mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to...

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Mentors Colleen Affeldt | Managing Director, RGT Wealth Advisors Colleen Affeldt serves RGT as a Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee. She joined RGT in 2014, having spent over 15 years managing her own consulting practice. Her expertise growing performance based organizations encompasses strategic planning, development of C-Suite executives and succession planning. Colleen spends the majority of her time focused on human performance coaching, using innovative interventions intended to transform organizations through strategy development, refinement of objectives, and breakthrough thinking and performance to support the organization towards a higher value proposition and successful next gen succession. Valued for her thought leadership, Colleen has served as a visiting faculty member at the SMU Cox School of Business, Texas A&M Mays School of Business and the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. She continues to be a highly sought-after speaker. Other affiliations and board positions include: Texas Women’s Foundation Economic Leadership Council, Business Executives for National Security, Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Baldrick’s Children’s Cancer Foundation, and the Nancy Lieberman Foundation. Colleen, in collaboration with the Praevius Group, is the Co-Founder of COREIntersections, an integrated approach to supporting returning veterans and their transition into the private sector workforce, focusing on retention and “bringing them all the way home”. Jennifer Bartkowski | Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Ms. Bartkowski has been with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas since 2009 and served as Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer before assuming the role of CEO. Today, Jennifer is leading an organizational transformation for the organization. With a strategic focus on membership growth, 21st century programming and brand, Jennifer is committed to ensuring that Girl Scouts is relevant to today’s girl and her parents. With a commitment to changing the workforce pipeline of North Texas, Jennifer chairs a national STEM initiative that was built on the success of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas’ $14M STEM Center of Excellence in southwest Dallas. Before joining Girl Scouts in 2009, Jennifer served as the Senior Vice President of Workplace Campaigns for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, responsible for leading an annual campaign of more than $50 million. Jennifer’s career began after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Public Administration, with a nonprofit management focus, at Texas A&M University. She has worked with a variety of organizations including the American Lung Association of Texas, United Way/Capital Area, private start-up Charitygift, and as an independent consultant. Jennifer is a Silver Award Girl Scout and the recipient of the Girl Scouts Thanks Badge. She is a recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s 2018 Women in Business Award, and a 2018 Tech Titans Technology Advocate Finalist. She is the proud mother of two teenagers. Beth Bull | SVP, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Communities Foundation of Texas Beth Bull is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT). For the last ten years she has been responsible for Accounting, Finance, Investments, Human Resources, IT, and Facilities for CFT, one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with over $1 billion in assets. Beth was honored to be named Nonprofit CFO of the Year by the Dallas Business Journal in 2013 and Outstanding CFO of a Nonprofit Organization by D CEO in 2016. In the community, Beth has served as first vice president and finance committee chair for the Girl Scouts of NorthEast Texas since 2013. She is also currently a board member and treasurer for the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance. Previously, she was a board member, audit committee chair, and foundation board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star for over ten years. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Beth had a 26 year career at Texas Instruments, where she worked in Houston, Dallas, and Midland, Texas, as well as Taipei, Taiwan. Her last six years at TI were as Treasurer. Her free time is spent on family, sports, travel, music, and reading.

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Page 1: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

MentorsColleen Affeldt | Managing Director, RGT Wealth AdvisorsColleen Affeldt serves RGT as a Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee. She joined RGT in 2014, having spent over 15 years managing her own consulting practice. Her expertise growing performance based organizations encompasses strategic planning, development of C-Suite executives and succession planning. Colleen spends the majority of her time focused on human performance coaching, using innovative interventions intended to transform organizations through strategy

development, refinement of objectives, and breakthrough thinking and performance to support the organization towards a higher value proposition and successful next gen succession. Valued for her thought leadership, Colleen has served as a visiting faculty member at the SMU Cox School of Business, Texas A&M Mays School of Business and the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. She continues to be a highly sought-after speaker.Other affiliations and board positions include: Texas Women’s Foundation Economic Leadership Council, Business Executives for National Security, Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Baldrick’s Children’s Cancer Foundation, and the Nancy Lieberman Foundation. Colleen, in collaboration with the Praevius Group, is the Co-Founder of COREIntersections, an integrated approach to supporting returning veterans and their transition into the private sector workforce, focusing on retention and “bringing them all the way home”.

