Let the Journey Begin...
2006 Panels & Speakers
2006 Panels & Speakers
Keynote: Lynn Utter, Chief Strategy Officer, Coors Brewing Company
Morning Session (9:30-11:30)
Panels (9:30 - 10:30)
Giving Back: Non-profit and Community Service Involvement
This panel will explore opportunities for all professionals to have an impact on philanthropic objectives regardless of career choices. Panelists will share how they contribute to nonprofits in a variety of ways including pursuing careers with nonprofit organizations, volunteering time and effort, and leading through board participation.
Panelists:
Gail Harrison: Finance, ConocoPhillips
Patty Huffines: Sales & Marketing Manager, Public Strategies
Lisa Huddleson: Dell Foundation Manager, Dell Inc
Melissa Nathan: Director of Development and External Relations, LifeWorks
This panel will explore opportunities for all professionals to have an impact on philanthropic objectives regardless of career choices. Panelists will share how they contribute to nonprofits in a variety of ways including pursuing careers with nonprofit organizations, volunteering time and effort, and leading through board participation.
Panelists:
Gail Harrison: Finance, ConocoPhillips
Patty Huffines: Sales & Marketing Manager, Public Strategies
Lisa Huddleson: Dell Foundation Manager, Dell Inc
Melissa Nathan: Director of Development and External Relations, LifeWorks
Big Business versus Small Business
The size and scope of the company in which we work can have a significant effect on our professional experiences. The discussion in this panel focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of working in Big Business versus Small Business.
Panelists:
Sachi Gahan: Principal, Centerpoint Ventures
Karen Rapp: Director of Continuous Development-Finance, Freescale
Donna Chin: Realtor, TriBella Realty
Alissa Bayer: Founder & Owner, milk + honey
Melissa Evers-Hood: Digital Office Financial Strategist, Intel Corp.
Gender Communication: Men and Women at Work
The objective of this panel is to guide participants in gaining a better understanding of how men and women communicate and how to improve intra- and inter-gender interactions. In addition, the roles of listening, nonverbal communications and personal behavioral styles will be discussed.
Panelists:
Rebecca Esposito: President, Esposito Communications
John Daly: Communications Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
Brenda Cornwell Thomas: SVP of Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, Cendant
Beth Patterson: Director, Deloitte Consulting
The objective of this panel is to guide participants in gaining a better understanding of how men and women communicate and how to improve intra- and inter-gender interactions. In addition, the roles of listening, nonverbal communications and personal behavioral styles will be discussed.
Panelists:
Rebecca Esposito: President, Esposito Communications
John Daly: Communications Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
Brenda Cornwell Thomas: SVP of Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, Cendant
Beth Patterson: Director, Deloitte Consulting
Workshops (10:30 - 11:30)
Leadership Effectiveness: How it is evolving, how it can energize a leader, and the necessary commitments.
In this workshop, Johanne will address attributes of an effective leader and how being an inspiring leader fuels both the leader and his or her teams. She will speak about the leadership challenges of today’s organizations and how leadership effectiveness needs to evolve. Through examples Johanne will examine the commitments that leaders are confronted with when aspiring to bring forth the best in their leadership. How to balance focus and success? How to embrace change and become a model for the organization and the various stakeholders? What is required to know how to make the optimal decisions? How can women be effective leaders in fully embracing who they are and not attempting to be who they are not?
This workshop is meant to be partly interactive to answer questions and to exchange about top of mind issues that the audience would like to address.
Facilitator: Johanne
Bouchard - Executive Leader & Advisor, Johanne Bouchard Corporation
Entrepreneurship
This workshop will demonstrate for participants the basic strategies and steps for starting a business.
Facilitator: Wendi McGowan,
Chief Marketing Officer/Business Strategy, PrimeDemographics, Inc.
Negotiations
Is everything really negotiable? It can be if you are comfortable with the art of negotiating. This workshop was designed to teach participants what to do and not to do during a negotiation. It included tips for creating win-win situations, how to identify and avoid common pitfalls, how to recognize the difference between a true bottom line and a mere scare tactic and why the key to being a strong negotiator lies in building good relationships.
Facilitator: Janet Dukerich, Management Professor, The University
of Texas at Austin
Lunch Keynote: Connie Schroeder, Chief of Staff, Freescale
Afternoon Session (1:30 - 3:30)
Panels (1:30 - 3:30)
Managing Your Career: Career Planning and Progression
This panel discussion emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility in career development and continued progression. The panel allows participants to evaluate individual career development goals and action plans to achieve them.
Panelists:
Elissa Ellis: Forte Foundation
Nikki Rath: Associate, Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Brenda Brownell: Strategic Marketing & Deals Finance Manager, Intel
Lynn Utter: Chief Strategy Officer, Coors Brewing Company
Stacey Rudnick: Director of Ford Career Center, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Giving Back: Non-profit and Community Service Involvement
This panel will explore opportunities for all professionals to have an impact on philanthropic objectives regardless of career choices. Panelists will share how they contribute to nonprofits in a variety of ways including pursuing careers with nonprofit organizations, volunteering time and effort, and leading through board participation.
Panelists:
Gail Harrison: Finance, ConocoPhillips
Patty Huffines: Sales & Marketing Manager, Public Strategies
Melissa Nathan: Director of Development and External Relations, LifeWorks
Dr. Gloria Rodriguez: President and CEO, Avance
This panel will explore opportunities for all professionals to have an impact on philanthropic objectives regardless of career choices. Panelists will share how they contribute to nonprofits in a variety of ways including pursuing careers with nonprofit organizations, volunteering time and effort, and leading through board participation.
Panelists:
Gail Harrison: Finance, ConocoPhillips
Patty Huffines: Sales & Marketing Manager, Public Strategies
Melissa Nathan: Director of Development and External Relations, LifeWorks
Dr. Gloria Rodriguez: President and CEO, Avance
Family Planning: Its Impact on Your Career
This panel discussion addresses the unique issues women face when pursuing career opportunities or advancement. We will discuss how a woman's current and future marital and family status impacts her decisions and how she is perceived in the workplace.
Panelist:
Judith Finer Freedman: Work/Life Advocate and Doctoral Researcher, Univ. of Toronto
Karen Plotkin: Pricing Manager-Client, Software & Peripheral Products, Dell, Inc.
Maureen Carlson: Product Marketing Manager, Lifesize Communications
Aruni Gunasegaram: Founder/President, Babble Soft, LLC
Workshops (2:30 - 3:30)
Financial Planning
This workshop teaches strategies for financial planning in participants’ personal and professional lives. Steps to take to achieve financial goals in the future were identified.
Facilitator: Janet Woods, Financial Advisor/Retirement Planning
Consultant, UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Dream Shop
This workshop focuses on five keys to seeing your dream become a reality. When you attend this workshop, you will receive a road map that has questions to answer, commitments to keep, and actions to take.
Facilitator: Deborah
Leverett, Founder, Entera + Partners LLC
Public Speaking
This workshop covers hints and tips on public speaking, presentation skills and techniques for dealing with public speaking nerves and anxiety.
Facilitator: Alex Ramsey,
President & Founder, LodeStar Universal
Trailblazer Award:
President & CEO, Hispanic Scholarship Fund
(Speaking at 4:00p)