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Sadie Redman '15, a chemical engineer at , the world's largest medical device company, is looking forward to attending her fourth at the University of New Haven this October. Redman, who has served on the planning committee for three of her four years of attendance, is eager to continue enhancing her leadership skills.

"This conference interested me because I aspire to be a leader at my company," said Redman, who double majored in forensic science and chemistry at the University. "Medtronic has initiatives in place to ensure that a certain percentage of women are in leadership roles by the 2020 fiscal year."

The conference takes place on Friday, Oct. 4, at 8 a.m. at the University of New Haven's main campus. .

The conference will be headlined by Eileen Scully, the founder and CEO of The Rising Tides, a consulting firm that works with organizations to improve outcomes for female employees. A SheSource Expert with the Women's Media Center, Scully was invited by the Obama White House in 2016 to participate in the United State of Women Summit.

An adviser to Innovadores Foundation, a non-profit STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) incubator and exchange program in Cuba, Scully is a former member of the Board of Directors of The Get in Touch Foundation, which promotes initiatives in breast health education. Her book, In the Company of Men; How Women Can Succeed in a World Built Without Them, was published this summer.

Another highlight of the daylong conference will be Diane Smith, a distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven, a Connecticut media veteran, and Emmy Award Winning journalist, leading a discussion with Tiffany Dufu, the author of Drop the Ball: Achieving more by Doing Less.

The CEO and founder of The Cru, a peer coaching service for women, Dufu was named to Fast Company's League of Extraordinary Women. She served as president of the White House Project, as a launch team member for Lean In, and as chief leadership officer for Levo, a professional networking organization for millennials.

"For our fifth anniversary, we chose the theme 'women empower' in order to celebrate and explore women at their very best," said Nancy Savage, the conference steering committee chair and associate dean of the University's Tagliatela College of Engineering. "Attendees will hear inspirational stories of women helping each other, learn strategies and tips to manage both their personal and professional lives, and will meet an amazing and diverse group of women from the greater New Haven area."

"There is something to be said about spending a day with wonderful, professional women, professors, faculty members, and students and feeling the energy when this type of group comes together."Josephine Moran '01 M.S., '19 EMBA

Josephine Moran '01 M.S., '19 EMBA has attended the event every year, serving as chair of the inaugural conference. Empowering women is important to her – she is chair of the University's College of Business advisory board and is co-chair of the University's newly formed Women's Leadership Council, which provides coaching, mentoring, networking, and assistance to the University's female students in an effort to foster their growth and readiness. The Women's Leadership Council will be officially unveiled as part of the conference.

"The conference is always an uplifting, vibrant, insightful, and educational experience," said Moran, executive vice president and head of retail banking at Provident Bank, who is a member of the University's Board of Governors. "There is something to be said about spending a day with wonderful, professional women, professors, faculty members, and students and feeling the energy when this type of group comes together. I always walk away feeling motivated and humbled."

The conference enables women to network and attend workshops on topics such as investing, closing the gender wage gap, and advancing feminism. Organizers hope it inspires and educates women, enabling them to thrive as leaders.

"One of my favorite parts of the conference is the opportunity to interact with and learn from so many different people," said Redman. "Some of the key messages from the previous years have been centered around following your aspirations and not letting anyone tell you what you cannot do."