Carolina Women+ in Tech® Charlotte Chapter Presents
AI-Readiness & Responsibility Bootcamp
Event Details
📅 Date: Friday, April 24th, 2026
⏰ Time: 9am – 5pm EST
📍 Location: Savona Mill, 500 S Turner Ave, Charlotte, NC 28208
💰 Ticket Cost: $150
🚗 Parking: Free
EVENT DESCRIPTION
A full-day intensive for Charlotte’s RevOps, marketing, and operations leaders who are ready to move from AI-curious to AI-operational—with the frameworks, policies, and peer support to do it responsibly.
Limited tickets available.
You’re not alone in this …
The AI moment feels impossible to navigate:
- The amount of disconnect tools is often fragmented. Your tech stack is bloated, your team is using shadow AI tools, and no one knows what’s actually working.
- The strategy is everywhere and nowhere. Documentation is scattered, the vision isn’t clear, and you’re drowning in project management chaos while trying to keep operations, marketing, sales, and service aligned.
- The human side is the hardest part. Training your team, managing change, addressing security concerns, and building governance frameworks—all while trying to hit growth targets—feels like too much.
- You want to do this right, not just fast. You know AI can drive sustainable growth, but you need a responsible approach that prioritizes people, ethics, and long-term resilience over quick wins.
Here’s the truth: The leaders who will thrive in this moment aren’t the most technical.
They’re the ones who can help people actually use technology for good—the marketers, communicators, empaths, and high-EQ operators who understand that growth only scales when your people can scale with it.
What If You Could Build Your AI Roadmap in a Single Day?
This isn’t another “intro to AI” talk. This is a working session where you’ll walk out with:
✅ Your 10-in-10 Roadmap – 10 concrete AI implementations you can deploy in your first 10 days back at work
✅ Templates That Actually Work – Decision frameworks and guidance on how you can customize for your team size and risk tolerance
✅ Peer-Tested Strategies – Real examples from Charlotte companies at different stages (startup, growth, enterprise) woven throughout the day
✅ A 30-60-90 Day Team Enablement Plan – How to train your team from fear to fluency without burning yourself out
✅ 30 Days of Accountability – Post-event office hours, WhatsApp support group, and facilitator access to keep momentum going
You’ll leave with clarity, confidence, and a plan you can actually execute.
This Bootcamp Is Built For:
✔ Founders & Senior Leaders navigating AI strategy without a dedicated tech team
✔ RevOps & Marketing Managers responsible for operationalizing AI across their stack
✔ Agency Account Managers & Generalists who need to advise clients on AI readiness
✔ CRM Managers & Data Analysts looking to automate workflows and improve reporting
✔ Product, Design, & Development Leads exploring how AI fits into their roadmap
✔ Communications & Project Managers managing the human side of AI adoption
✔ Anyone leading or influencing how their organization approaches AI transformation
This is not for
❌ People looking for a passive “intro to ChatGPT” presentation
❌ Teams who already have a fully operational AI governance framework
❌ Anyone expecting vendor pitches or generic “AI will change everything” hype
This is for operators who are ready to roll up their sleeves and build.
Run of Show
8:30am-9:30am: Arrival + Welcome
MC/Emcee: Shay Prosser
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8:30am Check-in opens, coffee, networking
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9:00am Welcome
- 9:15am Intro to Carolina Women+ In Tech
9:30am-10:00am KEYNOTE: AI’s Role In Sustainable Growth
Speaker: Carol Houle (CEO, Inspire Digital Consulting)
Carol brings 30+ years of Fortune 500 digital transformation expertise to help Charlotte leaders separate AI signal from noise. Learn why most AI initiatives fail—and how to build people-powered transformation that creates lasting business value, not just efficiency theater.
10:15-11:00am: SESSION 1 – From SEO to AEO: How AI Is Changing Discovery
Facilitator: William McKee
What Participants Will Learn:
- How AI search (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Co-Pilot) changes the game for user discovery?
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) an Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies that work in 2026?
- Practical content audit: Is your site AI-findable?
- AI Visibility reporting: What matters, what cadence, what tools, what outcomes?
