The Simmons Leadership Conference will be held on March 23, 2021. Save the date!
Learn MoreThe International Simmons Leadership Conference is heading to London, UK on November 15-16, 2021.
Learn MoreInformative, energizing and empowering, the Simmons Leadership Conference is the nation's leading one-day professional development event for women.
View the ProgramFrom candid keynotes to lively panel discussions, our speakers will inspire you to pursue your own path to principled leadership.
Learn About SpeakersLong recognized as the pre-eminent authority on women's leadership, the Simmons Leadership Conference is coming to London, UK in November 2021.
View the ProgramThis year's program features exceptional internationally-renowned speakers.
Learn about SpeakersFrom global Fortune 500 corporations to agile start-ups, our sponsors are innovators who recruit and develop talented women leaders.
View AllConsistently top-rated by sponsors, speakers and attendees alike, the Simmons Leadership Conference is without a doubt the most respected one-day event for business and professional women in the nation.
Get InvolvedWith the recent formation of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, Simmons has made an investment in ensuring that equity in leadership is a reality in our lifetime.
Learn MoreMembers of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership Strategic Advisory Board share the deep desire to foster equity, inclusion and gender parity in organizational leadership in our lifetime.
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For more than 25 years, Mary Shapiro has served as an Organization Behavior faculty at Simmons University, an executive trainer, and a consultant to public and private companies. She joined the Simmons M.B.A. faculty in 1993, and in the fall of 2014 she was appointed to the inaugural endowed position of the Trust Professorship of Leadership Development. In that position she steered the University in developing a leadership platform to be infused throughout the undergraduate program. She continues to teach in Simmons’ M.B.A., undergraduate and corporate programs. Professor Shapiro specializes in three areas: team building and leadership, influential communication across diverse stakeholders, and strategic career management.
Professor Shapiro researches and publishes in the areas of women and their careers, and organizations, and their use of male allies as gender-equity initiatives. In spring 2014, she published “The HBS Guide to Leading Teams”, published by Harvard Business School Press. She has also co-authored two books, Your Job Interview: An Easy, Smart Guide to Interview Success; and Take Charge of Your Career, which extend an understanding of interviewing and career strategies to include the nuances of gender and many dimensions of diversity. She developed “The Communication Styles Diagnostic,” an online tool that has been used by thousands of managers to improve their effectiveness with individuals and teams.
Throughout her career, Professor Shapiro has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, private institutions, and non-profits, including organizations such as CVS, Harvard University, and Merck Pharmaceuticals, to create vision, mission and strategic plans; launch teams with operational infrastructure and project plans; and intervene in teams in crises. She continues to create and deliver an inventory of leadership development seminars. Professor Shapiro works with numerous Boards of Directors in strategic planning, and for 18 years served on the Executive Committee of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEM).