Why Mission-Driven Cultures Inspire Lifelong Careers
What inspires someone to build their career at a company? It’s when they can see beyond just a job title and see their work as contributing to something bigger, a mission that matters. Join Lisa Berry, Laura Krenek, and Chris Rice from Esri for an engaging virtual conversation about how mission-driven work sparks curiosity, fuels purpose, and inspires lifelong careers. You’ll hear from team members with a wide variety of backgrounds as we explore the role of Geographic Information System, or GIS, technology that is at the heart of Esri. From disaster response to climate resilience to smarter cities, you will see how impact comes to life through innovation and intention. We will also dig into what it really means to be “curious by nature” and why curiosity is more than a tagline. It is a mindset. You will walk away with: • A deeper understanding of how GIS drives real world impact • Insights into how curiosity fuels innovation and long-term career growth • A fresh perspective on how your unique lens can shape a mission-driven path • An inside look at how Esri supports continuous professional development • A glimpse into Esri’s unique approach to sales • Why working for a privately owned company can contribute to long term stability and gro
Lisa Berry
Lisa has spent 12 years on Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas team, where she develops authoritative datasets, tutorials, and tools that help GIS professionals solve spatial challenges worldwide. She specializes in automation workflows that streamline the integration of geospatial data into the Living Atlas, enabling broader access to high-quality, trusted content. Lisa is passionate about empowering the GIS community through evangelism, education, and intuitive GIS resources. Beyond her work at Esri, she applies GIS in competitive auto racing, using spatial analysis to evaluate performance and make real-time strategic decisions.
Chris Rice
Chris Rice is a Senior Account Manager on Esri's Southeast State and Local Government team, supporting the Atlanta region. After eight years working for an Esri partner in roles ranging from GIS Analyst to GIS Director, Chris brings extensive knowledge in GIS software, project management, business development, and local government to the team. He has a passion for, and believes it's essential to, impart knowledge of spatial science to as many people as possible. After all, everything happens somewhere!
Laura Krenek
Laura Krenek is the Head of Brand Marketing at Esri, the global leader in mapping and analytics, where she has spent the past decade building campaigns and stories that create lasting brand equity. With 18+ years in marketing and campaigns spanning 100+ countries, she has made a career out of championing purpose-driven brands. A scuba diver, yoga teacher, and mom, Laura brings the same values to work that she brings to every part of her life: creativity, curiosity, and connection. She is deeply passionate about helping others discover that the most meaningful work and the most meaningful life are one and the same.
Intentional Ambition: A Conversation with visionary career consultant & author Rha Goddess
Get ready to light up your career path with Rha Goddess, the powerhouse behind Move The Crowd and a trailblazer for social entrepreneurs and changemakers! In this dynamic fireside chat, Rha will walk you through the secrets from her new book Intentional Ambition: Redefining Your Work for Greater Joy, Freedom, and Fulfillment, showing you how to break free from the grind and design a life where work and purpose align seamlessly. Forget feeling resigned to your job—this conversation is all about intentionally choosing the path that truly excites you. From overcoming the internal struggle of compartmentalizing your work and personal life to setting higher standards for mental, spiritual, emotional, and financial success, Rha will share strategies that have helped hundreds of high-achievers find not just success, but soul-satisfying joy.
Rha Goddess
Rha Goddess is the entrepreneurial soul coach behind hundreds of breakthrough changemakers, cultural visionaries, and social entrepreneurs. Her mission? To revolutionize the way we live, work, play and handle our business. From the onset of her more than 30-year career as a cultural innovator, social impact strategist and creative change agent, Rha has drawn on the power of creativity, culture, and community to move hearts, minds and policy.
Rha has leveraged her transformative approach to empowering individuals, teams, and organizations like: Google, Lululemon, Delta, The B Team, Fidelity, KBL- Eisner, AICPA, Harris & Rothenberg International, Girls Who Code, The Ford Foundation and many more.
In 2011, Rha founded Move The Crowd, a social entrepreneurial training company dedicated to organizational leaders, creative change agents, and cultural entrepreneurs working at the intersection of values, profitability and social impact. Since its inception, Move The Crowd has helped launch and scale luminaries like Gabrielle Bernstein, Reshma Saujani, Eren Ozmen, Anu Gupta and Imara Jones among others.
In 2020 Rha Goddess co-founded nFormation- a first-of-its-kind vetted community and platform for high-achieving WOC seeking to reimagine traditional power. Their capstone research project PowHer Redefined, launched in 2022 in collaboration with Billie Jean King and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative was featured in CNN, FastCompany, Forbes, among others and culminated in a symposium and TED Talk that garnered over 1.7M views.
In 2022 Rha launched Born To Shine, a high level mastermind and community of practice dedicated to elevating WOC entrepreneurs and leaders who are rising to meet this unique moment in their life and leadership with greater vision, agency and permission.
