Be There: Power Up 2026 Speaker Lineup Features Margaret Atwood + 40 National Leaders
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Take The Lead announces the speaker lineup and featured conversations for Power Up 2026, bringing together more than 1,000 executives and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and advocates for a Women’s Equality Day summit tackling the issues shaping women’s lives and leadership.
Taking place August 25-26 at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., Power Up 2026 will feature internationally acclaimed author Margaret Atwood alongside more than 40 leaders across business, healthcare, technology, media, finance, education and advocacy.
Additional featured speakers include Cheyenne Hunt, Minda Harts, Sophia Yen MD, Joanna Strober, Rachel Rubin MD, Jamia Wilson, Eva Goicochea, Heather Florio, Stacey Engle, Wanjiku Kamau and other prominent experts and leaders. The summit will explore the interconnected issues influencing women’s ability to advance and lead, including women’s health, artificial intelligence, caregiving, workplace culture, economic opportunity, confidence and identity.
Built around Take The Lead’s 9 Leadership Power Tools framework, Power Up 2026 will bring together leaders willing to address the challenges and opportunities shaping women’s leadership journeys, including conversations that have historically been overlooked in discussions about advancement and success.
“Women today are building companies, inventing technologies, and transforming culture. These opportunities are hard won. Yet women are also facing particularly challenging headwinds —rollbacks of rights, lack of affordable childcare, reduced investment in leadership development, and career disruption by AI on one side and deeply ingrained biases on the other,” says Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.
“While Margaret Atwood wrote a dystopian future that many fear is coming to fruition today, Take The Lead focuses on solutions to create a healthier, more equitable world and workplace, Feldt says.
“We uniquely help women know their value and embrace the power they have to achieve their highest intentions. Our Power Up Conference brings together leaders across sectors and women across career stages to have the action-oriented discussions needed to accelerate gender parity in leadership. Because until women have equal power, pay, and leadership positions, we will keep fighting the same battles and never fully win them.”
Conversations to Advance Women’s Leadership in 2026
Power Up 2026 will feature candid discussions among executives, healthcare experts, entrepreneurs and advocates examining the issues influencing women’s leadership today.
As Melinda French Gates has sounded the alarm on the lack of adequate investment in women’s health and Reshma Saujani has highlighted the lack of policies supporting caregivers and especially mothers, Take The Lead focuses on solutions to these and other pressing problems.
Women’s Health Unfiltered: Sex & Leadership
Moderated by Heather Florio, CEO of Desert Harvest, this conversation will explore how perceptions around appearance, confidence, sexuality and femininity have shaped women’s professional experiences and leadership opportunities.
The discussion will bring together leaders in healthcare, advocacy and entrepreneurship to examine outdated expectations, barriers women continue to navigate and solutions for creating more space for women to lead authentically.
“Power Up is creating space for conversations that have too often been overlooked in discussions about leadership,” says Florio. “This panel is one example of the honest discussions happening throughout the summit, exploring the barriers women face and the solutions needed to help more women lead with confidence, authenticity and impact.”
The Human Advantage: AI Risks, Representation & Real Solutions
As artificial intelligence reshapes hiring, communication, productivity and career pathways, technology leaders will explore both the opportunities and challenges women face in an AI-driven workplace, including representation, access and workforce transformation.
The Power of Care: Women Leading at Work and at Home
Workplace leaders, advocates and caregivers will discuss the emotional, financial and professional impact of caregiving responsibilities and explore solutions for building more equitable and sustainable workplaces.
The Audacity to Thrive: Women Claiming Midlife Health & Power Healthcare leaders will examine how menopause and other overlooked health experiences influence women’s confidence, careers and leadership opportunities while discussing the importance of education, workplace awareness and self-advocacy.
Invest in Herself: Women, Money & Long-Term Success
Entrepreneurs and financial leaders will examine wealth building, economic independence and how financial power can serve as a catalyst for leadership and long-term impact.
Additional sessions will focus on workplace culture, storytelling, networking, advocacy, the power of the arts and recognizing the 2026 Power Tool Champions, women whose lives and leadership have been transformed by Take The Lead’s powerful programs.
A Cross-Industry Gathering of Leaders
Power Up 2026 speakers represent leaders across business, AI, healthcare, technology, media, education and advocacy, including voices from organizations such as: Midi Health, Pandia Health, maude, Twin Protocol, Penguin Random House, UBS, NYU Law and Johns Hopkins University.
The full speaker lineup and agenda are available at Power Up 2026.
Leadership Experience Beyond the Stage
Power Up begins August 25 with an invitation-only evening featuring an exclusive pre opening look at the Femme Art Fair, executive networking, VIP dinner and live entertainment by the Indy rock group BETTY. The August 26 summit will include:
More than a dozen practical leadership conversations
The Mission Matters Podcast Stage
SHEposium exhibits featuring women-led companies • Networking and mentoring opportunities
Interactive leadership experiences
Wellness programming
Event Details: Take The Lead Power Up 2026 Theme: Audacity: Leadership in Action
When: August 25-26, 2026
Where: August 25 VIP at The Square; August 26 conference day at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
Expected Attendance: 1,000+ leaders in person and virtual
About Take The Lead
Take The Lead is a nonprofit organization with the mission of preparing, developing, inspiring and propelling women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors. Through research-based and proven effective leadership development, mentoring and coaching, rooted in the 9 Leadership Power Tools curriculum, the organization accelerates gender parity in leadership for everyone’s good.
Media Contact:
Jim Capalbo
Founder & CEO, CapCo
PR jim@capcopr.net 847-312-1969