Excitement and a spirit of collaboration filled the air as almost 200 attendees gathered for the 2025 PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference this week. The event kicked off on Monday afternoon with a special mixer for first-time 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,” Ellen Tucker, MAS, CAE, PPAI’s chief revenue and experience officer, said during Tuesday’s opening remarks.
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.
Tizzy Scott, director of sales west with supplier ETS Express, enjoyed the dine-around experience in particular. “Anytime you can sit with other women and engage with them, hear about their lives – I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening.”
Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence
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.
“Reading messages carefully is the new listening, and writing well is the new empathy,” she said, encouraging attendees to take time to think about how the other person will receive the message. “Never confuse a brief message with a clear one.”
Attendees appreciated Dhawan’s high energy and practical advice.
“There were key takeaways that I could implement immediately,” said Stephanie Preston, senior director of marketing for No. 5 supplier PCNA, one of the event sponsors.
More takeaways from Tuesday’s sessions:
What I Wish I Knew: Candid Reflections From Executives
- Susan Lewandowski, managing director of No. 44 supplier BEL Promo, said she wished she had been warned that leadership can be lonely. “People who came to you before might not come to you now because they don’t know what to expect.”
- Lewandowski also encouraged attendees to go for jobs they might not feel 100% qualified for. “Somebody will be there to help you check those other boxes.”
- Debbie Abergel, chief strategy officer at No. 38 distributor Nadel, said she has learned along the way that discomfort is a learning experience. “I want to be uncomfortable so I learn new things. We all need to get uncomfortable.”
- Brittany David, MAS, CRO of No. 6 supplier SnugZ USA, encouraged attendees to be intentional showing vulnerability and making space for others to do so as well. “Vulnerability is one leg on the chair of authenticity. … That’s what makes you human. … We need to make space for people try new things and not fear retaliation.”
“It’s so interesting to hear people from different organizations and … to see those nuances within the industry,” said Kara Reilly, senior marketing manager with PCNA. “I appreciated their honesty.”
Debbie Abergel
Chief Strategy Officer, Nadel
Revenue-Driven Decision Making: What To Track & When To Act
What happens when numbers don’t tell you the full story? This panel, moderated by Board member Erin Reilly, founder and former CEO of No. 45 supplier Pop! Promos, dug into which metrics matter most and how to dig into the data to gain valuable insights.
- Look at sales operations and what creates engagement and leads, advised Sarah Greenway, VP of sales for business service provider Delegate CX. “What is it other teams are doing every single week to get in front of customers and potential customers?” she said. “What things really help to drive opportunities?”
- There’s always a story to tell in your operational data, said Melissa Bettua, director of sales for No. 4 supplier HPG. “If something doesn’t feel right to me, I will always trust my gut, but I want to see if we weren’t capturing something correctly,” she added. “Maybe a report malfunctioned – technology is not always perfect – or something wasn’t entered correctly.”
- Transparency and constant communication are vital, said Chelsea Williams, owner and CEO of No. 72 distributor Spark Branded Solutions. “You have to break it down into bite-sized pieces so it’s not overwhelming.”
And Now For Something A Little Different…
The first session after lunch on Monday introduced WLC attendees to a new interactive learning experience designed not only to get people talking but to appeal to different learning styles and thinking about different aspects of the industry. Attendees were assigned to groups that were then designated as suppliers, distributors and customers, and each group was given tasks and variables for marketing, sales and more.
“We were all throwing out ideas and seeing what would stick,” said Rebecca Klapper, director of marketing and brand for No. 11 distributor Boundless and a first-time WLC attendee. “I loved the creativity and getting out from behind a computer screen.
Honoring The 2025 Woman Of Achievement
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.
“To be honored by the leaders of the promotional products industry is more than I could have ever imagined,” said Muzzillo in brief remarks during the dinner. “… As I tell my Proforma family, we are just a very small piece of something far larger than ourselves, so let’s make it count.”
RELATED: ‘Heartbreak And Triumph:’ The Origins Of WLC, As Told By The Women Who Created It
Mastering The Art Of Influence, Risk And Resiliency
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.
- To motivate your team, she advised, think about how each person wants to be seen and how you can best approach them. “When people feel understood, they’re much more likely to like you,” she said.
- Grant-Hart also shared tips on how to learn and remember names to forge connections. “Learning names is a skill, so don’t tell yourself you’re bad at it – tell yourself you’re learning.”
- Pay attention to how you start sentences, she said, and avoid self-sabotaging introductions like “Sorry …” or “You probably already thought of this, but …” which distracts and detracts from your intended message. “Trust your voice and what it is you have to say,” she added.
Grant-Hart also talked about the importance of taking risks and overcoming self-doubt. “You have to be willing to ask for what you need,” she said. “… Take those risks that are worth taking to grow.”
Lee Ann Mazzarisi, executive director of brand operations for No. 34 distributor Whitestone, is a first-time attendee and WLC scholarship recipient already eager to return next year. “I am not going to apologize for being who I am and the leader I want to become,” she said after Wednesday’s keynote. “I definitely feel empowered after this conference to be more resilient and empower my direct reports.”
Lee Ann Mazzarisi
Executive Director of Brand Operations, Whitestone
More takeaways from Wednesday’s sessions:
Legacy In Action: Lessons From Women Of Achievement
Kara Keister, MAS, moderated a panel discussion with three Women of Achievement honorees about what they’ve learned over the course of their careers. Keister, promise keeper for distributor Social Good Promotions and a PPAI Board member, asked what leadership means to each of them and how they elevate future leaders.
