Schedule and Speakers


Over the course of two days, you'll enjoy leadership development workshops, inspirational talks, and authentic networking opportunities within our community of powerful women leaders. 

All sessions are live, interactive, and online to fit into your busy schedule. 
Sessions will be recorded and made available to ticket holders.

Schedule of Events

While our membership spans 9 time zones, all events are listed in Eastern Time below.

Wednesday, October 12


12pm ET: Owning Our Future with Lara Holliday, Tide Risers Founder + CEO

12:15 pm ET: Opening Keynote with Sydney Thomas, Founder and General Partner of Impressionism Capital

12:45 pm ET: Authentic Networking

1:15 pm ET: Skill-Building Workshops:
  • Taking Ownership of Who You Are in Your Marketing with Amy Jacobus
  • Taking Ownership of Our Power with Stephanie Lowe
  • Taking Ownership of Launching Your Coaching or Consulting Business with Danielle Pickens

2:00 pm ET: Cohort Reunions + Tide Risers State of the Union with Lara Holliday

2:30 pm ET: Closing and Commitments

Thursday, October 13

12:00 pm ET: The Women of Iran Taking Ownership of Women's Rights with Zahra Amanpour and Lara Holliday

12:15 pm ET: Taking Ownership: The Power of Collaboration to Create Inclusive Spaces with Cecily Darden Adams, Zaje Harrell, and Betsy McNeil

12:45 pm ET: Ask Me Anything Sessions:
  • Taking Ownership to Thrive as an Independent Business Owner with Lara Holliday
  • Taking Ownership by Navigating Your Career with Helen Tuddenham
  • Taking Ownership of Your Health with Dr. Katie Takayasu
  • Taking Ownership of Your Life & Career with a Sabbatical with Erin Ewart

1:25 pm ET: Skill-Building Workshops:
  • Taking Ownership of Ambiguity with Rachel Nozari
  • Taking Ownership within Remote/Hybrid Work with Sarah Newnham
  • Taking Ownership of Your Identity with Jackie Vargas

2:05 pm ET: Authentic Networking
 

2:30 pm ET: Reflections + Closing with Lara Holliday

Featured Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Sydney Thomas

Sydney is the Founder and General Partner of Impressionism Capital - a venture capital firm that invests in companies making life better for the 99%.

She participates in several extracurricular activities to increase diversity in tech and level the playing field more broadly. She is on the strategy committee of BLCK VC, on the Board of Colorwave, and on the Advisory Board of Invanti – a startup generator in the midwest. This work awarded her a Black VC’s Making an Impact designation and an article in Marie Claire.

In 2020, Sydney received the Champion of Justice Award from Esq. Apprentice, an Oakland-based
nonprofit she supports that creates alternative pathways to a legal career. She was also appointed by the Mayor to serve as a Commissioner for
the City of Oakland’s Public Safety and Services Commission.

October 12, 1:15 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Who You Are in Your Marketing

With Amy Jacobus

Marketing yourself can feel like a particularly embarrassing and torturesome task, but when we truly take ownership of our unique & individual qualifications in our promotion and communications, we can set our work apart from others in our field. In this session, learn how to define and share your working values and capitalize on your personal strengths in your approach to marketing. When you can speak clearly and confidently about what you do, you can attract the community you most desire to serve.

Amy Jacobus

Amy Jacobus is obsessed with helping coaches, creatives and consultants increase their impact with smart, human marketing online. Her Grounded Growth consulting is a comprehensive framework for creating an evergreen brand guide + actionable marketing plan. Her signature group program, Grounded Marketing Mentorship, provides applicable strategies for web, email, social media and content marketing to clients in real time. Amy has designed courses, facilitated workshops and participated in panel discussions for University of Denver, LEAP at St. Mary’s College, Barnard College, New York Foundation for the Arts, Gibney Dance, The Artist Co-op and Pentacle, among others. Learn more at amyjacobus.marketing and follow her at @amyjacobus on Instagram.

October 12, 1:15 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Our Power

With Stephanie Lowe

When feeling stuck in an aspect of our lives, we're often facing a swirl of external and internal challenges that can obscure our personal agency.  In those moments, how can we parse out where we have choice, influence, and power?  How can we break out of the narratives, thoughts, and behaviors we've been handed down and rewrite a more liberatory path forward in any situation?  

