The Women's Industry Network (WIN) Educational Conference continued May 2 with its second day of presentations, a chance to do some good for a charitable organization and a gala awards ceremony.
WIN's annual conference opened May 1 and runs through May 3 in San Antonio, TX, offering an in-person or virtual experience for women in the collision repair industry around the U.S.
The first speaker of the day was Maysoon Zayid, a comedian, actress, writer and disability advocate, who presented "Planes, Trains and Crashed Automobiles."
Attendees then participated in "WIN Gives Back," which this year benefited the nonprofit Soldier's Angels, which provides aid, comfort and resources to the U.S. military, veterans and their families. WIN members made no-sew blankets and wrote uplifting cards for the troops.
Megan Sullivan, collision program manager for GM, presented "Flexibility and Adapting in the Market," in which she gave an update on how the automaker is adapting to the changes caused by the pandemic to everything from miles driven to the supply chain, and an overview of its Certified Repair Network program. She was joined for the Q&A session by Kelli Doherty, independent aftermarket collision manager at GM.
Jamie Shackleford of Caliber then moderated a panel discussion on "Hiring and Retaining Good People," joined by Jennifer Mayer of the TechForce Foundation, Keith Schaefer of Univeral Technical Institute, Sullivan of GM, Mica Carawan of USAA, Olivia Peterson of Gerber Collision and Glass, and Yohanna Peet of Caliber.
The panelists talked about how to market the industry to Gen Z'ers aging into the workforce, cast a wider net when "fishing" for talent and retain good employees by helping them visualize and follow a career path, and providing the compensation and work-life balance they expect.
The second day was capped off by WIN's gala awards ceremony, where it recognized its previously announced Most Influential Women winners.
A recap of the first day is available here.
Abby Andrews