Connected Leadership Summit: Strengthening Business Owners & Organizations

Description

Join us virtually for a day dedicated to investing in yourself, your leadership, and your business.

Friday, May 9th, 2025
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  

You can attend all five sessions or choose the one that resonates most with you.

When we intentionally invest in our own growth, we can better pour into others along our journey.

These sessions are designed for business owners, leaders, and professionals who are committed to learning, leading, and growing—together.

Format:
The sessions will be both interactive and informative, providing practical tools and meaningful takeaways you can apply immediately in your business and leadership journey.
 

Claremont Chamber Leadership Summit Agenda: 

Session One: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

Topic: Building a High-Trust, High-Performance Culture
 

What if trust wasn’t just a nice idea, but the foundation of real performance? In this session, we’ll explore the practical, research-backed ways leaders can cultivate trust intentionally—without sacrificing accountability, courage, or results.

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Hallak, Chief Commercial Officer, WiLD Leaders, Inc.  

Daniel Hallak is the Chief Commercial Officer at WiLD Leaders Inc., specializing in growth strategy and leadership development. With a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, he applies research-based practices to market research, team dynamics and executive development. He is known for blending science with practical insight, helping leaders build trust and drive sustainable growth. His relationship-centered approach inspires individuals and organizations to look beyond self-interest and create lasting value. His work has been featured in Forbes, Psychology Today, and on the TED speaking platforms.

Session Two: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Topic: Leading in Disrupted Times

What does it mean to lead in disrupted or turbulent times? Leaders often get pulled into the tumult and can quickly lose themselves and their goals as they are tossed by the waves.

Tim Wenzel will explore how to understand

• Who you are becoming as a leader
• How to lead by relationship
• What it takes to inspire others.

Speaker: Tim Wenzel, Creator of The Kindness Game and Associate Managing Director of Enterprise Security Risk Management at Kroll

Tim is a global security executive, international keynote speaker and thought leader in the security, leadership, and wellness industries.As a highly regarded Coach and Mentor, he has a passion to transform the existing paradigms of leadership and risk management while building highly effective teams and joyful environments for them to experiment and thrive within. 

Tim is a leadership columnist with the Security Journal Americas magazine and a sought-after SME in Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM). He helped lead the effort to codify it as the official risk doctrine within ASIS International as the Outreach & Education Lead on the 2017 ESRM Steering Committee.

Session Three: 12:05 p.m.to 12:55 p.m.

Topic: Speak Less, Lead More: Mastering Listening, Messaging, and Connection

• Framing: In a noisy world, those who truly listen — and connect — lead.

• Core Concept:

  • Adopt Information Symmetry: Speak with, not at.

  • Craft messages that are timely, chosen wisely, and include clear challenges or actions.

  • Build regular Feedback Loops to ensure your language meets your audience’s language and understanding.

  • Anchor every conversation to shared purpose and include WIIFM.

• Tools/Models: Communication Audit: Assess your key messages for clarity, timing, and purpose.

• Activity: Role-play: Deliver a 2-minute purpose-driven message, then get feedback (Was it clear? Was it timely? Did it invite action?)

• Challenge: Ask for feedback on your next leadership message: "What did you hear? What did you feel called to do?"

Speaker: Dr. Rachel Monteverdi, Senior Consultant and Executive Coach, NextLevelNextStep

Rachel is based on the East Coast of the United States where she lives with her family. For more than 20 years, she has partnered with professionals across the globe to strengthen leadership and elevate organizational performance. A recognized leader, Rachel has served as Chair or President of numerous boards and brings deep experience across many sectors – including Fortune 100 companies, government, industry, manufacturing, and community organizations. After leaving corporate America, Rachel joined the ranks of Field Faculty, focusing on leadership development, change management, and the core capabilities leaders need to thrive in complex environments. Before launching her own company, she led a training division at Duke University and oversaw evidence-based programming at NC State University. Rachel also held various consulting roles as her passion is coaching exemplary leaders to build high-performing teams, shift culture, and drive meaningful growth.

Topic: Fighting the Drift: Living Life with a Plan

In this engaging and interactive online session, participants will be invited to pause, reflect, and reset with intentionality. “Fighting the Drift: Living Life with a Plan” is designed for individuals who want to live with greater purpose, clarity, and direction—rather than letting life simply happen to them.

Led by a dynamic facilitator, the session will combine thoughtful conversation, personal reflection, and guided exercises to help participants reconnect with what matters most.

Goals of the conversation:

1. Understand three things about life

• It’s a gift
• It’s short
• It’s easy to drift

2. Walk through the structure of a life plan

3. Learn your core values

4. Create a first draft of your purpose statement

5. Life with a plan

Speaker: Josiah Lathrop, Life, Leadership, and Financial Coach

Josiah is the General Manager at Chick-fil-A with a passion for developing people and cultivating strong teams. An ICF-certified coach, Josiah brings a thoughtful and values-driven approach to leadership, focusing on positively impacting the life trajectories of those he leads and serves.

With over a decade of experience in operations and team development, Josiah is known for fostering a culture of excellence, service, and purpose. Based in Sacramento, CA, he enjoys staying active, reading, and spending time outdoors with his wife, Mandi, and their four young sons.

Session Five: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Topic: Leveling Up Your Leadership Through Coaching 

Great leaders aren’t just born—they’re built through intentional growth, feedback, and support. In this interactive session, we’ll explore how coaching principles can help you sharpen your leadership skills, navigate challenges with greater confidence, and unlock the potential within yourself and your team.

In this session, you’ll:

• Learn key coaching strategies that drive stronger leadership
• Discover how to lead conversations that build trust, accountability, and growth
• Practice techniques to empower your team rather than simply direct them
• Identify opportunities where a coaching mindset can transform business results
• Walk away with practical tools to level up your leadership right away
   

Whether you're leading a small business, a large organization, or a team of one, this session will equip you with a fresh, empowering approach to leadership that fosters growth—both in yourself and those around you.

Speakers: 

Susette Aguiar-Possnack, Executive Coach and CEO of Aguiar Professional Training.

Kathleen Fariss, Leadership Coach, Business Strategiest, and CEO of the Clarmont Chamber of Commerce. 

Susette Aquiar-Possnack is CEO of Aguiar Professional Training. She is a Strengthscope certified analyst, trainer, and coach specializing in organizational effectiveness for teams and individuals. Through staff and leadership development workshops and one-on-one executive coaching sessions, Susette has helped bosses become better bosses and employees become happier and more productive employees.

She has successfully led teams to build trust, improve team dynamics, increase productivity, and transform work environments by teaching practical techniques that help people to strategically use their strengths and energizers. Susette has worked with clients in diverse industries such as biotech, non-profit, higher-education, media, medicine, and engineering, to improve team dynamics, to build trust, and to be happier at work.

Kathleen Fariss is an ICF-certified executive coach, seasoned change agent, and CEO of the Claremont Chamber of Commerce. With over 30 years of experience, she has led organizational growth across higher education, local government, and nonprofits. Kathleen is the founder of Fariss Coaching & Consulting and a certified WILD facilitator, passionate about empowering leaders to grow with authenticity and impact. She holds an M.S. in Leadership and Management and a B.S. in Organizational Management from the University of La Verne. Deeply rooted in Claremont, she fosters strategic partnerships that strengthen communities and elevate the people within them.