In honor of International Women’s Month, we’re proud to feature three powerhouse leaders who are not just navigating the future of technology and advertising, they’re actively shaping it.

Hollis Guerra, Priti Patel Powell, and Sophia Westrich are the driving force behind Advance Women, a community built on the belief that when women rise together, entire industries transform. Their work sits at the intersection of leadership, innovation, and radical support — and in this moment of rapid change across AI, AdTech, and beyond, their perspective has never been more relevant.

We asked them three questions at the heart of where our industry is headed: What does it truly take to build inclusive innovation? How has community shaped their careers? And what does modern AdTech leadership actually demand?

What follows are answers that are candid, sharp, and deeply human. Hollis reminds us that careers are rarely built in isolation. Priti challenges us to see underrepresentation not just as a diversity problem, but a design problem. And Sophia reframes how we think about consumer journeys, and the leaders best equipped to navigate them.

The future isn’t something that happens to us. It’s something women like these are building right now. Give it a read and tell us: what resonates most with you?

The ROI of Radical Support: What Community Truly Means for a Career: Hollis

Careers are rarely built in isolation.

Behind nearly every professional milestone is a network of people who shared knowledge, offered perspective, opened doors, or challenged someone to think differently at the right moment.

Intentional community acts as infrastructure for career growth. Through Advance Women, we’ve seen how access to the right network accelerates learning, decision-making, and leadership development. Even job opportunities.

When women have spaces where they can ask honest questions, exchange experiences, and learn from peers across companies and roles, growth happens faster. People gain perspective more quickly, make stronger decisions, and develop the confidence required to lead.

What makes this kind of community powerful is that it turns vulnerability into an advantage. When professionals can speak openly about real challenges (navigating leadership dynamics, career transitions, or moments of uncertainty), learning accelerates and support becomes reciprocal.

The return on that investment shows up everywhere: stronger leaders, more resilient teams, and networks of people who actively create opportunities for one another. It also creates a culture rooted in optimism, collaboration and fun, where success is shared and people believe there is space for everyone to grow and achieve their goals.

That’s the kind of ecosystem Advance Women is building.

Building the Future of Inclusive Innovation (2026 and Beyond): Priti 

Technology is evolving faster than the systems designed to support the people building it. As industries like AI and AdTech accelerate at unprecedented speed, the risk isn’t only that women remain underrepresented. It’s that the systems shaping our collective future are being built without the full range of perspectives they ultimately affect. That gap isn’t just a diversity problem. It’s a design problem.

AI, health technology, consumer applications, and decision-making systems are shaped by the data and human perspectives behind them. When women are actively involved in designing these technologies (not as an afterthought, but as core contributors) the solutions become stronger, more inclusive, and better equipped to serve the diverse communities that rely on them.

That’s why representation matters across the entire innovation pipeline, from developers and product managers to marketing, research, quality assurance, and leadership. Diverse perspectives help ensure that both the problems being solved and the solutions being built reflect the realities of the people they are meant to serve.

Advance Women is working to close that gap by building networks where women can exchange knowledge, develop leadership skills, and gain the support needed to contribute meaningfully in fast-evolving industries like AI and AdTech.

In 2026, we’re turning that mission into action in three ways.

First, we are launching our podcast (it’s finally happening – after a lot of work), a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices, experiences, and expertise of women across industries. These conversations create visibility and shared learning for women navigating rapidly evolving fields.

Second, we are expanding our in-person and virtual events that bring women together to connect, collaborate, and build trusted professional relationships. The kind that open real doors and accelerate careers. We’ve heard from women who have built new relationships, uncovered new business opportunities, and even found their next role through our events and we want to continue supporting + expanding that impact.

And third, we are partnering with organizations to increase female representation at conferences and panels. The rooms and stages where the future of technology is being discussed should reflect the people that future will affect. 

Innovation has never come from homogenous thinking. It comes from diverse perspectives challenging assumptions, asking harder questions, and building systems that work for more people.

The Leadership Playbook for the Next Era of AdTech: Sophia

Traditional AdTech playbooks often assume relatively linear consumer paths: Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Retention.

But the reality of modern consumer behavior, especially across global and culturally diverse audiences, is far more complex.

Women-led teams are seen uncovering journeys that traditional frameworks overlook, such as:

• Invisible decision makers: In many households, women influence or control the majority of purchasing decisions—even for categories traditionally marketed to men.
• Community-driven discovery: Recommendations increasingly happen in private channels such as group chats, niche communities, and creator ecosystems.
• Emotion-driven moments: Purchasing decisions are often triggered by life moments, identity shifts, and cultural context that pure performance models can miss.

Leaders who bring empathetic understanding of these dynamics alongside strong analytics capabilities are better equipped to identify these non-linear pathways.

Thanks again to Hollis, Priti, and Sophia! To learn more about Advance Women and their inspirational mission, visit advancewomenofficial.com