On Nov. 4, 2025, Tanya Broaded had just pulled off Interstate 79 at the Carnegie exit. While stopped at a red light, her daughter, Lyla Broaded, noticed her mother having a seizure.
Lyla, a ninth grader at The Ellis School who lives in Moon, doesn’t know how to drive, but she was able to steer the car into a car carrier to stop it. One of the reasons she knew what to do was because of her training through Scouting America.
“I remember feeling a migraine coming on and then the next thing I remember is the ambulance,” said Tanya Broaded, who was taking her daughter to the dentist that day. “She saved our lives and possibly the lives of others.”
Lyla was honored with the student distinction award at the seventh annual Women Shaping Our Region event on Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Cranberry in Mars.
The afternoon was hosted by The Pittsburgh Business Exchange, a networking organization that connects decision-makers, executives and entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity to be in the presence of so many women I look up to,” said Lyla, a member of Troop 65 based in Mt. Lebanon, who received a standing ovation from the nearly 800 guests.
Introducing Lyla was student ambassador Siena Weber, of Mars, a junior at Shady Side Academy. Weber created a club at school called Female Leaders in a Male Dominated World. She and seven of her classmates attended the event.
“I am particularly excited about having Siena and students from Shady Side Academy and all the other young women with us today who are already shaping our region,” said Ethan Nicholas, president of The Pittsburgh Business Exchange. “These young ladies are already demonstrating leadership and empowering others and will continue to empower others in the future.”
Katharine Kelleman, CEO of Pittsburgh Regional Transit; Elizabeth Wild, president of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; Sylvia Fields, president emerita of the Eden Hall Foundation; Sister Linda Yankoski, president emerita of Holy Family Institute; and Amy Pack, president of Experience Butler County shared their stories of leadership. The afternoon was moderated by Lisa Sylvester, news anchor for WPXI-TV.
Making tough decisions is part of being a leader, said Kelleman. She applauded Lyla’s bravery, adding that Kelleman is involved in scouts with her two sons. Kelleman oversees daily operations for a fleet of more than 700 buses and 80 light-rail vehicles serving more than 100,000 riders each day.
Leaders need to make tough decisions, but those decisions need to be made for the good of the community, Kelleman said.
Wild said her decisions are guided by compassion and a desire to do what is right for patients and their families. She oversees one of the larger cancer center networks in the U.S. and the only cancer center in the Western Pennsylvania region designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
To make good decisions, leaders need to communicate and collaborate with other organizations, said Fields, who led the Eden Hall Foundation for nearly 30 years. During her tenure, she oversaw more than $300 million in assets and was responsible for allocating approximately $15 million annually in grants.
Yankoski had to deal with a decrease in government funding and learned to adapt to the changing needs of the community and to develop programs to help children through learning to fund-raise.
“Sometimes you have to say yes to something before you even know where that decision is going to take you, while always staying true to the mission,” Yankoski said.
A member of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth for more than 50 years, in 2014 Yankoski founded Nazareth Prep, a Catholic high school that pairs academic rigor with weekly professional internships to prepare students for college, careers and life.
With 38 years in the hospitality industry, Pack said one of the biggest decisions she made was moving the office to the center of the county to be able to reach everyone more easily.
“Every challenge in life I see as exciting,” Pack said.
The women agreed that challenges are inevitable and that women should give themselves some grace. Women also need to advocate for themselves.
Role models and mentors are important, the women agreed.
As the only woman in a room filled with men during her career, Yankoski often challenged them. She thanks her mother, who was one of the women known as Rosie the Riveter, working in the automobile industry in Michigan.
Fields also credited her mom, who was a single mother, and had her siblings doing chores around the house. Girls could cut grass and boys could wash dishes, Fields said.
The women urged attendees to ask questions, listen, remain adaptable and open-minded, learn new things, embrace change, give themselves some grace and never give up.
Yankoski said being tenacious, asking questions and being willing to learn have motivated her.
“For me, it’s also about faith,” Yankoski said. “And not just faith in God, but faith in the goodness of people. That is how I try to treat every client, student, board member and everyone I meet.”
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, Kelleman said, and it is up to each person to choose what they want to do with that time.
“Prioritize what is important to you,” Wild said. “For me, that is never having another person die from cancer.”
The panelists were asked to give advice to their high school selves.
“It’s great to have a plan, but don’t be too rigid,” Wild said. “Be open to possibilities.”
“Everything is going to be OK,” Fields said.
“It is OK to be different,” Yankoski said.
Pack said to never underestimate the power of good work ethic.
Sylvester, who was a previous panelist, said to be open to learning from other women.
Kelleman told Lyla there were 800 people — women and men — in the room who can help with her Eagle Scout project, as she works toward earning the rank.
Lyla, who led the Pledge of Allegiance, remembered to call the dentist that day of her mom’s medical emergency and cancel the appointment.
She told the crowd to say yes to adventures and not to back down just because things are hard — she certainly didn’t.