Innovation Women Newsletter #555

March 20, 2026

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GO BIG, MY SPEAKER & EVENT FRIENDS!

Hi ala,

Lisa from my team sent me the SXSW update. (I'm not there this year...first time in many years. Boooo.) 

On Saturday, futurist/author/speaker Amy Webb brought her usual brilliance and more to the SXSW main stage. (You can read my gushing 2021 interview with Amy here in Lioness Magazine )

Dressed in black, Webb held an onstage funeral for the annual trend report she and her company, the Future Today Strategy Group, have been producing for almost 20 years. She's shifting to a new kind of report, the Convergence Outlook, a playbook for "creative destruction". 

Why am I telling you this? (Besides being a Webb mega fan?) Because part-way into the presentation, the University of Texas' marching band showed up to support the announcement. Go big, or go home, as they say. A lesson for every speaker, and event organizer.

Bobbie and the entire Innovation Women team

EVENT MANAGER OR EXPERT?

SPEAKER FRIEND FRIDAYS

All are welcome!

Join us today (and every Friday) at 8:45 am ET for Speaker Friend Fridays on Zoom. You can also join us for West Coast Friendly Speaker Friends on the first Friday and third Friday (TODAY!) of each month at noon ET/9:00 am PT. Click the links below to RSVP and add the recurring links to your calendar. (Everyone is welcome at these events. Bring a friend, even if they aren't a member.) Event organizers? You're welcome too!

GET MORE SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES

We’re here to help you find EVEN MORE speaking opportunities.

Join Innovation Women founder and Speaker Friend Fridays host Bobbie Carlton, an industry veteran who has spent decades getting executives and experts onto high-visibility stages. You’ll get insider secrets and insights you can use immediately.

You know how speaking can drive business growth and dramatically boost your professional visibility, but do you know:

• What event managers, podcast hosts, and media are really looking for in speakers?
• How Innovation Women connects women and other underrepresented voices with speaking opportunities of all kinds?
• Ways you can uncover opportunities most others miss?

Plus, you’ll get a live tour of the Innovation Women speaking opportunity database, a look at our educational resources, and an introduction to our supportive online community.

Where other organizations stop short of delivering the real goods, Innovation Women always gives you the inside scoop.

Please join us: Wednesday April 15 at 3:00 pm ET

UPCOMING INNOVATION WOMEN WEBINAR

Behind the Red Dot: The Why, How and When TEDx Speakers are selected

Featuring Sybil Stewart

April 1, 2026, 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET

In this talk, Sybil will discuss expectations she holds as a TEDx organizer, what other organizers are doing and how to understand the TEDx process as an applicant.

By the end of this presentation, audience members will understand what it takes to get on stage, and what happens before and after a "great talk."

LIONESS MAGAZINE FEATURES

Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur is our digital magazine for women who are starting (or thinking about starting) companies. Get the latest news, tools and resources to launch and scale startups. This week you can read great articles like:

• Why Technology Transformations Keep Failing
• Stop Shrinking in Rooms You’ve Earned the Right to Be in

Lioness Networking: Writing, Publishing, and Building Your Author Brand

📅 Date: Tuesday, April 14th

🕒 Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET

From landing a publisher to self-publishing to marketing a book while running a business, the author journey is full of decisions no one really prepares you for. This month's networking session is a space for female entrepreneurs to connect, compare notes, and learn from each other at every stage of the writing and publishing process.

SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES

Every week our speakers get brand new opportunities and there are even more on our website. There are hundreds of open opportunities on the site right now and we added more than 60 new ones this week! Below are some of the NEW opportunities:

1. HFMA 2026 Women in Leadership 12th Annual Retreat June 18, 2026 Wheaton, IL Deadline 3/30/2026 - Health Care
2. BuiltWorlds 2026 Construction Tech Conference July 15-16, 2026 Chicago, IL Deadline 4/15/2026 - Construction
3. Infobip Shift 2026 September 13-15, 2026 Zadar, Croatia Deadline 5/22/2026 - Information Technology and Services
4. 13th World Congress on Special Needs Education November 23-25, 2026 Oxford, UK Deadline 3/31/2026 - Higher Education
5. 2026 ASHA Convention November 19–21, 2026 Indianapolis, IN Deadline 3/31/2026 - Health Care



Get hundreds of opportunities like these, a profile on our site, education and more for only $159/year!

EVENTS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

PARTNER EVENTS