2022 Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Christy Wright
Christy Wright is the #1 bestselling author of Business Boutique, Take Back Your Time, and Living True. She is a certified business coach, dynamic speaker, and personal development expert. Christy served for 12 years as a Ramsey Personality with Ramsey Solutions before just recently taking a leap of faith to do something new. Christy has been featured on the Today show and Fox News, and in Success, Entrepreneur, and Woman’s Day magazines. Whether she’s running around on stage or running after her kids, challenging leaders or changing diapers, Christy makes the most out of life and loves to help others do the same. Christy lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Matt, and their three children Carter, Conley, and Mary Grace.
EVENT MC
Cristina Mendonsa
Cristina Mendonsa is an EMMY/Edward R. Murrow award-winning multimedia journalist, producer, spokesperson, speaker, and educator. She currently anchors four hours of daily news-talk for The KFBK Morning News and has reported and anchored for ABC, CBS and NBC television stations.
Cristina founded her company, Mendonsa Media in 2017 and produces narrative marketing for a dozen regional and national companies as well as independent documentaries. She is the voice of several national brands and her latest documentary, Covid Lost and Learned, earned an EMMY nomination and was aired across the country on PBS stations.
She is now in production on a new documentary that focuses on an innovative therapy for veterans and first responders who are battling moral injury and PTSD.
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING PANEL SPEAKERS
Learn from women who climbed to the top of their industry and are leading their business to the next level.
Content and Media Relations Manager, Dignity Health’s Northern California Division
Yessenia Anderson
Yessenia is a seasoned communications professional with more than a decade of experience spanning broadcast news to corporate communications. In her current role, Yessenia leads the division’s digital presence strategy, supports executive communications, and spearheads statewide and national media relations efforts for Dignity Health's 13 NCD hospitals. Yessenia is a Senior Fellow of Nueva Epoca, the Youth Development Network's Latinx Leadership program and a graduate of Leadership Sacramento, a Sacramento Metro Chamber program. In June 2022, Governor Newsom appointed Yessenia to the Structural Pest Control Board where she serves as Vice President. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the B Street Theatre. Yessenia is currently pursuing her Master's of Arts in Health Communication and Promotion from Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
Senior Vice President Finance, Safe Credit Union
Alexis Fitzpatrick
As the SVP Finance, Alexis is responsible for all facets of SAFE’s Finance Department, including financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, secondary market, business intelligence and reporting, along with sales/production incentive compensation plan administration. She serves as a member of the senior executive team, providing insight and guidance into SAFE’s financial condition and performance, as well as participating in the organization’s strategic and business planning activities.
Prior to coming to SAFE, Alexis was in public accounting for 13 years. She uses financial analysis to help the organization make forward-looking and strategic decisions. She helps facilitate the best financial decisions for SAFE by having a clear view of the credit union’s financial health by reviewing and managing the balance sheet and developing strategies to grow revenue and maximize return on capital.
She is involved in the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and American River Parkway Foundation, sitting on the Board Finance Committee. She also sits on the board for the Folsom Chamber of Commerce.
President, Mercy Hospital
Lisa Hausmann
Lisa Hausmann is the Hospital President and CEO at Dignity Health Mercy Hospital of Folsom. Mercy Hospital of Folsom is a general acute care hospital that has been part of the Folsom Community for over 40 years. The hospital also belongs to the largest Catholic Health System and the second largest non-profit hospital chain in the United States.
Lisa is the first female president to serve at Mercy Hospital of Folsom. She has 19 years of healthcare experience and is a Registered Nurse by clinical background. Lisa holds a Masters Degree in Nursing and Healthcare Administration. Within her role, Lisa is heavily focused on quality, patient safety and ensuring the hospital continues to grow alongside the community and meeting its healthcare needs.
Lisa lives in Folsom with her husband and three children– ages 4, 7 and 14. As a local resident, Lisa is extremely passionate about the community and grateful to call Folsom home to her family.
Regional VP of Northern California at Audacy
Stacey Kauffman
Stacey is Regional Vice President of Northern California at Audacy, a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company; The Northern California region includes Sacramento’s heritage brands in 98 Rock, 96.9 The Eagle, 106.5 The End, 102.5 KSFM, ALT 94.7, and ESPN 1320, and the Bay Area’s KCBS, Alice 97.3, 102 JAMS, DAVE 105.3 and 95.7 THE GAME, in addition to digital content and marketing, podcasts, live events and experiences, and more.
Stacey has been recognized as one of Sacramento Magazine’s “100 Notable Business Leaders (Jan.21,) and was a recipient of The Sacramento Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” (Nov. ’20.) In 2018, Stacey received the Radio Wayne Award, the industry’s top honor, for Director of Sales/General Sales Manager of the Year.
Attorney, Murphy Austin
Lisa D. Nicolls
Lisa Nicolls is a partner with the business law firm of Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP, where her practice focuses on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on construction law. She began her academic career as a neurobiology major but had long had a passion for debate and advocacy which she decided to explore following graduation, eventually leading her to law school. Lisa has practiced as a construction attorney since 2004 and currently serves as the first female Board President for Region Business. She has also served on the boards of several builders’ exchanges and currently serves on the boards of the Association of General Contractors Delta Sierra District and the Sacramento Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.
