2015 Speakers

Keynotes

Patricia Arquette

PATRICIA ARQUETTE recently starred in “Boyhood,” the critically acclaimed 12-year project from Richard Linklater, for which she has won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, New York Film Critics Circle, ...

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Candy Chang

CANDY CHANG is an artist, designer and urban planner who makes cities more comfortable for people. A Senior TED Fellow, Chang is passionate about redefining the ways we share information in public space to improve ...

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Bert Jacobs

BERT JACOBS is co-founder and CEO (chief executive optimist) of The Life is Good Company, which spreads the power of optimism through inspiring art, a passionate community, and groundbreaking nonprofit work. Jacobs ...

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Robin Roberts

ROBIN ROBERTS is co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Under her leadership, the broadcast has won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program. She has conducted interviews with countless newsmakers, ...

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Breakout Session Speakers

Sheryl Adkins-Green

SHERYL ADKINS-GREEN serves as Mary Kay’s chief marketing officer. She leads the ...

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Azita Ardakani

AZITA ARDAKANI has always applied the lens of social anthropology to her view of ...

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Gloria Mayfield Banks

GLORIA MAYFIELD BANKSis an internationally renowned motivational success strategist ...

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Dr. Dawn Bazarko

DR. DAWN BAZARKO is the founder and senior vice president of Moment Health, an ...

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Jan Bruce

JAN BRUCE is a seasoned media entrepreneur with a proven track record in high-growth, ...

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Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette

DR. COLETTE PIERCE BURNETTE joined Huston-Tillotson University as president on July ...

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Stephanie Carls

STEPHANIE CARLS was named a "Twitter Powerhouse" by The Huffington Post. Through ...

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Tara Trower Doolittle

TARA TROWER DOOLITTLE is a senior editor for the Austin American-Statesman and is in ...

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Christine Durbin

CHRISTINE DURBIN, MS, LPC is a mind-body therapist with Cancer Treatment Centers of ...

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Gloria Feldt

GLORIA FELDT is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, leadership expert and ...

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Tamara Fields

TAMARA FIELDS is the office managing director for Accenture in Austin. She is ...

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Jane Gasdaska

JANE GASDASKA assumed the role of change management lead for Phillips 66’s business ...

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Kerry Hannon

KERRY HANNON is an award-winning, bestselling author and Washington, DC-based career, ...

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Aimee Hoyt

AIMEE HOYT is the senior vice president of global human resources at Rackspace, the ...

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Lisa Kueng

LISA KUENG is co-author of the New York Times best-selling book “Picture Your ...

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Aliza Licht

ALIZA LICHT is a fashion communications executive and former Twitter phenom, DKNY PR ...

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Patty McCord

PATTY McCORD coaches and advises a small group of companies and entrepreneurs on ...

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Kristin Neff

KRISTIN NEFF is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the ...

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Chandini Portteus

CHANDINI PORTTEUS is the president and CEO of the LIVESTRONG Foundation. Portteus ...

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Dr. Stacey Radin

DR. STACEY RADIN has dedicated her career to the development of girls and women, ...

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Rochelle Rae

ROCHELLE RAE is a makeup artist and the CEO and founder of Rae Cosmetics. Rae ...

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Ellen Rogin

ELLEN ROGIN is the co-author of the New York Times best-selling book "Picture Your ...

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Sarah Schimmer

SARAH SCHIMMER is in public affairs with AAA Texas and AAA New Mexico. After serving ...

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Cindy Seffair

CINDY SEFFAIR is the director of change management and communication at United ...

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Trynka Shineman

TRYNKA SHINEMAN is the executive vice president at Cimpress and president of the ...

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Kelly Showalter

KELLY SHOWALTER is currently the site general manager for Shell’s Technology Center ...

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Amie and Jolie Sikes

AMIE and JOLIE SIKES are co-founders of Junk Gypsy. In 1998, the Texas sisters and ...

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Laura Simms

LAURA SIMMS is an expert on meaningful work who challenges conventional wisdom by ...

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Amanda Slavin

AMANDA SLAVIN is a millennial and generation Z expert and the CEO and founder of ...

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Maya Payne Smart

MAYA PAYNE SMART is a writer and literacy ambassador who shares book reviews, ...

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Mary Spio

MARY SPIO is author of “It’s Not Rocket Science: 7 Game- Changing Traits for ...

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Carson Tate

CARSON TATE is a productivity consultant and the founder of Working Simply, Inc. She ...

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Trisa Thompson

TRISA THOMPSON is senior vice president and chief responsibility officer at Dell, ...