11:00-11:45am: SESSION 2 – Critical Thinking, Prompting & Algorithm Literacy
Facilitator: Dr. Sharon Jones
What Participants Will Learn:
- How to think computationally about AI (not just use it blindly)
- Effective prompting techniques that go beyond “write me a blog post”
- How to debug AI outputs
- Building team literacy: Training non-technical employees to use AI responsibly
11:45am-12:45pm: Working Lunch & Peer Networking
12:45-1:30pm: SESSION 3 – AI-Powered Media Planning: From Strategy to Campaign in Real Time
Facilitator: Nick Huelsman
What Participants Will Learn:
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How AI predicts which media channels will drive the best ROI. Use Media Launcher to generate data-backed media mix recommendations based on your business objectives, not guesswork
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Build a complete digital media plan in 15 minutes. Walk through the Media Launcher platform live: brief creation, channel selection, budget allocation, and campaign launch
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Decode programmatic ads and real-time bidding. Understand how AI optimizes ad spend across display, video, social, and connected TV to reach your audience when and where it matters
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Access 24/7 performance dashboards without hiring an agency. See how predictive analytics and automated reporting turn campaign data into actionable insights you can act on immediately
1:45-2:15pm: SESSION 4 – From Chaos to CALM: Operationalizing AI for Sustainable Growth
Facilitator: Delethia Johnson & Praneetha Kotla
What Participants Will Learn:
- Apply the CALM Framework using EOS principles. Use Vision/Traction tools (V/TO, Rocks, Scorecard) to evaluate AI against your business goals and create clarity around what AI actually solves. Get an understanding of the building blocks for security and governance.
- Build Alignment across your leadership team and org chart. Get everyone on the same page with AI adoption using EOS accountability structures (Who owns what? What are the Rocks? What’s measurable?)
- Eliminate tool sprawl with strategic decision-making. Use the Issues Solving Track (IDS) to rationalize your AI stack and stop paying for overlapping tools your team won’t use
- Create Leverage and Momentum in your revenue engine. Map AI into your existing processes (marketing, sales, service, ops) at a pace your organization can handle without heroic effort. Explore ways to set your team up for success to scale
2:15-3:00pm: SESSION 5 – AI-powered Social Media without Losing Your Voice
Facilitator: Stetson Patton (Socially Stetson)
What Participants Will Learn:
- Using AI for social content generation while maintaining brand authenticity
- Tools and workflows for content repurposing at scale
- AI-assisted community management and engagement
- Avoiding the “generic AI voice” trap
3:15-4:00pm SESSION 6 – Build Your Implementation Sprint & Peer Feedback
Facilitated by: Caitlin Castevens and Shay Prosser
Meet our speakers
Learn From Charlotte’s AI Practitioners
This isn’t a theoretical workshop … you’re learning from operators who’ve implemented AI in real businesses.
Shay Prosser
CEO North 12 Partners
Shay serves as a strategic partner for business owners preparing for scale, acquisition, or succession. Her role is to transform overwhelm into a clear path forward. Shay is also leading Birthing of Giants Regional Cohorts for growth-minded leaders.
Carol Houle
CEO of Inspired Digital Consulting, NC Tech – Responsible AI Coalition Leader
Carol is a builder and renovator of strategic businesses for companies seeking to focus on “Business Value Led Digital Transformation” using
modern and emerging technologies.
For over 30+ years she has demonstrated the proven ability to build high performing organizations with modern digital capabilities. Known for delivering successful business results for Fortune 500 clients. Unique blend of both technical and business acumen and understanding of why and how people change behaviors.
William McKee
Founder & Owner of Knowmad
Digital Marketing is complex, but it shouldn’t be complicated.
William’s agency takes the mystery out of creating growth & driving revenue by providing a measurable and demonstrable return on investment. If you make it, we can help you sell it online.
Having worked in the Internet industry for 25+ years, William enjoys sharing my experience and insight with clients to help them achieve success from their web presence.
Dr. Sharon Jones
CEO of The Dot Consulting, Founder of Dottie Rose Foundation, Co-Founder of Carolina Women+ In Tech
Dr. Sharon Jones is an award-winning computer science educator with 22 years dedicated to making technology accessible to all. She creates workshops that connect tech concepts to everyday activities, making computer science inclusive and empowering. Known as an out-of-the-box thinker, Sharon brings real-world business problems into tech training, teaching applicable solutions that turn participants into confident technologists. Her passion: ensuring everyone has a chance to succeed in the digital age. #100WomentoKNOW.