Chief Operating Officer, Inductive Automation
Katharina Robinett
Kat Robinett is the Chief Operating Officer of Inductive Automation. In this role, Kat leads the way in ensuring operational excellence across the company, overseeing its organizational structure, and building its capabilities for future growth. She works closely with the CEO to plan and enable Inductive Automation's vision, strategy, and innovation. Over the years, she has worked closely with Steve and Wendi-Lynn Hechtman, and served in several leadership roles including Executive VP of Operations. Her daily efforts as COO are guided by her commitment to ensure Inductive Automation’s continued success as a leader in industrial automation software.
Breakout session speakers
Nikki B Arstingstall (NikkiBGolf)
Nikki B Arstingstall is a Sacramento native and an influencer who talks about all things motherhood, real estate, and golf. After winning a golf competition show on the Golf Channel, she worked as a Social Media Correspondent and made appearances on various original programming and broadcasts for NBC Sports, Golf Channel, and CBS Sports. She has worked with brands like adidas, Lexus, Fab Fit Fun, Mastercard, United, and Callaway Golf. While golf remains an integral and important part of her career, she has broadened her brand to include motherhood and real estate, after getting her real estate license just one month before having her first child, Bowen, in November 2020. Throughout everything she does, she encourages other women to keep it real and never be afraid to create their own path.
Rachael Dardano is an experienced holistic practitioner who looks at healing through the lens of connections of energy. Her mission is to empower a community where each individual connects with nature's wisdom. It is her priority as a guide to embrace and support each client with respect to their individual journey. Her approach to healing is balanced with a symbiotic relationship of music and science where the outcomes are beyond 'measurable', but regenerative and transformative.
Chady Dunmore (_Chady_)
Social influencer with more nearly 180K followers on Instagram, 51K Facebook and 5,700 subscribers on YouTube. Dunmore once weighed over 200lbs and then became a 16x fitness cover model. She is a Certified Trainer & Nutritionist, Beauty & Wellness Concierge and specializes in business development & marketing. Most importantly, she is a mom, step mom & dog mom.
Lauren Johnson
Lauren is a mental performance coach and keynote speaker. She works with CEO's, professional athletes, and fortune 500 companies through national speaking engagements, educational training workshops and consulting. Prior to opening her own consulting practice, Lauren served as the Mental Conditioning Coordinator for the New York Yankees. She received her Masters Degree in Performance Psychology from National University. Lauren's practical, straight-forward advice and mental performance strategies helps individuals become elite decision makers because her belief is you become elite by choice, not by chance. laurenjohnsonandco.com
Dr. Tasnim Khan
Tasnim Khan is a board certified physician in practice for over 25 years. She is a Harvard University graduate and has extensive experience not only as a clinician but as a physician executive in many sectors of healthcare in the US, Dubai, and Qatar. Dr Khan is passionate about self-care for front-line providers- along the way she is certified by Stanford University’s Wellness program for healthcare providers. She is also a graduate of California HealthCare Foundation- a UCSF program that stresses the concepts and importance of self-care and healing.
Julia A. Nicholson
We’ve all been impacted by an unwanted change, challenge, or loss and Julia has navigated her fair share of them. Early in her life she survived a near fatal head-on collision and an abusive five-year marriage. Instead of letting her circumstances overcome her, she used them as fuel to earn a bachelor's degree and an MBA, take the reins as the first female CEO of a multibillion dollar company in the entertainment industry, and become a sought-after consultant, TEDx speaker, and author. Julia is passionate about sharing her approach for seeing unwanted changes for what they are and leveraging her 5-Facet Diamond Framework to reshape their meaning and purpose. She is the author of Move Forward Stronger and an inspirational speaker helping people learn how to transform their lives by using adversity to their advantage. Learn more at julianicholsonpresents.com.
Jennifer Oliver
Jen founded Speaking REAL Communications to help clients bring their truest voice to work and personal life. Whether on Zoom, public stages, in business presentations, or sitting with a loved one - communication should be relational, engaged, authentic and life-altering. REAL matters.
In addition to being a licensed leader of WomanSpeak™ Circles and virtual workshops, Jen also offers private coaching for high-stakes talks and keynotes. She is the Director of Curation and Speaker Coach for TEDxFolsom and several other U.S. based speaking events.
Ruthie Ridley based out of the Sacramento California region, is a former nurse of 19 years turned full-time entrepreneur. She is an Instagram “fashionista” / content creator with a focus on faith and family. She started blogging with an emphasis on thrifting & now finds the joy in sharing affordable fashion finds with her followers. In the Summer of 2022 she launched a brand called the Ruthie Ridley Collective where she sells items that are filled with Hope, Faith and encouragement.
Shelby Ryburn
Thought Leader, Business Owner, Trainer, Consultant, Coach
Shelby is Co-Founder of the MORE Real Estate Group, one of the top real estate teams in the region. As a certified trainer and coach, Shelby travels the country teaching on how to live a leveraged life. In alignment with her passion to develop people and businesses, together with her business partners, she recently launched engage, a local training company designed to help small business owners scale their businesses through systems, models and strategy.
Diana Vitantonio
Diana Vitantonio has been teaching yoga for 23 years. Thirteen years ago, she opened a yoga school. Diana has trained hundreds of yoga teachers in her signature methodology, Breathless Yoga. For the past three years, Diana has been the Sacramento Kings Yoga Coach, and she is now the founder of a life coaching and mentorship business where she teaches you how to feel safe in your skin and to be true about who you are. As a coach, she hopes to help people feel more freedom and joy and ultimately feel more ALIVE.