Women’s Conference

Keynote Speaker

Senator Pam Beidle

Senator Pam Beidle grew up in District 32, in Glen Burnie. She graduated from Anne Arundel Community College and Towson University. She was President of Beidle Insurance Agency from 1979 until its sale in 2017. She is the managing partner of Glen Oak Professional Center LLC.   

Pam served on the County Council from 1998 to 2006 and the House of Delegates from 2006 to 2018.  She currently serves as the Senator representing District 32 in Anne Arundel County.  She is Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Executive Nominations Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Oversight Committee for Nursing Homes and Assisted Living.  Senator Beidle is the Senate appointee to the Chesapeake Bay Trust.  

Pam has been an active member of the community her entire career. She has earned numerous awards for her work in the community: Her most recent awards include the Maryland Association of Counties Marilyn J Praisner Public Service Award, the Maryland Hospital Association Outstanding Legislator Award, the 2024 AARP Legislator of the Year, the Maryland Athletic Trainers’ Presidential Award of Merit, and the 2024 MEDCHI Distinguished Public Office Award. In 2021, Pam was honored by the Anne Arundel County Chamber by being added to the Business Hall of Fame.    

Pam has served as a Director of Arundel Federal Savings Bank since 2004. In 2025, she was appointed to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Washington Medical Center Board; she previously served three terms on that board. She currently serves on the BWI Business Partnership board, the Local Development Council, and the Laurel Race Course Advisory Committee.  

For the past 48 years, Pam has lived in Linthicum (District 32)  with her husband Len. They have three grown children, Nick, Nate, and Lyndsey, and seven grandchildren. 

 Maryland Insurance Commissioner, Marie Grant

Marie Grant was appointed Maryland Insurance Commissioner by Governor Wes Moore, effective October 1, 2024. Marie believes access to quality insurance products for Marylanders is critical to making Maryland more competitive, safer, and more affordable.

Marie is an attorney and state and federal policy expert with nearly 20 years of experience in policy, strategy, and regulation in both the public and private sector, mainly in the fields of insurance and health care payment. Her previous roles include Assistant Secretary for Health Policy at the Maryland Department of Health and Vice President of Public Policy at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Marie started her career at the Maryland Department of Legislative Services as non partisan committee counsel to the House Health and Government Operations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee where she advised the committee on health, life, and malpractice insurance legislation, as well as consumer protection.

Marie received her B.A. in public health from the Johns Hopkins University and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She lives in Catonsville with her husband and family

Ayana Johnson

Ayana is an estate planning attorney with a commitment to educating and empowering those around her through the law. She grew up in Dover, Delaware, and attended the University of Delaware for undergraduate school, where she earned her degree in Criminal Justice and Philosophy. Upon graduating, she entered law school at Howard University. While at Howard Law, she worked for the Federal Public Defender, the Delaware Department of Justice, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. After graduating law school, she accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City; Brooklyn, to be exact. During her time in Brooklyn, she indicted dozens of cases from gun charges to attempted murders, and she learned what the hype behind New York Bagels is really about. After a few years in Brooklyn, she returned to the DC area and worked at a local law firm as an Estate Planning Attorney. There, she learned just how imperative it is for people to not only to build wealth but to protect it. At the beginning of 2024, she opened her own law firm, Johnson Legal PLLC, with the goal of educating and empowering her clients and her community by teaching them the importance of estate planning.

Suzanne Thompson

Suzanne worked in the employee benefits side of the insurance business for 36 years. She started at CareFirst’s Freestate Health Plan, then took a hiatus and opened American Sports Exchange which received Baltimore’s Best, and Baltimore Magazines Best of Baltimore awards.

She went back into insurance with MAMSI health working with groups 1500 plus. In 1993, she purchased an agency and has worked as a broker ever since. She has been active on the Board of Girl Scouts of Central MD for the past 18 years. She has received The Top 100 Women Award twice, Smart CEO Bravo Award, and Innovator of the Year Award. Suzanne also sits on the board of Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company and has been the Board Chair for the past 4 years.

Janine Horne

Janine Horne, MSN, Ed, RN, AHN-BC, is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic keynote speaker, and the compassionate heart behind Zen Well Studio—a Certified Black-Owned and Minority Business Enterprise. Driven by a deeply personal journey of healing after overcoming her own health challenges, Janine knows firsthand how the courage to embrace change can unlock profound transformation.

From her early days as a paramedical esthetician to rising through the ranks as Director of Clinical Development for Federally Qualified Health Centers, Janine has always championed the belief that true wellness blossoms at the intersection of science and spirit. Her Master of Science in Nursing, advanced holistic nursing certification, and an Ed credential have given her the tools to blend evidence-based practice with intuition, creating experiences that speak directly to the soul. Under Janine’s leadership, Zen Well Studio has been honored with multiple small-business awards for community impact and innovation. As a sought-after keynote speaker, she electrifies audiences, whether at national conferences or intimate workshops, with stories of resilience, data-driven insights, and actionable strategies for self-care. Her voice resonates because it comes from the heart: she is not just teaching wellness, she is living it. At Zen Well Studio, Janine and her diverse team partner with schools, senior communities, corporations, and nonprofits to deliver transformative programs, ranging from guided meditation and sound healing to IV hydration therapies and customized fitness coaching. Every service is rooted in her unwavering commitment: to honor each person’s unique path, to nurture hope when it feels out of reach, and to ignite lasting change in body, mind, and community.

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