2017 Speakers

Marian Cabanillas

MARIAN CABANILLAS serves as the president of UnitedHealthcare Community & State’s South Texas Health Plan. She is responsible for leadin... Read Full Bio

Janice Co

JANICE CO is vice president and head of marketing and strategy within Prudential Retirement, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NY... Read Full Bio

DrumForGOOD

DrumForGOOD is a small, joyful community of hand drummers who love to learn, play and celebrate West African rhythms on authentic West African... Read Full Bio

Melanie Foley

MELANIE FOLEY is the executive vice president, chief talent and enterprise services officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance, a diversified global... Read Full Bio

Ruthie Foster

In the tightknit musical community of Austin, Texas, it’s tough to get away with posturing. You either bring it, or you don’t. If you do, word gets around. ... Read Full Bio

Debbie McClure

DEBBIE McCLURE is the senior director of global virtual sales and customer success with Cisco, where she is responsible for the global service... Read Full Bio

Holly Windham

HOLLY WINDHAM is executive vice president, CLO and general counsel with Rackspace. From Rackspace's headquarters in San Antonio, she leads le... Read Full Bio

Nellie Borrero

NELLIE BORRERO is senior global inclusion and diversity managing director with Accenture. Borrero joined Accenture in 1986 and created the firs... Read Full Bio

Taylor Bradford

TAYLOR BRADFORD is the owner and editor of TaylorBradford.com, a life-inspired blog for the girl on the go. Featured regularly are posts relat... Read Full Bio

Dr. Sara Brand

DR. SARA BRAND is the founding general partner of True Wealth Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in women-led companies in the sustain... Read Full Bio

Sabrina Brown

SABRINA BROWN has over twenty years’ worth of hands-on experience in Texas government and politics. She offers valuable strategic counsel to... Read Full Bio

Heather Cabot

HEATHER CABOT is the co-author of Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech, a non-fiction narrative published by St. Martin�... Read Full Bio

Karen Cahn

KAREN CAHN is the Founder & CEO of iFundWomen, a crowdfunding platform for women-led startups and small businesses. The mission of iFundWomen is to close ... Read Full Bio

Rachel Cassidy

RACHEL CASSIDY serves as Rackspace SVP & GM, professional services. Cassidy joined Rackspace to drive the transformation and evolution of ... Read Full Bio

Michelle Cooper

MICHELLE COOPER is senior director at Applied Materials serving as operations leader in their ERP transformation. With a 25 year career, all i... Read Full Bio

Janet Crawford

JANET CRAWFORD is CEO of Cascadance, a Bay Area-based firm supporting leaders in building brain-friendly organizations. A female scientist... Read Full Bio

Tiffany Dufu

TIFFANY DUFU is chief leadership officer of Levo and launch team member to Lean In. She was named in the Huffington Post as one ... Read Full Bio

Myrna Estrada

MYRNA ESTRADA is vice president and regional general manager for Safeco Insurance. She leads the central region distribution operation for Saf... Read Full Bio

Tamara Fields

TAMARA FIELDS is the client account lead for State of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (TX CPA) and the Accenture program manager for the ... Read Full Bio

Melanie Fish

MELANIE FISH manages U.S. public relations for HomeAway and is their travel expert, speaking to journalists daily about the fastest growing se... Read Full Bio

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert

DAWN FRAZIER-BOHNERT is senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer with Liberty Mutual Insurance. She joined the company ... Read Full Bio

Alison Frey

ALISON FREY is an intellectual property lawyer and mother of two.  She regularly advises clients across a myriad of industries on trademark, ... Read Full Bio

Di B. Gazdar

DI B. GAZDAR’s practice is focused on applying her knowledge and experience to provide holistic financial planning and advice tailored to th... Read Full Bio

Jane Gasdaska

JANE GASDASKA is the general manager of US product supply and distribution for Phillips 66 Commercial. She is a change agent who believes in d... Read Full Bio

Amanda Gill

AMANDA GILL is vice president, North America Oracle talent advisory (OTA). In this role, Gill is responsible for leading the North America orga... Read Full Bio

