A day summit for women building on purpose
Evolve
Women's Summit
For women entrepreneurs, and women starting something new — a day built around vision, values, skills, and alignment, before a single tactic gets discussed.
Friday, November 6, 2026 · 8:30am–4:00pm, happy hour to follow
TARRA · Denver, Colorado
Who is this for?
Is this you?
Women and nonbinary founders, CEOs, budding entrepreneurs, and creators
Anyone building a career or business on their own terms
Women exploring a career pivot or piecing together a portfolio career
Anyone who wants to lead with more intention and more audacity
“Lead with more intention, more audacity — and do the damn thing.”
How the day is built
Most events hand you tactics before you've decided what you're building. This one goes in a different order.
Vision
What are you actually building, underneath what you think you're building?
Values
What are you unwilling to compromise on — and where have you already?
Skills
What do you already have, and where's the honest gap?
Alignment
Bringing it into one coherent structure — often a portfolio, not a single business.
Tentative schedule
A full day, one arc
Subject to small changes as we finalize facilitators — but this is the shape of the day.
Opens with a Grounding & Intention-Setting activity, then moves into what you're actually building — in work and in life — and what you're no longer willing to compromise on. Guided exercises with small-group pairing.
Life Design · Negotiation & Advocacy · Zone of Genius Business Building · Project Manage Your Business
Small groups of 6–8 process the panel together — and stay connected well beyond the summit.
Choose your second track
Beyond the summit
Your Pod
Partway through the day, you'll be placed in a Pod — a small group of 6–8 women. You'll process the panel together, and the connection doesn't have to stop there — the Pod is designed to be a standing circle you can stay connected to after November 6th, for accountability and support as you actually build what you came here to build.
What's included
A full day, packed in
3+ deep-dive sessions into your values, vision, and tactics — real work to move your life and career/business forward
Access to 6+ professional speakers & panelists
Coffee and breakfast
Access to happy hour to close out the day
A swag bag full of local business & brand goodies
A curated connection Pod of women
The Portfolio Career Blueprint — a take-home worksheet, yours to keep
Your hosts
Built by two women who've done this work themselves
Megan Flanagan, MPH, ICF-ACC
Founder of Strong Runner Chicks, host of the Evolve Your Path podcast, and a healthcare BD leader who's spent over a decade building her own portfolio career across corporate roles, fractional work, and entrepreneurship. Head of Business Development at Mederva; Head of Sales, Spark Health Advisors.
Heather DeSiena
Keynote Speaker | Corporate Trainer | Revenue Enablement Leader, Siena Solutions LLC. A strategic communication expert who helps women find and use their voice — in negotiation, leadership, and building something of their own. Anchoring the Summit's session on strategic voice and advocacy.
Featured Session · Project Manage Your Business Track
Project Manage Your Business Before It Manages You
If you're not managing your business, it's managing you — through the fires you're putting out, the deadlines that sneak up, and the decisions that live only in your head. This session brings real project management thinking to the way you run your business: timelines, priorities, and systems that keep things moving without you holding every piece together yourself. Leave with a practical way to plan, track, and delegate so you're steering the business, instead of just reacting to it.
Christa Spear
Founder of Iris Partnering, where she helps founders build the operations, systems, and decision-making structure behind the business — so growth doesn't rely on any one person holding it all together.
Life Design Track
Optimizing for What?
Come ready to sit with one honest question, on your own and in conversation with others: What would your business look like if the life you want was the starting point and core design constraint? No framework to learn, just the space to think it through.
Amanda Perkins
Founder of Kochab Advising. Her work spans leadership retreats and offsites to sustained team development, grounded in one question she's carried for twenty years: what does it take for people to do their best work together? Lately she's paying attention to a second question, one that keeps knocking in her own life and in her mentoring relationships: what does a business look like that makes the life you want possible?
Zone of Genius Business Building Track
Zone of Genius: Build the Business Around the Work Only You Should Be Doing
A practical session using HL Operations as a live case study: how Holly decided what work to build around, what she's said no to, where she's over-owned, what she's delegating or systematizing, and how she's designing the business so growth doesn't just create another taxing and demanding job for her. You'll leave with a simple framework for deciding what only you should own, what someone else can own, and what should stop altogether.
Holly Leonard
Current Chief of Staff and Founder of HL Operations, where she helps founders and CEOs build the clarity, systems, and leverage to scale without becoming the bottleneck.
Negotiation & Advocacy Track
Knowing Your Worth Is One Thing. Knowing How to Advocate for It Is Another.