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Elizabeth R. Thornton

ELIZABETH R. THORNTON is an author, speaker, professor of management practice, Babson ...

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Kathie Tovo

KATHIE TOVO is council member for the Austin City Council. She was elected in on June ...

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Renée Peterson Trudeau

RENÉE PETERSON TRUDEAU is an award-winning life coach, speaker and author of three ...

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Ingrid Vanderveldt

INGRID VANDERVELDT is the founder and CEO of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020 ...

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Wendy Wallbridge

WENDY WALLBRIDGE is a strategic and intuitive advisor to Fortune 100 leaders and ...

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Jamie Warder

JAMIE WARDER is president of USAA Bank. He leads the bank to provide a full range of ...

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Yasmine Winkler

YASMINE WINKLER is the community and state CEO for the central region and chief ...

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Expert Exchange

Anna Carroll

ANNA CARROLL, MSSW is a is an executive coach and organizational consultant ...

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Mike Flannagan

MIKE FLANNAGAN is vice president and general manager for Cisco’s data and analytics ...

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Dawn Frazier-Bohnert

DAWN FRAZIER-BOHNERT is the executive vice president of global diversity, equity, ...

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Greg Gale

GREG GALE is the director of diversity and inclusion at Liberty Mutual Insurance. A ...

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Dianne Hirsch

DIANNE HIRSCH is the director of product marketing with Cisco’s Data and Analytics ...

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Chris Hurst

CHRIS HURST is vice president, global service provider, strategy and planning for ...

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Demethris Keith

DEMETHRIS KEITH is the business operations manager with the global customer success ...

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Josh Levs

JOSH LEVS is an investigative journalist and father of three who has long covered the ...

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Judy Maggio

JUDY MAGGIO is a respected journalist, media consultant, moderator and public ...

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Stephanie Roberts

STEPHANIE ROBERTS is vice president and branch manager for Morgan Stanley Wealth ...

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Camille Styles

CAMILLE STYLES is the founder and creative director of lifestyle blog ...

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Max Tremp

MAX TREMP currently he manages the systems engineering organization in Latam, ...

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Local Leader

Mary Anne Connolly

MARY ANNE CONNOLLY has spent nearly 20 years in journalism. She worked for 10 years ...

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Stephanie Douglass

STEPHANIE DOUGLASS is the chief brand and culture officer of BIGAUSTIN. (Business ...

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Kaneisha Grayson

KANEISHA GRAYSON is a global education entrepreneur and a self-help author. She is ...

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Tulane Holder

TULANE HOLDER is an in demand business consultant. She spent 34 years with the ...

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Karyn Scott

KARYN SCOTT is the founder of Kids in a New Groove (KING), a non-profit that provides ...

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Marissa Vogel

MARISSA VOGEL has been in her role as executive director of Little Helping Hands ...

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Magatte Wade

MAGATTE WADE is passionate about entrepreneurship and creating high-end retail brands ...

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Tanya White

TANYA WHITE is the vice president of marketing for Innography, an SaaS-based ...

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Social Media Roundtable

Heidi Gollub

HEIDI GOLLUB started Free Fun in Austin in 2010 as a way to get out of doing ...

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Jane Ko

JANE KO is the editor of “A Taste of Koko,” the premier food and travel blog ...

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Melanie Mendez-Gonzales

MELANIE MENDEZ-GONZALES is an online media entrepreneur and the creator of ¿Qué ...

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Deana Saukam

DEANA SAUKAM has been an Austinite since 2000. She is a partner and director of media ...

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Special Guest Speakers

Cecilia Abbott

CECILIA ABBOTT’s story reminds us all that the American dream is alive and well in ...

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Debbie Hiott

DEBBIE HIOTT is editor of the Austin American-Statesman, overseeing content for the ...

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Anne-Marie Slaughter

ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER is president and CEO of New America. She is the Bert G. ...

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Small Business Roundtable

Kim Gorsuch

KIM GORSUCH is a growth-oriented executive as comfortable starting things from ...

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Melinda Hanson-Perry

MELINDA HANSON-PERRY joined Mary Kay Inc. in August of 2000. She began her Mary Kay ...

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Dianna Koltz

DIANNA KOLTZ is VP of sales and services at Rivet. Having been publicly acknowledged ...

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Jen Ostrich

JEN OSTRICH is the founder and president of ostrich coaching + consulting where she ...

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Martha Pincoffs

MARTHA PINCOFFS is partner to Jo, mom to River and Townes, founder of Hot Dang, Inc., ...

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Psyche Terry

PSYCHE TERRY is blazing trails in the fashion and retail world as founder and CEO of ...

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