Eileen Scully
Founder and CEO, The Rising Tides
Eileen Scully is making the workplace better for women through consulting and advisory services, predominantly through her work as the Founder and CEO of The Rising Tides. In November 2018, The Rising Tides launched the Leadership Diversity Index, the first comprehensive measurement of the representation of women and people of color on corporate boards of directors and executive leadership teams.
Eileen is the author of In the Company of Men: How Women can Succeed in a World Built Without Them, set for publication in September 2019. She is also a SheSource Expert with the Women’s Media Center and has been interviewed by Forbes, The Boston Globe, Standard and Poor’s Global Market Intelligence, Thrive Global, Psychology Today, and Inc. In June 2016, Eileen was invited by the Obama White House to participate in the United State of Women Summit, where she joined five thousand other global advocates for women and girls.
Additionally, Eileen speaks internationally on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In April 2017, she spoke at the first-ever Diversity in Marketing and Advertising Summit in London, the only event of its kind focused on fostering greater diversity and inclusion in the industry. In August 2018 she spoke at the first Women In Engineering conference sponsored by the global Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Tunisia. Subsequently, Eileen was invited back to Tunisia to deliver her first TED talk at the TEDx conference in September 2018.
In December of 2018, Eileen was named to Irish America Magazine’s Business 100 list, the second consecutive year she received this prestigious and deeply meaningful honor. Irish Echo named Eileen one of their Community Champions in April 2019.
Eileen is a founding committee member on the Women’s Network Initiative for the Irish Business Organization of New York. She is former chair and committee member of the Get In Touch Foundation, which provides free breast health education to girls around the world, and a former advisor to the Innovadores Foundation. In her spare time, she volunteers as an event photographer for Special Olympics Connecticut and Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS).
Tiffany Dufu
Catalyst-at-Large in Women’s Leadership and Author of Drop the Ball
Tiffany Dufu is a catalyst-at-large in the world of women’s leadership and the author of Drop the Ball, a memoir and manifesto that shows women how to cultivate the single skill they really need in order to thrive: the ability to let go. According to foreword contributor Gloria Steinem, Drop the Ball is “important, path-breaking, intimate and brave.”
Named to Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany is Founder and CEO of The Cru, a peer coaching service for women looking to accelerate their personal and professional growth. She was a launch team member to Lean In and also served as Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, the fastest growing millennial professional network. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, which trained women to run for office. Having raised nearly $20 million toward the cause of women and girls, she’s been featured in The New York Times; ESSENCE; O, The Oprah Magazine; and on NPR. She is a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, a sought-after speaker on women’s leadership, and has presented at Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit, TEDWomen, and MAKERS.
Tiffany is a member of Women’s Forum New York; Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc.; and is a Lifetime Girl Scout. She serves on the board of Simmons College and Girls Who Code. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
Diane Smith
Emmy Award Winning Journalist and Bestselling Author
Diane Smith will moderate the Conversation with Tiffany Dufu
A New York Times bestselling author and Emmy award-winning journalist, documentary producer, and speaker, Diane Smith is a media veteran. Diane’s book Obsessed: America’s Food Addiction and My Own, written with MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, became an instant best seller.
Diane has been on the air in Connecticut for more than 25 years at WTNH-TV, CPTV, CTN, and WTIC-Newstalk 1080. Diane is currently the anchor and senior producer for program development at CTN, the Connecticut version of C-SPAN. Diane also hosts town hall meetings on topics including opioid abuse and paid family leave on CPTV.
As president of Diane Smith Media, Diane has produced Emmy award-winning documentaries and other programs and videos—primarily for non-profits. Diane Smith Media also provides media and public speaking training for clients including Tiffany & Co., Subway, Protein Sciences Corporation, and Choate Rosemary Hall.
The Globe Pequot Press has published six books based on Diane’s “Positively Connecticut” TV series, the longest running local TV series in state history.
Diane serves on the board of the Connecticut Women’s Council and the advisory board of the World Affairs Council. Diane was appointed by the CT Secretary of the State to the Civic Health Advisory Board. Diane was appointed as a corporator of the I-Quilt Project in Hartford and serves on the Board of Overseers for the Bushnell Theater in Hartford.
Diane gave a TEDX Talk in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2015.
In 2016 Diane was honored with the National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award. Diane has received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Culture and Tourism for her outstanding lifetime achievements and contributions to the arts and tourism in Connecticut. The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame honored Diane as a woman of “voice and vision.” Diane was honored with the Breakfast Badge Award from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Diane holds an honorary doctorate from Charter Oak College.
Diane was inducted into the CT Journalism Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle for 25 years of distinguished service to broadcasting and the community.