2022 Professional Women’s Conference Speakers
DeRetta Rhodes, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Chief Culture Officer, Atlanta Braves
DeRetta Rhodes, Ph.D., is EVP and chief culture officer of the Atlanta Braves, overseeing people capital initiatives, communications and community affairs for the Braves, The Battery Atlanta, and the team’s Spring Training facility operations.
Before joining the Braves, Rhodes was the EVP and chief human resources officer of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, VP of human resources at First Data, VP of human resources for Turner Broadcasting, and held leadership positions at Ernst & Young, ADP, HomeGrocer.com and YUM Brand.
Rhodes received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, her MBA from Clark Atlanta University, and her Ph.D. in adult education from the University of Georgia. She is a certified facilitator for the Benchmark 360 assessment by the Center for Creative Leadership, DISC coach and facilitator, qualified facilitator for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and a qualified coach for the HOGAN Assessment and HOGAN 360.
Rhodes completed her Ted Talk (TEDxUGA) in 2018 and was recognized as a Women of Excellence (2018) and 100 Women of Influence (2020, 2021) by Atlanta Business Chronicle, a Distinguished Alumni (2020) in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at UGA, Oncon Icon Award Top 100 Human Resources Professionals (2021, 2022), Sports Inclusion Conference Top 100 Women in Sports (2021), and National Diversity & Leadership Top 100 HR Professionals (2022).
She is a board member of the Atlanta Braves Foundation, vice chair of Goodwill of North Georgia, executive board member and board chair of board effectiveness of 21st Century Leaders, trustee member, governing board member and HR and compensation chair of the Woodruff Arts Center, strategic advisor of The Goodwin Group, board member of the American Heart Association, advisory member of HR Exchange Network, DEI advisory member of HR.Com, board member of University of Georgia Alumni Board, and past alumni board president of the UGA College of Family Consumer Sciences.
Dr. Rhodes lives in Atlanta with her husband, Leon, and has three sons: Cole, Austin and Jordan.
Elizabeth Freedman
Head of Consulting, BTS Boston
Elizabeth Freedman leads the global consulting practice at Bates, a BTS company, which includes a team of highly experienced, senior-level leaders known for guiding executives to achieve extraordinary results through the people side of strategy execution. She is a member of the BTS Boston leadership team and an executive advisor and consultant, where she partners with C-level leaders and teams at some of the most recognized companies in the world. Elizabeth is valued for her ability to develop trusted partnerships with senior leaders who want practical, concrete strategies that are easy to apply and help them accelerate results, grow their people, and make a positive difference in the world.
Before joining Bates, Elizabeth was a member of global consulting firms Accenture and USWeb. She is certified in Bates proprietary coaching and consulting methodologies, including the Bates ExPITM and the Bates LTPITM — which are research-based, validated assessments of individual and team behaviors across multiple dimensions. She authored Learning the Ropes of the Workplace Without Hanging Yourself (Penguin Random House) and is a contributor to Forbes, where she writes regularly on leadership strategies for C-suite executives. She is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), earning its highest-level designation worldwide. Elizabeth holds an MBA from the Arizona State Thunderbird School of Global Management and is a former Peace Corps volunteer.
Elizabeth has advised executives and teams in a wide range of organizations, including Dow, State Street, Disney, Infosys, ABB, Stryker and more.
Courtney Stout
Chief Privacy Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Courtney Stout leads the company’s global legal privacy strategy and is the legal counsel for the cyber incident response team. Courtney’s has a proven track record in creating transformational change and implementing privacy controls on a global scale to meet rapidly changing regulations. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Digital Trust framework committee, and was recently selected by the Global Data Review for their “2022 Women in Data” award which spotlights women at the cutting edge of global data, technology, and regulation.
During her time at UGA as a Terry College and Honors student, Courtney received the President's Award for the Terry College of Business, served as President of the Society for Management Information Systems and was awarded a PGA scholarship for Community Service, Servant Leadership, Academic Excellence — while her golfing ability contributed to receiving this distinguished award — she confesses that her golf ability did not qualify for the UGA golf team. She also worked her way through school as a cooperative student with IBM and the Terry College computer lab.