In this session, you'll build awareness, intention, and at least one next step to own the innate wisdom, creativity, courage, and power we each have to be the leaders we are waiting for in our lives.

Stephanie Lowe

Stephanie Lowe is a passionate people developer and culture builder, working to spark personal and collective change from the inside out. 

Stephanie channels her passion, experience, and skills into her role as Founder, and Chief Coach & Consultant at Power Within Coaching & Consulting.  As a certified professional coach, faculty member of multiple national leadership development programs, and a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, Stephanie crafts experiences and conditions for people, teams and communities to know and see themselves and one another, deeply cultivate their resources, and tap into their full power to take on their biggest pursuits and dreams.

October 12, 1:15 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Launching Your Coaching or Consulting Business

With Danielle Pickens

In this workshop you'll learn how to build your own successful AND balanced coaching and/or consulting business around the lifestyle you desire.  If you want to work when, where, and how you want but aren't quite sure if and how to make the leap from your safe, traditional career, join me!

Danielle Pickens

Danielle Pickens is the Founder and CEO of The Working Parent’s Guide, where she helps busy working parents blaze a path – at home and in their career – that works for them.     

As a first-time mom more than a decade ago, she struggled with burnout as she juggled managing a 50+ person team at the NYC Department of Education and her role as a new parent.  Frustrated with the status quo, she knew there had to be a better way.  

She launched her own successful consulting business in the education space in 2011, which she still manages today, and has since coached more than 300 leaders to succeed without sacrificing what they value most.  

October 13, 12:00 PM ET

The Women of Iran: Taking Ownership of Women's Rights

With Zahra Amanpour

Women have been at the forefront of the protests that have been ongoing in Iran for weeks. Facing a violent crackdown, the courage and determination of Iranian women and girls is tremendously inspiring. 

Lara Holliday hosts this conversation with Zahra Amanpour to understand more about the context of these protests, Zahra's lifelong work to fight for women's rights in Iran, and what we can do to support women's rights everywhere.

Zahra Amanpour

Zahra Amanpour was born in Tehran, Iran in the height of the revolution. Her family came to the US in the early 80s and joined the People's Mojahedin of Iran, a feminist organization that was instrumental in overthrowing the Shah and has since been focused on overthrowing the current regime. Her father was murdered by the Iranian regime in 1988. Since as far back as she can remember, she has been part of the Iranian resistance and advocating for the West to support the Iranian people's call for freedom and a democratic and secular government. She has been on the board of Women's Freedom Forum since 2004, lifting the voice of Iranian women and other women in the world under siege.  

October 13, 12:15 PM ET

Taking Ownership: The Power of Collaboration to Create Inclusive Spaces

With Cecily Darden Adams, Zaje Harrell, and Betsy McNeil

Cecily Darden

Cecily is currently the founder of Rooted Learning, where she integrates the rooted interconnections of community and system change to foster sustainable engagement and growth. She has extensive professional experience leading system improvement through strategic planning, measurement, research and evaluation as well as coaching organizational leaders through change.

Cecily’s prior work experience includes educational research with the University of Maryland, College Park, U.S. Census Bureau, and the American Institute for Research. She is also inaugural adjunct faculty with the American University’s doctoral program in antiracist Education Policy and Leadership.

Dr. Zaje Harrell

Zaje Harrell, Ph.D. is a research-focused health psychologist who has worked in program evaluation for 20 years. Her content expertise includes health behaviors, maternal and child well-being, race and gender equity, and community change. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited academic volumes. 

As principal of her own consulting practice, Conscious Endeavor, LLC, Dr. Harrell has supported research and content for projects focused on community change, substance use, racial equity, and maternal and child health disparities. In her writing life, Dr. Harrell has published on the intersections of race, feminism, politics, and motherhood. 

Betsy McNeil

Betsy is the Executive Director of Norwalk/Stamford Grassroots Tennis & Education, a youth development nonprofit working in partnership with young people ages 5-18 to support them in building a foundation for their own success. She also serves on the board of Norwalk ACTS, a collective impact organization seeking to catalyze systems change to improve outcomes for all children from cradle to career. 

