Professional communication skills will be one of the highlighted topics at The University of Olivet’s second annual Cultivating Women Leaders event on March 2, held at the Cutler Event Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Under the theme Pioneering the Future, the event is designed to inspire and equip young women to embrace their inner strength and realize their potential as responsible leaders. The University of Olivet’s must successful alumnae and Michigan’s finest women business leaders will lead interactive training for women and girls from middle school to working professionals.
Sheri Jones, WLNS TV 6 news anchor, and Karen Preston, RTI Surgical human resources director, will lead an interactive professional communication skills session on confrontation, which covers dispute resolution and diffusing situations. Jones and Preston will emphasize how to be part of the solution, tapping into their more than 60 years of combined work experience. Jones will also serve as moderator to the OC Alumnae Panel for the second year, a favorite from the inaugural CWL event.
Sheri Jones
Sheri Jones anchors the 6 and 11 o’clock news for WLNS TV 6 and leads its Crime Stoppers Program. Her weekly Crime Stoppers report has aided in the capture of many of Mid-Michigan’s most wanted fugitive felons. The program has also earned her several awards, including honors from the Associated Press, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, the Central Michigan Crime Prevention Association, and for four years in a row, the top media award from the Crime Prevention Association of Michigan. Jones has also been honored by the State of Michigan as an Outstanding Advocate for Crime Victim’s Rights.
In addition, Jones was inducted into the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle in recognition of her dedication to excellence and the significant contributions she has made to the television industry over the past 25 years. Her expertise has been showcased on national television including Forensic Files and The Montel Williams Show. Jones also won an Emmy for “We Can Do It,” a documentary she wrote and hosted for the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Jones graduated with honors from Michigan State University’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences. She is an active member in a number of community groups including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Children’s Trust Fund of Michigan and Child and Family Services Charities.
Karen Preston 
Karen Preston is a human resources leader with more than 35 years of extensive global business and functional experience across multiple industries, operational platforms and cultures. She is known as a builder of organizational and individual capability through mutual goals and cultivating strong collegial partnerships. Post graduation, Preston spent seven years as an HR leader with large retailers in Michigan. After leaving retail, she joined General Electric where she held large scope global leadership roles in supply, consumer product and healthcare businesses over a 16-year period. Later, she joined SUPERVALU, a grocery store and supply chain business, where she had the opportunity to work in Bangalore, India. Preston then accepted the position of director for human resources for Worldwide Amazon Fresh & PrimePantry. Two years later, she returned to Michigan and took on the role of senior director of human resources for Kellogg Company. Today, she serves as director of human resources for RTI Surgical, a leading global surgical implant company.
Preston grew up in Ann Arbor and graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising.
Register Now
Register for CWL by Feb. 12 to learn more about professional communication skills and confrontation, negotiating, interviewing and establishing boundaries. In addition, read more about all of the exceptional women leaders who will be presenting, including keynote speaker ATHENA International founder Martha Mayhood Mertz. For more information about The University of Olivet, contact the Office of Admissions at 800.456.7189 or admissions@uolivet.edu.