As a sought-after speaker, Rha has led the conversation around a “whole self” approach to entrepreneurial leadership as the key to a more just, harmonious and sustainable economy and world. She has presented at SOCAP, TEDWomen, Bioneers, SVN, Women Donors Network, High Performance Academy, Harvard, Influencer Summit, EO University, Social Venture Institute, Equity Now, Netroots Nation, Emerging Women, Women and Power, S.H.E. Summit, Inner MBA, Delta She Talks, MuleSoft Women in Tech, Simon Sinek’s Optimism, and more.
Rha is the author of 2 books, The Calling: Three Fundamental Shifts to Stay True, Get Paid and Do Good (St. Martin’s Press) and Intentional Ambition: Redefining Your Work For Greater Joy, Freedom, and Fulfillment (Wiley Spring of 2025).
Career Clarity: What is it and do you have it?
By having clarity around your career, you can feel grounded in your professional decisions and reach your goals faster, but do you have career clarity? In this talk, CEO & Career Coach Rachel Serwetz will define career clarity, teach you the process to reaching clarity, and discuss how to know when you have reached the point of career certainty. If you frequently question if your career is bringing you fulfillment or if you should change career paths, this discussion is meant for you! Finding clarity around your career path can help you feel fulfilled, relieved, and excited, both professionally and personally, and Rachel will make this lofty goal into something that is within your reach.
Rachel Serwetz (She/Her)
Rachel Serwetz' early professional experience was at Goldman Sachs in Operations and at Bridgewater Associates in HR. From there, she was trained as a coach at NYU and became a certified coach through the International Coach Federation. After this, she worked in HR Research at Aon Hewitt and attained her Technology MBA at NYU Stern. Throughout her career, she has helped hundreds of professionals with career exploration and for the past 6 years she has been building her company, WOKEN, which is an online career exploration platform to coach professionals through the process of clarifying their ideal job and career path. She has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Binghamton University and as a Career Coach through the Flatiron School/WeWork, Columbia University, and Project Activate. Learn more about WOKEN here: iamwoken.com.
Unforgettable in Uncertain Times: Building Visibility and Influence on LinkedIn After a Layoff
Layoffs can shake confidence and momentum but they don’t have to define your career. In this virtual fireside chat, Lorraine K. Lee shares how to reclaim your professional presence, rebuild credibility, and stay visible on LinkedIn during periods of transition. Drawing on her experience as a LinkedIn Top Voice and former founding editor, Lorraine will offer practical strategies to help you show up with clarity, authenticity, and influence so opportunities find you, even in uncertain times. Key Takeaways: How to talk about a layoff on LinkedIn with confidence and professionalism Simple ways to increase visibility and engagement without “self-promotion fatigue” What hiring managers and recruiters actually notice during career transitions How to rebuild momentum and influence while navigating uncertainty
Lorraine K. Lee
Lorraine K. Lee is a keynote speaker and the best-selling author of Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career. She also teaches popular courses at Stanford Continuing Studies and LinkedIn Learning. She is passionate about empowering leaders to elevate their presence, influence, and impact. Her insights have been featured in media outlets including CNBC, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fast Company, and Financial Times. Lorraine is recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice with hundreds of thousands of followers, and previously spent over a decade as a founding editor at companies including LinkedIn and Prezi.
How AI Is Changing the Game for Women Returning to Work After Career Breaks
What does the rise of AI really mean for women returning to work after a career break? In this candid fireside chat, Tami Forman, Executive Director of Women Back to Work, will break down how returners can actually use AI tools to boost their job search, refresh their skills, and tell a stronger story about their experience. She’ll explore how AI is changing the skills employers value, often in ways that benefit professionals with non-linear paths, and tackle the fear that “there won’t be any jobs left.” Expect practical advice, myth-busting, and an empowering look at how to navigate what’s next with confidence.
Tami Forman (She/Her)
Tami Forman is the Executive Director of Women Back to Work, a program that enables employers to access a pool of highly qualified and skilled professionals who are not typically available through traditional channels.The WBW program is powered by Akraya, a premier IT and tech staffing firm. Prior to WBW, Tami founded Path Forward, a nonprofit organization that worked with employers to create systematic pathways that empower women to return to paid work. During her 7 years at Path Forward, Tami and her team launched return to work programs with more than 100 companies, including PayPal, Apple, Netflix, SAP, Walmart, and Pepsi.She is an expert on gender equity, talent planning, professional development, and women’s participation in the paid labor market. She is a frequent speaker on these issues, having presented at the Grace Hopper Celebration, DisruptHR, Tech Inclusion, and the Conference Board’s Women’s Leadership Conference, among others. She is also a writer on topics related to career and women in the workplace at publications like Fortune, TODAY.com, New America Weekly, Forbes and LinkedIN. She was a Fairygodboss VIP and was named by Flexjobs as one of the top 20 career experts for working moms. She writes a newsletter on these and other topics called How We Do It.