WLC 2025 Highlights The Importance Of Connection, Taking Risks Excitement and a spirit of collaboration filled the air as almost 200 attendees gathered for the 2025 PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference in June. The event kicked off with a special mixer for firsttime attendees, followed by an opening reception on the hotel lawn overlooking San Diego Bay and dine-arounds, where smaller groups of attendees got to know each other over dinner. “The most powerful part of WLC is not just what happens on the stage, it’s in the hallway conversations, breakthroughs over breakfast and other interactions,” says Ellen Tucker, MAS, CAE, PPAI’s chief revenue and experience officer. Those conversations played a huge role in the event, with generous breaks between sessions and designated roundtable discussions to allow time for attendees to share ideas, talk over what they’d learned and make more meaningful connections. The first day of sessions kicked off with a dynamic keynote address from renowned speaker and author Erica Dhawan, who told attendees that true human connection starts by doing something fun and then invited everyone to join her in some simple Bollywood dancing, which had the whole room on their feet, dancing and laughing. Dhawan then turned to the heart of her presentation: “Interacting has never been easier, but productive collaboration is harder than ever.” She provided a series of practical strategies to provide clearer and more empathetic communication, emphasizing the importance of creating space for different styles of connecting. The day closed with a banquet honoring PPAI’s 2025 Woman of Achievement Award recipient, Vera Muzzillo, the CEO of Proforma – PPAI 100’s No. 3 distributor – and a former PPAI Board member. Muzzillo was recognized for her willingness to step up, make tough decisions and put her name behind a risk she believes in over her nearly 25-year career in promotional products. The second day opened with another dynamic keynote from Kristy Grant-Hart, founder and CEO of Spark Compliance and a returning speaker for PPAI, who shared practical strategies for persuasion and influence. The event closed with a keynote from advertising veteran and former Harley-Davidson CMO Shelley Paxton, who shared how she redefined success for herself to prioritize humanity, well-being and soul. The event included fundraisers that brought in a recordbreaking $6,595 for PPEF and $4,250 for WLC scholarships. PPAI matched $10,000 of these funds, raising a total over $20,000. Attendees also painted panels to be assembled into a larger picture for the Foundation for Hospital Art, which will be donated to a hospital. PPAI • SEPTEMBER 2025 • 99 Inside PPAI | Community
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