UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Powerful Women Paving the Way Conference starts tonight and runs through tomorrow at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. This annual event is embracing the theme “Grow Your Vision: Celebrating 15 Years.”

Co-hosted by the Penn State Smeal College of Business and the student-run Women in Business organization, the event will feature three insightful keynote speakers and meaningful breakout sessions that also give guests the opportunity to network.

Keynote Speakers

The conference will feature keynotes from several female leaders in a variety of industries and fields.

Rachel Pell, vice president for the Office of Strategic Communications at Penn State, graduated in 2000 with a degree in marketing from Penn State Smeal, will kick off the event at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4. The office encompasses branding and marketing, issues management and internal communications, proactive and social media, campus and community events and licensing for the University.

Previously Pell was senior vice president and group manager at Ketchum, a leading public relations agency in New York City, and also worked at Weber Shandwick, also in New York City. She led the development of strategic professional and consumer-focused programs for leading global pharmaceutical corporations and advocacy organizations, such as Pfizer, Takeda, Boehringer Ingelheim, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Parkinson’s Unity Walk.

Pell’s honors include being named a recipient of Ketchum’s David Drobis Client Excellence Award, one of Ketchum’s highest honors that recognizes individuals globally for superior client service.

Lindsay Peoples, the current editor-in-chief at The Cut and former editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue, will deliver a morning keynote on Wednesday, April 5. Peoples returned to The Cut, New York Magazine’s style and culture site, in 2021, after two years as editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue.

At Teen Vogue, she was the youngest editor-in-chief of a Condé Nast publication and one of the rare Black journalists in leadership roles at the company’s magazines. While there, she co-founded the Black in Fashion Council, which has enlisted the support of the Human Rights Campaign to provide benchmarking around corporate policies and practices that are pertinent to the inclusivity of Black employees. Under Peoples’ leadership, the Council established an Equality Index Score for companies across fashion and beauty brands and the media that covers them.

Kelly Neway, who graduated in 2000 with a business management degree from Smeal, will host a fireside chat before lunch on Thursday, April 6. Neway is senior manager of U.S. Corporate Development at Deloitte LLP, and a founding member of Women in Business, serving as the student organization's first president from 1997 through 2000. While her career took her away from State College, she remained connected to and engaged with the organization through business information sessions and campus recruiting activities.

Asia Grant, who graduated in 2017 with honors in marketing from Smeal, will serve as the afternoon keynote on Thursday, April 6. Grant is the co-founder and creative director of Redoux, a line of scents and vegan skincare, that she co-founded with fellow Penn State alum Alejandro Cuevas.

Driven by her interest in the swiftly changing beauty market and passion for an intellectual and scientific approach to scent and skincare, Grant has grown Redoux into a well-known brand featured by The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vogue, W Magazine, ITG, and more. Grant has been featured in USA Today, GOOP, Entrepreneur.com, and was selected by WWD as one of "Six Young Founders Forging the Future of Beauty." Her products have won the Architectural Digest’s Cleverest Award in 2021 and 2022.

Conference Breakout Sessions

On Thursday, April 6, a slate of breakout sessions will be offered, including:

• "Honor & Integrity" — A discussion on the importance of acting with honor and integrity. How can we succeed using only fair, honest and ethical methods? These qualities can help improve overall productivity and achieve more success as a team.
• "Calmfidence" — Confidence is the fuel that drives us. How can we communicate calmly and confidently, regardless of the circumstances?
• "Navigating Conflict" — With the rise of remote work, it is easier to hide from conflict. Effectively addressing conflict and identifying solutions are more important than ever.
• "Finding Your Voice" — A discussion on the importance of advocating for ourselves in the workplace. What can we do to get our ideas across, and achievements recognized?
• "Career Navigation: The Importance of Performance, Image and Exposure" — Join Johnson & Johnson as you learn about how to strategically elevate your professional brand through the lens of performance, image and exposure. You’ll leave with practical applications and next steps that will help you pivot career aspirations into career realities.
• "Responsible AI: Building a disruptive program in a fast-paced environment" — How can we appropriately govern artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure its responsible development, in such a fast-paced environment? Join Emma Pirchalski, senior associate of AI Governance at PwC, and Michelle Darnell, director of the Tarriff Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility and director of Honor and Integrity at Penn State Smeal, as they speak about responsible AI, and building a governance program that keeps pace with technology.

Learn more at the "Powerful Women Paving the Way" conference website.