Jennifer Bartkowski | Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Northeast TexasMs. Bartkowski has been with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas since 2009 and served as Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer before assuming the role of CEO.Today, Jennifer is leading an organizational transformation for the organization. With a strategic focus on membership growth, 21st century programming and brand, Jennifer is committed to ensuring that Girl Scouts is relevant to today’s girl and her parents. With a commitment to changing the workforce pipeline of North Texas, Jennifer chairs

a national STEM initiative that was built on the success of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas’ $14M STEM Center of Excellence in southwest Dallas.Before joining Girl Scouts in 2009, Jennifer served as the Senior Vice President of Workplace Campaigns for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, responsible for leading an annual campaign of more than $50 million. Jennifer’s career began after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Public Administration, with a nonprofit management focus, at Texas A&M University. She has worked with a variety of organizations including the American Lung Association of Texas, United Way/Capital Area, private start-up Charitygift, and as an independent consultant.Jennifer is a Silver Award Girl Scout and the recipient of the Girl Scouts Thanks Badge. She is a recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s 2018 Women in Business Award, and a 2018 Tech Titans Technology Advocate Finalist. She is the proud mother of two teenagers.

Beth Bull | SVP, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Communities Foundation of Texas Beth Bull is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT). For the last ten years she has been responsible for Accounting, Finance, Investments, Human Resources, IT, and Facilities for CFT, one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with over $1 billion in assets. Beth was honored to be named Nonprofit CFO of the Year by the Dallas Business Journal in 2013 and Outstanding CFO of a Nonprofit Organization by D CEO in 2016. In the

community, Beth has served as first vice president and finance committee chair for the Girl Scouts of NorthEast Texas since 2013. She is also currently a board member and treasurer for the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance. Previously, she was a board member, audit committee chair, and foundation board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star for over ten years. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Beth had a 26 year career at Texas Instruments, where she worked in Houston, Dallas, and Midland, Texas, as well as Taipei, Taiwan. Her last six years at TI were as Treasurer. Her free time is spent on family, sports, travel, music, and reading.

Page 2: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

Sarah Burns | Chief Marketing Officer, Dallas Children’s Advocacy CenterSarah Burns serves as chief marketing officer where she leads and directs marketing, public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community. Sarah joined the team after serving as senior communications director at Dallas Women’s Foundation, the largest regional women’s foundation in the world. During her tenure there she elevated the Foundation’s brand and awareness to surpass fundraising and grantmaking goals. Prior to that she worked in service line marketing and internal communications at

Children’s Health and in marketing at Genesis Women’s Shelter. Sarah has worked in nonprofit marketing her entire career. She attended Oklahoma State University and graduated from the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a focus on Public Relations and a double minor of Marketing and Management. Sarah is a 2018 recipient of Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and in her spare time she volunteers with the Junior League of Dallas, where she has held numerous leadership roles, including serving on the 95th Anniversary Board of Directors. Her other volunteer commitments include New Friends New Life, Genesis Women’s Shelter, the Women’s Auxiliary to Children’s Medical Center and Preston Hollow Presbyterian School. Sarah is married to Jon, an educator, and they have one son.

Paula Calise | Principal, Linked Executive Search Paula specializes in filling hard to fill positions, completing over 450 searches since founding Linked Executive Search. Paula is known for rapidly finding talent to fill key positions that fit the company, culture and team effortlessly – delivering quality candidates who can step in and immediately produce positive results. Across many professions and industries, Paula often fills jobs that have been open for 6 weeks to 6 months, with others having tried to fill these roles prior to Paula being invited to do so. Named as a 2017-2018 Best of the Best Recruiting Firms by Forbes. https://www.forbes.

com/best-executive-recruiting-firms/list/#search:linked Paula is a frequent speaker and instructor. She gives presentations, workshops and keynote addresses on the topic of personal branding for professionals. Paula can be heard at MBA programs, professional associations, internal company leadership programs, and job seekers support groups. Paula’s popularity as a speaker is in part due to providing actionable and fresh perspective on the topic of personal branding for professionals and executives. Paula earned an undergraduate degree in HR from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the University of Houston. She is actively involved in community volunteerism and leadership. Paula serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board at the University of North Texas College of Business. She is a board member of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Retail Executive Association, co-founder of Dallas Executive Women’s Network Group, a founding member and Vice President of The Board Connection, and a former Assistant Vice President of Southwest Higher Education Authority.

Suzanne Carter | Executive Director, TCU EMBA program, Texas Christian University Suzanne M. Carter, Ph. D., is the Executive Director of TCU’s Executive MBA program. Currently on faculty at TCU’s Neeley School of Business as Professor of Professional Practice in Strategy within the Management, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership Department, Dr. Carter teaches strategy courses at the EMBA, MBA and undergraduate levels. She has also been faculty on global study abroad courses in China, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Panama, Morocco, Spain, and Greece, UAE and India. Her

research focuses on strategic leadership, top management teams and corporate reputation. Dr. Carter received her M.B.A. and Ph. D. in strategic management from the University of Texas at Austin and her B.S. in accounting from the University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana. She previously served on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame as an assistant professor and as an assistant instructor at the University of Texas at Austin. Founding principal of Carter & Associates, (agilestrategicthinking.com) she has consulted with many companies such as GameStop, Cook’s Children, and LeaElliott regarding vision and strategic direction. She also taught classes and conducted workshops on innovative social enterprise strategies to encourage sustainable business models in the non-profit sector. Dr. Carter has published numerous articles and book chapters in such business publications as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Journal of Business Ethics and Corporate Reputation Review. Currently on the editorial board of Corporate Reputation Review she continues to research within the reputation and strategic leadership areas.

