2023 Women's Leadership Council Conference

For our new WLC attendees, WSWA 101 gives attendees an introduction and update on how WSWA supports you and your teams as the only national membership organization of wine and spirits distributors, including the associations advocacy efforts on federal, state, regulatory, and legal issues impacting the beverage alcohol industry.

WSWA welcomes both the WLC Conference attendees as well as The Forum attendees for a joint networking reception.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! We have tabletop exhibits hosted by our sponsors. These exhibits will be available during the day on September 22nd. We encourage you to visit the sponsors, learn about their business and thank them for supporting the conference.  

WLC is pleased to welcome Fran Hauser as our keynote speaker. Fran is an author, keynote speaker and startup investor at the intersection of women’s empowerment, career fulfillment, and collective wellbeing. As a long-time media executive, Fran has always championed the power of content in shaping culture, educating the public, and driving awareness of important issues.  

Join us as Laura DePasquale, MS, SVP Commercial Operations Artisanal Wines SGWS-Americas, interviews Fran about the wealth of time-tested strategies and hear how Fran deconstructs the negative perception of "niceness" that many women struggle with in the business world. Fran offers real advice to help smart, professional women take their career to the next level.

Attendees will receive a complimentary signed copy of her best-selling book The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate.

Speaker: Dan Parsons, Facilitator, Presenter, Keynote Speaker & Executive Coach

There is a good reason presenting material can yield better results than just sending an e-mail. Presenting face to face allows for full expression and lets our audience see and hear our emotional commitment to our message. Something an email can't convey effectively.  With so much at stake, it's critical our audience sees us as confident, professional and believable.  People evaluate us not only by what we say, but how we say it and not just what we do, but how we do it. The most important part of our communication is how we present ourselves, not just our message. We are the message. In this 90 minute workshop we will explore and practice ideas to elevate, strengthen and empower ourselves as thought leaders within our industry.

Whether presenting to convince a CEO or executive team to make a change, motivating employees to take action, or addressing client’s concerns, our success depends upon our ability to build trust, credibility and respect by communicating the message with poise and confidence.  Be prepared to get on your feet and practice presenting. This is not a sit and take notes lecture. All attendees will have the opportunity to practice presenting while being recorded. Bring your phone and enthusiasm to perfect your presentation!

We will hear from SipSource Analyst Dale Stratton on what is happening in the marketplace today, what OND could look like and even get 2024 forecasts to keep in mind.  WSWA's SipSource is the beverage alcohol industry's only data source based on aggregated distributor depletion data. The latest verified data signals the most complete industry data set ever compiled, with 17 wholesalers representing more than 60% of the U.S. alcohol market by volume.