Empowering Women in Tech and Beyond
October 1, 2025 | 2:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Tickets $50 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building
Presented by Ann Arbor SPARK.
This powerhouse event brings together inspiring women leaders, rising stars, and allies to share honest conversations about career growth, equity, and innovation. With panels, workshops, and a vibrant networking reception, Women in Tech is where connection meets empowerment.
Networking
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Programming
3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Women in Tech 2025 Agenda
Registration & Networking
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Opening Remarks
3:30 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.
- Senator Sue Shink, Emcee
Keynote
3:40 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
- Connie Chang, ONL Therapeutics
From Burnout to Breakthrough
4:15 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.
- Kathleen Craig (Moderator), Plinqit
- Lindsay Joseph, BedConnect
- Andrea Taylor, Livsee
- Linda Girard, Pure Visibility
A panel on turning frustration into innovation—featuring women who hit their limit, then built something better This discussion highlights how moments of burnout can become catalysts for creativity. Panelists will share how hitting their limits pushed them to reimagine solutions, launch new ventures, and create positive change in their industries.
Break
4:55 p.m. – 5:05 p.m.
Elevating Women
5:05 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
- Elaine Ezekiel (Moderator), Atomic Object
- Alisyn Jackson, The Manufacturing Institute, Deputy Director, FAME USA
- Shelly Wooley, SME Educational Foundation
- Faye Zaski, Toyota Vice President TMNA R & D Technical Research & Resources
This conversation shines a light on strategies to advance women in technology and manufacturing. Leaders will share insights on building supportive pathways, fostering equity, and driving lasting impact across industries.
Closing Remarks
5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Women in Tech Speakers
Plus more being announced soon!
Senator Sue Shink
Senator
State of Michigan
Senator Sue Shink is a community advocate, public servant, and mother who has dedicated her adult life to building healthier, more resilient communities. She is serving her first term in the Michigan Senate where she is fighting for working families.
Shink believes that government’s role is to serve the people with skill, honesty and integrity. Hailing from a proud union family, she grew up in Southeastern Michigan and earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Prior to being elected to the Senate, Shink served as Chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and as a Northfield Township Trustee. She was also chair of the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Committee (ALPAC) and served as a member on the Huron River Watershed Council as well as the Washtenaw County Food Policy Council.
Shink lives in Northfield Township on a small farm with her husband, Tom, where they proudly raised their three daughters.
Emcee: Senator Sue Shink
State of Michigan
Connie Chang
Chief Operating Officer
ONL Therapeutics
Connie has journeyed through a 25-year+ career across a broad spectrum of life sciences, from the commercial organizations at big pharma, to early-stage biomedical technology commercialization and now clinical-stage biopharma. She is currently Chief Operating Officer of ONL Therapeutics, a venture-backed clinical-stage therapeutics company developing a novel peptide technology to address diseases of the retina. At ONL, Connie is responsible for multiple functions including strategic planning, finance, HR and overall operations. Previously, she was Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Millendo Therapeutics responsible for building critical infrastructure as the company became publicly traded. She served as the inaugural managing director of Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI), the commercialization and entrepreneurship arm of the University of Michigan Medical School, supporting early-stage technology development. At Sepracor, Connie was Senior Director and team leader for the sedative hypnotic and respiratory franchises, developing integrated marketing and product launch plans. Earlier in her career, Connie worked at Pfizer on commercial teams in allergy/respiratory, cardiovascular and CNS.
Outside of work, Connie serves as a trustee of the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids and a member of the governing operating committee of the Translational Resource Center, an innovation hub for dental and regenerative medicine technologies led by University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh and the Wyss Institute at Harvard.
