Featured Speakers
Anne Altman
Anne Altman is known as a transformational leader for addressing complex business challenges within IBM and on behalf of clients. Notably, she re-established IBM as a major force in the U.S. Federal market. Ms. Altman is known for her development, growth, and mentoring of leaders within IBM and throughout the business community.
In 2014, she was selected by the Greater Washington Government Contractor Award Executive of the Year honor for leaders of contractors that exceed $300 million in revenue. She is the recipient of the 2013 IES and BD Lifetime Achievement Award.
Aileen Black
Aileen Black is a highly-respected IT industry executive and general manager with dynamic record of driving exponential revenue growth in public sector organizations internationally and domestically including Oracle, EMC and VMware. Her unique pedigree includes developing industry-changing technology businesses from the ground up.
With more than 25 years of experience building, managing and motivating top-notch technology organizations and channels, Aileen is a sales and business leader with a deep understanding of the procurement, contracting, sales, marketing and political landscape of the public sector market.
Misti Burmeister
Misti Burmeister is an award-winning author, entrepreneur & innovator … and one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll meet. Her work has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR), in Smart CEO magazine, and the Huffington Post, just to name a few. She is the author of “Provoking Greatness.”
Nearly fifteen years ago, Misti started her career with a passion for helping young and seasoned professionals understand how to communicate effectively with one another – today, her groundbreaking work is about provoking leaders, across the globe, to measurable greatness.
Jen Burns
Jen Burns is a global operations and enablement professional, with 16 years of management, operations, enablement, learning & development, business development, marketing, and project management experience. She has a focus on helping organizations build and execute upon a scalable operations and sales enablement framework to catalyze short and long term growth expectations.
Jen is currently Vice President of Operations and Enablement at Fishtree where she is responsible for building out and scaling an operational, marketing and sales strategy and framework to take the organization from an early phase startup to market leader.
Mary Beth Cockerham
As Vice President of Sales at Deltek, Mary Beth Cockerham leads the sales teams responsible for all new member acquisition for Deltek’s GovWin IQ, offering business intelligence to companies pursuing public sector sales. She is also responsible for the Global Sales Development teams.
Mary Beth has held sales leadership positions at Input and Sun Microsystems. A self-professed “data geek”, she enjoys both the science of analytics and the art of coaching that is required of successful sales executives. While she has dedicated her entire career to sales, it became truly a family business last year when her older child graduated from college and became a Sales Development Rep for a DC-area technology firm.
Kara DelVecchio
Keynote speaker Kara DelVecchio is the Vice President of Sales, responsible for North American revenue for WeddingWire. She oversees a sales team of more than 150 sales professionals and is focused on delivering profitable growth and scaling the organization for future success.
Prior to joining WeddingWire, Kara held a variety of roles at CEB, and most recently served as Executive Director of North American sales overseeing a $400m revenue line. Kara has more than 15 years of experience leading complex sales organizations in a fast paced environment and managing client relationships with Fortune 500 executives.
Robin Finnell
Robin Finnell has been dressing women for more than 20 years. As a Doncaster Wardrobe Stylist, she helps senior female executives, professionals, socialites, and philanthropists define their style and showcase their personal brand by creating and coordinating their wardrobes, so getting dressed is simple and the perfect outfit is at their fingertips.
The Doncaster Collection is a premium designer clothing line. Robin shows this gorgeous collection at her studio near Tyson’s Corner by private appointment. Her goal is for her clients to be able to walk into their closet and walk out confident they are wearing clothing that fits properly, reflects their personal style, looks fabulous and is perfect for their day ahead! In other words the WOW factor.
Elaine Gibson
Cited as one of the Top 10 Most Inspirational Natural Cancer Survivors by Extreme Health Radio (#4), Elaine Gibson is proof that lifestyle matters. Having beaten Stage IV Cancer without traditional protocols, she shares her hard won lessons so that you can lose weight, have more energy and take charge of your life so that you can look and feel great.
