2026 TogetHER Event: Build IT + Build HER

What does it take to build something that lasts, while also building yourself along the way?
 
Join us for FBA’s annual TogetHER event, designed specifically for female family business leaders, featuring entrepreneur, author, and impact-driven leader Shannon Cohen, for an energizing and deeply relevant conversation: “Build IT + Build HER”
 
This year’s theme speaks to the dual reality women leaders navigate every day — building bold ideas into real impact while simultaneously growing their confidence, capacity, and influence.
 
Shannon will explore the three dynamics women leaders encounter daily:

• What’s Winning – celebrating success and recognizing progress
• What’s Weighty – addressing pain points, pressure, and persistent challenges
• What’s Windy – navigating inflection points, change, and uncertainty

• Practical insights for transforming big ideas into meaningful impact
• Renewed clarity around their leadership journey
• Tools to navigate challenges with resilience and intention
• A powerful sense of collective connection with other women leaders

TogetHER is more than a program, it’s a space to grow, reflect, and be inspired alongside other women shaping the future of their family enterprises and communities.
 

Shannon Cohen is a strategist, movement builder, innovator and author of two books, It’s Normal to Shake as You Soar and Tough Skin, Soft Heart: A Leadership Guide to Growing Stronger, Better, and Wiser. She is the Founder and CEO of Shannon Cohen, Inc., a company that creates products, spaces, and experiences that invest in the emotional well-being of people who lead, love, and serve in transformational ways.

Shannon is also the Founder of the Rockstar Woman™ Movement, serving thousands of women annually. Through an epic flagship convening each September and a year-round membership community, the movement provides content, community, and care for women who lead. Founded in 2018, the movement serves and strengthens the whole woman - fueling the emotional stamina, strategic insight, and relational capital she needs to lead well personally and professionally.

Shannon has a gift for connecting with the heart of people—seeing them, hearing them, and inspiring belief in what’s possible. She leads with empathy and cultural fluency, bridging grassroots energy with boardroom influence as a connector and ecosystem builder. Her work is driven by a deep understanding of what difference makers carry behind their titles—knowing that wins carry weight, and leaders are often navigating what’s winning, what’s windy, and what’s weighty all at once. Through her writing, thought leadership, and place making acumen, Shannon designs products, spaces, and frameworks that ensure those who give so much are also seen, strengthened, and held. Her company holds a licensing agreement with American Greetings, and her products have been featured at Target, Meijer, West Elm, and a host of other retailers in the US and UK.

Shannon has been named one of the 200 Most Powerful Business Leaders in West Michigan and recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan by the Grand Rapids Business Journal. Shannon is an alumnus of the prestigious W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellowship, a 2025 HATCH100 Fellow, and a 2026 TILT Global Leadership Fellow.

Shannon serves on several boards including the Corewell Health Foundation-West Board, Grand Valley State University Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Board, and Greater Grand Rapids Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

Shannon is the proud mom of a 6th grader, and entering 17 years of “I do” with the love of her life!


Presented in partnership with Northern Trust