2025 Women's Leadership Summit (WLS)
7.0 Credits
Member Price $250.00
Non-Member Price $325.00
Overview
The ever-popular Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) is unprecedented for its education, collaboration, and inspiration! This event gets bigger and better every year with past attendees praising its relevant content, speaker vibe, and support of women in accounting.
The 2025 WLS in Orlando offers exciting new sessions (with up to 7 hours of CPE) and in-person networking opportunities.
New in 2025:
- WLS kicks off with a shared MEGA Keynote Session with HRD initiatives’ Jeremy Wortman inspiring you to infuse talent-centric culture within your practice.
- His presentation will segway into the 2025 Women to Watch Awards Breakfast where the Experienced and Emerging Leader nominees and finalists will be announced.
- Visit with exhibitors to collaborate with solution/service providers who are invested in your success.
- Enjoy a Networking Lunch with peers and exchange ideas and career-enhancing experiences.
- Benefit from 7 CPE sessions designed to empower and inspire women who are already leading and aspire to lead. (See the agenda tab for details.)
Note:
If you are attending MEGA 2025, separate registration is not required, simply select the Women's Leadership Summit Track on Thursday: REGISTER HERE.
If you are not attending MEGA 2025 and are interested in attending the Summit, please register on the link above.
$tack the $avings!
In addition to FICPA member registration discounts, you can save up to 15% when you register a group of five or more! Call Member Services for more information:1-850-224-2727 or 1-800-342-3197.
FICPA Members save even more. Not a member? Join today at ficpa.org/JoinToday.
Social Media
Follow the FICPA on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X and share news about this conference using the hashtag #FICPAWLS.
CPE Credit
This conference qualifies for up to 6 hours of CPE credit and is subject to change. CPE credit is subject to approval by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The type of credit earned depends on concurrent breakouts chose. Please indicate choice of breakouts on the registration form.
Highlights
Finalizing Exciting Topics - More to Come...
Designed For
Women experienced and new to the CPA profession and business in general
Objectives
- Network with other women in the business
- Exchange ideas and experiences to advance your career
- Learn leadership, communication and self care skills
Notice
Conference Location and Accommodations:
Universal Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
6601 Adventure Way
Orlando, FL 32819
407-503-5000
FICPA Room Rate:
$214.00++ Single/Double
$239++ Triple, $264++ Quad
Discounted Self Parking: $15/day
Hotel Cutoff Deadline: Friday, May 9, 2025
(Reservations made after the cutoff date will be subject to availability and current room rate. Please note that the conference accommodation rate is subject to sell out prior to the advertised reservation cut off date.)
*** Upon completion of your registration for the conference, you will receive an email confirmation with additional information to book your accommodations***
Presenting Sponsor
Promotional Sponsor
Digital Sponsor
Thursday, June 12th
General Session
- Keynote with Jeremy Wortman & Women to Watch Awards Breakfast
Jeremy Wortman, Owner, Business Psychology, HRD Initiatives LLCJeremy Wortman
With a strong passion for and a commitment to the positive development of individuals and organizations, Jeremy Wortman is the Owner of HRD Initiatives, which specializes in leadership development, organizational development and talent management solutions. In this capacity, he works with client partners’ executive teams in determining talent management strategies, building organizational culture and leadership talent, implementing solutions and coaching individual leaders.
Jeremy has more than twenty-two years of experience in organization and leadership development with a significant and meaningful amount of his time, early in his career, at TD Ameritrade where he was the Director of Organizational Effectiveness and their Corporate Psychologist. There, he was responsible for enterprise-wide talent management initiatives where he partnered with senior executives across the organization to determine business unit and department-level talent management strategies and solutions that drove their performance goals. He was also responsible for building their leadership development programs and coaching executives. He has extensive knowledge of organizational psychology and has had great success in developing strategies and programs that build better individuals and organizations using a strengths-based approach.
Jeremy has also focused his expertise within the accounting profession since 2004. He is a frequent speaker at various Regional, National and International conferences on the topics of Ethical Decision-Making, Leadership Development and Talent Management. As a consultant to the profession his clients include a range of small firms to the top ten largest in the United States, many of whom are found on the Accounting Today’s Best Firms to Work for list.
Jeremy attended the University of Nebraska where he earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, Leadership and Organizational Development as well as a Masters in Business Administration. He holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and Human Resources. Jeremy is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Academy of Management. He is also active in his local community as the former President of the Young Alumni Board for the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska, where he was also an adjunct professor from 1999 to 2016.
This session is available to registrants and their guests
- Guest Price
- $75.00
Session Pricing:
General Session
- WLS Keynote: Leading Through the Unknown: How Women in Finance Navigate Growth, Power, and Change
Lisa Rigoli, CEO, Element of ChangeLisa Rigoli
Lisa Rigoli, founder of Element of Change, helps organizations stabilize and thrive during transitions. Her journey took an unexpected turn when her own role was eliminated, shifting her perspective and inspiring her to create a firm dedicated to building trust, reducing turnover, and empowering leaders to navigate change with resilience and authenticity. With 15+ years of HR and leadership experience, Lisa blends practical expertise with a human-centered approach, ensuring leaders feel equipped and supported through every phase of transformation.
Her tagline, “Uniting Teams during Corporate Transitions,” reflects her focus on creating cultures where teams feel valued, heard, and motivated to collaborate. Lisa’s work emphasizes that resilience isn’t built in crisis but before it. She helps organizations establish a foundation of trust and communication, ensuring both leaders and teams can thrive, even in uncertain times.
