UVA Darden Announces Keynote Speaker, Award Winners for Inaugural Women in Leadership Summit in Washington DC Area

September Event Will Bring Together the Darden Community, Emerging DC Area Leaders, Prospective MBA Students

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced new details of the inaugural Women in Leadership Summit, including the women to be honored and speakers and topics.

The 23 September event, Women in Leadership Summit: The Great Reinvention, will feature leading-edge discussions, networking, and skill-building focused on developing and celebrating female leaders in times of change.

The Summit, which will be held at UVA Darden DC Metro in Rosslyn, Virginia, is free to attend and open with prior registration to recent Darden alumni, students, prospective students and emerging Washington, D.C., leaders.

“We’re thrilled with the way the Summit has shaped up and the enthusiastic response of attendees,” said Darden Professor Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88), one of the Summit’s architects. “Our goal is to both show the full breadth and depth of women leaders across sectors and offer a day of programming packed with useful insights and opportunities to forge deeper connections.”

The Women in Leadership Summit has grown out of Women @ Darden, a multifaceted initiative intended to develop initiatives that will drive the school toward gender equity and ultimately make Darden the business school of choice for women interested in graduate business education. The Summit represents one of many initial steps with a focus on building connections and lasting relationships between the Darden School and its students, faculty and alumnae, as well as educating women on the value of business education.

Keynote Speaker, Award Winners Spotlight High Impact Leadership

The event will feature the awarding of a series of honors recognizing the contributions of women across industries and career points.

2022 award winners include:

• Natalia Alvarez Diaz (MBA ’22), who will receive the Women’s Leadership Summit Trailblazer Award. Alvarez Diaz, who received the award at Darden’s 2022 graduation, was honored for her numerous contributions advancing women and gender equity at Darden, inside and outside of the classroom.
• Angelica Alam (MBA ’14), who will receive the Recent Alumni Leader Award. Alam is the founder and president of The PowHER Circle, a community of women focused on their own and collective journeys to remove doubt, elevate confidence, and create opportunities in the pursuit of personal and professional goals. She also serves as finance systems manager at Meta.
• Lorraine Hariton, who will receive the Women’s Leadership Champion Award. Hariton is president and CEO of Catalyst, the global nonprofit working to accelerate progress for women through workplace inclusion. She has been a champion for women across many facets of her career in public service, business and the nonprofit space.

The awards presented are artisan glass vases handcrafted by glass artist Neil Duman in collaboration with Rivanna Natural Designs, a woman-led B-Corp. located in Henrico, Virginia.

In addition to recognizing the award winners, attendees will hear from Garnet Hill President Connie Hallquist (MBA ’91) as keynote speaker. The head of the home goods and clothing retailer will discuss leading through the disruption of the pandemic and her learnings relevant to a wide swath of industries.

Other sessions and panels will cover topics such as engaging in critical conversations; navigating challenging conversations, dealing with ethical dilemmas; championing equity; and sustainability and the future of work. Industry-specific panels will include deep dives into venture capital and private equity; entrepreneurship; technology and innovation; and media.

The panels and presentations will feature a mix of Darden faculty members, alumni and industry leaders from a variety of backgrounds.

Learn more about the Women in Leadership Summit.