Conference Information
Date: November 7, 2025
Location:
Coca-Cola Headquarters
1 Coca Cola Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30313
The 15th annual Professional Women’s Conference will be held in Fall 2025, at the Coca-Cola Headquarters in Atlanta. This conference offers a day of networking and learning through keynote speakers, panel discussions and sessions with industry leaders, executives and mentors, and has a distinct focus on personal and professional development, leadership and career growth.
Throughout the years, the proceeds from the Professional Women’s Conference established the Mary Virginia Terry Student Support Fund. To date, $80,000 has been awarded to 32 students. Students use these awards to assist with undergraduate and graduate tuition and expenses, study abroad, travel to professional conferences, equipment and more.
The 2025 Conference will support the Terry Women’s Initiative (TWI). Established in 2016, TWI instills confidence and leadership skills in Terry’s student body. TWI offers an array of programming to build connections with alumni and industry professionals, helping students achieve their academic, personal and professional goals.
For questions, please email Margaret Ellis at margaretellis@uga.edu.
2025 Speakers
Lauren Hebbel
Strategic Program Director, EY
Every day, Lauren Hebbel wakes up inspired to create a world where people are unstoppable and do more than they thought possible.
As an EY team effectiveness consultant and speaker, facilitator and leader, Lauren especially loves motivating busy professionals to close their laptops and experience the world around them. She helps people slow down to see what’s possible and inspires them to take action to make their dreams a reality.
Since joining EY in 2011, Lauren has crunched numbers in the Assurance practice in both Atlanta and Ireland, inspired over 22,000 people to live with personal purpose and vision and worked with numerous EY teams to transform the way they work.
You may or may not also be able to catch Lauren singing off-tune to entertain her daughter, traveling with her family or quieting her mind through her yoga practice.
Lou Childs and Katy Mallory
Co-Founders, SlumberPod
Mother-daughter team Lou Childs and Katy Mallory are the co-founders of SlumberPod, a baby products company dedicated to helping parents and children sleep better so everyone can enjoy more of what life has to offer.
The duo launched SlumberPod in July 2018. Their 2020 appearance on “Shark Tank” resulted in an on-air deal with shark Barbara Corcoran. Together, they grew the business to $10 million in revenue by the end of its third year. Following the 2022 acquisition of SlumberPod by Artica Inc., Katy continued as general manager until July 2023. Both founders remain active as consultants and spokespeople for the brand.
With more than 25 years of experience in marketing, communications and operations, Lou brought extensive expertise to her work with financial services software firms and Fortune 500 companies. After attending the University of Georgia in the late 1970s, Lou earned a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications from Auburn University in 1997 and obtained a master’s in business communications in 2012. She serves as a mentor and consultant to entrepreneurs and startups and sits on several boards. She is a proud mother of six, bonus mom to three and grandmother to 16. She and her husband live in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Katy’s professional background includes nearly two decades in corporate communications and sales operations, culminating in her role as director of internal communications at Cox Automotive. Today, she advises startups and mid-sized consumer products companies and provides content marketing services in various industries. A 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and journalism, Katy lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and three school-aged children.
Mary Elizabeth Sadd
Author, Speaker, Life Coach
Rooted in a family legacy of education and service, Mary Elizabeth Sadd’s passion for giving stems from wisdom passed down by her great-great-grandfather, who believed in teaching over preaching and saw education as a force powerful enough to change lives for generations to come. Inspired by this vision, she made it her mission to pour into others — prioritizing time, wisdom and resources to help people become the very best version of themselves.
As a business professional, Mary Elizabeth brings a unique perspective to generosity, seamlessly integrating it into her decades-long career in the executive search industry. She has spent years connecting corporations and individuals in ways that don’t only drive profitability but also foster meaningful impact. Her work aligns her with like-minded clients who share a deep passion for giving back, further amplifying the ripples of her influence.
Beyond her professional success, what sets Mary Elizabeth apart is how she lives her values each day. She aims to be a beacon of light in every circle she touches, creating a legacy not just through grand gestures, but also through small, consistent acts of kindness that shape the world in unseen but profound ways. One word, one thought and one action at a time, she proves generosity is not something we do — it is something we become.
Her life is a beautiful example of what it means to wake up with gratitude, share freely and leave behind a legacy built on love, service and purpose. In doing so, she reminds us that what we do matters and how we give shapes the future.
Lori Wilson
Morning News Anchor, WSB-TV
Lori Wilson joined the WSB-TV Channel 2 in 2017. She helps Georgians get ready for their day as the anchor for Channel 2 Action News This Morning from 4:30 a.m. – 7 a.m. Lori has covered everything from Hurricane Irma and the coronavirus pandemic to the passing of several legendary civil rights leaders here in Atlanta. Her most memorable moment was covering protests in Atlanta following the death of George Floyd. Lori is an Emmy award-winning anchor and reporter. She graduated from Indiana University. Before joining WSB-TV, Lori worked in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Shreveport, Louisiana. She is a children’s book author, a member of National Association of Black Journalists and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.