Maya Angelou

The Bay Path College Women’s Professional Development Conference has had many intriguing themes over the years: creativity, bravery, barrier-breaking — even humor.

Those planning the 12th annual conference, slated for April 27 at the MassMutual Center, eventually chose resiliency, said Caron Hobin, Bay Path’s vice president for Planning and Student Development, because virtually everyone is severely tested at some point in their life.

Some pass that test, while others don’t fare as well with adversity, she continued, adding that conference planners wanted to impart lessons on resiliency and how people find it. And, as always, they compiled their speakers list accordingly.

“If you Google resiliency, Maya Angelou’s story comes up,” said Hobin, noting that the poet, memoirist, actress, and civil rights leader, who endured a troubled and tragic childhood, will be one of the event’s keynote speakers.

Angelou, a best-selling author who read one of her poems, On the Pulse of Morning, at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993, had been asked to speak at the conference once before, said Hobin, but was unable to find room in her schedule. This year, she made room when informed that resiliency was the program’s theme.

Angelou’s talk will wrap up a day-long program devoted to resiliency and other issues impacting women — and all people — in business today, said Hobin, adding that the stories should provide inspiration and, in many cases, wisdom that attendees can bring with them to the workplace the next day.

Valerie Plame Wilson

Perhaps the most anticipated talk will be delivered by Valerie Plame Wilson, who is still dealing with adversity, said Hobin, noting that hers will be a story told using mostly the present tense.

Plame Wilson is now a former CIA operative. Her career with the agency came to a sudden, controversial end in 2003, when her name and vocation were revealed to the public in a syndicated column. The circumstances of that leak are the subject of the high-profile perjury trial of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, who, prosecutors say, learned of Plame’s identity from Vice President Dick Cheney and later discussed it with reporters.

“Her career was just brought to an abrupt halt,” said Hobin, adding that Plame Wilson has not launched another career and has only recently joined the lecture circuit to talk about her experiences. “It would be hard for anyone to go to the office one morning and be told to pack your bags. What do you do now? How do you move on from something that you didn’t ask to happen but instead happened to you?”

Lynn Donohue

The third keynote speaker will be Lynn Donahue, whose career didn’t hit a brick wall; instead, it zoomed forward because she could build such a wall.

A high school dropout at 15, Donahue was living out of her car and working as a waitress in her father’s bar when she responded to an ad for bricklayer apprentices. She endured taunting from male colleagues and comments that she would hold her bricklaying team back or even jeopardize its safety.

“But she put her head down and went about her business,” said Hobin, adding that Donahue would later go on to win a bricklaying competition at a shopping mall. But that triumph wouldn’t even appear on a resume that includes creation of a successful construction company and a foundation called, appropriately enough, Brick by Brick, which empowers people to advance their personal career goals through inspiration, education, and mentoring.

“She went through a lot of adversity on the job site; she was told that she was taking a job from a man who needed the money more than she did,” said Hobin. “But she persevered; she loved what she was doing and made a great career from it. She also went back and completed her education, eventually getting a business degree because she knew she needed it.”

In addition to the keynote speakers, the conference will feature several break-out sessions. In a departure from past practice, there will be only one in the morning, said Hobin, to allow all attendees to take in (and take part in) a program led by the CircleXchange.

Titled It’s All About Me: The Power of Us for Better Life and Health, the highly interactive program will help participants discover their ability to make lifestyle changes. CircleXchange is a portable system that brings new change and possibility to thousands of people every day through a powerful group dynamic. It’s All About Me is the introductory component of an eight-part CircleXchange series for living with greater passion, clarity and purpose.

During the eXchange, Helaine Fischer and her team will help attendees to review the many roles they play and the responsibilities they sustain. Participants will explore how these aspects integrate with their emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, and physical selves. “We’ll see the impact our thoughts have on our bodies and performance, and we’ll discuss the many factors affecting our life choices, opportunities, and actions, said Hobin. “More important, participants will take away practical tools and strategies, as well as personal connections that will be invaluable in building the capacity to be resilient.”

There will be three afternoon break-out sessions. They are:

• Ready to Wear, led by Mary Lou Andre, founder and president of Organization By Design Inc. and the editor of dressingwell.com. Her firm provides consulting, sales training, and professional image seminars. Organization By Design also delivers a variety of seminars for companies looking to increase sales volume and customer loyalty. She has appeared on ABC World News Now, CNN, and CBS This Morning, as well as in numerous national publications, including Real Simple, Marie Claire, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. Andre is the author of Ready to Wear: An Expert’s Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe.
  
  Like it or not, every day people are judged by the way they dress and present themselves, said Hobin. Failing to understand the power of projecting a strong personal image can undermine both individual and corporate credibility.
  
  Andre will explain her effective wardrobe organization system and simple style strategies to help professionals get out the door faster — looking better than ever. This is not a session simply on “what matches what,” Hobin said, but shows attendees how the assessment of their lifestyle, organization of their closet, and specific shopping strategies will help them gain control over their wardrobe.
• Speak Like a CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results, led by Suzanne Bates, an executive coach, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and former award-winning television news anchor. Her firm, Bates Communications, shows leaders how to get business results through better communication. Bates is author of Speak Like a CEO: Secrets to Commanding Attention and Getting Results.
  
  To become successful, hard work and experience are important, but they can take a person only so far, said Hobin. To lead in an industry or profession, a leader must be ready to assume a speaking role. In survey after survey, the number-one skill determined to be indispensable to leaders is communication. In her program, Bates discusses how developing a compelling speaking style isn’t something that comes naturally — anyone can do it with some practice and effort.
  
  
• Bless Your Stress: It Means You’re Still Alive, led by Mimi Donaldson, who, since 1984, who has spoken at more than 900 events in dozens of industries, in more than 100 cities across North America, and to audiences throughout Canada, Europe, and Mexico. She was also a speaker at the 2001 Bay Path College Women’s Professional Development Conference. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Design from Columbia University and was a staff human resources specialist with Walt Disney Company, Northrop Aircraft, and Rockwell International.
  
  Her message? There’s good news and bad news about stress; the only stress-free zone that exists is a cemetery — for the residents, that is. If one can feel their stress it means they’re still kicking, ticking, and clicking. The spill of stress can be contained, controlled, cleaned up, and converted into positive energy. To manage everyday stress, people must learn to identify their own stress “triggers” — the little things that set them off. Donaldson will help attendees see the stress triggers coming and respond to them effectively.

Fast Facts: What: The 12th Annual Bay Path College Women’s Professional Development Conference When: April 27 Where: MassMutual Center, Springfield Speakers: Poet Maya Angelou; former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson; entrepreneur Lynn Donohue Cost: $250 per person For More Information: Call (413) 565-1293, or visit www.baypath.edu and click on the development conference link.

This year’s conference will be the second at the MassMutual Center, said Hobin, noting that event planners worked with the convention center staff to make logistical adjustments that will accommodate the expected 1,000 attendees, up from 850 last year.

Invitations to the conference will be sent to area businesses in the next few weeks, said Hobin. In the meantime, individuals may register online at www.baypath.edu.