2025 EPIC Toledo Leadership Summit: The Heart of a Leader

​We want to thank everyone who attended the 2025 EPIC Toledo Leadership Summit! This year's Summit explored the importance of personal development to aid in professional leadership development, getting to the root of what makes a great person behind a great leader. We had discussions around storytelling and communication, the necessity and power of mentorship, mental health as it relates to the workplace, downtown development updates, and how resilience can make all the difference.

Read on for an event recap, and photographer Jennifer Beachy's full coverage of the day:

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

KAREN EBER, EBER LEADERSHIP GROUP

“Winning Hearts and Minds with Stories that Inform, Influence, and Inspire”

ABOUT KAREN EBER: 
Karen Eber is an award-winning author of The Perfect Story, a TED speaker, and a global consultant who has educated and inspired over three million people globally. As the CEO & Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group, Karen helps Fortune 500 Companies build leaders, teams, and culture, one story at a time. Her work has been featured on Fast Company, NPR, Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, Quartz, MSN, and Business Insider. As a former Head of Culture and Chief Learning Officer in GE and Deloitte, Karen now delivers leadership and storytelling keynotes and workshops to companies, conferences, and universities around the world. 0

​ABOUT HER SPEECH:
In her keynote, Karen discussed the importance of storytelling in professional and personal communication. She walked the audience through exercises and real examples of how storytelling can change how people see you, open up new doors, and make you a memorable candidate for a job. Karen provided not only insight, but built in networking opportunities for the guests as well.

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​JAMEIL AOSSEY, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER

"The Rhythm of Resilience"

ABOUT JAMEIL AOSSEY: 
Jameil Aossey is a Grammy Award Winning Music Producer, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer and Software Developer based in Sylvania, OH. Credits include Beyoncé’s 7th Album “Renaissance”, winning a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album of the Year, nominated for Grammy Album of the Year, as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album for Eminem’s “The Death of Slim Shady.” ​

ABOUT HIS SPEECH: 
In his moderated keynote, Jameil walked the audience through his career and the implications of navigating an ever-changing industry. He talked about imposter syndrome, rejection and how to grow from it, finding projects you're passionate about, and why he chooses to live and work in Sylvania, OH. Our audience benefitted greatly from his advice, as well as the peek behind the curtain at what producing music professionally looks like.

​Moderator: Madison Decator

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PANELS:

THE POWER OF MENTORSHIP

MIND AT WORK

FROM VISION TO VIBRANCY

Community mentors discussed the importance of mentorship, how to find the right mentor, and how to make the most out of that relationship. 

Panelists:
Shawna Woody (HOPE Toledo)
Bryan Blair (University of Toledo Athletics)
Kengo Kato (Kengos LLC)
Ashley Bush (Bloom Toledo) 

​Moderator: Riley Runnells  ​

Attendees learned how to better support their mental health needs while navigating leadership and the working world.

Panelists:
​Rosie Best (Issue Box Theatre) 
Carissa Wott (Anxiety Treatment Center) 
Marriah Kornowa (NAMI) 
Dr. Phil Atkins (Harbor Urgent Care) 

​Moderator: Alexandria Thomas​

Local developers updated attendees on the impact downtown's renaissance is having on the community, and what's next.

​Panelists:
Stephanie Pilgrim (The Mez building) 
Meredith Soleau (424 Degrees) 
ARK Restoration (Ambrea Mikolajczyk) 
Prephan Enterprises (Scott Prephan)  

Moderator: Zack Liber  
 

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Check out photos from the event, taken by Jennifer Beachy, below: