2019 Speakers

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

Steve Adler

STEVE ADLER was elected Austin’s 52nd Mayor in December 2014, and looks forward to doing big things to improve the quality of life for everyo... Read Full Bio

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert

DAWN FRAZIER-BOHNERT is SVP of global diversity and inclusion with Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual Insurance, s... Read Full Bio

Yvonne Nava

YVONNE NAVA can be found behind the desk, weekday mornings from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM on KVUE News Daybreak. Born and raised in Laredo, ... Read Full Bio

Erica Proffer

ERICA PROFFER is an investigative reporter with KVUE. She has helped law enforcement spot human trafficking, exposed weaknesses on the internat... Read Full Bio

Carla Piñeyro Sublett

CARLA PIÑEYRO SUBLETT is a demonstrated change leader and advocate who cares deeply about being part of a purpose-driven company and her comm... Read Full Bio

Laysha Ward

LAYSHA WARD is executive vice president and chief external engagement officer for Target, and a member of the company’s executive leadership ... Read Full Bio

Kathleen Sallade

KATHLEEN SALLADE is group vice president of sales and business development at Oracle Corporation. Her team hires recent college graduates and f... Read Full Bio

Simidele Adeagbo

SIMIDELE ADEAGBO is an Olympian, advocate and marketing expert, best known for becoming the first African and Black woman to compete in Ol... Read Full Bio

Amber Allen

AMBER ALLEN is CEO Double A Labs. She is a fanatic of emerging technologies and a gamer when she is not running the company. All... Read Full Bio

Louise Allen

LOUISE ALLEN is senior vice president, product management and product marketing at Planview, responsible for product strategy, positioning, and... Read Full Bio

Emilie Aries

EMILIE ARIES is a speaker, podcast host, author, and the founder and CEO of Bossed Up, an award-winning personal and professional development ... Read Full Bio

Amber Armstrong

AMBER ARMSTRONG is a passionate CMO that thinks like a CEO.  She currently serves as a strategic leader and CMO for IBM Watson IoT. ... Read Full Bio

Catherine Bannister

CATHERINE BANNISTER leads performance and development for all of Deloitte’s partners, principals and people. For over twenty five years, she ... Read Full Bio

Alison Beard

ALISON BEARD is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review, overseeing the Experience section of the magazine and much of its leadership and se... Read Full Bio

Rachana Bhide

RACHANA BHIDE is an organizational psychologist and broadcaster. She is founder of The Corner of the Court Project, a progr... Read Full Bio

Dena Blizzard

DENA BLIZZARD is One Funny Mother, known as the “Target mom” for her viral videos including Back to School Rant, which had over o... Read Full Bio

Sharon Brogdon

SHARON BROGDON is the director of diversity and inclusion (D&I) for RetailMeNot, leading the program and strategy. She co-leads the D&I... Read Full Bio

Jennifer Brown

JENNIFER BROWN is an award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker and diversity and inclusion expert. She is the founder, president and CEO of ... Read Full Bio

Mary Bui-Pham

MARY BUI-PHAM is vice president and chief of staff, engineering at Indeed.com providing direct management and oversight of Indeed's engineering... Read Full Bio

Inger Burnett-Zeigler

INGER BURNETT-ZEIGLER is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Fein... Read Full Bio

John Byrne

JOHN BYRNE is president, North America commercial sales for Dell Technologies. Representing the company’s largest commercial market and one-q... Read Full Bio

Julia Carreon

JULIA CARREON is managing director of wealth management with Wells Fargo. She is a twenty five year financial service professional with a ... Read Full Bio

Michael Chamberlain

MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN is vice president of strategic partnerships with Catalyst. He is a key member of Catalyst’s leadership team responsible ... Read Full Bio

Jean Chatzky

JEAN CHATZKY launched HerMoney Media and HerMoney.com in 2018 to provide women with information about money they can a... Read Full Bio

Julia Cheek

JULIA CHEEK is the CEO and founder of EverlyWell, the digital health company poised to disrupt the twenty five billion dollar diagnostics indu... Read Full Bio

Lida Citroën

LIDA CITROËN is an award-winning international reputation management and personal branding expert who designs and enhances the ... Read Full Bio

Tony Colon

TONY COLON is vice president of portfolio product development for Cisco Customer Experience (CX). In this role, he leads and aligns t... Read Full Bio

Heather Crowder

HEATHER CROWDER is general tax officer for Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. Before joining Phillips 66 in... Read Full Bio

Catherine Davie

CATHERINE DAVIE has twenty years of experience in marketing, brand strategy, and creative work, helping Fortune 500 brands ... Read Full Bio

Michelle Duguid

MICHELLE DUGUID is a professor at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and the Clifford H. Whitcomb Faculty Fellow at Cornel... Read Full Bio

Dr. Candace Steele Flippin

DR. CANDACE STEELE FLIPPIN is executive vice president and chief communications officer at First Horizon National Corporation. She is a member ... Read Full Bio

Melinda Franklin

MELINDA YEE FRANKLIN currently serves as the managing director of corporate and government affairs in the western region for United Airlin... Read Full Bio

