Women’s Industry Network announces Most Influential Women awards

The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) has announced the recipients of its 2026 Most Influential Women (MIW) awards, which recognize and honor women whose career achievements have enhanced the collision repair industry.

The recipients of the 2026 MIW awards are:

• • Angie Babin, OEM partnerships and strategy vice president, Caliber Collision
  • Brandi Brydges, director of operations, ACX (AutoCanada Collision Centres)
  • Jeanne Esquivel, North American business development and customer delivery technology leader, Entegral
  • Kena Dacus, shop owner, Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair

The four recipients will be recognized at a gala during WIN’s 2026 Annual Conference. The conference will be held May 4-6 at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. The theme of the conference this year is “Empowering Excellence – 20 Years of Driving Change and Building Leadership.”

The MIW awards were established in 1999 to recognize women whose leadership, vision, and commitment to excellence have enriched the collision repair industry, a WIN press release states.

WIN says the winners are chosen by an independent selection committee of industry professionals that reviews nominees and selects award recipients based on established criteria, not only for industry influence, but also, as important, by giving back through their professional accomplishments, mentorship, and community service.

“The Most Influential Women awards by WIN are the pinnacle of the collision repair industry,” said Jenny Anderson, MIW Committee chair, in the release. “Our recipients are not only honored for their commitment and industry successes, but just as important, for their professional accomplishments, mentoring new and younger collision repair practitioners, and serving in many ways to better their own communities.

“Through their dedication to business excellence, professional achievement, commitment to community, and investing in the industry’s future through mentorship, these extraordinary women have made a true impact in collision repair, and we look forward to celebrating with them at this year’s conference!”

Conference registration is now open, with early bird pricing extended through March 16. In addition to acknowledging this year’s MIW recipients, conference attendees can take in three days of collision repair industry learning, mentorship, celebration, and community giveback, the release states.

The event is touted as celebrating women in collision repair through community engagement, acknowledging new 2026 scholarship recipients, and offering scholarship fundraising options.

“This has become a must-attend industry event with sessions from industry leaders, expert-filled panels, and impactful keynote addresses. Our Breakout choices this year span from hands-on technical sessions to honing your leadership and development skills,” said Blair Womble, WIN Conference chair, in a press release. “Come help us celebrate 20 years of WIN. This year’s theme of ‘Empowering Excellence’ truly defines what it means for WIN and its members to continue learning from one another, broaden our network, and make lifelong industry friends. Attendees will leave our conference energized to return to their teams with renewed focus and innovative ideas to apply in the workplace. “

“There are a number of reasons to attend, learn, and grow as a professional at this year’s conference,” said Nicole Carpenter, WIN conference vice chair, in a press release. “These include gaining empowerment through a connection with Industry leaders; honing your skills through industry-specific sessions; shaping the future of collision repair by advocacy for women; becoming part of a growing, industrywide community; and returning with a regained sense of focus and appreciation for the profession.”

According to WIN, conference education includes:

“Developing the Personality of a Leader: Becoming Uncommonly Effective” with keynote speaker Dare Rosberry: “Excellence starts with you— exceptional leaders grow by understanding who they are and how their thinking drives results. This session explores the six disciplines of uncommon performance, offering a practical framework to strengthen self-leadership and achieve more with your skills and talents so you can lead others more effectively.”

“Industry Insights into Parts Dynamics” with speakers OEC leaders Tanya Sweetland and McKinley Thompson: “Parts pricing and material costs continue to shift, but the real story behind margin pressure in collision repair is more nuanced than most headlines suggest. In this session, OEC leaders will share data-backed insights into how pricing dynamics, repair complexity, and repair procedure utilization, along with certification adoption and evolving vehicle technology, are reshaping profitability.”

“Introducing W.A.V.E. — Wonder, Adapt, Value, Evolve” with Nick Davis, founder and CEO of ShopSite: “Accelerating change is redefining leadership, and we need a practical framework for leading through disruptive technology shifts like Advanced AI, Quantum, and CRISPR. Attendees will learn how to separate signals from noise, make better decisions faster, turn trends into measurable outcomes, and build teams designed to learn and evolve continuously.”

“All-Star Industry Panel: Reflections from WIN’s Founding Mothers:” Meet and hear the “words of wisdom” and experiences from six women pioneers in the collision repair field — Frederica Carter, Geralynn R. Kottschade, Kathy Mello, Patricia Serratore, Marcy Tieger, and Gigi Walker — during a roundtable discussion. WIN says they “blazed the trail” for many women in the industry, and the discussion will offer “plenty of insight, forward-thinking, and a lot of stories.”

There will also be breakout sessions, with two paths attendees can choose from: one for professional and leadership development, and the second for the latest trends and hands-on, technical updates on the shop floor.

The sessions to choose from include:

• • “‘What’s It Going to Take?’ — A follow-up session by Dare Rosberry describes how success actually looks and reveals critical elements necessary to realize consistent, repeatable, and sustainable results.
  • “‘Professional Development Plans that Work’ — Learn a simple framework to create clear, actionable development plans for yourself and your team. Join Wendi Kroll from Essential HR Inc., and walk away with practical tools to build accountability, improve performance, and support employee growth.
  • “‘From Imposter to Influencer’ — Take in the teachings, experiences, and learn to build trust from leadership strategist and executive advisor, Chrissy Dunlap.
  • “‘Good Weld, Bad Weld: What Would You Call It?’ — Identifying errors and defects, and what it takes to make necessary repairs when comes to the art of welding. Presented by Jason Bartanen with Collision ProAssist.
  • “‘Unlocking Repairability Through Modern Glue Pull Repairs’ — Join Chris and Emma White from Keco to discover how modern Glue Pull Repair (GPR) helps collision technicians repair more panels with greater control, less invasiveness, and better results. You’ll leave knowing when and how to use GPR to increase repairability, improve quality, and streamline shop workflow
  • “‘Smarter Collision Repair Estimating when Combining AI with Human Expertise’ — As AI becomes a standard tool in collision-damage estimating, knowing how to leverage it effectively is key. This session with Dune Pagaduan from Mitchell highlights the real-world strengths and limitations of AI, along with proven strategies for implementation and change management. Learn how to deploy AI-powered estimating solutions that enhance performance and accuracy while preserving a human-in-the-loop model that empowers appraisers and estimators.

Images

Featured image (left to right): Kena Dacus, shop owner, Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair; Angie Babin, OEM partnerships and strategy vice president, Caliber Collision; Brandi Brydges, director of operations, ACX (AutoCanada Collision Centres); and Jeanne Esquivel, North American business development and customer delivery technology leader, Entegral. (Credit: WIN).