Elaine has been prominently featured in VA Woman Magazine, International Raw Food Day, Take Back Your Health conferences in VA and CA, Holistic Lifestyle Magazine, and part of the important Quest for the Cures documentary series alongside Dr. Brian Clements and Dr. Gabriel Cousens. Most recently, she was a contributing author in a newly released inspirational book “Don’t Waste My Cancer”.
Sylvia Henderson
Sylvia Henderson, Founder & CEO of Springboard Training, works with business owners & teams on ideation, strategy, implementation, and accountability. Integrating 30+ years of IBM, AOL, business ownership, and non-profit board leadership experience, results Sylvia achieves in partnership with you are improved productivity through better systems & processes, as well as intentional action and follow-up.
Sylvia is the author of the book “Hey, That’s MY Idea! How to Speak Up & Get Recognized for What You Know & Think” and creator of the Idea Success Network, a program designed to apply the book strategies to your reality. Personally she is a volunteer Girl Scout Trainer, Trekkie, rollercoaster enthusiast, and rides a motorcycle as alternate transportation.
Susan J. Lee
Susan J. Lee is the Vice President of Sales for MOI, accountable for directly impacting the company’s sales revenue by growing the business annually. Her main focus is to ensure that MOI remains the number one furniture dealer in the Mid-Atlantic market, providing clients with an exceptional level of service and offering a wide breadth of product solutions.
Susan has more than 25 years of sales and leadership experience in the furniture industry. During her career, she has built a reputation for excellence, innovative strategic thinking, working with the highest level of integrity, and a deep and passionate commitment to MOI clients. She understands that building client relationships into long term partnerships drives growth for all involved.
BettyAnn Leesburg-Lange
BettyAnn Leeseberg-Lange created Well Consulting, LLC, to provide accent modification for international sales, corporate, medical, legal, academic and religious professionals while encouraging them to keep their heritage, culture and customs. Being not just heard, but also understood is the skill which can break the “Dialect Ceiling.”
BettyAnn has worked on accent modification for 20+ years in business, professional theatre and academia. She developed her techniques using kinesiology, teaching clients to feel spoken sounds rather than just listen to them. BettyAnn’s most famous clients are Howard Stern and the on-air reporters of npr’s FRESH AIR.
Doni O’Connor
Doni O’Connor is the Senior Branding Account Executive with Target Marketing Group (TMG). TMG, a brand management services company, is a leader in the branded promotional industry, ranked amongst the top 50 companies in the industry.
With a keen eye for helping her clients define their marketing strategies and branding demands, Doni bringing the best solutions to build brand awareness. Doni’s partnership mentality has earned her a long-standing and loyal client roster that includes Agilent Technologies, Citigroup, Primerica, Deloitte, the Advisory Board, and the Redskins to name a few.
Steve Richard
Steve Richard’s mission and life’s work is to help as many sales professionals as possible become wildly successful. He has been featured in numerous publications including The Harvard Business Review, The Washington Business Journal, and The Washington Post.
Outside of work, Steve enjoys scuba diving, skiing, running, and watching lots of football. He lives in Arlington, VA with his wife Ellen and their four kids under age seven.
Tassey Russo
Tassey Russo, CEO of Level Up Solutions, is an IT executive with 25+ years of experience in the federal government, at the Nasdaq Stock Market and as a consultant to non-profit associations. She works today with executives and small business owners ready to take a hard look at how their business is doing and implement value-based changes resulting in strategic solutions to better serve their client base as well as create a more intentional, accelerated pathway for growth and sustainable future business. Tassey guides them from a focus on traditional methods of marketing, selling and servicing to instead adopting or incorporating entrepreneurial perspectives, approaches and best practices to attract, win and retain clients.
Tassey is the Director for the IES Women in Sales program, the sponsor of The Selling Edge conference. She is a speaker and has served as a mentor to entrepreneurship programs at Colgate University and the University of Maryland. Tassey is also the volunteer marketing chair for a local charity supporting the American Red Cross.
