Nationally known body language expert and University of Louisiana at Lafayette alum Jan Hargrave will be keynote speaker for UL Lafayette’s Women’s Leadership Conference.
The 2025 conference will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, at the Cajundome Convention Center. Registration for the conference, which is in its 18th year, has begun.
Hargrave, CEO of Houston-based consulting firm Jan Hargrave & Associates, has written five books and been featured by the New York Times, NBC News and People Magazine. She has worked with many Fortune 500 companies, including Merrill Lynch, Starbucks, NASA and IBM. Hargrave has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston and has taught seminars nationwide about how to understand nonverbal communication.
"Moving Forward Together: Women Educating and Inspiring Generations" is the theme for this year’s conference, which is sponsored by the University’s Office for Campus Inclusion. It will feature 20 breakout sessions.
Kiwana McClung, the University’s chief inclusion officer, said the conference addresses topical subjects of interest to women, including mental health, generational communication and community service. About 500 people attended last year’s conference, she added.
“The Women’s Leadership Conference educates women, it celebrates women, and it allows us to have the honest conversations we need to have in order to advance our own lives and continue taking care of the world, as we have for millennia,” McClung said.
In addition to personal and professional leadership development opportunities, the conference also recognizes three women who have made an impact within their field. The conference’s annual awards include the Emerging Leader Award, the Rising Leader Award and the Sarah Brabant Trailblazer Award. The 2025 winners will be announced during the conference.
Learn more about the 2025 Women’s Leadership Conference. Email questions to inclusion@louisiana.edu.
Photo caption: Jan Hargrave will be keynote speaker for UL Lafayette's 2025 Women's Leadership Conference. It will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, at the Cajundome Convention Center. Registration is underway. Submitted photo.