The Whirl: WINnovation 2025

On Sept. 5, WALTER hosted WINnovation at The Umstead Hotel & Spa. This annual event gathers women leaders in our community to share talks about their experiences over dinner. Held in partnership with Bank of America and with Diamonds Direct as our supporting sponsor, this year’s lineup included Sara Abernethy, co-founder of Wye Hill Hospitality; Dallas Bonavita, executive director of Note in the Pocket; Pamela Cashwell, secretary of the North Carolina Division of Natural and Cultural Resources; and Carly Jones, President & CEO of Artspace.

Sara Abernethy, Dallas Bonavita, Pamela Cashwell, Carly Jones
Bailey Underwood, Vanessa Jackson, Connie Shipman Newsome, Mallory Underwood, Brittany Swanger, Lisa Snedeker
Ashauntis McNair, Shenika Johnson
Denise Young, Kim O’Dell, Meredith Dixon, Jill Diaz
Brianna Scurry, Angel Cole, Karen Evans, Satwana Hurdle, Heather McDougall,
Idia Enogieru, Emily Lapel, Cristina Leos, Kait Maitland 
Logan Collins, Riley Collins
Vicki Irons, Yvette Marion, Angela Silver
Ayn-Monique Klahre, Sara Abernethy, Dallas Bonavita
Pamela Cashwell, Carly Jones
Elizabeth Strickland, Kenny Kolawole, Tessa Kitko, Michelle Thomas,
Viviana Zuccardi
Front row: Alisha Byrd, Rachel Jeska, Kelly Collins Middle row: LaRonda Nriagu, India Miles Prather, Leigh Kempf, Wendy Artis Back row: Sarah Williams, Katherine Hurley
Courtney Mellott, Lauren Pierce, Martha Midgette
Tina Gupta, Courtney Philips, Stratton Parr
Chastity Sullivan, Melanie Loeffler, Patricia Edwards

This article originally appeared in the October 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.

The Whirl