Alejandrina Guzman

ALEJANDRINA GUZMAN is from Azle, Texas and is majoring in Mexican American studies at The University of Texas at Austin. She is involved in Le... Read Full Bio

Amy Cooper Hakim

AMY COOPER HAKIM, Ph.D. is an industrial-organizational psychology practitioner and workplace expert. She is a speaker, author, and the executi... Read Full Bio

Jeffery Tobias Halter

JEFFERY TOBIAS HALTER is a gender strategist and the President of YWomen, a strategic consulting company focused on engaging men in women’s l... Read Full Bio

Michelle D. Hare

MICHELLE D. HARE works with the State Farm® marketing department, managing national sponsorships pertaining to the life stages of getting mar... Read Full Bio

Lori Hawkins

LORI HAWKINS writes about business for the Austin American-Statesman, with a focus on high-tech startups and the venture capital industry. Her ... Read Full Bio

Celeste Headlee

CELESTE HEADLEE is a communication and human nature expert, and an award-winning journalist. She is a professional speaker, and also the author... Read Full Bio

Marian L. Heard

MARIAN L. HEARD is the president and CEO of Oxen Hill Partners, a Boston-based company specializing in leadership development programs and bran... Read Full Bio

Sara Hobson

SARA HOBSON joined Cisco in January 2017 as the director of US commercial for the global virtual sales and customer success Americas team.  I... Read Full Bio

Kelly Hoey

KELLY HOEY is the author of Build Your Dream Network (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee). She has been lauded from Forbes as “1 of 5 Women Chang... Read Full Bio

Kelly Hopping

KELLY HOPPING is the senior director of integrated marketing for Rackspace. In this role, she is responsible for developing the corporate bran... Read Full Bio

Wendy Howell

WENDY HOWELL is chief of staff for technical services product management with Cisco Systems. She has been with Cisco for five years, and in th... Read Full Bio

Ruth Ruggero Hughs

RUTH RUGGERO HUGHS is the Commissioner representing employers of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Governor Greg Abbott appointed her to th... Read Full Bio

Shama Hyder

SHAMA HYDER is the award-winning CEO of The Marketing Zen Group, a global online marketing and digital PR company. Hyder has aptly been dubbed ... Read Full Bio

Johnita Jones

JOHNITA JONES is the Texas Conference for Women board president and the ExxonMobil midstream Americas engineering manager. She began work as a facilities engin... Read Full Bio

Michelle King

MICHELLE KING is a leading global expert in gender and organizations. She is a keynote speaker, researcher, writer and advocate. She has signif... Read Full Bio

Jessica Lahey

JESSICA LAHEY is a teacher, writer, and mom. She writes about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, a... Read Full Bio

Sunny Lopez

SUNNY LOPEZ is the lubricants supply chain manager for Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company.  She also chair... Read Full Bio

Julie Lythcott-Haims

JULIE LYTHCOTT-HAIMS is the author of the New York Times best-selling book How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prep... Read Full Bio

Carol McGarah

CAROL McGARAH is CEO of Blackridge, a Texas government relations firm. She has worked in the Texas political arena since 1991. Her extensive b... Read Full Bio

Margaret A. McKenna

MARGARET A. McKENNA is a lawyer and educator, and is a leading expert in educational opportunity, civic engagement and philanthropy. She is Pr... Read Full Bio

Robyn Moreno

ROBYN MORENO is the editorial director of Latina magazine and Latina.com; the largest media property aimed at acculturated Latinas in the U.S. ... Read Full Bio

Karen S. Morris

KAREN S. MORRIS is senior vice president, general counsel for USAA’s property and casualty group, which offers property and casualty insuran... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Mueller

JENNIFER MUELLER earned her PhD in social and developmental psychology at Brandeis University, and has been on the faculty of many top business... Read Full Bio

Carolyn Muise

CAROLYN MUISE leads the chief customer office, analytics and intelligence platform with Dell.   Leveraging big data and customer sentiment, ... Read Full Bio

Sarah Robb O’Hagan

SARAH ROBB O’HAGAN has been described as “Superwoman undercover,” and the “Pied Piper of Potential.” A high-energy combination of dis... Read Full Bio