Betsy has spent over 20 years as a strategic advisor and collaborative leader in the nonprofit sector, specializing in cross sector solutions for marginalized children and youth, families and communities. 

October 13, 12:45 PM ET

Taking Ownership to Thrive an Independent Business Owner

If you have an established independent business, you've surely had one of those days when you ask yourself why you do what you do. It's tough running your own shop, but one of the great benefits of Tide Risers is our growing community of entrepreneurs, with whom we can reflect, learn, and find partnership.

Join Lara Holliday, Founder + CEO of Tide Risers, to delve into how we can run our businesses in such a way that enables us to thrive and find joy. If you run any kind of small/independent business (ie, coaching, consulting, designing, fundraising, freelancing, etc.) join us for this conversation!

Lara Holliday

Lara is the Founder + CEO of Tide Risers, and she is an executive coach specializing in female leadership. She coaches individuals, facilitates group learning experiences, and speaks to and consults with organizations on a range of issues including leadership development; values-based decision-making; getting unstuck; career navigation; and more. Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, during which time she also founded Bergen Street Strategy, Lara's career spanned corporate, creative, non-profit, and government agencies. 

October 13, 12:45 PM ET

Taking Ownership by Navigating Your Career

With Helen Tuddenham

Are you feeling stuck in your career? You enjoy your job on the whole, but there's something not quite working that you can't put your finger on? Whether you are looking to increase your ambition, gain more confidence in the role you do have, or are thinking about a complete career switch, this Ask Me Anything will give you a chance to ask questions, talk through a career problem, and get some career hints and tips.

Helen Tuddenham

Helen helps professionals who feel stuck at work through executive coaching and leadership development. She works with them to unravel their confusing thoughts, work out what success means for them and explore what's holding them back. As a result, they have a deeper understanding of themselves, have renewed enthusiasm for their work, and have the confidence to move forward with their career goals.

October 13, 12:45 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Your Health

With Dr. Katie Takayasu

This 'Ask-Me-Anything' sessions will be customized to meet your curiosities and needs. Dr. Katie will answer all of your questions related to health and wellness, including nutrition, sleep, menopause and anything else!

Dr. Katie Takayasu

Dr. Katie Takayasu is an Integrative Medicine physician, author of Plants First: A Physician’s Guide to Wellness Through a Plant-Forward Diet, and speaker in the holistic health space, bridging the gap between traditional Western medicine and the evidenced-based complementary health tools of nutrition, acupuncture, meditation, botanicals and lifestyle optimization. 

She works one-on-one helping patients to recognize their own innate wisdom for finding balance in the mind, body and spirit and in group settings with the gentle but effective Dr. Katie Detox, a jumpstart to reclaiming wellness and lifestyle balance by harnessing the body’s natural wisdom for detoxification.

October 13, 12:45 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Your Life & Career with a Sabbatical

With Erin Ewart

Do you feel like the constant rush of life leaves you no time to reflect on what's important to you and what you actually want? Do you crave stillness and time to rest, think, plan, and ensure that your life and career are heading in the right direction? Do you feel exhausted and drained most of the time, or like you've lost your sense of self?

A sabbatical could be just what you need to rest, reflect, and plan your next chapter. Join career coach Erin Ewart for this AMA about the sabbatical she took this summer - she'll answer all your questions about why and how she did it, what she learned, and how you can think about taking an intentional break in your own life. 

Erin Ewart

Erin Ewart is the founder of Careers for Social Impact, an organization helping mission-driven professionals grow in their careers and land jobs they love. Prior to starting her business, she worked in talent and recruitment roles for a diverse set of organizations across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including Google, the U.S. State Department, and KIPP, the nation’s largest charter school network. She has been a featured partner and speaker with organizations including Impact Hub, General Assembly, Moving Worlds, Columbia Business School, and the University of Washington. 

October 13, 12:45 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Writing Your Story

With Samentha Moore

Penning Your Story to Paper This session is for anyone who is interested or considering writing their story. This Ask Me Anything will cover anything from figuring out what to write, drafting styles and publication. 

