Daily News

Bay Path to Host Next Women’s Leadership Conference in Person on April 1, 2022

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University will host its 25th Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC) in person at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Friday, April 1, 2022. The decision comes nine months after the March 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual conference brings more than 2,000 attendees to downtown Springfield for a day of speakers and workshop sessions devoted to professional development and personal goals. After weighing several options for hosting the annual conference, the university decided to forgo a 2021 event and wait until the event could take place in person.

“Initially, we hoped to bring everyone together for a March 2021 conference, but there’s still too much uncertainty attached to when this pandemic will subside,” said Caron Hobin, vice president of Strategic Alliances, Bay Path’s division of professional development, which has produced the conference since its inception. “We also contemplated making the conference virtual, but ultimately, we felt that the intimacy, spontaneity, and energy that distinguishes the WLC would be lost.”

“We realize, from our own experiences attending Zoom meetings and digital forums, that screen fatigue is real,” Hobin added. “In order to truly create a day that would meet the high standards that we and our attendees have come to expect, we feel that waiting it out to create a great in-person experience is the right way to go.”

With an extended timeline, social media and digital forums will serve as virtual hubs to generate conversations and share thoughts and information that will carry over to the WLC.

“We know these are hard times,” Hobin said. “The bright side is that we can really take advantage of this extra time to build community, encourage connection, and make the 2022 event an exceptional in-person experience.”

More information on speakers and schedules is forthcoming and will be posted at baypathconference.com.