Lisa Pearson

LISA PEARSON is a seasoned tech executive. She is currently CEO of Umbel, a fast-growing data company. Prior to this, she has been a public c... Read Full Bio

Esther Perel

ESTHER PEREL is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and provocative voices on personal and professional relationships. A celebrated ... Read Full Bio

Dwan Perrin

DWAN PERRIN is a veteran in online marketing. She has over ten years of experience as a professional blogger atMommaDJane.com and is also trav... Read Full Bio

Christine Porath

CHRISTINE PORATH is a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Prior to that, she taught at Marshall School of B... Read Full Bio

Denise Press

DENISE PRESS is the vice president, National account lead with MasterCard. She is responsible for leading the end to end payments strategy and P&L with top... Read Full Bio

Tracy Quon

TRACY QUON is the asset manager for the Appalachian Basin region for Statoil’s U.S. onshore division located in Austin, Texas. In this capac... Read Full Bio

Cheryl Reed

CHERYL REED has been with United Airlines twenty five years, having held various positions in sales and management. In her current position as ... Read Full Bio

Lilly Rockwell

LILLY ROCKWELL is a journalist based in Austin, Texas. She has over a decade of experience as a news reporter, and has worked for newspapers, w... Read Full Bio

Dr. Carol Rohl

CAROL ROHLis the executive director of scientific information management with Merck & Co., Inc. She joined Merck and Co in 2005 as a membe... Read Full Bio

Marisela Rylander

MARISELA RYLANDER has spent over 15 years working across multiple facets of human resources, including talent acquisition, HR business partner... Read Full Bio

Ruth Sherman

RUTH SHERMAN works with global CEOs, international celebrities, and public figures looking to have a greater impact in their personal, public c... Read Full Bio

Emily Esfahani Smith

EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH is the author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters (Crown). In her book, articles, and essays, ... Read Full Bio

Lisa Stone

LISA STONE is an entrepreneur, community leader and movement builder with a 20-year track record of creating and launching products and strate... Read Full Bio

Mary Stork

MARY STORK is the president of financial planning and advice with USAA, a financial services association providing insurance, banking, investme... Read Full Bio

Carla Pineyro Sublett

CARLA PIÑEYRO SUBLETT is SVP and global chief marketing officer of Rackspace, the #1 managed cloud company. She is responsible for all aspects... Read Full Bio

Lisa Sugar

LISA SUGAR is the founder and president of POPSUGAR, Inc., a global media and technology company that is parent to lifestyle... Read Full Bio

Marissa Tarleton

MARISSA TARLETON is chief marketing officer with RetailMeNot, Inc. In this role, she directs all consumer brand advertising, customer acquisit... Read Full Bio

Lisa Skeete Tatum

LISA SKEETE TATUM is founder and CEO of Landit, a technology platform created to increase the success and engagement of women in the workplace,... Read Full Bio

Sarah Thomas

SARAH THOMAS is currently an official for the NFL. On April 8, 2015, Thomas was one of nine new game officials added to the NFL officiating ros... Read Full Bio

Nina Vaca

NINA VACA is founder, chairman, and CEO of Pinnacle Group, the largest Latina-owned workforce solutions provider in America.  Pinnacle Group... Read Full Bio

Laura Vanderkam

LAURA VANDERKAM is the author of several time management and productivity books, including I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful Peo... Read Full Bio

Claire Vo

CLAIRE VO is the senior director of product at Optimizely, the world's leading experience optimization platform. Previously, she was the CEO a... Read Full Bio

Julie Watson

JULIE WATSON is a customer care manager within the enterprise segment at Rackspace UK where she is responsible for leading her team in fanatic... Read Full Bio

China Widener

CHINA WIDENER serves as national strategy and operations leader for public sector and national strategy and operations diversity and inclusion ... Read Full Bio

Heather Willems

HEATHER WILLEMS is a co-founder of ImageThink and co-author of Draw Your Big Idea. As a fine artist, graphic facilitator, and business strate... Read Full Bio

Alex Wolf

ALEX WOLF is a millennial branding strategist and founder and CEO of Bossbabe, Inc. She innovates fresh and original ways to connect with the ... Read Full Bio