Amy Gallo

AMY E. GALLO is an expert in conflict, communication, and workplace dynamics. She is the author of the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, a ho... Read Full Bio

Linda Glass

LINDA GLASS is founder and CEO of Glass Talent. She is an executive coach and Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator. Glass loves working with ... Read Full Bio

Shelley Gretlein

SHELLEY GRETLEIN is vice president of global marketing with National Instruments. She is responsible for inspiring, educating, and empowering e... Read Full Bio

Minda Harts

MINDA HARTS is a well-connected, sought after speaker and thought-leader, frequently speaking on topics of advancing women of color, leadership... Read Full Bio

Fran Hauser

FRAN HAUSER is a celebrated media executive, startup investor, best-selling author and expert in women's leadership. She's held senior position... Read Full Bio

Jessica Herrin

JESSICA HERRIN is an author, CEO and founder of Stella & Dot. She is a serial entrepreneur who previously co-founded WeddingChannel.com, th... Read Full Bio

Michele Herron

MICHELE HERRON is senior vice president and head of strategy, marketing and small/medium business for Visa’s CyberSource business unit. ... Read Full Bio

Dr. Tiffany Jana

DR. TIFFANY JANA has helped orchestrate TMI's growth over the past sixteen years. This includes leading the merger of three companies that resu... Read Full Bio

W. Brad Johnson

W. BRAD JOHNSON is professor of psychology in the department of leadership, ethics and law at the United States Naval Academy, and a faculty as... Read Full Bio

Karen Chong

KAREN CHONG is innovator in compelling storytelling as a way to engage audiences while championing the mission of brands. In her role as the di... Read Full Bio

Keri D’angelis

KERI D’ANGELIS is a vendor operations manager at Liberty Mutual, driving operational excellence in the medical and special investigations cla... Read Full Bio

Erika Lanciault

ERIKA LANCIAULT is senior vice president and project manager with Broadway Bank. With over seventeen years of experience in the banking in... Read Full Bio

Claudia Lee

CLAUDIA LEE is a consummate builder, having started up multiple new businesses during her career in tech. She helped build an innovative global... Read Full Bio

Richard Lopez

RICHARD LOPEZ is the director of global diversity and inclusion and chief customer officer for Dell, Inc. He is responsible for developing and ... Read Full Bio

Megan Lueders

MEGAN LUEDERS serves as CMO for Silicon Labs, leading the company’s global marketing team responsible for reputation and brand management, sa... Read Full Bio

Christi Marrufo

CHRISTI MARRUFO leads Applied Materials knowledge management and collaboration solutions organization at Applied Materials, Inc. She is respons... Read Full Bio

Charmaine McClarie

CHARMAINE McCLARIE is an author, C-suite adviser, keynote speaker, executive coach, and executive presence authority who helps leaders hav... Read Full Bio

Debbie McClure

DEBBIE McCLURE  is senior director, in Americas service provider mid-market sales with Cisco. A career sales professional with more than&n... Read Full Bio

Rhonda McGown

RHONDA McGOWN is a member of the executive leadership team at Broadway Bank, serving as executive vice president, chief talent and strategy off... Read Full Bio

Renee Medina

RENEE MEDINA is VP, Global Head of Member Solutions at GLG. The world’s largest knowledge marketplace, GLG connects decision makers who ... Read Full Bio

Meg Murphy

MEG MURPHY is the CMO for IBM Systems. She joined IBM in August 2015 as VP of digital marketing and demand generation. In November 2016, she wa... Read Full Bio

Julie O’brien

JULIE O’BRIEN is senior vice president of corporate marketing for Nutanix. In this role, she is responsible for leading global brand strategy... Read Full Bio

Laura Okmin

LAURA OKMIN is the founder of GALVANIZE, an organization that conducts seminars around the country, teaching participants to build their own f... Read Full Bio

Janice Omadeke

JANICE OMADEKE is the CEO and founder of The Mentor Method, an enterprise platform helping companies keep and develop their diverse talent... Read Full Bio

Livio Perez

LIVIO PEREZ is a claims manager at Liberty Mutual's catastrophe claims organization.  He leads a very diverse, multigenerational and highl... Read Full Bio

Mary Laura Philpott

MARY LAURA PHILPOTT is the author of I Miss You When I Blink, a nationally best-selling memoir in essays. Her writing appears in publications i... Read Full Bio

Ross Powell

ROSS POWELL is a senior level insurance claims manager with Liberty Mutual. With thirty three years’ experience in the industry, he started h... Read Full Bio

Sam Rapoport

SAM RAPOPORT is senior director of football development with the National Football League. Rapoport spearheads programming ... Read Full Bio

Linda Raynier

LINDA RAYNIER CPA, CA is a career strategist, speaker, and coach for corporate professionals looking to enhance their personal brand to pursue ... Read Full Bio

Susan Rietano Davey

SUSAN RIETANO DAVEY is co-founder/owner of Prepare to Launch, LLC, a learning company that guides women through challenging work-life transitio... Read Full Bio

