Speaking Sessions
Learn more about our keynote and breakout sessions at Fall Planning Conference 2025 in Miami, FL
Friday, October 17th
Maribel Roman, PhD
Foundations of Dialogue: Turning Tension into Teamwork
Keynote Speaker
This session offers practical conflict resolution strategies designed specifically for board members and team leaders. Emphasizing mutual respect, present-focused dialogue, and collaborative outcomes, participants will gain tools to navigate disagreements with tact and effectiveness, avoiding personal attacks, past grievances, and fostering win-win solutions.
Stephanie Rodriguez
Improv Skills for Improv-ing your Public Speaking
Breakout Session
Step into the spotlight with confidence in this interactive improv-based workshop designed to strengthen your public speaking skills. Together, we’ll focus on getting comfortable with the uncomfortable through fun, low-pressure exercises that help you think on your feet, engage your audience, and handle the unexpected with ease
Erik Chafin
Enhancing your LinkedIn Profile
Breakout Session
Unlock powerful strategies to elevate your brand, expand your network, and turn connections into opportunities. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just getting started, this workshop will give you the tools to grow with purpose.
Miriam Neville, PMP, CSI, CDT
Sell Yourself, Sell your Chapter: The 90-Second Pitch That Wins People Over
Breakout Session
You’ve got just 90 seconds — one chance to make them remember you, join you, or support your chapter. So how do you turn that quick introduction into real engagement and new members? Join Miriam Neville, President of the NAWIC Miami Chapter and award-winning elevator pitch competitor, for a dynamic, hands-on workshop designed to help you craft a powerful pitch that tells your story — and your chapter’s story — with confidence and clarity. Walk away with: a polished 90-second pitch that inspires curiosity and connection, tools to promote yourself and your NAWIC chapter with authenticity, and the confidence to represent your mission, your chapter, and your story anywhere.
Maya Irizarry
Sticky Conversations: Navigating Difficult Dialogues in the Workplace
Breakout Session
Struggling with tension on your team? Avoiding tough conversations that need to happen? This interactive workshop is designed to equip leaders and teams with the confidence, clarity, and tools to address the real issues instead of sweeping them under the rug. We tackle the art of uncomfortable conversations and help your team stop avoiding and start resolving. Attendees will: Practice role-playing real workplace scenarios; Learn frameworks that reduce conflict and increase clarity; Walk away with tools you can use immediately to address workplace friction.
Saturday, October 18th
Kristin Andreasen
Influencing our Community with NEF Programs
Breakout Session
The NAWIC Education Foundation, better known as NEF, serves as NAWIC's education arm. But what does that mean for NAWIC's members and surrounding communities? Join this session to learn more about the different K-12 & College competitions offered by NEF and how your chapter can get involved!
Nicole Elijah
Get Certified with NAWIC Education Foundation
Breakout Session
The NAWIC Education Foundation (NEF) offers a wide range of educational programs that support both youth and adults in the construction industry while making a measurable impact nationwide. For professionals, it provides industry-recognized certification courses—including the Construction Industry Technician (CIT), Certified Construction Associate (CCA), Construction Document Specialist (CDS), and Construction Bookkeeping Technician (CBT)—as well as online self-study programs for flexible learning. These initiatives, accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), reach thousands of participants each year, helping to strengthen workforce skills, promote diversity, and close talent gaps in the construction field across the U.S. Learn how to get certified to upgrade your construction career.
Andrea Nicholson, CBT
NAWIC 101: Sell NAWIC to your Company
Breakout Session
Are you interested in joining NAWIC but unsure how to get your company on board with supporting your membership? This breakout session is designed to empower attendees with practical strategies and persuasive talking points to help secure employer sponsorship. Whether you're new to NAWIC or looking to renew your membership, you'll learn how to effectively communicate the value NAWIC brings—not just to you as a professional, but to your company as a whole. From leadership development and networking opportunities to industry visibility and employee retention, this session will help you build a compelling case that aligns NAWIC’s mission with your organization’s goals.
Ana Maria Triana Godoy
Leadership and Wellbeing: Connecting to the Elemental
Breakout Session
Through an experiential approach, this workshop is designed to raise awareness about the connection between human-centered leadership and organizational well-being to promote healthier and more sustainable work environments. This session's objective is intended to help leaders recognize their transformative power in people’s lives and in shaping more vibrant, sustainable workplace cultures. Through reflective and sensory activities, participants will discover how every action and decision generates impact, and how leading from what is elemental can significantly influence wellbeing and sustainable productivity.
Lisa Pratt-Sanchez, BRMP, PMP. CSM, Prosci
Crucial Conversations: The Art of Saying No
Keynote Speaker
​Do you find yourself saying “yes” too often—at the expense of your time, energy, and well-being? This breakout session dives into the powerful practice of saying “no” with confidence and clarity. Led by Lisa Pratt-Sanchez, this session explores the emotional and professional consequences of overcommitting, the psychology behind decision-making, and tools like the Wheel of Life and Eisenhower Matrix to help you prioritize what truly matters. Attendees will walk away with actionable strategies for boundary-setting, self-management, and reclaiming control over their time—so they can say “yes” to what really counts.