WPO Chapter Chair Town Hall - Mon., 12/8 @ 12:00pm ET

In advance of the town hall on Monday, Dec 8th, 2025 (12:00 pm - 1:00pm ET), please take a moment to review the video updates from Camille Burns, Judy Waak-Pearce, Kirsten Wynn, and Anni Wilhelmi. The live town hall will include a Q&A on the video updates.

Reminder: you can watch this at DOUBLE/TRIPLE SPEED, read the transcript, or review the highlight summary. 😊

VIDEO UPDATES: https://vimeo.com/1143194339 Password: CHAPCHAIR20 (case sensitive)

TRANSCRIPT HERE

Join Monday, Sept 29th via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83874633729

Town Hall Update Highlight Summary:

• 2025 Year-in-Review & Growth Update
  • WPO experienced 25% global growth in 2025.
  • Strong membership expansion in Canada despite lower travel participation.
• 2026 U.S. Strategy
  • U.S. market is a strategic priority for 2026; Chairs will be asked for input on trends affecting member churn.
• Regional Leads for 2026
  • Five U.S. Regional Leads will be announced before the holiday season.
• New Programming
  • WPO TECH: For tech founders who meet WPO revenue or capital thresholds ($1M+ raised). Launching around forum 2026.
  • Coming Soon: Group for “successors”
• Sponsorship Update
  • Actively seeking Forum 2026 sponsors—warm introductions from Chairs encouraged.
• 2025 Member Evaluations - High-Level Overview
  • 94.2% satisfaction with Chapter Chairs.
  • 89% rating of chapter culture.
  • 92.6% psychological safety score.
• Billing Process Improvements
  • Prioritizing the automation and streamlining of billing process; update to be shared on the call
• 25 Years of WPO in Canada (2026)
  • Exploring a fall 2026 celebratory event; U.S. members encouraged to attend.
• Chair Transitions & New Hires
  • Dallas TX – Donna Hegdahl, NEW: Neeru Sharma (effective Nov. 2025)
  • South Georgian Bay – Jill Proud (effective Jan 2026)
  • Tucson AZ – Kandy Hirsch, NEW: Betsy Wallace (effective Jan 2026)
  • Lisbon – Helena Rodrigues, NEW: Cristina Amaral (effective Jan 2026)
  • New Hires:
    • Netherlands - Elizabeth van Geerestein
    • Luciana Barella - Sao Paolo
• Application Processing
  • Please notify Carly Ward-Popek (carly@women-presidents.com) ahead of incoming applications for smoother review.
• 2026 Chapter Chair Training
  • Virtual training calendar invites have been sent—contact the team if you did not receive them.
  • In-person Chapter Chair Training will take place at the Forum on May 6, 2026; arrival will be on May 5, 2026 for Chapter Chairs.
• Brand Video (AI-Generated)
  • A new AI-animated WPO brand video can be viewed HERE (PW: CHAPCHAIR20); social media–ready cuts will be produced.
• Women2Watch
  • Please find a spreadsheet HERE of Women2Watch willing to speak to your chapters, with their areas of expertise.
• 2026 Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum (EEF)
  • Dates: May 7–8, 2026 (members arrive May 6; Chairs arrive May 5).
  • Location: Diplomat Beach Resort, Hollywood, FL (equidistant between Miami/Fort Lauderdale)
  • Chairs are encouraged to send speaker information with Kirsten Wynn (kirsten@women-presidents.com), before making direct introductions. 😊
• Global Expansion
  • Launching: Germany, the Netherlands, Paris, additional chapters in Spain
  • Regions in Progress: Morocco, Lagos, Nairobi, India, Poland, Latvia, and cities in South America

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Kind regards,

Tomi Jane DeTorres

Chapter Chair Manager, WPO

tomijane@women-presidenets.com