The Power Pipeline: Getting Women Into VC, Board, and C-Suite Positions
The Power Pipeline: Getting Women Into VC, Board, and C-Suite Positions
Melanie Jones - CEO, Women’s Leadership Institute, Moderator
Ally Isom - Chief Marketing & External Affairs Officer, Clyde Companies
Dr. Chelsea Shields - CEO & Founder, Brandthropologie
Kat Kennedy - General Partner, Kickstart
Nathan Callister - CEO & President, Zions Bank
Sunny Washington - Co-Founder, OrcaPanda
Women remain underrepresented in the roles that shape companies, capital, and innovation. This panel brings together leading female VCs, CEOs, board members, and executive recruiters to break down what it really takes to reach these top seats.
We’ll explore the real pathways into venture capital, how board appointments happen, what companies look for in VP and C-suite talent, and the strategic moves that accelerate women into senior leadership. Attendees will leave with actionable insights, clearer roadmaps, and the confidence to pursue the highest levels of influence in business.
SPEAKER BIOS:
Melanie Jones is the CEO of the Women’s Leadership Institute, a Utah-based organization advancing women through cohort-based leadership programs and corporate partnerships. Across journalism, business, and community leadership, she has built a career centered on elevating voices and expanding opportunity.
Drawing on more than 25 years of leadership experience, Melanie uses storytelling to connect lived experience to practical insight. Her voice helps audiences rethink the relationships and narratives that shape their work.
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Ally Isom is a community leader and strategist where brand, policy and public engagement intersect. She is the chief corporate affairs officer at Clyde Companies. Previously, she was an executive in nanotech, a Republican candidate for the US Senate, head of global branding and messaging for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah Governor’s deputy chief of staff, and a state agency leader. She also has broad civic experience with numerous boards and commissions. She loves family gatherings where everyone cooks together and – fair warning – she has zero shame about eating the last brownie in the pan.
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Dr. Chelsea Shields is a dual-PhD biological and cultural anthropologist turned global communication strategist who has spent over 20 years studying what makes humans think, feel, trust, and take action. After conducting groundbreaking research on the biochemistry of social, cultural, and psychological placebo effects, she brought her expertise into the modern arena—helping speakers, brands, and leaders intentionally shape the visual cues they send.
Known as “the Audience Whisperer,” Chelsea has analyzed millions of consumer and audience reactions and puts their feelings at the center of every product, brand, or talk strategy. Her mission is simple: help people communicate in ways that feel magnetic, authentic, and impossible to ignore.
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Kat Kennedy is passionate about building - products, companies, and the startup ecosystem as a whole. Before joining Kickstart as a General Partner, Kat was President and CXO of Degreed, a company dedicated to changing how people develop skills, build expertise, and grow their careers. She was instrumental in driving Degreed’s growth, shaping its product and culture, and deepening its client relationships. She partnered closely with Degreed’s customers to accelerate innovation and ensure their ability to quickly reallocate talent to the most critical strategic priorities.
Kat’s 15 years of operating experience give her a unique perspective as an investor - one that allows her to not only spot talented entrepreneurs from all backgrounds but also to serve as a mentor, fostering innovation through every stage of the company’s growth.
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As president and CEO of Zions Bank, Nate Callister is responsible for leading the oldest financial institution headquartered in the Intermountain West with a network of 119 full-service branches across Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.
Callister previously served Executive Director of Commercial Banking, leading strategy and execution for middle‑market and large corporate clients across the organization.
He has more than 25 years of commercial banking leadership experience including six years at Wells Fargo as head of Commercial Banking for Idaho and Utah.
Callister earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
He has been deeply involved in community affairs and organizations in Salt Lake City, including serving as board chair for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
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Sunny Washington is a startup founder at heart who has spent the last two decades building and scaling tech companies in Utah. She helped grow Instructure in its early years, founded Because Learning (acquired in 2020), and is now CEO and cofounder of OrcaPanda, a marketing operator for companies that monitor and actively shape how AI systems understand and represent their brand.