Julie Moran
Journalist, Television Host, and Sportscaster
Julie Moran is an American journalist, television host, and sportscaster. She was the first female solo host for Wide World of Sports, following the first woman co-anchor Becky Dixon. She was weekend anchor and co-host for Entertainment Tonight from 1994 to 2001 and hosted the Academy Awards pre-show in 2001.
After leaving Entertainment Tonight in 2001, Moran began spending time raising her daughters and working seasonally as a host for special events. In 2001, she co-hosted the prestigious 73rd Academy Awards pre-show for ABC with Chris Connelly and Jim Moret. She co-hosted the Grammy Awards pre-show for CBS in 1999 with Ellen DeGeneres. In 1998, 1999, and 2000, Moran hosted the Miss Universe pageant, Miss USA pageant, and the Miss Teen USA pageant. In 2002, she co-hosted the Miss America pageant again with Wayne Brady. Moran created, produced, and hosted The Insider’s List with Julie Moran starting in 2004. The weekly series aired on the Fine Living network. She hosted the pre-show for the AFI Life Achievement Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California, in 2002, 2003, and 2004. The show’s honorees were Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. In 2012, Moran became a special correspondent for Access Hollywood. She began hosting Lifetime’s morning show, The Balancing Act, in 2013.
Jennifer Duvall
Professional Makeup Artist, CEO & Founder of JennySueMakeup.com
Jennifer Duvall started her own LLC and blog by the same name, JennySueMakeup.com, in 2008. The blog was initially created as a way to share her makeup knowledge so future clients could see it and feel comfortable booking her.
Like many young girls, Duvall grew up watching her mother do her makeup. She was fascinated by the transformation her mother took with her many steps and products, and how glamorous her mother looked when she was done. She became a ballet dancer and applied her mother’s advice to her makeup for performances throughout her childhood and teenage years. She realized she enjoyed applying the dramatic on-stage makeup looks (so the audience could see her face better) almost more than the actual dancing.
Right out of college, Duvall started on the cosmetics floor at a Nordstrom in Atlanta in 2000. After leaving the retail world for the wholesale fashion industry, she continued to book freelance makeup jobs and weddings on the side for extra money. Once she and her husband, Scott, moved out of Atlanta and back to Athens (where they met at college), she decided to take her love of makeup artistry to the next level and start her own business.
Beth Djalali
Founder, Style at a Certain Age
After staying home for 26 years to raise my brood of three boys, it was time to figure out what came next. Can a 50-something with a gap in their résumé re-enter the workforce? Was reinvention a foregone conclusion? Then I noticed 20-somethings were posting “outfits of the day” on blogs and Instagram. That’s it! So what if I have gray hair, my figure isn’t as slim as it was, and there are wrinkles splattered across my face? I love fashion too! That’s how Style at a Certain Age was born. Besides style inspiration, Style at a Certain Age is dedicated to aging with grace, strength, and beauty.
Aging is a privilege, but as Bette Davis famously claimed, “it’s not for sissies.” Once we hit 50, changes begin with our hair, skin, and bodies. It’s up to us to keep fit both mentally and physically. It’s not about looking younger; it’s about looking our best. At Style at a Certain Age, you’ll find beauty, health & wellness, skincare, and more. Reinvention doesn’t mean turning into someone else. Reinvention is finding the grace and space to be who you are at 42, 62, or 82. While we can’t age backward like Benjamin Button, we can lead a healthy and vibrant life after 50 and beyond.
Hanna Jon Lewis
Inside Sales Associate, The Coca-Cola Company
Hanna Jon Lewis is an Inside Sales Associate supporting the Subway Global Account Team at the Coca-Cola Company. She is a proud UGA Double Dawg with a BBA in Digital Marketing from the Terry College of Business and a Master of Science in Financial Planning from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Hanna Jon is a member of the Terry College Young Alumni Board, serves on the UGA Coca-Cola Corporate Chapter Board, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Advisory Board, the Darlington School Young Alumni Council and serves as a mentor through the UGA Mentor Program.