Nick Huelsman
Head of Growth at Digital Mouth
Nick leads agency partnerships at Digital Mouth, helping marketing agencies grow digital revenue through white-labeled programmatic solutions. With 15 years in sales and marketing, he specializes in consultative sales, partner enablement, and data-driven strategies. Nick helped transform Digital Mouth into a digital advertising leader with 30% year-over-year growth, training teams on AI-powered media planning and deploying sales enablement practices that scale agency businesses.
Stetson Patton
Founder of Socially Stetson, LLC
Stetson helps entrepreneurs show up online with confidence and content that actually feels like them.
Stetson thinks of herself as your social media hostess — helping you create a space online where people feel invited, not sold to.
Before running a full-service agency, she owned a boutique. She was the one staying up late trying to figure out what to post, how to grow, and how to keep up. That’s where Stetson learned how powerful social media can be when it’s done with personality and purpose.
Now she gets to help other business owners do the same — without all the overwhelm.
Delethia Johnson
Founder Chief Executive Officer at Ink & Prosper
Delethia Johnson, CIA is the Founder and CEO of Ink & Prosper, an AI and automation consulting firm based in Charlotte, NC. With over twenty years of experience across audit, operational risk, and enterprise technology in financial services, she brings a rare ability to bridge the gap between business strategy and technology implementation. Her audit-first methodology ensures that businesses don’t just implement AI — they implement it with a clear understanding of both the opportunity and the risk. A firm believer in responsible and ethical AI, Delethia partners with organizations to diagnose inefficiencies, design intelligent automation strategies, and deploy AI solutions built for sustainable growth. She is also the creator of the OWNER Framework, a structured approach to responsible AI adoption grounded in one core principle: You Own the AI, Don’t Let AI Own You.™
Praneetha Kotla
AI & Automation Strategist | ERP Smartlabs
Praneetha Kotla is a globally recognized technology leader whose work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and enterprise automation has earned her acclaim across the industry. With over a decade of experience leading complex, large-scale digital transformation initiatives, she has established herself as an authority in designing intelligent systems that are both impactful and responsible. A published researcher, international award nominee, and industry judge, her original contributions to the field are widely acknowledged by peers and practitioners alike. A sought-after speaker at national and international forums, Praneetha is also a dedicated mentor and advocate for women in technology.
Caitlin Castevens
Co-Founder of Carolina Women+ In Tech, Co-Founder of Midwood Homes, LLC, Fractional growth & systems strategist at Clawfoot Digital, LLC.
Caitlin Castevens is a fractional growth and systems strategist who helps leaders and teams move from reactive execution to aligned momentum.
With over a decade of experience across growth strategy, operations, and client delivery, Caitlin works with founders, agency leaders, and executive teams when growth has outpaced clarity — and systems, priorities, and people need realignment. Her work sits at the intersection of GTM strategy, operational design, and decision-ready systems, helping organizations scale without burning out their leaders or teams.
Caitlin is known for bringing calm and structure to complex environments. She has led and supported high-impact initiatives across revenue operations, HubSpot implementations, and cross-functional delivery, helping teams restore trust in their systems and regain focus on what actually drives results.
Caitlin teaches leaders how to reduce reactivity, simplify execution, and build momentum that lasts. Her approach is practical, grounded, and deeply informed by real-world experience navigating growth, transition, and change.
FAQS
Do I need a laptop?
We recommend bringing a notebook to take notes in, and your laptop for our working sessions.
Are food/drinks included?
Yes! We will provide breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks.
What do I wear?
The dress code for the event is business casual. Come comfortable but ready to make a great impression!
How can I share my experience online?
We’d love for you to share the day with your friends! Please use our event hashtags – #CWIT #AIreadiness #techyourseat #womenintech – and tag @carolinawomenintech.
What happens if I’m running late?
No worries; it happens! Please still join us whenever you are able to arrive. We will have a welcome table at the entrance, and our volunteers will make sure you find us.
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