
PERSONAL JOURNEY
Our personal and professional lives have never been more intertwined, and how each of us tackles life outside the workplace and workweek often affects how we show up in our careers. Join top life coaches and experts as they address the challenges many of us face today, and provide insights and actions to embrace the aspects of the personal journey most important to each of us – from health and wellness to purpose- and joy-seeking, and from our relationships with others to, ultimately, our relationship with ourselves.
Who’s it for? Attendees feeling overwhelmed, challenged, or stuck on their current path; those choosing to address the roles they play and paths they’ve chosen (or had imposed upon them) in their home and family lives; those who feel they’re at a fork in the road, or feel as if their journey is owning them (vs. the other way around).

SESSION 1
Vitale Buford Hardin
CEO, The Hardin Group
Overcoming Perfectionism: How to Lead a Life of Imperfect Excellence
Perfection is one of the most pervasive challenges holding women back – in fact, 92% of people struggle with some form of perfectionism, and 86% of leaders believe their work is impacted by perfectionist expectations. We too often believe that if we achieve perfection, we will also achieve happiness and success – ironically, this belief is actually getting in the way.
Symptoms of perfectionism include unrealistic expectations, fear of failure, procrastination, control, people-pleasing, self-criticism, conflict avoidance, feeling stuck, imposter syndrome, indecision, and anxiety. If these symptoms are hindering your life, join this session with Vitale to gain the tools needed to break free from perfectionism, and learn:
- About the two types of perfectionism
- How perfectionistic patterns impact your leadership abilities – in both your home and work life
- The bold moves you need to take to break free from perfectionism
- How to take the energy you put toward perfectionism and turn it into achieving your goals
About Vitale
Vitale is a top leadership consultant and strategic advisor who empowers teams and companies to transform the way they work, produce, and relate. She believes that “who we are is how we lead,” so the real leadership work begins with ourselves. An iPEC-certified executive coach, trainer, award-winning speaker, and author, Vitale brings her training and concepts to life in a fun and relatable way. She is also the author of the book Addicted to Perfect, detailing her struggle with perfectionism and how she overcame it. Featured in The New York Times, Vitale is a sought-after speaker and commentator on the subject of leadership and organizational culture.
Vitale is also a change agent, working with organizations and leaders to transform their workplace cultures and leadership environments. Her clients have included Humana, NCAA, CenterPoint Energy, Logan Aluminum, University of Kentucky HealthCare, Toyota Tsusho, and Longship. She does this through custom training programs, strategic advisory, workshops, keynotes, culture change initiatives, and performance coaching.
In her personal life, Vitale loves traveling, Fleetwood Mac, and morning walks, and lives in Kentucky with her husband, son, and dog.

SESSION 2
Jennie Lopez-Reed
Dancer, Speaker, Author, Associate VP and Head of Global Recruiting and Talent Acquisition, Eli Lilly and Company
Intentional Unicorn: BRING Your Authentic Self to Thrive in Life and in Your Career
The confidence that emerges from the realization of your superpowers fuels and accelerates an exciting growth journey. It begins with re-channeling the energy many of us spend trying to fit it into being the best version of ourselves. Once we uncover and own our uniqueness we can unleash the inner power to grow to levels we never thought were possible. In this session, Jennie shares with humor, passion and transparency her own personal journey from living in Puerto Rico, attending grad school in the USA, growing as a Associate Vice President in the corporate world, and starting her own business in parallel to a dancing and fitness career that includes NFL cheerleading and being a Zumba international presenter. She’ll share tools and intentional best practices to help:
- Identify and understand your superpowers
- Protect and nurture your mindset
- Redefine success and find it for yourself
- Tell that nagging impostor syndrome “Not today!”
- Inspire you to take action on your life NOW!
About Jennie
Jennie Lopez embodies “Bring Yourself to Work” in everything she does. She empowers diversity and engages employees and organizations to achieve new highs.
Jennie is originally from Puerto Rico and moved to the US to complete her Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. Her engineering career includes roles in both Manufacturing & Quality and on the business side. She is currently the Associate VP and Head of Global Recruiting and Talent Acquisition for Eli Lilly and Company, where she is also an executive board member for the Organization of Latinx.
In parallel she has also found success in her dancing and fitness careers. Her experiences include: back up dancer for artists like Julio Iglesias and Ednita Nazario, TV shows, Superbowl Winning NFL Cheerleader/Captain, Fitness Instructor, Presenter and Zumba Master Trainer.
Jennie is the author of the recently-launched book and Amazon bestseller, “Intentional Unicorn” – after many years of working hard to hide her unicorn horn she realized that that’s where magic takes place.
Jennie enjoys making intentionally fun memories with her family Brad, Izzie (12), & Ethan (9) – they are the WHY and fuel for everything she does.
THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PARTNERS. WE COULDN’T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!
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Interested in joining as a Corporate Partner to help IWL accelerate the advancement of all women leaders? Contact us to learn about partnering opportunities.