More from this series:
- WDMG Webinar: Meet Shree Periakaruppan
- The Data Governance Challenge Closing Keynote: From Vision to Value – Building a Resilient Data Governance Program
- WDMG Webinar: Women in Data Management and Governance – Meet Ursula Cottone
- WDMG Webinar: Beyond the Dashboard – Feminist Principles for Strategic Data Leadership in Higher Education
About the Webinar
The Data Governance Challenge
Reliable, well-governed data is a strategic asset that drives efficiency, reduces risk, and unlocks measurable business value. Yet, many organizations struggle to secure the investment and engagement needed to make data governance successful. Brought to you by Women in Data Management and Governance and DATAVERSITY, The Data Governance Challenge is an interactive half-day workshop designed to equip professionals with practical advocacy strategies for building strong data governance programs.
Participants will tackle one of two real-world scenarios:
- Executive Advocacy – How to make the case for investing in Data Governance and Data Quality programs at the leadership level.
- Enterprise Engagement – How to communicate across the organization why understanding data foundations matters for everyone who touches, uses, or produces data.
The workshop begins with opening remarks and a keynote on essential tools for effective advocacy. Attendees will then break into teams to craft solutions for the challenge scenarios, followed by presentations to a panel of judges. A closing keynote will showcase a case study of a successful governance program, culminating in the announcement of the winning team and prize distribution.
Winners will receive their choice of a free ADGP or CDMP Certification Training or a free Professional Subscription to the DATAVERSITY Training Center.
Join us for a dynamic, hands-on experience that blends strategy, collaboration, and real-world application—because strong data governance delivers measurable returns.
Hosted by Women in Data Management & Governance, this event is open to data professionals of all genders who are ready to lead with impact.
We kindly ask that you join ready to be on camera and participate in the discussion, as this is an interactive workshop.
Opening Keynote: From Overlooked to Indispensable: How to Get Buy-In on Data Quality
Being right about data doesn’t mean being heard about it. This session presented by Renee Colwell is for data professionals who are ready to change that. You’ll learn practical techniques to get executives and peers to pay attention not just to your data, but to your voice. We’ll cover how to turn buzzwords into buy-in, position data quality as a strategic enabler (not a technical chore), and make sure your name is the first that comes to mind when problems hit the table. Leave with the confidence and tools to make your name synonymous with trusted data.
Closing Keynote: From Vision to Value: Building a Resilient Data Governance Program
In this closing keynote, Cindy A. Hoffman shares the journey of transforming Xcel Energy’s Data Governance program from a project-focused initiative into a strategic, enterprise-wide capability. Through candid insights and practical lessons learned, Cindy will explore how trust, transparency, and adaptability became the cornerstones of success—despite leadership changes, regulatory pressures, and resource constraints. Attendees will gain actionable strategies for advocating governance initiatives, sustaining organizational engagement, and proving measurable business value. This case study offers inspiration and guidance for anyone seeking to elevate Data Governance from concept to culture.
To watch the closing keynote on demand, click here.
Our Partners
About the Speakers
Cindy Hoffman leads Xcel Energy’s Enterprise AI enablement and expansion and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in data governance and strategy, the cornerstone of effective artificial intelligence. She is passionate about bridging business and technology through data, leveraging her analytical, management, leadership, and business acumen skills to help the business teams and the company maximize data usage.
Starting her career at Xcel Energy in Finance in 2003, Cindy transitioned to Investor Relations in 2006 followed by a series of IT and business blended roles. She formally moved into leading data governance and data science efforts in 2019. Her finance experience along with the collaboration across IT and business areas has been interwoven through her career, strengthened by strong program management, solution architecture, and data knowledge. This fusion of skills has been the underpinning for her ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable business strategies and has been instrumental in driving data transformation efforts across business lines.
Renée Colwell is the Global Data Quality Lead for Revantage, a Blackstone Real Estate portfolio company that provides best-in-class corporate services. Renee is responsible for data quality strategy and tooling across the business and tech ecosystem.
Prior to joining Revantage, Renée specialized in a variety of data governance and quality initiatives across disparate lines of business in Fortune 500 investment banks and brokerage firms, as well as at smaller private equity groups and hedge funds. Expertise includes standing up and operationalizing data quality in the enterprise; understanding and documenting data lineage and transformations; automating manual tasks, andcreating and achieving governance objectives.
A current member of the EDM Council (Enterprise Data Management Council), Renee is DCAM (Data Management Capability Assessment Model) certified, and has participated in core activities such as committees formed to document data quality terminology and best practices.
She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a certificate in Executive IT Management from Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education
Applied Data Governance Practitioner Certification
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