Journalist Hoda Kotb announced as Bay Path University’s Women’s Leadership Conference Keynote Speaker

Longmeadow, MA— Bay Path University is proud to announce that award-winning journalist, author, and television personality Hoda Kotb will be the keynote speaker at the 28th Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC), taking place in Springfield on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

“Our conference theme this year is ‘Amplify.’ It speaks to stepping into your power and elevating your voice with confidence and clarity,” shared conference chair Karen Woods. “Hoda Kotb personifies all of that—as a trusted journalist covering international conflicts, Hurricane Katrina, and the Olympics; as a warm, wise friend in her Today show role; and as a mother sharing the challenges and sacrifices of working parents. We can’t wait to meet her in person.”

Most well known as the former co-anchor of NBC News’ Today and co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna. Kotb joined Today as a co-host of the fourth hour in 2008, alongside Kathie Lee Gifford, and recently retired from the show after 17 successful years, during which time she received several Emmy Awards for her work.

A New York Times bestselling author, Kotb has written eight books: You Are My Happy; I’ve Loved You Since Forever; Where We Belong; Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives; Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee; I Really Needed This Today; This Just Speaks to Me; and Hope is a Rainbow.

She continues to host the popular podcast Making Space with Hoda Kotb, while raising her two daughters in the suburbs of New York City.

The WLC will also feature lunchtime speaker Amelia Rose Earhart, a pilot, author, and reporter who, inspired by her namesake, circumnavigated the globe in a single-engine aircraft.

Earhart has 15 years of experience as a helicopter and breaking news reporter in Denver and Los Angeles, has sent numerous teenage girls to flight school during her 10-year tenure as president of the Fly With Amelia Foundation, and hosts a tech podcast focused on the future of AI in business.

This year’s conference will also feature breakout sessions led by business experts and coaches, including Shira Abel. Abel is a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, who taps into her experience working with companies such as Siemens, Samsung, AXA, and Allianz to speak about navigating the complexities of modern business and the impact biases and expectations have on success.

In addition, the WLC will welcome Jackie Glenn, former Chief Diversity Officer at Fortune 500 EMC Corporation and Founder and CEO of Glenn Solutions, where she partners with executives to reimagine organizational practices and implement strategies such as cultural assessments, executive coaching, and advisory services to foster thriving, innovative workplaces.

An instructor at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, Glenn continues her mission to equip leaders with the tools to succeed through her work in the school’s Women Leaders: Advancing Together program.

Throughout its history, Bay Path University’s Women’s Leadership Conference has brought together more than 50,000 attendees and featured prominent speakers such as Jane Fonda, Dr. Maya Angelou, Robin Roberts, Tyra Banks, and Barbara Corcoran. The 28th Annual WLC will take place on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield.

For further information on the conference, sponsorship opportunities, and ticket sales, please visit baypath.edu/wlc.

# # #

About Bay Path University

Bay Path University was founded in 1897. Today, Bay Path’s enrolled population of over 2,700 includes traditional undergraduate women; adult women completing bachelor’s degrees through The American Women's College, the first all-women, all-online accredited degree program in the country; and women and men master’s and doctoral students. On July 1, 2024, Bay Path acquired Cambridge College. Both institutions have a common mission of providing innovative and career-focused education to students from diverse backgrounds, working adults, and first-generation learners.