Actor, advocate, archer Geena Davis to speak at PCMA Convening Leaders


Geena Davis

Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis keynotes PCMA Convening Leaders 2019 Jan. 9 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis will keynote the 2019 PCMA Convening Leaders, the premier annual event for the business events industry, on Jan. 9 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

An advocate for women and expert on gender in the media, Davis joins a growing list of thought leaders and entertainers speaking at PCMA’s annual conference, considered the Super Bowl of the business events industry. Also on the roster are tennis legend Billie Jean King, marketing guru Seth Godin, diversity expert Steve Pemberton and millennial entrepreneur Nadya Okamoto.

Thousands of business events professionals gather each January for education sessions and networking.  More than 100 speakers will address a wide range of topics, from design thinking and audience engagement to diversity and social impact. Women represent more than half of the 2019 Convening Leaders presenters.

“We are thrilled to count Geena Davis among the powerful influencers joining us at Convening Leaders,” said Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA’s President and CEO. “We sought her because she is a champion for social change, and that is paramount to PCMA.”

Davis is recognized for her tireless advocacy of women and girls. She is Chair of the Geena Davis Institute, a non-profit she founded to engage film and television creators to eliminate unconscious bias in media made for children. The institute encourages development of more female characters, aimed at creating strong role models and eliminating gender stereotypes.

Her Convening Leaders keynote on Jan. 9 will address how a career in film and television inspired her to create Geena Davis Institute.

In addition to her film career, Davis was appointed Special Envoy for Women and Girls in ICT for the UN’s International Telecommunication Union, and is an official partner of UN Women. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “The Accidental Tourist” and was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in “Thelma and Louise.” Her other film and television credits include “Beetlejuice” and “Commander in Chief.” Davis was a semi-finalist in the U.S. Olympic Trials for archery at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

For more information about Convening Leaders visit conveningleaders.org.

About the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media at Mount Saint Mary’s

Founded by Academy-Award® winning actor Geena Davis in 2004, the first and only research-based organization which is successfully influencing media and entertainment companies to dramatically improve the quality and quantity of female characters in media aimed at children 11 and under.

More about Geena Davis


For media queries from the Americas, APAC, EMEA, and requests for interviews with Sherrif Karamat, please contact: Meghan Risch, PCMA Chief of Staff, Vice President, Corporate Communications

About PCMA

PCMA, PCMA Foundation and CEMA educate, inspire, and listen, creating meaningful experiences where passion, purpose and commerce come together. We are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists, providing senior-level education, networking, and market intelligence for the global business events industry. Our mission is to drive social and economic progress through business events. Headquartered in Chicago, IL PCMA has 17 North American Chapters, regional communities in APAC, EMEA and LATAM, and members in 59 countries. The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), a PCMA subsidiary, advances strategic event marketing and marketing communications for senior-level event marketers and industry professionals. Visit us at pcma.org.

About PCMA Foundation

The role of the Foundation of PCMA is to support the mission of PCMA through fundraising and grant-giving focused on scholarships, education and research that will advance the business events industry. Annually the Foundation funds over $700K in impact, and since 1985 has funded over 2,500 scholarships, 100 research studies and education programs, and $2.7M in charitable giving.

Become a Member

Get premium access to provocative executive-level education, face-to-face networking and business intelligence.

Join PCMA