Women's Leadership Conference

Dr. Amelia Hart is a distinguished educator and leader in the field of accounting. She is recognized as one of Poets & Quants' Top 50 Business Undergrad Professors. With a passion for teaching, Dr. Hart has built a reputation for transforming students' academic experiences through her innovative and engaging teaching methods. Her ability to connect with students has led many to consider her one of the most impactful professors they have encountered.

Dr. Hart's commitment to excellence extends beyond the classroom. She is known for her mentorship and her dedication to student success, fostering a supportive environment where students thrive academically and personally. Her innovative approaches to curriculum development, as well as her active participation in faculty development initiatives, have earned her numerous accolades, including the Richard C. Reizenstein Outstanding Commitment to Students Award, University of Tennessee President's Citation of Merit, Decosimo Faculty Leadership Award, Rhea and Ivy Excellence in Teaching Award, Volunteer Faculty Launchpad Mentor, and many more.

Her impact includes service for nonprofit boards, academic, and other organizations including Goodwill Industries, United Way, the American Accounting Association, Beta Alpha Psi International, and the Tennessee Society of CPAs. Dr. Hart's leadership roles in professional organizations and her contributions to the accounting field have solidified her as a respected voice in accounting education. She co-authors the bi-monthly articles Accounting and Auditing articles in the Tennessee CPA Journal.

In addition to her academic and professional achievements, Dr. Hart is a sought-after speaker, known for her ability to inspire and engage audiences across a variety of sectors. She has been invited to speak at academic conferences, government entities, and nonprofit organizations, where she advocates for innovation, inclusive practices, and the future of accounting education.

As a mentor, professor, and thought leader, Dr. Hart continues to shape the future of accounting education, instilling in her students not only technical knowledge but also the confidence to excel in their careers and make a lasting impact in the profession.

Jennifer delivers comprehensive tax planning across estate, charitable, and business succession needs and provides sophisticated planning and holistic strategy solutions for ultra-high-net-worth clients. She also works with clients and their families to understand their unique goals to create customized multi-generational tax planning strategies.

Prior to her current role, Jennifer was tax director at Mariner, where she provided tax services to clients including compliance, tax planning and consulting. She also managed the Oklahoma tax team and helped oversee family office services for clients. She partnered with large family groups with complex family and business structures and has an in-depth knowledge of trust, individual, private foundation, gift and estate taxation and planning. Additionally, she has experience working with entities and individuals filing in multiple state jurisdictions. Her passion is doing collaborative planning and consulting for high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational family groups alongside their team of advisors.

Prior to joining Mariner, Jennifer was a tax manager at Grant Thornton, LP in the Atlanta and the Tulsa offices, where she reviewed corporate, individual, trust, gift, estate, benefit plan, nonprofit, expatriate and flow-through entity federal and multi-state tax returns.

Jennifer has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Reinhardt College and a master’s degree in accounting from Kennesaw State University.

Nina Morel, Ed.D. is a leadership coach, author, and professor of management at Lipscomb University, where she serves as Executive Director of Leadership Development and Coaching. A PCC-certified coach and certified mindfulness instructor, she has coached executives across corporate, higher education, government, and nonprofit sectors.

Nina has spent her career at the intersection of leadership, learning, and human development — as a university dean, district administrator, nonprofit executive director, and award-winning educator. She is the author of five books, including a chapter in Professional Development for Coaching Practitioners (Routledge, 2026) and How to Build an Instructional Coaching Program for Maximum Capacity (Corwin, 2012), and has published in Educational Leadership, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, and International Coaching Psychology Review, among others.

Nina's work centers on a simple conviction: leadership is conversation, and healthy conversations build healthy organizations. She brings that belief into every workshop, coaching engagement, and classroom.

She and her husband David live between two great cities– Nashville and New Orleans– and are the proud grandparents of five.

Samantha is a senior consultant at Convergence Coaching, LLC, a national consulting firm that helps leaders achieve success. She is motivated and inspired by the transformation within accounting and consulting professionals striving to make themselves and the profession better.

Named to Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list, CPA Practice Advisor's "40 Under 40," and the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor's "Most Powerful Women in Accounting," Samantha has a passion for coaching and guiding others in transforming their business models.

Samantha has been in the tax and accounting technology industry for over 20 years and has served on the board of two not-for-profit organizations for several years. She is a national speaker delivering keynotes virtually and in-person and she facilitates and teaches at conferences and workshops.

Samantha has facilitated a range of leadership and management sessions for diverse groups and consulted with firms one on one. Samantha's educational background includes graduating from Hillsdale College and earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Marketing.

Amy Yip is the CEO of Amy Yip LLC, the experts in aligning teams for better execution, collaboration, and resilience — with less friction and frustration. Through a proven six-part framework, her firm equips teams to build trust, align on vision, communicate with clarity, navigate conflict, embrace accountability, and achieve real results together.

An accomplished Mental Fitness expert, executive coach, keynote speaker, and award-winning author, Amy is passionate about helping individuals and teams thrive through change. She is also a 2X TEDx speaker with over 16 years of experience building and leading global teams at industry leaders like Google, Clorox, and Booz Allen.

Amy is an International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach, a Certified Hudson Institute Coach, a Certified Strozzi Institute Somatic Coach, and a pioneer Mental Fitness Coach certified through Positive Intelligence.

She received her MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and her BS in computer science and BA in communications from the University of Maryland.