On September 18, WALTER hosted its sixth annual summit on women leaders, virtually.
Photography by Kevin Seifert

On September 18, WALTER hosted its sixth annual WINnovation summit in partnership with Bank of America, with support from Diamonds Direct and Atlantic Tire & Service. The full-day virtual event gathered professionals of all different backgrounds and skill sets to celebrate female innovation, diversity and entrepreneurship.

The day began with workshops on professional development with Dr. Mary Hemphill of The Limitless Leader, Deborah Oronzio from SCORE Raleigh, Wendy Artis from Bank of America and Brooke Markevicius from Allobee. After a break for networking and refreshments, our signature WIN talks began. Streaming live from the Duke Performing Arts Center Fletcher Auditorium (the first live event to be held there since the shutdown!), the speakers included Judith Cone, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Vice Chancellor of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development; Mavis Gragg, Director of the Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Protection Program of the American Forest Foundation; Raleigh Brewing Company President and CEO Kristie Nystedt; and cellist and singer-songwriter Shana Tucker. The inspiring speeches touched on creativity, inspiration, entrepreneurship, words of wisdom and more.

Special thanks to our AV partner Attended Events, as well as our innovation partners Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs from NC State University and Hutchison Law for helping make WINnovation possible.

Click here to see the panelist speeches.