering strengths, and applications.

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration

Jonathan Fuller, Director, First and Second-Year Experiences, First and Second-Year Experiences

The research is clear: students thrive when they have strong personal relationships with university professionals. Many of us choose this work because we’re passionate about helping students, yet day-to-day demands can leave little room for relationship-building. In this session, you'll gain actionable strategies for incorporating students into your project planning and supervision, and learn how to prioritize building relationships, no matter your role. Whether you're in academic affairs, student affairs, or one of our schools or colleges, this session will offer practical ideas to connect with students in ways that directly contribute to their success. You too can enhance student engagement, retention, and graduation rates by learning how to rethink your role to build strong connections with students.

Conference Track: Team Building and Collaboration, Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Sara Barton, Senior Manager, Sustainability Programs and Policy, VCU Sustainability, Facilities Management Department

Overview of the University and Health System sustainability plan and the role of VCU employees in its success.

Conference Track: Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Tanika Santos MacSwain, Assistant Director of Fitness, Recreation and Well-Being

Nadine Madison, Group Exercise Coordinator, Recreation and Well-Being

Join us on this journey through the mind as we engage with our emotions... YIKES! Have no fear- no wait, embrace your fear! Through self-reflection, knowledge sharing, and experiential learning participants will have an opportunity to expand their emotional intelligence. We’re holding space to explore what makes us truly great leaders and learners. It’s time to feel all the feels!

Conference Track: Culture of Care and Appreciation, Team Building and Collaboration