Samentha Moore

Samentha “Sam” Moore has had a love of connecting with people and bringing their events to life at an early age. Sam wanted to take her love of planning further and earned her certification as a Certified Special Events Planner (CSEP) as well as an International Event and Wedding Planner (IEWP) in 2015. Sam currently thrives as an event planner and event designer for LaJoy Plans, a boutique Washington D.C. Event and Conference planning firm.

Sam executes live social media coverage for various organizations such as The GRAMMYs, Global Citizen, Congressional Black Caucus, Capital Press Club, and BET just to name a few. Over the last several years, Sam has served her community through strategic and creative communications services, with clients including Nike, American Heart Association and SAMHSA. Sam also served as a “Food Critic” for Examiner.com (now AXS), and she is ranked as #1 Food Examiner in DC and #5 Food Examiner in the nation in 2014.

October 13, 1:25 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Ambiguity with Purpose & Sustainability

With Rachel Nozari

As a society, we’ve experienced immense ambiguity in the last two-plus years. We lived through a global pandemic, grappled with personal and family health concerns, sustained disruption to schooling and childcare, “the great resignation”, and likely a general feeling of being overloaded and overwhelmed.

In this experiential session we will:
  • Explore how our relationship with ambiguity may influence how we (and others in our lives) show up
  • Engage with tools to support grounding in purpose, setting direction, and prioritizing where we spend our energy as we look ahead 

Rachel Nozari

Rachel Nozari is a life, leadership, and career coach and team experience facilitator who is passionate about helping people tap into their values, align their life to their purpose, and lead from a place of courage and authenticity. 

Rachel began her professional career as a 1st and 2nd-grade teacher where she was reminded every day how naturally creative, resourceful, and whole each individual is from the youngest age. She then worked in strategy, talent, and operations for Teach For America before transitioning into her current role where she works in talent strategy consulting with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

October 13, 1:25 PM ET

Taking Ownership within Remote/Hybrid Work Environments

With Sarah Newnham

What tactics can women use to help increase visibility and progress our careers while remote working?

Research conducted by Sarah with the United Nations last year showed that remote working had an impact on women’s workplace visibility and ability to network, which was different from men.  Employees are potentially less visible while working from home and may be less able to network, yet remote working also has the potential to create new spaces and opportunities for networking and interactions.

This session will share some of the findings from the research and explore together tactics to help women increase their visibility and networking opportunities when working remotely, and look at ways to use that to move forward their careers.

Sarah Newnham

Sarah is a leadership coach, trainer and strategic consultant working with managers and leaders in the humanitarian aid and not-for-profit sectors.  Most recently a Regional Director for an international development organisation, Sarah brings 20 years of setting up and leading humanitarian programmes through multicultural teams and local organisations across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.  Sarah specialises in supporting women to build personal resilience, manage change, develop strategy, and maximise their leadership potential. 

October 13, 1:25 PM ET

Taking Ownership of Your Identity

With Jacqueline Vargas

The question of identity continues to assert its importance in modern society whether it be political, religious, psychological or even legal. Do we need identity? If we need identity, in what sense? and do you own your identity? I invite participants to engage in a candid conversation on the why and for what good do we need Identity. This workshop will consist of three slots of creative exercises exploring individual identity, group identities, and developing action steps to owning your own.

Jacqueline Vargas

Understanding the power of instinct, Jacqueline Vargas’s credible judgment has positioned her as a top connoisseur in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space. 

During her illustrious career in adolescent development, she was admired and praised for being the go-to individual with all the know-how. It was widely understood that Vargas can be trusted and relied on to get the job done, and well.

In 2013, Vargas founded Designing THEIR Future, starting as a mobile organization specializing in meeting adolescents' needs that promote self-confidence, social and emotional development, and increases motivation through service-learning. 

Build Your Community

Join us for two days of inspiration, connection, and insight within a close-knit network of women dedicated to uplifting and advancing one another.

Coaching and Community

Tide Risers is a deliberate community of leaders designed for women, by women. 

We offer coaching, learning opportunities, and retreats that challenge women to reimagine success and redefine traditional conceptualizations of leadership. 

Our innovative methodology disrupts typical coaching, professional development, and networking practices by creating a powerful learning environment of trust, accountability, and sisterhood that enables us to learn and grow with efficiency.