This year's theme is "Lead With Impact: Lessons in High Performance." Keynote Speaker and Panel Moderator Michael Ross has worked with hundreds of business owners and executives, from large corporations to small businesses, helping them become more effective leaders who inspire their employees and grow their revenues. His dynamic leadership programs have reshaped companies from stagnation and paralysis to highly competitive and successful organizations.

We are excited to welcome four powerhouse leaders from throughout Allegheny County to speak during the panel portion of the event:

• Dr. Quintin Bullock, President of CCAC

  • Dr. Quintin B. Bullock is an accomplished and dedicated leader in the field of higher education, currently serving as the ninth president of the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), a multi-campus institution that serves approximately 30,000 credit and noncredit students in western Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, CCAC has grown to become a nationally renowned two-year institution dedicated to providing affordable access to high-quality career and transfer education to all members of the community.

• Lauren Connelly, Director of Allegheny County Economic Development

  • Lauren has dedicated her career to making the region’s communities more equitable, accessible, and vibrant by creating conditions where people, businesses, and institutions can work collaboratively to achieve a higher quality of life for all. Lauren returned to Allegheny County Economic Development in May 2024 as the Director, after serving as County Executive Sara Innamorato’s All In Allegheny transition team co-chair.

• Rich Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

  • Rich Fitzgerald joined the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) as Executive Director in January 2024. As Executive Director, Rich leads a team of 50 staff members and oversees the organization’s strategic efforts to support our local counties and municipalities access an estimated $39 billion in state and federal transportation and economic development funding that has been allocated to the region through 2045.

• Michael Huwar, President of Peoples Natural Gas

  • In his role as president, Huwar is responsible for providing safe and reliable natural gas service to approximately 741,000 customers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Huwar joined Peoples in 2020, leading Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas utility in its mission to provide safe, reliable energy to 700,000 customers in 18 counties.