Bluebird Leaders Presents...

3rd annual
Authentic Leadership Exchange

SOLD OUT!!!

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SOLD OUT!!!

This isn’t your typical conference — it’s a hands-on, workshop-driven retreat where collaboration meets growth. Over two transformative days, you will step away from the day-to-day grind and step into an environment built for authentic leadership development. Learn by doing: Interactive workshops that challenge and inspire. Collaborate with peers: Build connections that spark fresh ideas and new approaches. Grow as a leader: Focused time for reflection, self-discovery, and practical takeaways. Bring it back home: Return with tools and confidence to lead your team with clarity and impact. It’s more than professional development — it’s a leadership experience that energizes, equips, and empowers.

Dates & Location

April 22-24, 2026
Hilton San Destin Beach & Golf Resort
San Destin, FL

Attendee Ticket

Includes:
- Conference
- 2 Nights at hotel
- All Meals
- Ticket to off site excursion

Meet your Hosts

Our Program

Keynote Speaker

The Curious Paradox: When Excellence Meets Invisibility

The Steve Martin Paradox challenges the notion that being “so good they can’t ignore you” guarantees success, revealing how excellence alone can lead to invisibility. Through personal stories and lessons learned, this talk explores the “excellence trap,” the power of curiosity as a career compass, and a five-question framework for making strategic career decisions. Attendees will learn how to shift from output to impact, leverage massive and serial networking, and use curiosity-driven connections to open unexpected opportunities. With insights from decades in healthcare leadership, the session weaves together wisdom from both early- and later-career perspectives, underscoring the importance of visibility, relationships, and wellness. Participants leave with a practical challenge: to stop ignoring their own potential and start designing careers rooted in curiosity, strategy, and balance.
Sarah Richardson
Principal, This Week Health

Hormones Matter! You don’t have to feel like this forever!

This 45-minute session explores how hormonal changes affect both women and men as they age, highlighting the signs of perimenopause and andropause, long-term health risks, and the often-overlooked difference between “normal” and “optimal” hormone ranges. Attendees will learn about testing options, treatment strategies including hormone replacement therapy, and the role of nutrition and exercise in managing symptoms. With a focus on improving energy, relationships, focus, and overall quality of life, this talk empowers participants to recognize the signs, advocate for themselves, and take proactive steps toward designing a healthier, stronger future.
Margaret Ptacek
DNM, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

Workshop

From Brand to Scale: How Personal Branding Fuels Growth

In today’s fast-moving, interconnected world, leaders rarely get the space to pause and intentionally design what comes next. This experience is a hands-on visioning exercise where we’ll actively explore our current state, imagine our best future selves, and begin shaping the next chapter of our life and career. Together, we’ll slow down long enough to reflect on how we want to lead, live, and show up — not just in our work, but in our whole selves. Through guided reflection and practical exercises, we’ll move beyond reacting to the moment and start leading with clarity, purpose, and intention. When leaders take the time to consciously design their future, they create alignment, confidence, and momentum — for themselves and for the people who walk alongside them into what’s next.
Bridget Bell
Cardamom Health, VP Business Development

Workshop

Emotional Intelligence (EI): Staying Centered When Leadership Gets Tough

In today’s interconnected world, leaders operate under constant pressure — managing global teams, navigating cultural differences, and making high-stakes decisions. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the hidden driver of sustainable leadership impact. • It enables leaders to stay composed under stress, inspiring confidence in their teams. • It equips them to pause and respond with intention rather than reacting in ways that erode trust. • It models resilience, creating psychological safety across borders and time zones. When leaders manage themselves well, they create stability, clarity, and energy that their organizations can lean on — even in moments of disruption.
Michael Maitre
Founder, Createway Consulting

Workshop

Rewiring the Inner Critic: From Self-Doubt to Executive Presence

We all have an inner critic — that voice that whispers “you’re not ready,” “don’t speak up,” “you’re too much.” For women executives, it’s amplified by cultural conditioning that rewards humility while penalizing ambition. But what if imposter syndrome wasn’t a weakness to fix, but a growth signal to reframe? Step out of the “proving mindset” and into their power. Through interactive exercises and neuroscience-backed tools, participants will learn how to:

✨ Reframe the Inner Critic — Using the 3R Framework (Recognize → Reframe → Respond) to turn self-doubt into data.

✨ Activate the Confidence Formula — Competence + Presence + Energy = unshakable leadership.

✨ Build Resilience Rituals — Micro-practices that protect energy, model boundaries, and shift from reactivity to intentionality.

✨ Redefine Imposter Syndrome — Transform “I’m not ready” into “I’m exactly where I need to be.”

Participants will walk away with a Confidence Compass they can use anytime imposter thoughts show up, along with peer-to-peer accountability tools to keep the work alive long after the retreat.

This session isn’t about silencing the inner critic — it’s about rewiring it. Leaders will return home with clarity, presence, and practical practices that help them step into every boardroom, strategy session, and conversation with greater ease, energy, and impact.
Dawn Whitney
Founder, ElevateX

Workshop

Visibility is not vanity, it’s leadership currency.

In today’s environment, the leaders who shape conversations, influence decisions, and drive change are not just the most capable, they’re the most visible. Yet too many high-performing women remain under-recognized, under-leveraged, and under-heard. This is not a lecture, it’s a working session designed to help you build and activate your leadership presence in real time. Retreat participants will define their “Leadership Signal Statement” Audit and elevate their real-world visibility, step into the spotlight by designing to communicate authority, clarity, and confidence Too often, leadership is mistaken for performance alone. But influence requires visibility, positioning, and intentional presence. If your voice isn’t heard, your impact is limited. If your brand isn’t clear, your value is overlooked. The bottom line is that this session is about more than personal branding. It’s about owning your space, amplifying your voice, and moving from invisible to influential, on your terms.
Mike Mosquito
Head of Enterpise Automation & Intergration, Fox Rehab

AGENDA
Day 1
Wednesday

AGENDA
Day 2
Thursday

Yoga: 7-8am

Breakfast: 8-9am

We will also have color & coffee during breakfast 

9-10am

Sarah Richardson

Principal, This Week Health

Topic: The Curious Paradox: When Excellence Meets Invisibility

10-1015amBreak
1015-12pm

Workshop

Facilitator: Michael Maitre

Topic: Emotional Intelligence (EI): Staying Centered When Leadership Gets Tough

12-1pmLunch
1-3pm

Workshop

Facilitator: Mike Mosquito

Roadmaps and Tolls: A Guide to Building and Marketing Your Professional Brand, Presence, and Business Acumen

Facilitator: Bridget Bell

From Dreaming to Doing: Designing Your Leadership Future

3-315pmBreak
315-445pm

Workshop

Facilitator: Margaret Ptacek

Topic: Hormones Matter! You don’t have to feel like this forever!

445-5pmEnding Comments

AGENDA
Day 3
Friday

Yoga: 7-8am

Breakfast: 8-9am

We will also have color & coffee during breakfast 

9-10am

Jennifer Stemmler

SVP, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Adventist Health

10-1015amBreak
1015-12pm

Workshop

Facilitator: Dawn Whiney

Topic: Rewiring the Inner Critic: From Self-Doubt to Executive Presence

12pmEnding Comments 
12-1pm Lunch