- True leadership means supporting your team and letting them own projects and accept accolades, said Muzzillo, this year’s honoree. “Always let everyone else be the hero. If somebody has to be the goat, you be the goat.”
- “I would like my legacy to be that every foundation that I’ve set, the next generation will take it further and that they can take some of the lessons they’ve learned from me to make things better,” Muzzillo added. “That’s what it’s all about – constant improvement.”
- Roni Wright, MAS, VP of The Book Company and the 2013 Woman of Achievement, said being willing to take a chance opened doors for her. “Whether I knew the answers or not, I was willing to step in and make it happen,” she said.
- Wright also highlighted volunteering, whether in her company or for another organization, as a key path to growth. “I got very lucky because I got told to step into volunteer roles, and by stepping into volunteer roles, you are sitting at the table with people that can help you grow in your career, and that was magical for me.”
- “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do that people are going to follow,” said Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS+, CEO of No. 62 distributor Competitive Edge. “I’m a huge proponent of paying it forward and elevating other people so that they understand that they are making a difference.”
- Tomasini, the 2021 Woman of Achievement and 2017 PPAI Board Chair added that it can be important to push people out of their comfort zones. “There are people who are not going to take the first step unless you push them gently out of the nest, so I’m always in the background pushing.”
All three panelists agreed that it’s important to share the spotlight and make sure people at all levels get credit for achievement. “There’s enough sunshine for everybody,” said Tomasini.
Vera Muzzillo
CEO of Proforma & PPAI’s 2025 Woman of Achievement
Operational Intelligence Unlocked: What Leaders Overlook & Why It Matters
Kate Alavez, CAS, president of No. 20 distributor PromoShop and a PPAI Board member, asked panelists about how they manage operations, encourage emerging leaders and foster innovation.
- HR needs to be part of operational strategy, said Kimberly Sandifer, chief human resources officer for No. 2 distributor HALO, “because at the core of every successful business is the people. HR brings in a strategic perspective of what type of people we need in the room and what we need to do to keep them in the room.”
- Sales people are a valuable source for operational insights, Sandifer added. “The talent is who’s going to get the work done and who’s closest to the customer.”
- Britney Godsey, CRO for No. 32 supplier Gold Bond advised attendees to provide clear expectations to the people they supervise. “One of the greatest gifts we as leaders can give is to clearly say, ‘This is what a kick-butt job looks like in this role.’”
- Latisha Marshall, senior vice president of operations for No. 27 distributor ePromos Promotional Products, advised attendees to get operations people involved earlier in sales efforts to avoid confusion and potential hiccups. “Support is not back office help – they are strategic partners. … If you’re all rowing in the same direction, it creates that synergy naturally.”
I Quit So You Don’t Have To: Redefining Success
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.
Paxton opened with the story of how she learned to ride a motorcycle and the insights gained in the process, in particular: “If you fixate on what you’re trying to avoid, you’re going to hit it.”
She shifted gears to talk about her own struggle to find well-being when she had achieved what she thought of as career success. “So many of us are taught from a very young age that success looks a certain way,” Paxton said, “[But] what they don’t tell us is we can do all of these things on someone else’s terms and we end up feeling empty.”
Paxton also addressed the risk of burnout, noting that it’s especially common among women. “You want to feel alive, aligned and energized” in your work and life, she added, warning against what she called “the Shackles of Should” – operating under other people’s expectations instead of your own wants and needs.
She encouraged attendees to give themselves permission to disregard external pressures that drain their energy and joy. “It starts here, giving ourselves permission,” she said. “This is the key to unlocking the Shackles of Should. Once it happens, the gates begin to open.”
Get really honest about what you want and need, Paxton added, and ask yourself: “What do I need to give myself permission to do, not to do and/or feel in order to show up as my most badass, powerful, bold, brave self?” She challenged attendees to write down what fuels them and what drains them, and then to write their own permission slips to push back on hustle culture.
“Let’s normalize what it looks like to pause, to create intentional breaks in our days, our weeks, our months,” she said. “Let’s give ourselves permission to release the ‘crazy busy.’”
Building Community & Giving Back
The event included fundraisers that brought in a record-breaking $6,595 for PPEF and $4,250 for WLC scholarships. Attendees also painted panels to be assembled into a larger picture for the Foundation for Hospital Art, which will be donated to a hospital.
“It was an amazing conference,” said Pamela Stauffer, design director at Gemline, who attended the conference for the first time as a scholarship recipient. “I’m really grateful to attend. This is an incredible community of empowering women. I took so many notes, and I’m going to go through them and make a list of action items.”
Suzanne Simpson, MAS, director of strategic accounts for No. 13 supplier Gemline and chair of the 2025 PPAI WLC workgroup said she loved watching the smiles around the room and the collaborations that may not have ever taken place outside of WLC. “I love that we brought together people that wouldn’t otherwise get together. The dialogue and the engagement and takeaways we’re going to bring back home are so valuable.”
Next year’s PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference will be held June 22-24, 2026, in Milwaukee at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel.
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Many Thanks To Our WLC 2025 Sponsors:
Diamond Sponsor
SAGE
Carbon Offset
4imprint
Platinum Sponsor
PCNA (journal & pen)
Gold Sponsor
BEL Promo (drinkware)
Terry Town (Turkish towel)
Gold Bond (travel rollup bag)