Connie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychobiology from Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Keynote: Connie Chang
ONL Therapeutics
Kathleen Craig
Founder & CEO
Plinqit
Kathleen Craig is the founder and CEO of Plinqit, which offers two ways to help banks and credit unions attract deposits. Plinqit, our namesake product, helps grow low-cost, sticky deposits through financial wellness. High Yield Savings by Plinqit (HYS) is a fully white-label way for financial institutions to spin up a digital brand or an affinity brand offering an attractive interest rate to drive new, high-growth deposits. Prior to launching Plinqit, Craig served as vice president for digital banking at a well-regarded community financial institution.
Craig leverages her shared industry experience as both banker and fintech leader as an advisor to several fintech start-ups and has served on the boards of A2EF and the Association for Financial Technology. Craig also regularly contributes articles to publications such as Forbes, ABA Marketing Magazine, Bank Director, and The Financial Brand. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University.
Craig’s experience in banking and technology and her passion for financial wellness education led her to the development of Plinqit. She has successfully raised over $12 million in venture funding for Plinqit and has partnered with several of the largest financial technology companies in the world. Plinqit now serves many bank and credit union clients across the U.S., including banks in the top 10 by asset size.
Kathleen Craig
Plinqit
Elaine Ezekiel
Director of Marketing
Atomic Object
Elaine Ezekiel leads marketing at Atomic Object, a custom software company that has grown across three states and earned national recognition during her time there. She helps people find and connect with the right ideas, stories, and partners—work that’s helped Atomic double in size.
Elaine is especially drawn to helping others shape careers that reflect who they really are—not just what looks good on paper. Even as technology changes how we live and work, she believes the most powerful force for progress is still human connection. She lives in Ann Arbor, where she’s always looking for ways to build community and make her city stronger.HR Innovator 2023
Elaine Ezekiel
Atomic Object
Linda Girard
CEO & Co-Founder
Pure Visibility
Linda Girard is the CEO of Pure Visibility, a 20-year-old award-winning digital marketing agency founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A Google Partner and Microsoft Advertising Partner, Pure Visibility specializes in AI SEO and digital advertising for companies ready to grow their visibility and ROI. The agency partners with organizations ranging from midsize businesses with $10M+ in revenue to global enterprises with portfolios valued at nearly $30B, focusing on B2B technology, eCommerce, multi-family housing/real estate, multi-location businesses, life sciences and education. Clients have included Stellantis, Compuware, Nuventra Pharma Sciences, Windsor Communities, Accuris formerly Techstreet, Ascent Cloud and the University of Michigan.
Girard’s leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the FastTrack Award by Ann Arbor SPARK, Grant Thornton Leader and Innovator of the Year, Top 10 Michigan Business Women by NAWBO, Entrepreneur of Distinction by Corp! Magazine, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and Business of the Year – Alumni-Owned Business from Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business.
She also serves as a member leader of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), a global network of over 19,000 business founders in 75 countries, where she sits on the US Central Region Board as Marketing & Partnerships Director and the local EO Detroit Chapter Board as Mentorship Chair. A WBENC-certified woman-owned business leader, she is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs, mentoring future leaders, and helping businesses thrive with AI and data-driven strategies.
Linda Girard
Pure Visibility
Alisyn Jackson
Deputy Director, FAME USA
The Manufacturing Institute
Ali Jackson is the Deputy Director, FAME USA at the Manufacturing Institute, the non-profit affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. In her current role, Ali supports the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) chapters nationwide by offering leadership and guidance to existing and developing chapters, developing program materials and resources, and sharing best practices for program integrity and reliability.
Prior to joining the Institute, Ali was the Manager of Solutions Plus at Martin Supply Company, offering OSHA safety training and industrial services to manufacturers across the Southeast. Additionally, Ali formerly served as the FAME Manager at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Originally from Guin, Alabama, Ali currently resides in Florence, Alabama with her husband, Cole – a FAME graduate and army veteran. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Science of Education and a master’s degree in Professional Studies with a concentration in Higher Education Administration. Interested in many areas of expertise, Ali also holds professional certificates as a Certified Professional through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP) and a Qualified Safety Sales Professional (QSSP).
