All Topics in Chicago

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  You Have the Power: Creating the Life You Truly Desire

  Eva M. Kennedy, CPCC, Transformational Life Coach, Author, Eva M Kennedy Coaching

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Motivational

  Designed for teams, nonprofits, and member-based groups, this session invites women to reconnect with their purpose and values in both life and leadership. Eva’s engaging style and real-world insight help participants break through self-doubt, clarify their vision, and reclaim their voice—making this an ideal fit for empowerment-focused programming.

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  Step Into Your Power: From Fear to Forward

  Eva M. Kennedy, CPCC, Transformational Life Coach, Author, Eva M Kennedy Coaching

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Motivational

  This empowering talk is ideal for women’s leadership groups, professional associations, and organizations focused on personal growth. Eva M. Kennedy shares how fear often masks itself as hesitation or overthinking—and how women can overcome it by taking small, intentional steps toward the life they truly want. Audiences leave inspired, focused, and ready to act. MORE >

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  Generation Z (Zoomers) in the Workplace

  Mary Erlain, President, Peak Development Strategies

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  The workplace has undergone a profound transformation in recent years, driven by two seismic shifts: the pandemic and the generational turnover in the workforce. MORE >

  Time has seemed to fly by, bringing with it a wave of change that many of us barely registered. A new generation has quietly entered the workplace, but have we truly acknowledged their arrival?

  For many, the answer is no—and for a good reason. Gen Z stepped into their professional roles during a time of unprecedented disruption. Remote work and virtual meetings on platforms like Zoom replaced traditional onboarding experiences, making their entry less noticeable but no less impactful.

  Their influence on organizations has been significant, though often misunderstood. This book, The Zoomers: Our Next Generational Wave in the Workplace, aims to change that. It offers an insightful and constructive perspective on Gen Z, challenging stereotypes and providing a deeper understanding of their values, behaviors, and expectations.

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  Empowering the Multi-Generational Workforce

  Mary Erlain, President, Peak Development Strategies

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Much has changed since 2020, and our workforce has undergone a dramatic shift. One entire generation has retired, while another has entered in greater numbers, reshaping the dynamics of our workplaces. MORE >

  We work in a diverse environment where embracing differences can drive business growth—if organizations empower their workforce to leverage their unique gifts and values. The real challenge lies in finding effective ways to do just that: fostering inclusion and enabling employees to thrive.

  Explore strategies to bridge generational gaps among staff and recognize how, often unintentionally, we might be contributing to the problem rather than being part of the solution.

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  Don’t Jump Out of That Plane | How to Control Your Brain to Make Yourself Limitless

  Michael Opyd, President, Dynamic Ventures LLC

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Everyone has a comfort zone that our brains try to keep us in. This comfort zone is built to help us survive. But what happens when we get outside of our comfort zone? The only way to escape it is to understand why the zone exists and what we can do to battle all of the forces that are trying to keep us in it. MORE >

  Did you know your brain has two functions, one to keep you alive and two to keep you safe? It's the latter that controls you more than anything. But what if you could control it? What would you do if you were able to be limitless? I have spent a lot of time understanding how our brains work and how we can control them. If you want to know how you can take control of your brain please reach out and let's discuss more.

  I'd love an opportunity to come and speak to any audience big or small. If you have any questions please contact me! I look forward to the opportunity to help!

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  Unlock The Leader Within ~ Conquering 3 Saboteurs to Dramatically Advance Your Career

  Rosie Zilinskas, Founder & CEO, No Woman Left Behind

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Motivational

  Many ambitious, high-performing women in the corporate world still find themselves asking, “Why am I not further along?” MORE >

  The truth? It’s not because they lack talent—it’s because they’ve unknowingly internalized limiting beliefs that keep them quiet, overcommitted, or stuck in waiting mode. In this powerful and practical keynote, Rosie Zilinskas reveals the 3 hidden saboteurs that silently hold women back from the visibility, leadership, and advancement they’ve earned.

  Drawing from her 30+ years of experience as a Fortune 500 executive, Rosie delivers a bold wake-up call—and a compassionate roadmap—for women ready to take ownership of their careers. Her interactive and story-driven delivery resonates deeply with women across industries and leadership levels.

  Whether you’re planning a women’s leadership summit, corporate learning series, ERG event, or DEI initiative, this keynote creates momentum that lasts long after the applause.

  🎯 What Attendees Will Walk Away With:
  ~ Clarity on what’s holding them back—and the language to stop it in its tracks

  ~ A simple but powerful mindset shift: “Campaigning for Me”—so they start owning their value instead of waiting to be chosen

  ~ The confidence to speak up in rooms that matter—even if they’re still working on believing they belong there

  ~ A renewed sense of career direction and the next right move using Rosie’s Custom Career Roadmap framework

  ~ Most importantly, they’ll walk away knowing: they’re not behind—they’re just getting started

  👥 Ideal for:
  ~ Mid-level to senior women in corporate roles

  ~ Women returning to the workforce or pivoting within their organizations

  ~ High-potential talent looking to grow into leadership

  ~ Mixed-gender audiences focused on inclusion, equity, and leadership development

  ~ College and post-college professionals preparing for or entering the workforce

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  Rethinking the Colonizing of North America

  Mark McGarvie, J.D., Ph.D.,, Retired Professor of History and Law, College of William and Mary

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Educational

  European colonialism recently has been presented, both popularly and scholastically, as an evil that decimated native populations, destroyed native cultures, precipitated extensive wars, and caused irreparable environmental harm. Avoiding judgment in favor of understanding, Professor McGarvie will develop the context for European discovery of the New World in the intellectual, technological, political, and cultural contexts of both the Native Americans and the European explorers in the 16th - 18th centuries. MORE >

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  Creating A Private Sector: Contract Law & The Constitutional Protection of the Right of Conscience

  Mark McGarvie, J.D., Ph.D.,, Retired Professor of History and Law, College of William and Mary

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Educational

  Professor McGarvie is considered one of our leading authorities on the separation of church and state. His ground-breaking thesis articulated in 2004 with the publication of One Nation Under Law has gained tremendous support and led to invitations to write successor volumes and essays for both Oxford and Cambridge University Presses and to speak on the subject across the country. MORE >

  In this presentation, Professor McGarvie will explain how the separation of church and state resulted from the Founders' creation of a private sector through the contract clause of the Constitution. Contract law revolutionized the relationships between citizens and their governments. Placing religion in the private sector required its separation from government and the removal of churches from performing public functions in education, poor relief, and record keeping, for which they had responsibility in the colonial era.

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  The New Women: From Gibson Girls to Flappers in the early 1900s

  Mark McGarvie, J.D., Ph.D.,, Retired Professor of History and Law, College of William and Mary

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Educational

  In the early days of the 20th century, New Women caused a media sensation in newspapers and magazines by threatening standards of sexual propriety, living alone while single, pursuing careers, and engaging in politics even before given the right to vote. These college-educated young women in their 20s forced a reconsideration of sexual roles in America that contributed to women's suffrage and the free expression existing several years later in the flapper movement. MORE >

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  Our Culture Wars: Intellectual Roots and Historical Precedents

  Mark McGarvie, J.D., Ph.D.,, Retired Professor of History and Law, College of William and Mary

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Educational

  Professor McGarvie describes the development of pragmatism in the early 19th century as a critique of the individualistic and rights-oriented ideology of the Enlightenment. Pragmatism served as the basis for the first progressive movement, which was ultimately repudiated in the ascension of the Coolidge, Harding, and Hoover Republicans in the 1920s. How are today's progressives repeating the political errors of their predecessors? MORE >

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