Mentors

Page 3: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

Sheryl Chamberlain | Board Chair - Council for Corporate Social Responsibility, National Diversity CouncilSheryl Chamberlain, Board Chair National Diversity Council – Council for Corporate Responsibility, Technology Consultant and Chair Hult Prize Council is an accomplished Technology Executive, Founder and CEO, CFO, Consultant and Board Member with extensive experience driving innovative go-to-market strategies and strategic partnerships for global technology leaders, building alignment across teams, business alliances, process improvement, change management, and market development. She

holds a BS in Accounting from Hunter College NYC, and Advisor to Dallas Entrepreneur Center, How Women Lead and IMPCT Coffee.

Tanis Cornell | CEO, EWF InterntionalTanis Cornell is CEO and co-owner of Executive Women’s Forums (EWF) International, a Dallas- based leadership accelerator dedicated to driving business results by increasing the representation of women in the C-Suite and business ownership. With her broad background in senior leadership positions ranging from Fortune 500 to start up environments, she can personally relate to the issues and challenges both women business owners and executives face on a daily basis. Tanis is a certified Lumina Learning practitioner, an accredited executive coach, a writer and frequent

public speaker on business growth, leadership and women’s career issues. She brings over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, executive management, sales and alliance management, brand management, marketing and communications, change management, entrepreneurship, leadership coaching, and professional facilitation. Tanis has held leadership positions in the information technology industry including serving as an equity partner and Board member of the private software company PhaseWare, an officer level position in the Fortune 1000 telecommunications company WilTel, VP of sales for Level 3 Communications and led one of the largest service provider partnerships for Fortune 500 data management company, NetApp. Tanis sits on the Board of Directors for Tech Titans, the largest technology trade association in Texas, the Advisory Board for the Alliance of Women and Technology, and the Business Advisory Council for Oklahoma Christian University. She has also been a mentor for the nationally known startup incubator Tech Wildcatters.

Tiffany K. Daniels | Founder/Executive Director, The Learning Paradigm Tiffany K. Daniels, a native of Chatom, Alabama moved to Dallas, Texas after completing the Speech Language Pathology Master’s Program at the University of South Alabama. With a passion to see progress in child development, Tiffany is the Founder/Executive Director of The Learning Paradigm, a non-profit that supports children with special needs by providing inclusive-based and integrated sports, STEM SELs summer program for teens, as well as therapy and tutoring services that increase their social-emotional skills as they grow to be self-sufficient individuals. Tiffany’s involvement also includes

community service with the DFW Urban League Young Professionals, which she has served as the Youth Development Chair. Under her leadership, the chapter held a youth conference that focused on STEM with over 300 participants in attendance. The program also received chapter recognition by the National Urban League as the recipient of the National Day of Service Award. An advocate for education, she is also an alumni of Leadership ISD and has participated in canvassing with Dallas Kids First for several Dallas ISD board of trustee candidates. Tiffany has traveled to Lusaka, Zambia with CLASP International to help children and families with disabilities. There, she facilitated trainings on classroom management and helped to initiate a Master’s level graduate program for Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Zambia. Tiffany was honored by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the 2018’s 40 under 40 Awardees. She is currently a doctoral student at Baylor University seeking an Ed.D in Learning and Organizational Change.

Mentors

Page 4: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

Roslyn Dawson Thompson | President & CEO, Texas Women’s Foundation (formerly Dallas Women’s Foundation) Roslyn was appointed president and CEO of Texas Women’s Foundation (formerly Dallas Women’s Foundation) in 2011, after supporting the organization since its inception as a volunteer and donor. Under Roslyn’s leadership, the Foundation has become one of the world’s largest women’s funds. During Roslyn’s tenure, the Foundation has pursued ambitious strategic initiatives advocating for and advancing social and economic change to Transform Texas for Women and Girls. Since 2013, the organization

has increased its assets by 25 percent to $35 million, and its grantmaking by 84 percent. The Foundation raises approximately $8 million annually. Funds support statewide research – providing decision-makers and lawmakers critical data to inform policies and programs affecting Texas women and girls – and also sustain the Foundation’s $5 million in annual grants, mission-focused asset investments, and programs to help Texas women and girls thrive. Roslyn serves on the boards of Tides Network, an international nonprofit accelerator, and the Women’s Funding Network, the global association of women’s funds. She is on the executive committees of Prosperity Together and the National Philanthropic Collaborative of Young Women’s Initiatives – two women’s foundation collaborations; the boards of the Dallas Regional Chamber, the International Women’s Forum (Dallas chapter), the Circle 10 Council of Boy Scouts;and serves on the Dallas Mavericks Advisory Council. Roslyn has earned many honors, including the Texas Governor’s Commission for Women “Texas Women Economic Empowerment Award,” the Dallas Regional Chamber “ATHENA Award,” and the United Nations Association - USA, Dallas Chapter “Global Goals, Local Leader Award.”