Carmen Rita Wong

CARMEN RITA WONG is an author and the founder and CEO of Malecon Productions. She is the former co-creator and television host of On the Mo... Read Full Bio

Norine Yukon

NORINE YUKON is the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas and currently serves as a board member, executive coach, and strate... Read Full Bio

Anna Baker

ANNA BAKER the director of global merchandising strategy and category development with QVC. In this role, Baker and her team are responsible ... Read Full Bio

Rachel Boesing

RACHEL BOESING is a program Host with QVC.  Her true passion for storytelling has defined her professiona... Read Full Bio

Christina Pennypacker

CHRISTINA PENNYPACKER is a buyer for food and cookbook with QVC. She on boards over 100 new vendor partners each year in order to keep the QVC... Read Full Bio

Ariana Sweet

ARIANA SWEET is a beauty buyer for color cosmetics and nailcare with QVC, where she also oversees the QVC Beauty Sample Box program.  She wor... Read Full Bio

Alice Chase

ALICE CHASE is a recognized digital strategist and consultant known for relationship growth and community building both online and offline. Ut... Read Full Bio

Jamie Dorobek

JAMIE DOROBEK is an author, DIY enthusiast, social media connoisseur and the creator of C.R.A.F.T., a nifty little acronym for CreatingReallyAw... Read Full Bio

Connie Gomez

CONNIE GOMEZ is the creator of Momma of Dos and co-founder of Houston Latina Bloggers. She is a born and raised Texan, where she grew up in a ... Read Full Bio

Maddie Highsmith

MADDIE HIGHSMITH is an enterprise account executive with Oracle Corporation. She is a true digital pioneer and powerhouse leader. With more th... Read Full Bio

Gaby Natale

GABY NATALE is a 3-time Daytime EMMY-award winner, media personality and entrepreneur. She is the executive producer and host of the TV show&nb... Read Full Bio

Lyndsey Tyner

LINDSEY TYNER is the owner and founder of Alt Creative, a boutique web design company in Austin, TX. She is the principal creative force and re... Read Full Bio

First Lady Cecilia Abbott

FIRST LADY CECILIA ABBOTT in January 2015, Abbott made history by becoming the first Hispanic First Lady of Texas. She has been a teacher, vice... Read Full Bio

Emily Bolf

EMILY BOLF has been the longtime associate producer and digital director of the award-winning PBS series Austin City Limits for over 15 year... Read Full Bio

Lana Carlson

LANA CARLSON currently lives in Austin, Texas, where she has been the head curator and co-founder of the Pop Austin International Art Show sinc... Read Full Bio

Barbara Cavness

BARBARA CAVNESS is CEO of 360Partners. She has more than twelve years’ experience in digital marketing and account management. She joined 36... Read Full Bio

Stephanie Chung

STEPHANIE CHUNG is an executive coach and sales mentor. Based in Dallas, Stephanie Chung and Associates offer sales training, executi... Read Full Bio

Andrea Corson

ANDREA CORSON is an Emmy-nominated television producer, digital strategist and consultant. Most recently she has created awesome video for a wi... Read Full Bio

Rachel Green

RACHEL GREEN is the CEO of A Brand Called U and founder of Leader Ship Box. She has cultivated her passion for public relations and brand mana... Read Full Bio

Kristal Johnson

KRISTAL JOHNSON is the award-winning CEO of FundJoy LLC, a full-service fundraising agency that is helping organizations find the sustainable f... Read Full Bio

Marion Jones

MARION JONES is one of world’s the most celebrated athletes. She declined a spot on the US Olympic Relay Team as a high school student, ... Read Full Bio

Lorena Asebedo Kaplen

LORENA ASEBEDO KAPLEN is a registered dietitian, culinary enthusiast and self taught chef whose passion for food and nutrition stems from her c... Read Full Bio

Carly Pollack

CARLY POLLACK is the founder of Nutritional Wisdom, a thriving private practice based in Austin, Texas. She is a certified clinical nutritioni... Read Full Bio

Shonte’ Jovan Taylor

SHONTÉ JOVAN TAYLOR is a neuroscientist, mindset success catalyst and social entrepreneur, who is igniting minds around the world through co... Read Full Bio