WHY NEXT LEVEL?
2021 NEXT LEVEL theme captures the spirit and determination of women who have endured challenging times and are determined to adapt, grow, and prosper. Just like the women who paved the way for us through the centuries by standing up or sitting down, they make significant contributions through their work and talents, organizing for change, balancing families and careers, and so much more. From the mighty women of the Bible to freedom fighters and modern-day ceiling crashers, at one time, those women must have asked themselves the same question we ask ourselves in 2021 "How do I take this to the next level?"
NEXT LEVEL MAIN SPEAKERS
Latosha Brown - Keynote
Activate Your Vision
LaTosha Brown is an award-winning visionary thought leader, institution builder, Cultural Activist, Artist, and Connector. She is a nationally recognized, “go-to” expert in Black Voting Rights and Voter Suppression, Black Women’s Empowerment, and Philanthropy.
Her voice is the nexus between the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter. “There is power in my voice! It is a divine gift that I use to connect different worlds. I bridge the philanthropy world to the grassroots community, traditional politics to grassroots politics, and practitioners to the scholarship of movement building.”
LaTosha is the Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter, Black Voters Matter Fund, and Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. These initiatives are designed to boost Black voter registration and turnout, as well as increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities.
She is also the Visionary, Founder, and Co-Anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. This is a $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women and girls. The goal of the consortium is to create a new approach to philanthropy by allowing every component of the program, from inception to execution, to be created by Black girls and women in the South.
Ms. Brown is also the 2020 Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, the 2020 Leader in Practice at Harvard Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and a 2020-2021 American Democracy fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard.
LaTosha has worked in 23 different countries to include Kenya, Guyana, and Brazil. Her next mission involves resourcing and empowering women across the Diaspora. “I don’t want women to be seen as victims; they are the problem-solvers for the world. I am convinced that Black Women are going to liberate the world!”
Ms. Brown has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, CNN, Democracy Now, and PBS. Her Op-Eds have been showcased in the New York Times, Politico, and Essence. Her work has also been highlighted in several docuseries: What’s Eating America?, American Swamp, and Finding Justice.
To learn more about LaTosha, please visit her website.
Kristin Andree
You're Not For Everyone
Kristin Andree has made it her life’s work to coach, challenge, and empower others to lead passion-filled, powerful, and prosperous lives. After a successful career in the financial services industry, Kristin launched The Andree Group - a coaching and consulting firm focused on implementing creative business strategies to help companies and entrepreneurs Step Up, Stand Out, and Scale their businesses while living their lives to the fullest. Through her coaching, consulting, podcasting, writing, and speaking, Kristin guides others to harness the power of their unique gifts, to stand proud in who they are, to succeed at the highest levels, and to truly live life.
She is a certified trainer, a master certified coach, and author of Don’t Make Me Pull This Car Over: A Roadmap for the Working Mom and her most recent release, You’re Not for Everyone: But, You Can Be For Everyone.
Kristin resides in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an incredibly proud mom of three loud, fun, and very unique daughters!
Lisa Washington
Cooking up Success, Even when things get Burned
Wellness, beauty, and lifestyle expert. CEO of B' Tyli Wellness and Beauty Co. Lisa is a kidney transplant recipient who has been a devoted yoga and meditation practitioner and a nutrition wellness coach for over 20 years. She is the author of a healthy lifestyle cookbook who has shared her approach to healthy living and eating on television and radio. She has been featured on Food Network, 11 Alive, Atlanta and Company, 104.7 The Fish, and V103.
Lisa Johnson
Warrior Princess
I am blessed to work with an incredibly loving congregation in Portland, OR. with my husband, Steve. We are part of a worldwide fellowship with a history of deep convictions about following the scriptures and focusing on Jesus.
I have been in the full-time ministry for decades, having passionately preached Jesus on every inhabited continent. Steve and I believe in partnership and learned so much from planting a church in NYC with a small group of Christians and leading that church for 20 years. God blessed it with tremendous growth, opportunities for training leaders, and the ability to plant churches elsewhere, especially in Africa and in the Caribbean.
