Women in Business 2026
Keynote Speaker: Erin Stafford
A powerhouse author, speaker and leader with a career as diverse as it is impactful, Erin Stafford is the best-selling author of The Type A Trap: Five Mindset Shifts to Beat Burnout and Transform Your Life.
Erin blends her personal experiences with insights gleaned from working alongside top performers, including Fortune 100 executives, Olympians and renowned creatives. Her core message resonates with leaders and teams across industries--success is sustainable when rooted in energy, purpose and balance.
Through her signature entertaining and high-energy keynotes, Erin shares actionable strategies to redefine success, reignite purpose and build resilience. Her talks are based in decades of research, personal stories and a deep understanding of what it takes to thrive in today's demanding world. Audiences leave inspired, equipped and ready to sustain peak performance with balance and clarity. Find out more about Erin at her website.
Women in Business 2026 Panelists:
Debra Hope
is the Aaron Douglas Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and serves as associate vice chancellor and dean of graduate education. She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Albany-State University of New York and joined the Nebraska Department of Psychology in 1990. Her research interests include assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly social anxiety disorder; the psychology of gender and the impact of stigma and discrimination on mental health and health services, particularly for individuals who identify as transgender, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Her work on psychopathology emphasizes information processing models that describe the role of attention and memory in social anxiety disorder and the impact of these cognitive processes on interpersonal functioning. Dr. Hope does ongoing research on both the outcome and process of psychotherapy, making evidence-based treatment more available, especially in underserved rural areas. She also maintains a small psychotherapy private practice.
Shannon Mangram
is an attorney and soft skills development coach who is passionate about making a difference in the world around her. She earned her juris doctor with a concentration in litigation from the University of Nebraska College of Law and also holds a master’s degree in leadership education from Nebraska with a focus on inclusive leadership. Her experience includes work in higher education, employment discrimination, criminal justice reform and legislative research. She currently works as a Veterans Disability Attorney at Berry Law, helping veterans receive compensation for injuries sustained during service and has helped countless veterans secure significant backpay awards and total disability ratings. In addition to her legal work, she founded Shannon Mangram Coaching LLC in 2018 and has coached more than 100 individuals and teams across the United States and the United Kingdom as they take their next steps. In her free time, she serves on the Board for Center for People and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She believes in the power of each person to create change within their own contexts and to take action to make that change possible.
Connie Edmond
brings more than 35 years of experience in the financial industry, supported by a degree in accounting and business administration/management from Peru State College. She currently serves as CEO of E & L Associates, a consulting, tax and strategic business development firm. Early in her career, she distinguished herself as a tax auditor for the Department of Revenue, traveling extensively across the United States to audit a wide range of industries, including several Fortune 500 companies. As vice president of business development for CUCVS, she co-authored a tax publication that received national recognition in prominent outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Money Magazine and USA Today. She also collaborated to develop an electronic product that was purchased by Intuit and helped develop a product for TaxAct. In 2006, she became chief operating officer for Wealth Management Concepts, where she led staff development, executed the company’s business plan, managed the budget and helped drive substantial organizational growth. A strong advocate for financial literacy, Connie also serves on several professional organizations and boards.
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