Carolyn Rodz

CAROLYN RODZ is a Latina three-time entrepreneur, and CEO of HelloAlice.com. Alice is a free AI-driven website, prioritizing women and underrep... Read Full Bio

Veronica Rueckert

VERONICA RUECKERT is the author of Outspoken: Why women's voices get silenced and how to set them free, and a Peabody Award-winning communic... Read Full Bio

Kathryn Sanders

KATHRYN SANDERS joined the Houston office of Accenture in 1983 and has always focused on their resources industries. After meeting Dag, her Nor... Read Full Bio

Erica Williams Simon

ERICA WILLIAMS SIMON is a social critic, author, host and CEO of Sage House, a company that creates spaces and content to surface wisdom about ... Read Full Bio

L. Michelle Smith

L. MICHELLE SMITH is the CEO and founder of no silos communications llc, the parent company for six media, content, talent development and... Read Full Bio

Marissa Tarleton

MARISSA TARLETON is the chief executive officer of RetailMeNot, Inc. She joined RetailMeNot in 2015 as chief marketing officer and helped deliv... Read Full Bio

Traci Uribe

TRACI URIBE currently serves as an underwriting director with USAA, where she leads a team of highly motivated and professional adherence under... Read Full Bio

Yai Vargas

YAI VARGAS is a leading multicultural marketing expert with a niche in building marketing strategies and community engagement programs. She spe... Read Full Bio

Cy Wakeman

CY WAKEMAN is president and founder of Reality-Based Leadership. She is a drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-sell... Read Full Bio

Laysha Ward

LAYSHA WARD is executive vice president and chief external engagement officer for Target, and a member of the company’s executive leadership ... Read Full Bio

Beth Weeks

BETH WEEKS is chief information officer and vice president of cloud operations at Planview. She is responsible for setting the strategic direct... Read Full Bio

Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin

 DANIELLE WEISBERG and CARLY ZAKIN are co-founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm, a membership company dedicated to helping millennial women liv... Read Full Bio

Carmen Bryant

CARMEN BRYANT is director of US marketing with Indeed. She is an international speaker and strategic marketing leader who motivates action by t... Read Full Bio

Tiffanie Gray

TIFFANIE GRAY is the associate manager for the Dallas wealth management market of Wells Fargo Advisors. She has been in the financial services ... Read Full Bio

Sheila McElhinney

SHEILA McELHINNEY is a financial relationship advisor with Wells Fargo. For two decades she has helped clients address their financial and insu... Read Full Bio

Valentina Gomez Bravo

VALENTINA GOMEZ BRAVO is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, a multicultural creative brand strategist, educator, speaker, and social activist. Sh... Read Full Bio

Liz Feezor

LIZ FEEZOR is a writer and creative strategist who helps wholehearted individuals and conscious businesses tell their stories. In addition to h... Read Full Bio

Veronica Garza

VERONICA GARZA is a co-founder, president, and chief innovation officer of Siete Family Foods. Diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disorders sin... Read Full Bio

Jill Griffin

JILL GRIFFIN leads an Austin-based executive coaching firm, JGEL. She is particularly passionate about helping women rise. She grew up in Marsh... Read Full Bio

Maryanne Lee

MARYANNE LEE is the director of customer experience strategy at LegalZoom, and a founding partner at RGLR Collective. Human insights surfaced i... Read Full Bio

Laurie J. Logue

LAURIE J. LOGUE is executive vice president for Broadway Bank’s Austin market, and the manager of commercial real estate lending. She has bee... Read Full Bio

Rana Salman, Ph.D.

RANA SALMAN, Ph.D. collaborates with sales, marketing and enablement leaders to improve sales effectiveness. With over 17 years of experience i... Read Full Bio

Amber Allen

AMBER ALLEN is CEO Double A Labs. She is a fanatic of emerging technologies and a gamer when she is not running the company. All... Read Full Bio

Alexis Davis

ALEXIS DAVIS is a connector, speaker, and social media educator with a penchant for creating communities wherever she goes. Her lifelong obsess... Read Full Bio

Vianney Gonzales

VIANNEY GONZALES is a quality manager for the strategic planning and quality team at Tokyo Electron America, a leader in the global semiconduct... Read Full Bio

Joanna Holden

JOANNA HOLDEN is a respected creative director, brand and graphic designer. Her award-winning success is rooted in a fine art background and co... Read Full Bio

Jessica Scanlon

JESSICA SCANLON is the founder of Hot Dog marketing. She’s helped hundreds of businesses develop their brands and establish their online repu... Read Full Bio

Yai Vargas

YAI VARGAS is a leading multicultural marketing expert with a niche in building marketing strategies and community engagement programs. She spe... Read Full Bio

Dr. Sarah Hill

DR. SARAH HILL is a leading researcher in the dynamic and rapidly expanding field of evolutionary psychology. She completed her PhD a... 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... Read Full Bio

Dr. Shelly Sethi

DR. SHELLY SETHI is a double board-certified family physician who provides integrative and functional medicine to people who are looking to opt... Read Full Bio