Alisyn Jackson
The Manufacturing Institute
Lindsay Joseph
CEO and Co-Founder
BedConnect
Lindsay Joseph is the CEO and Co-Founder of BedConnect, a healthcare technology company transforming how hospitals and post-acute care providers coordinate patient transitions.
A former hospital CFO, Lindsay saw firsthand how outdated systems and fragmented workflows impacted both financial performance and patient care. That dual perspective sparked her mission to build something better. BedConnect bridges the gap between hospital discharge and post-acute care—combining operational rigor with human-centered design to improve outcomes for patients, providers, and health systems alike.
Lindsay is also the co-founder of FoundHers: MedTech Entrepreneur Circle, a curated network of women founders who open doors for one another—strategically and wholeheartedly. With her first investors being women, she remains a passionate advocate for rising together in healthcare innovation.
A proud Michigan native, CPA, and Wayne State graduate, Lindsay serves on the board of the Detroit Historical Society and is mom to two rescue dogs. She’s deeply committed to building technology that works for real people—not just systems.
Lindsay Joseph
BedConnect
Andrea Michele Taylor
Founder
Livsee
Andrea M. Taylor has more than a decade of experience as an entrepreneur and innovator in the multifamily real estate industry. She founded Livsee™ to transform the rental experience with data-driven tools that simplify leasing for renters and optimize occupancy for operators. Andrea previously led innovation and ancillary services for major operators, most recently Morgan Properties and Waterton. She holds a BA from Michigan State University. Her deep industry expertise fuels Livsee’s focus on innovation and operational excellence.
Andrea Michele Taylor
Livsee
Shelley Wooley, Ed.D
National Director of Education Programs
SME Education Foundation
Dr. Shelley Wooley serves the SME Education Foundation as the National Director of Education Programs. In this role, she provides oversight of and directs the execution of SME PRIME® (Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education), a national initiative that directly enhances the skilled trades talent pipeline and assists students across the nation strengthen their lifetime employment opportunities.
Shelley Wooley, Ed.D. has held leadership roles both in higher education as well as the K-12 arena. Prior to joining the SME Education Foundation, Dr. Wooley retired from higher education having served as the chief student affairs officer, the Dean of Student Life and Retention, at a small Michigan university. Dr. Wooley’s responsibilities were heavily focused on strengthening student success through the first year and enhancing degree completion. Her higher education background, coupled with her K-12 experience, provided a breadth of knowledge which supported a restructuring of the SME PRIME program into a comprehensive, robust and scalable program of tailored manufacturing and engineering education.
Wooley earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Central Michigan University, an Ed S in Educational Administration from Northern Michigan University, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Lake Superior State University and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Houston (Clear Lake). Her areas of research include service learning in secondary and higher education, college access, educational equity, post-secondary transition and first year student success. Having received a number of recognitions, Dr. Wooley is most proud of the 2010, recognition by the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians for her efforts in enhancing the college-going aspirations among regional youth, particularly Tribal youth.
Shelley Wooley, Ed.D
SME Education Foundation
Faye Zaski
Vice President
Toyota Motor N.A. R&D
Faye Zaski is Vice President at Toyota Motor N.A. R&D. She leads the Materials Manufacturing Performance Engineering Department in Ann Arbor Mi. In this role, she leads engineers, technicians and analysts to develop materials, prototype vehicles and evaluate performance for Toyota NA vehicles. In addition, she’s currently the R&D lead for Toyota’s Regional Diversity Council, she’s passionate about attracting & growing the next generation of talent to accelerate the future of mobility; leveraging programs such as FAME (Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education).
Faye joined Toyota in 2003 and previously has had roles in Materials Engineering and Interior Design Engineering. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. Chemical Engineering. She’s a member of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and an active supporter of Toyota’s Business Partnering Groups (BPGs) where she’s held numerous leadership roles in WIIT (Women Influencing and Impacting Toyota).
Faye Zaski
Toyota Motor N.A. R&D
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