DAY 2 RECAP:

2025 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SUMMIT: 

POWERFUL VOICES

It's been a great second day at the

West Virginia Chamber of Commerce

2025 Women’s Leadership Summit: Powerful Voices

Check out a recap of Day 2 from the Women’s Leadership Summit, featuring the highlights and big takeaways that shaped the day’s discussions.

Thank you for joining this event!

As they sat in a room at The Greenbrier with its bright colors and dramatic contrasts, women at the Women’s Leadership Summit had a front-row seat as they listened to author Joy Callaway describe how she found inspiration to write about the woman who did the interior design at the resort.

The Marshall University graduate is the best-selling author of “The Grand Design,” which tells the story of Dorothy Draper and her vision that gave The Greenbrier its iconic look.

Callaway was raised in North Carolina where she lives with her family, but she visited family in West Virginia in the summers while growing up and gathered at the grand hotel for family reunions. Her love for history and The Greenbrier sparked her interest in doing the meticulous research and to write the historical fiction book.

She said she loves West Virginia, its beauty and people and the Mountain State has been a driver for her literary inspiration. Several of her books in addition to “The Grand Design” have a West Virginia connection.

Callaway, whose works spotlight trailblazing women, also authored other books including “The Fifth Avenue Artists Society,” “Secret Sisters,” “All The Pretty Places,” “What The Mountains Remember,” “The Star of Camp Greene” and “Sing Me Home to Carolina.”

She challenged women at the summit to “step into your gifts and never lean away from them.” Callaway said she had met many inspiring women at the summit, and she is confident they will be successful as they follow their dreams.

A passionate advocate for family health care said FamilyCare Health Centers provide medical, dental and behavioral health care for more than 44,000 patients in four West Virginia counties.

Jen Pharr, Vice President of Community Engagement and Executive Director of the FamilyCare Health Centers Foundation, gave an overview of the services the centers provide at 26 locations in Kanawha, Putnam, Cabell and Boone counties.

In 2025, the centers are offering adult health; behavioral health; birth center; chronic care management; dental care; health education; pediatric health care; prenatal and obstetric care; psychiatry; social services; substance use disorder; urgent care; women’s health care; and ophthalmology and vision.

Pharr said she was diagnosed with a brain tumor as a young adult and knows what it’s like when a family has to pay for expensive medicine. FamilyCare is a federally qualified health center that serves a historically overlooked area or population and offers a sliding fee scale. No one is turned away based on his or her ability to pay.

During its more than 35 years of operation, the organization has grown from a single family home to now serving thousands of patients. It operates the FamilyCare OB/GYN & Birth Center in Charleston – the only freestanding birth center in West Virginia.

 As part of her presentation, Pharr shared a video that featured certified nurse midwife Erin Listermann. She described her rewarding experience of helping mothers. She said the birth center’s goals are to have women be their own health care advocates and receive education during their pregnancy.

Using funny video and an interactive poll, a National Murrow and Emmy Award-winning journalist encouraged women to step into leadership roles and to examine what is holding them back.

Sarah Sager-Hood shared a hilarious news blooper video that showed the moments when a man’s two kids crashed his live TV interview, and his wife dragged the kids out of the room.

The former WSAZ anchor and investigative reporter shared a spoof video that showed how a woman would have dealt with the situation. In the spoof, a woman handles a host of headaches – wandering, hungry kids; cooking dinner; pressing a shirt; dismantling a bomb for a SWAT team; and helping her husband find a missing sock.

Sager-Hood had audience members take an interactive poll that asked them to use a word to define a great leader and whether they thought they had a voice at the table in leadership. She discussed the results and led a discussion about what was holding the audience back from taking a leadership role.

The audience also was shown an inspirational Nike video that shows female athletes excelling despite doubters. A mother herself who has juggled the responsibilities of career and raising a family, Sager-Hood told women they should believe in themselves and lean into their personal experiences and lead.

The strongest leaders lead by example with emotional intelligence and empathy, a West Virginia University administrator said.

Dr. Sarah Woodrum, Interim Dean of the WVU School of Public Health, stressed that management is not another name for leadership.

Management relies more on a one-way authority relationship, while leadership relies more on a multi-directional, influence relationship.

An effective leader should be honest, forward looking, competent and inspiring, she said.

Woodrum said emotional intelligence is the key to managing operations through self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

The WVU administrator said the five practices of exemplary leadership are: model the way; inspire a shared vision; challenge the process; enable others to act; and encourage the heart.

Leaders should practice what they preach. Woodrum said those who have high credibility will have staff members who are proud to tell others they are part of the organization; feel a strong sense of team spirit; see their personal values as consistent with those of the organization; feel attached and committed to the organization; and have a sense of ownership.

A panel of women making a significant impact in health care talked about the role women will play in shaping the future of health care as leaders.

Melanie Akers, VP of Women and Children’s Services at Marshall Health Network, stressed the importance of relationships and building on those to help you and your health care team advance in its goals.

Regina Campbell, Chief Nursing Officer with Marshall Health Network, said her first discovery that she could become a leader occurred during her work as a nurse while she was treating patients at their bedside.

Dr. Semeret Munie, Associate Professor of Surgery, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, said one of the barriers women face is that people might mistakenly think women who are surgeons might not be as competent or are too focused on family. She cited data from a Canadian study that shows patients of women surgeons have better outcomes.

Dr. Paulette Wehner, Vice Dean for Education, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, said the top advice she has for women pursuing a health care career is to be the best at your craft and you can’t be ignored. She also stressed the importance of mentoring in medicine to pay it forward.

The moderator was Dr. Taylor Adkins, Resident Physician with the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

With its beautiful mountains and friendly people, West Virginia has many pluses and also faces challenges. Members of a diverse panel offered perspectives on shaping the state’s future on everything from economic development to actually designing the spaces and structures where new growth can happen.

Carly Chapman, Director of Interior Design, ZMM Architects & Engineers, said design and architecture have such a huge impact on shaping communities. She said her company tries to design “people-centered” spaces and develop areas that emphasize connectivity, sustainability and provide the potential for future economic growth.

The moderator Jen Wood, Chief Marketing Officer at ZMM Architects & Engineers, closed the event with a moment of reflection about how inspired she was about the Women’s Leadership Summit. 

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