Cranston, Rhode Island – Monday, October 7, 2019 – The ON Leadership Conference, focused on empowering attendees to more masterfully and confidently handle moments of change, will give attendees the chance to hear from a series of keynoters and leadership facilitators who have dedicated their lives to embracing the unknown and sparking personal transformation. Today, the ON team is excited to announce the three speakers who will be taking the stage to deliver TED-like presentations during the Lighting Talks segment: Ray Nuñez, Carole Ann Penney, and Trent Theroux.
This portion of the event, bookended by the opening and closing keynotes, is designed to equip attendees with lessons, frameworks and perspectives they can tap as they embrace their next moment of change through quick, engaging 20-minute talks. The ON Leadership Conference, taking place Nov. 21 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island, is presented by Dirigo Leadership Consulting and national leadership activator Tim Hebert.
“All our Lightning Talk speakers have a remarkable ability to deliver compelling content in a very powerful manner, while still being human and accessible,” says Hebert, who will be delivering the capstone keynote. “In hearing from these speakers, our attendees will be able to acquire specific tool sets and mindsets they can embrace along their change journey. Our speakers have important lessons to convey about grit, purpose, resilience, core values and transformation, among other themes. Ray, Carole Ann and Trent are going to light up the stage, and I cannot wait for our attendees to experience them live!”
Nuñez, a life-long storyteller, community engager and brand builder, arrived to the United States from Los Reyes, Michoacán, Mexico in 1999. He has been nationally recognized for his leadership, entrepreneurship and design work in various capacities. Nuñez also serves on several community and nonprofit boards, working to provide leadership opportunities for youth, creating a more inclusive philanthropy sector, and supporting creative efforts throughout Rhode Island.
“I’ll be sharing my story of transformational growth as a young professional, first-generation college student, and creative entrepreneur,” says Nuñez. “I’m hoping to encourage the audience to put an end to the hustle-at-all-costs mentality and start leading with a focus on prioritizing the whole self. I want folks to know that change is inevitable, leadership is a responsibility and self-care is critical for meaningful success.”
Penney helps mission-driven professionals navigate their career and leadership journeys with purpose and resilience. As the Founder of Penney Leadership, LLC, she guides her clients to develop skills and mindsets to become more engaged employees, more effective managers, and ultimately support more impactful organizations. Penney holds a B.A. in Education from Brown University and certifications in Nonprofit Management & Leadership from Tufts University and Professional Coaching from iPEC.
“I am looking forward to the ON Leadership Conference and being able to share with the audience a new paradigm for leadership that is built around change. Change isn’t going anywhere and as leaders, we need to step into the unknown often,” she says. “My hope is that attendees will walk away with real, actionable strategies to effectively lead themselves and others through the uncertainties of work and life, guided by their own sense of purpose and resilience.”
Rounding out the Lightning Talk round is Theroux, a CFO and a graduate school professor of business strategy. Theroux is committed to developing resilient leaders. He is the host of the Swimming in the Flood Podcast and was recognized by Sports Illustrated for his record breaking 41-mile swim around Aquidneck Island. Following an accident which left him paralyzed, Theroux created a foundation to provide durable medical goods for those with spinal cord injuries and funded the foundation by recently swimming the English Channel.
“The events of the past only shape who we are, they do not predict our future,” Theroux says. “The die is never cast. I am an Explorer of Change. And, Explorers of Change search only for tomorrow. The attendees of the ON Leadership Conference will join the search for change in their mindset and their actions.”
In addition to hearing from the three Lightning Talk speakers, attendees will have the chance to hear from Orlando Bowen, a keynote speaker focused on “equipping people to get off the sidelines and become difference-makers on their teams and in the lives of those around them.”
To grab your ticket to the ON Leadership Conference, taking place from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on Nov. 21, click here. To learn more about the event, click here.
