The Central Exchange Women's Lyceum

This year’s fourth annual Central Exchange Women’s Lyceum will be held Tuesday, May 2, at the Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Boulevard.  The leadership conference, which last year drew almost 800 women, enables participants to strengthen skills in critical business areas such as negotiation and influencing; risk taking; change and innovation.

“According to the National Council on Competitiveness, innovation will be the single most important factor in determining America’s success through the 21^st century,” says Central Exchange president Ellen D’Amato.  “This year’s conference features several national experts in innovation management and creativity in the workplace.”

The day begins with a breakfast buffet and keynote by Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO, Act I Group of Companies, a multi-division conglomerate.  As founder of the largest woman/minority-owned staffing agency in America, Bryant will share lessons she has learned as she brings innovative solutions to clients as part of a precision business plan.

Brand strategist Nancye Green, designer and developer of the American Girl Place and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will speak as the luncheon keynote.  She will share thoughts on collaboration and creativity, and on innovation as a sustainable process of discovery.

The all-day conference features four workshop tracks including Leadership Skills, Leadership Thoughtware, Personal Development and Entrepreneurial Skills.  Participants can mix and match workshops according to interest and need.  In addition, the conference offers a Senior Leader track for women with significant responsibility in sizeable organizations.  The day ends with a wine and cheese networking reception.

Following is a partial listing of presenters and workshops.

Jeneanne Rae, Peer Insight, LLC.  Nationally recognized as a thought leader for innovation management and design strategy, Rae spent seven years at IDEO, the Palo Alto design strategy powerhouse.  She writes a monthly column for BusinessWeek’s online innovation channel and has carved out a niche showing dozens of Fortune 500 companies how to innovate.  In addition to a session called “Creating compelling Customer Experiences” (9:15-10:25 a.m.), Rae presents “Innovation:  Leading and Building the Way and Creating Great Customer Experience” (10:40 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), which provides a framework for senior leaders to help guide innovation within complex organizational environments.

Margaret Neale, Ph.D., Stanford Graduate School of Business.  Neale is known worldwide for her dynamic teaching of negotiation on both the MBA and executive levels.  Her presentation explores reasons women tend not to negotiate and how they can become more effective negotiators while improving their ongoing relationship with negotiation counterparts.  “Influence and Negotiation Strategies for Women” runs from 3:15-4:30 p.m.

Ella Bell, Ph.D., Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College.  Widely acclaimed for her research on balancing life and work, and the realities of being a woman of color in the workplace, Dr. Bell is a sought after consultant and lecturer.  Her scholarly works have been reported in many top publications.  She co-authored Our Separate Ways:  Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity, and is a columnist for Essence magazine.  Bell presents two workshops:  “Balancing Life and Work” (10:40-11:50 a.m.) and “Women of Color and the Struggle for Professional Identity” (1:30-3:00 p.m.).

Jennifer James, Ph.D., Cultural Anthropologist.  Known internationally for her innovative ideas, James is a specialist in areas of cultural change, diversity and marketing intelligence.  She works on an international level with corporations and associations helping people meet the challenges of today’s transitions.  Her presentations deal with the human face of technological change and the development of thinking skills.  She has written seven books, more than 50 academic articles and has filmed two specials for PBS.  She is currently writing a book, Cultural Intelligence for Harvard Business Press.  James presents two workshops:  “Thinking in the Future Tense” (9:15 to10:25 a.m.) and “How to Change:  How to Take Risks” (10:40-11:50 a.m. and 1:30-3 p.m.).

For conference details, speaker biographies and workshop descriptions, visit The Central Exchange Web site at www.centralexchange.org and click on the Women’s Lyceum link at the bottom of the page. Early bird savings through Wednesday, April 19:  $249/Non-members, $225/CX members.  After April 19: $275/Non-members, $249/CX members.  $145/employees of 501(c)3 nonprofits with budgets less than $1 million. $499/Senior Leader Track participants.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is proud to serve as an event partner for this innovative program.