We hosted the Booth Women Connect Conference both virtually and in person on March 25, 2022. This year’s conference focused on the importance of community to both our personal and professional growth.

A diverse lineup of leading women professionals shared strategies for building your network in different settings; empowering friends, colleagues, and employees of all backgrounds; and leading with transparency to level the playing field. They also discussed how the concept of community has changed in a post-pandemic world and how we can create meaningful change both locally and across the globe.

Attendees heard from keynote speaker Reshma Saujani, leading activist and founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms, and learned how to set effective goals with professor Ayelet Fishbach, author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Desirée Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack shared their experience as co-owners of Black Opal Cosmetics during a fireside chat. You can now read our recap article to explore key takeaways from the conference.

Explore Takeaways

Featured Speakers

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Reshma Saujani

Keynote Speaker

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist and the founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms. She has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic. Saujani is also the author of the international bestseller Brave, Not Perfect, and her influential TED talk, “Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection,” has more than five million views globally.

Reshma Saujani
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Desirée Rogers

Fireside Chat

In 2008, Desirée Rogers became the first social secretary for President Obama. In her role, she was able to turn the president’s vision of the “People’s House” into a reality, creating a fresh view of how the White House represented American culture. In 2010, she became CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, overseeing Fashion Fair Cosmetics, and Jet and Ebony magazines. She remained in this role until June 2017. She is currently CEO and co-owner of Black Opal Cosmetics.

Desirée Rogers
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Cheryl Mayberry McKissack

Fireside Chat

A graduate of Seattle University and Kellogg School of Management, Cheryl Mayberry McKissack is a business leader, board director, accomplished author, and speaker. She is currently president and co-owner of Black Opal Cosmetics. Her background includes a history of achievement pioneering disruptive digital technology and leading business transformations, all of which built on her early experience with IBM. 

Cheryl Mayberry McKissack
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Ayelet Fishbach

Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing and IBM Corporation Faculty Scholar, Chicago Booth

Ayelet Fishbach, PhD, is the past president of the Society for the Study of Motivation. Professor Fishbach has been published in many psychology and business journals, including Psychological Review and Psychological Science, and served as an associate editor of several journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Psychological Science. She has received several international awards, including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology’s Best Dissertation Award and Career Trajectory Award, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award. In 2006, she received the Provost’s Teaching Award from the University of Chicago. She is also the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.

Ayelet Fishbach