Registration is now open for the annual Women’s Leadership Conference at Montana State University, scheduled for June 2, 2026. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Strand Union Building ballrooms.
The conference is hosted by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and aims to provide professional development and networking opportunities for women. This year’s theme is “Leading without Permission.” Tickets are priced at $175, and organizers recommend early purchase as they expect tickets to sell out by January.
Participants will have access to educational sessions, event materials, a networking reception, meals, a happy hour social, and a silent auction. Funds raised through the conference support scholarships awarded to MSU students who have demonstrated leadership both on and off campus.
Katie Goodman will serve as the keynote speaker. She is described as “an award-winning comedian, author and international speaker.” According to organizers: “With over 20 years of experience with training and speaking, Goodman has taught more than 40,000 people how to use the tools of improv comedy in their lives to be more creative, courageous and confident. Her show ‘Broad Comedy’ plays off Broadway and tours nationally. Goodman’s work has been celebrated by Arianna Huffington, Comedy Central, Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes, Time Out New York and,” she adds humorously herself,“her Pilates teacher — who says she’s getting better.”
Goodman holds a philosophy degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She founded Camp Equinox in Montana which has hosted over 300 children annually for three decades. Additionally, she serves as an ambassador for Shelterbox—a disaster relief organization supporting displaced people globally.
Cindy Peterson will deliver the morning keynote address. She is founder and managing partner of Leading With: “Through more than 20 years working inside corporate cultures, from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups,” Peterson says her focus “lies in helping individuals, teams and companies realize the vision and goals they have set for themselves.”
Further information about speakers or breakout sessions will be released this spring on the conference website.
The event originated in 2008 under the name Women’s Circle of Excellence when it was launched by MSU alumni alongside business college staff during the business college’s 115th anniversary celebrations; it has since been renamed MSU Women’s Leadership Conference.
More details can be found at montana.edu/business/wcoe.