In my 11 year fight with cancer, God gently laid me down and gave me time to meditate about life and death, truth, and traditions. In a spirit of not wasting my pain and through much prayer—having outlived my diagnosed expiration date and adopting a rigorous protocol that includes taking over 200 pills a day—I am thankfully thriving. It was during that period that I had my light-bulb moments about mutuality. That began a quest for rethinking and understanding God’s vision for women and pioneering a quest to help women see themselves as God does and not be hindered by traditions that limit them from using their gifts to fulfill their spiritual dreams. My website, lisajohnsonmutuality.com contains a bible study series and information about God’s view of women and men’s roles and partnership in the church and home.
Warrior Princess Workshop Presentation
NEXT LEVEL WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
Mary Baker
If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Secrets of Growing Older Gracefully!
Mary has spent her life taking care of others and finally decided to take care of herself. She chose to eat healthily and exercise. Like everyone as a young woman, she never thought about her older age and what it might be like. Join Mary while she talks about the life changes that successfully gave her a 50-pound weight loss and the ability to feel as young as a 40-year-old!
Mary Baker, "The Sophisticated Lady," has delighted audiences with her dynamic jazz and blues style as a concert performer and in theatre productions. Mary has a BFA in Music & Theatre and an M. Ed. in Early Childhood Education. She was the Education Director of a childcare center, she created and ran with her daughter, and a middle school Music Teacher. Ms. Baker is retired but has plans to start a nonprofit and share her love for music on social media.
Sharon Brooks Hodge
Sell It To Uncle Sam
Even during a pandemic, the government continues to purchase goods and services. Are you selling to Uncle Sam? Sharon Brooks Hodge, a management consultant with government clients, shares 10 tips for selling your product or service to federal agencies.
Sharon Brooks Hodge is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Phenomenal Management Partners, a consulting company that identifies technology, research, and development needs of federal government agencies and matches those opportunities with the capabilities of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority-owned businesses that want to contract with the government.
Wakisha E. Harvey, MBA, LPC, CPCS
I am a Woman with a Cape On
The societal expectations and pressures we face as women constantly bombard us daily. Wakisha Harvey will teach you how to shed guilt and instead learn coping and self-care skills.
Wakisha Harvey is a Licensed Professional Counselor for eleven years working in mental health for 16. She obtained a master's degree in Business from the University of Phoenix and later became a Certified Clinical Supervisor in Georgia. Ms. Harvey serves as the Director of Clinical Operations for Access Mental Health and the past five years, partnered with Harvey, Baker, England, and Associates to focus on Corporate training. Her passion is people, and her goal is to help others develop the necessary tools to succeed in life.
Julie Swanger
5 Steps To Becoming a Financially Wise Woman.
Discover ways to approach your personal finances, as a woman, to make informed and wise decisions. Increase the probability of reaching the financial goals you set for yourself and start planning for your financial future.
Julie Swanger is a Senior Investment Strategist with Ron Blue Trust's Investment Strategy Group (ISG). She assists wealth advisors in matching investment objectives with a customized investment strategy for individual and institutional clients. Having two daughters, Julie has a burning passion for helping women invest in themselves first.
Anna Grace Birley
Learn how Anna Grace Birley began her business as a personal stylist on her college campus. She will also share styling tips and outfits she loves. Discover the confidence you didn't know you were missing!
Anna Grace is a junior at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is studying Integrated Communications, leads a small Bible study throughout the week for girls in her dorm, and loves everything about the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her favorite pastime is styling outfits for herself and her friends, so she decided to create AG The Look. Anna Grace lives in Marietta, GA, with her parents and labradoodle; she has two older brothers as well.
Jennifer I. Baker
Jump In & Get Your Hustle On! 25 Steps to Success for Women Entrepreneurs
In a noisy world with everyone vying for the top spot, it's hard to follow your passion and have a work-life balance, and now, with the changes and uncertainty of COVID, women need support and guidance more than ever. Join Jennifer I. Baker, CEO of Powerful Women Reign, LLC and Project Manager at Morehouse College, as she shares her steps for women to succeed in launching or growing a business. Learn how to jump in and get your hustle on!
Jennifer I. Baker is passionate about managing projects that educate and elevate economic development for BIOPC people. She is the CEO of Powerful Women Reign, LLC, an educational and social membership website for black women, and Senior Research Associate & Project Manager for the Division of Experiential Learning & Interdisciplinary Studies at Morehouse College.