Driven by a passion for fostering strong connections, Lisa partners with organizations to focus on people, not just processes. By addressing challenges with clarity and compassion, she helps leaders and teams build lasting success through alignment and collaboration.
This keynote gives women in finance a fresh lens to lead through transition. Whether stepping into partner roles, navigating acquisitions, or influencing change in male-dominated spaces. Using the Self | Others | Organization ™? framework, we’ll explore how to build internal clarity (Self), communicate with influence (Others), and lead with strategic foresight (Organization).
Expect to walk away with:
• A diagnostic to spot where you may be stuck in transition
• A mindset reframe tool used by Fortune 500 execs
• Real-world scripts and questions to build trust during sensitive transitions
We’re not teaching you how to lead like someone else. We’re giving you a toolset to lead like you, with clarity, confidence, and a hell of a lot of impact.
Credits: 1 - Behavioral
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Networking Break
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- True Colors: Facilitated Session
Kathleen Grangard, CFO/COO, Gehring GroupKathleen Grangard
KATE GRANGARD, CPA, CGMA Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer GEHRING GROUP Kate Grangard is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Gehring Group, which specializes in progressive solutions for large commercial, public and not for profit organizations in the State of Florida. A Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant, Kate started her career 25 years ago at Price Waterhouse, before becoming CFO of the Millers Ale House Restaurant Group for over 10 years, where she managed the employee benefits, financial reporting, financing, IT, and risk management departments. CFO of Gehring Group for over 9 years now, Kate became a Certified Health Care Reform Specialist and Gehring Group’s lead expert of the Affordable Care Acts upon the legislation’s passage in March 2010. Kate is a frequent speaker at various organizations, and authors and presents webinars and seminars throughout the year believing her role to be an educator with regard to this landmark legislation. In addition to appearing as a recurring guest expert on the Affordable Care Act on The South Florida Business Report on WPEC, Kate also serves as Vice Chair on the Executive Board of The Lord’s Place, an organization in Palm Beach County dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness; and serves on the advisory board of Children’s Rescue Coalition which supports law enforcement throughout the world to protect children by tracking sexual predators through its innovate software. Kate maintains various professional affiliations including membership in the AICPA, FICPA, FGFOA, and NAHU.
Facilitated Session Valuing Differences and Creating Unity.
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Lunch
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Be your Own Main Character
Beth Conlin, CEO, Beth Conlin LLCBeth Conlin
Beth Conlin is a business strategy leader with over 20 years of experience driving workforce development, corporate stewardship, and relationship management priorities across the automotive, financial services, and manufacturing industries, and non-profit policy institutes. Future-oriented and innovative, Beth is renowned for uniting C-suite executives, stakeholders, and clients to deliver multimillion-dollar, industry-disrupting solutions to complex challenges. She is also a public policy expert and vigorous advocate for military families, acting as an author, speaker, and sought-after advisor to Capitol Hill.
In her current role leading strategic initiatives, Beth drives Amazon’s innovation efforts, strengthens relationships with key customers and partners, and manages both internal and external C-suite engagement to maximize output and growth. Her creation of the pan-Amazon Executive Engagement Strategy yielded over $4 billion in revenue in its first year. Leveraging her expertise on the intersection of business and government, Beth drove development of Amazon’s positions on several key public tax and workforce issues, including the White House’s Joining Forces initiative. A military spouse herself and a trusted expert on the Status of Forces Agreement, Beth is passionate about knocking down barriers for DoD families. She belongs to several DoD and White House working groups, and is an advisor to Blue Star Families and MilitarySpouseJobs.org, as well as Chair of the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce. She holds an MBA from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a BS from the University of Idaho. When she isn’t charging hard as an executive or advocate, she indulges in travel, food tourism, and skiing. She and her family currently reside in Columbus, Georgia.
Learn how to be comfortable standing in your greatness. Tell your story to get that next role, promotion, or position. Connect the dots from your background and experience to your goals. Walk away knowing how to articulate why this makes you the valuable person that you are.
Goals: Stop "justing" yourself and get clear on your message to refine your story about you- to help you understand just how great you are.
Learning Objectives:
- personal development
- story telling
- learning how to remain focused on your ask/story/vision
Credits: 1 - Behavioral
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Leadership Shifts Every Woman needs to Make
Elzbieta Bijlani, Founder and Executive Coach, Consulting and Coaching Solutions LLCElzbieta Bijlani
Ela Bijlani is a leadership coach and a CPA with an extensive background in business and leadership. With over two decades of experience in various accounting sectors, she has developed a deep expertise in strategy and operations, as well as how effective leadership can transform careers, unify teams, and deliver positive outcomes. Ela’s approach uniquely combines business insight with coaching expertise, focusing on both the metrics that drive performance and the motivations that inspire individuals within an organization. This dual perspective underpins her coaching engagements, team development workshops, and speaking initiatives, allowing her to facilitate meaningful transformations and achieve tangible outcomes for the teams and professionals she works with. She is the founder of Consulting and Coaching Solutions, LLC and offers training on topics related to leadership development, personal effectiveness, and team collaboration. Ela is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA).
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Networking Break
This session is available to registrants only.
General Session
- Panel with Women to Watch Awardees
This session is available to registrants only.
Non-Member Price $325.00
Member Price $250.00