2026 Speaker Team
Laura C. Bulluck
Laura C. Bulluck is a transformational business strategist, speaker, nonprofit consultant, and author dedicated to helping individuals and organizations lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose. She has spent more than 15 years equipping entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and purpose-driven professionals with practical strategies for growth, leadership development, and organizational impact.
Laura founded Hope’s Crossing in 2010 after earning her Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Walden University. Her leadership and community impact earned her recognition as one of the “Most Admired Leaders” by the Phoenix Business Journal and featured in Voyage Phoenix Magazine.
Laura is also the creator of the annual Position Yourself for Purpose Conference. Through every platform she leads, Laura’s mission remains the same: empowering people to elevate their purpose, maximize their potential, and create lasting impact in their communities and industries.
Dr. Shawn M. Pearson
Dr. Shawn M. Pearson is an award-winning executive, celebrated strategist, and deeply impactful transformational speaker who changes how audiences view survival, leadership, and legacy. As a Titan 100 CEO Hall of Fame inductee and NAWBO “Woman with Vision,” Dr. Pearson gracefully spans two worlds: the boardroom, where she helps organizations build sustainable revenue models, and the heart, where she inspires women to heal after life traumas and step boldly into their full potential.
As a dynamic, high-energy, and deeply empathetic speaker, Dr. Pearson delivers a powerful blend of strategic brilliance and emotional truth. Whether addressing corporate executives, national non-profit leaders, or faith-filled women’s empowerment platforms, she provides audiences with the exact blueprints and psychological permissions they need to disrupt limits, monetize their missions, and heal into greatness.
April Nowlin
April Nowlin is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who traded burnout for balance and purpose. She is a Certified Relationship Coach who helps individuals and Churches navigate complex relationship challenges. As a Business Strategist, she helps business owners and churches grow with intention without sacrificing their peace.
In addition to her 10 years of coaching experience, April has had the privilege of serving in ministry for over 20 years. Through her coaching programs, workshops, podcasts, and relationship resources, April helps both individuals and ministry leaders create safe, steady, and meaningful relationships, without losing themselves in the process.
April’s formal education includes Life Breakthrough, Christian and Relationship Coaching, Instructional Design, Marketing, and Biblical Theology. All of which she utilizes while supporting her clients. When she’s not coaching or creating, you’ll find April enjoying deep laughs, exploring new travel destinations, and sacred naps.
Sheila Arrington
Sheila Arrington is an ordained minister, speaker, author, educator, and founder of Sheila Arrington Ministries and the Purposely Designed Conference. With more than 35 years of experience in education, leadership, ministry, and personal development, she is passionate about helping individuals discover their purpose, align their lives with their values, and lead with greater clarity and impact.
Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience, Sheila equips audiences with practical strategies to navigate transitions, overcome obstacles, and live with intention. Her engaging teaching style combines inspiration, wisdom, and actionable insights that empower leaders, entrepreneurs, ministry professionals, and emerging influencers to move from purpose to alignment and from alignment to meaningful impact
Dr. Earl L. Newton
Dr. Earl L. Newton, Sr. is an executive change coach, author, and seasoned strategic leader with more than 30 years of experience driving community transformation and organizational health. As the founder of The Leadership Weightroom platform,
Dr. Newton is dedicated to helping high-impact leaders build the strength, stability, and sustainable strategy required to last for the long haul. His core message challenges the cultural badge of exhaustion, teaching leaders how to establish protective rhythms that guard their strength and prevent quiet stagnation.
A builder of people and an expert in leadership development, Dr. Newton's practical wisdom meets executives, entrepreneurs, and organizational pioneers exactly where they are, equipping them to pick up the pieces, find their footing, and maximize their vision.
Catherine Pierce- Workshop Leader
Catherine launched her entrepreneurial journey at 50, proving that the best chapters of a business story are often still ahead. She founded and scaled a cybersecurity recruiting firm, reaching six figures in revenue within her first year, then successfully transitioned the business from a contingency to a retained model, a move that reflects the kind of bold, strategic thinking she brings to everything she does.
In 2022, Catherine acquired NetworkingPhoenix and reimagined it as Networked Live, a thriving professional community built on genuine relationships, strategic support, and shared values, a place where business owners and professionals come together to grow. She also serves as President of Caliber Security Partners, where she leads with the same tenacity and vision that has defined her entrepreneurial path.
Now, Catherine is channeling everything she's learned, the wins, the pivots, the hard-earned milestones, into her role leading the Empower & Elevate Conference for Female Business Professionals. Her mission is simple and powerful: to help women move beyond the $100K mark and scale their businesses to $1M and beyond.
Because if her own journey has taught her anything, it's that with the right strategy, community, and mindset, there's no ceiling a determined woman can't shatter.
Jackie Wheeler - Workshop Leader
Jackie Wheeler is the owner of JackieStyle - Image and Branding Agency, a business she has helmed for over 35 years. Specializing in personal image and branding, she offers a unique perspective on how your online presence should be consistent with your in-person image.
Through personal shopping, wardrobe planning, closet curation, and packing assistance, Jackie helps clients achieve their personal style and branding goals. She is passionate about guiding individuals to discover their authentic image, a process she considers one of her greatest joys.
With a BA in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Marketing from Arizona State University, Jackie also holds multiple certifications in social media and content creation. An experienced speaker, she has addressed audiences ranging from students and businesswomen to large corporate groups. She resides in Arizona with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.
Chyna Coleman - EMCEE
Chyna Coleman is a Christian blogger, inspirational speaker, and author for the everyday single mom. Her passion is to help women grow closer to God while healing and learning to thrive as their most authentic selves. Chyna’s personal mission is to be a resource to support women on their faith and confidence journey, especially those who are called “mom”, too.
Her desire is for every woman who reads or hears what God shares through her to experience the true transformation that comes with being ‘Made New’ in Christ, and to show up in the world the way God originally intended: Confident and Free in Him.