Michelle Griffith Davis
Born To Be Worthy
Bestselling Author and Certified Relationship Coach, Michelle Davis, will share her journey and teach actionable steps on how to pivot and fight to live your unique greatness despite life's adversities and your emotions.
From Missionary to a Caregiver, to Life Coach, to Bestselling Author, Michelle has had an incredible journey. Navigating thirty-two years of marriage, being a working mom for twenty-nine years, and overcoming extraordinary challenges, she has continued to grow and evolve, fueled by a passion for never letting her circumstances define her. Ms. Davis is motivated by her faith and her mom's teaching on fighting to win, such as writing new chapters regularly. Michelle was inspired early on to never give up on her vision, and she is excited to teach other women how to do the same.
Jill Wright
The Human Connection
Jill founded Executive Shine to share her 30 plus years of experience by speaking and consulting to inspire leaders to unleash their organizations' human potential through the power of belief and authentic connection.
Jill Wright is affectionately known as the Queen of the Shine. She's a Heart-Centered Leader and the Founder & CEO of Executive Shine, a Motivational Speaker, and the Host of Executive Shine: Conversations that Count Podcast. Author of The Shine Principles, The Power of Human Connection and Co-Author of the international bestseller, Codes of Longevity. She has served as Commissioner of the Denver Women's Commission, Community Outreach Chair for the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, and Member of the international women's forum 1 Habit for Entrepreneurial Success. She has been recognized by both Forbes Magazine and Harvard Business Review for transforming the culture of client-based services.
Shawn Patterson, 2021 NEXT LEVEL Chair
Women Who Dare To Dream
What makes a daring woman? An ordinary woman who dares to have a vision, commitment, and the courage to show up. She is willing to be seen, yearning to be bold, fighting to be brave, and readily take risks. If you feel stuck or have had setbacks, disappointments, workplace trauma, or church hurt and want to get your "dare to dream" back, this workshop is for you. Join me as we support each other and share tips to transform how we work, live, love, and lead. Together, we are an invincible force.
Whether it's launching a ministry, writing a book, starting a nonprofit, or planning a conference, it all begins with a dream. Yes, Shawn Patterson has been a dreamer and doer since she was a little girl and has experienced a lifetime of achievements and the disappointments and setbacks that come along for the ride. Shawn has had to revitalize, reimagine, remobilize, and rebuild a few times over. As a wife of 30 years and a mother of adult children, she often says life is going by fast. Let's enjoy it, embrace the challenges, and engage in opportunities that will leave a legacy.
Breauna Dorelus
Christina Maldonado
Grind. Hustle. Execute.
Grind. Hustle. Execute. We choose to model these characteristics in many areas in our lives – family, career, parenting – but somehow miss in our personal health. Now more than ever, it's become imperative that we take the reins in our health and wellness. But do we make time or make excuses? Join Christina Maldonado for a realistic approach to prioritizing healthy living and some tips to tackle those sneaky pandemic pounds that moved in.
As a busy working mom of two, Christina Maldonado, founder of FitMomATL, knows the challenges of finding the time to devote to taking care of yourself and staying motivated to do so. Through speaking engagements, group fitness activities, and online fitness programs, she aims to encourage personal health choices to go from "have-to" to "want-to."
Ellie Nieves
How Christian Career Women Rise: 10 Habits for Success in Faith, Life & Work
Women's Leadership Speaker and Coach Ellie Nieves help Christian women redefine career success rules by equipping them with ten biblical principles and practical leadership habits they need to get ahead in faith, life, and work.
Learn leadership strategies to manage your faith, family, home, and career; faith-based tactics to help you get ahead in your career without compromising your Christian values; and biblical principles to help you pave the path to your next raise, promotion. or job.
Ellie Nieves is a Women's Leadership Speaker and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant. She is also the Founder of ChristianCareerWomen.com, a community of ambitious Christian women who want to succeed God's way. During her presentations, Ellie's goal is to create an environment where women feel encouraged, guided by the Holy Spirit, and purposeful about their lives. Ellie encourages Christian women to live a profession of faith while paving a leadership track that holds true to their core values and beliefs.