This session is about asking for what you need and want, whether that involves a raise or simply a seat at the table. Drawing from newsroom interviews and boardroom deals, Heather shares practical ways to walk in prepared, hold your ground, and speak up before someone else decides your value for you. It's time to find and use your voice for something good — success doesn't happen in silence.
Heather DeSiena
From newsrooms to boardrooms, Heather has held multiple high-stakes titles as a television news anchor, cybersecurity negotiator, and entrepreneur. She's a trusted voice for Fortune 500 companies and C-suite leaders, sought after by organizations navigating their most difficult culture and communication moments. Now she helps everyday leaders use those same skills in their most critical interactions.
The Panel
Women Who Built It Intentionally
“Women who built it intentionally.”
A moderated conversation with women who've built something of their own — not the highlight reel, the real story. Moderated by Heather DeSiena.
Vanessa Ortiz
Boss Barista & CEO, Friends & Co. Coffee
Founder & CEO, Cafecito
Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business, 2025, CWCC
Alisha Harris, MFA
Founder & CEO, Original Account Strategies
Senska Madgscherly O'Donnell, MBA
Founder & CEO | Womenful Voice | AdOras | SMJRO
Others TBA
More panelists announced soon
Call for sponsors and partners
We're looking for brands and businesses who believe in what we're building.
From presenting sponsorships to a spot in every attendee's swag bag, there's a way to put your business in front of an engaged, intentional room of women entrepreneurs and career-pivoters — while supporting something genuinely new.
Become a sponsor or partnerOr reach out to Megan Flanagan on LinkedIn (/flanaganmegan)
Tickets
Reserve your spot
Early Bird pricing ends October 10 — $50 off the regular rate.
Date
Friday, November 6, 2026
Time
8:30am–4:00pm
Happy hour to follow
Location
TARRA
Denver, Colorado
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this for?
The Evolve Women's Summit is for women and nonbinary founders, CEOs, budding entrepreneurs, and creators — anyone building a career or business on their own terms. If you're looking to lead with more intention, more audacity, and just want to do the damn thing, this day is built for you. Whether you're deep into building your own thing, exploring a career pivot, or piecing together a portfolio career, you belong in the room.
What's included with my ticket?
3+ deep-dive sessions, access to 6+ professional speakers and panelists, coffee and breakfast, access to happy hour, a swag bag of local women-owned business goodies, a curated connection Pod, and the Portfolio Career Blueprint to take home.
What is a “Pod,” and how am I assigned to one?
A Pod is a small group of 6–8 women you'll connect with during the day. Pods are thoughtfully assigned — not random — based on the responses you provide in a short registration form you'll complete after purchasing your ticket. You'll meet your Pod partway through the day, right after the panel.
What are the breakout tracks, and how do I pick?
There are three tracks: Life Design, Negotiation & Advocacy, and Zone of Genius Business Building. Each track runs twice during the day, so you'll get to attend two of the three. You'll indicate your preferences on the same post-purchase registration form used for Pod matching.
How much does it cost?
Early Bird pricing is $147 through October 10. After that, tickets are $197. Space is limited, so we'd encourage registering early both for the savings and to make sure you have a seat.
Is lunch included?
Lunch is on your own. We're an easy walk from several great restaurants near TARRA, and we'll share recommendations closer to the day.
Do you accommodate dietary restrictions or allergies?
Yes — the post-purchase registration form asks about dietary restrictions and allergies so we can plan breakfast around your needs.
Can I bring a guest?
We offer group rates for 4+ people — email us for more info.
What's your refund policy?
Full refunds are available up to 30 days before the event. After that, tickets are non-refundable, but you're welcome to transfer your ticket to a friend or colleague at any time.
Will sessions be recorded?
No — sessions will not be recorded. We want speakers and attendees to feel free to be real and unscripted, and we encourage in-person attendance to get the full experience.
I'd love to sponsor — how do I get involved?
We're no longer taking general speaker applications, as our panel and track lineup are set. We are looking for sponsors and partners — reach out to megan@evolvedpotential.co, or connect with Megan Flanagan on LinkedIn (/flanaganmegan).
What should I wear?
Come as you are — this isn't a black-tie affair. Business casual to casual is perfectly fine; you'll be sitting, moving between rooms, and doing real work, so comfort matters more than formality.
What happens after November 6th?
There's no formal follow-up program for Pods yet — how you stay in touch afterward is up to your group — though we're likely to build more structured support for that down the line.
Registration is now open
Space is limited — reserve your spot before Early Bird pricing ends October 10.
Reserve your spotInterested in sponsoring the Evolve Women's Summit?
Email us to sponsorOr connect with Megan Flanagan on LinkedIn (/flanaganmegan)