Darlene Ellison | SVP/Community Development Executive, Veritex Community BankA Dallas native, Darlene Ellison has 30+ years experience in psychology/business. As an author/proponent of the prevention of child sexual abuse, Darlene has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC and Dallas’ D Magazine. Eight years as a Development Consultant and 13 years as Community Development Executive for Veritex Community Bank, have inspired her to create a unique business development strategic plan. She founded/coordinates two award-winning Women in Business organizations,

and created a Future WIB internship program for college-aged women. Darlene’s honors include the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce, a 2011 Dallas Business Journal “Women in Business” honoree, “Chairman Award” for outstanding years of service to the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce and Mentor of the Year- SMU Cox School of Business BBA Mentor Alliance Program. Darlene served 3 terms as President of the Chamber, has served on the Executive Board (Marketing Chair) for Visit Dallas, serves on the Advisory Board to the Dallas Sports Commission, is a Sustaining Member for Junior League of Dallas and a longtime member of Lakewood Service League. Darlene’s first book, “The Predator Next Door…Detect, Protect and Recover from Betrayal” has earned an IPPY Award Gold Medal and a Next Indie Award Gold Medal. Darlene has delivered keynotes all over the country on child abuse prevention, as an advocate for victims of child and family violence and as a motivational proponent for women who overcome life’s obstacles. Her blog site for women is www.EvolutionofSHE.com

Amy Evins | CIO, Executive Vice President, Texas Capital Bank Inc Amy Evins is the CIO of Texas Capital Bank Inc. ($27B) responsible for collaborating on corporate strategy and translating into a technology vision. She is accountable for technical operations, direction and execution of strategic technology initiatives, and financial planning and management of those operations and activities. Additionally, she directs technical delivery and architecture. With her strong banking expertise, she leads a team of professionals to ensure the practical and innovative application of technology to enable and support the business strategies. Previously she served

as SVP of the Wholesale Business information Office (BIO) at SunTrust Banks Inc (total assets $200b), with responsibility for driving the realization of business strategy and value through effective definition and deployment of technology and information for Wholesale. This included information delivery, relationship management, data governance, sales enablement, reporting and investment portfolio execution. Wholesale Banking is composed of Business and Commercial Banking, Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Investment Banking, Treasury and Payments and Capital Markets. Additionally, she was the Executive sponsor for the market information and financial market utilities strategic sourcing commodities overseeing several key strategic third-party relationships at SunTrust. She led the data governance and data management efforts at SunTrust. Ms. Evins was previously Managing Director, Wholesale BIO, and led new technology investment for the diversified segment which includes Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Investment Banking, Capital Markets and Commercial Banking, as well as Dodd-Frank Swap Dealer Registration. Ms. Evins joined SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in 1995 in Equity Trading and Sales and has extensive experience in capital markets.

Mentors

Page 5: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

Mentors

Janelle Friedman | CEO/COO, GoodJanes/Friedman & Feiger LLP Often described as a modern day Renaissance woman, Janelle Friedman runs two companies as CEO of one and COO of another and is an author, inventor, mentor and a civic/philanthropic leader. As CEO, Janelle launched a national beauty company specializing in a skin care line made with naturally-derived ingredients infused with plant, vegetable and fruit stem cells. She invented the popular Kiss My Lash Mirror, a triangulated, three dimensional make-up mirror. As COO of Friedman & Feiger LLP, she manages the day-to-day business operations of this award-winning Dallas law firm. As

a mentor, she created and taught the curriculum for an etiquette program for students who attend Texas Can Academies for disadvantaged teens. Texans Can Academies adopted her program in all of its Texas campuses and named the program the Janelle Friedman Etiquette Program. Another example of her being a mentor is her role as founder of Essential Energy. Essential Energy is a community service concept that provides opportunity for women in business to network, grow businesses and learn professional success tips from motivational business leaders and celebrities. She founded the F&F Foundation as a charitable organization which benefits children. The F&F Foundation has raised millions of dollars for worthy children’s charities. She is a best-selling author of YOU ARE INVITED which takes readers through some of Janelle’s biggest events. She has been named by the Dallas Business Journal as “a business leader to watch.”

Neel Gonuguntla | President, US India Chamber of Commerce DFW Mrs. Neel Gonuguntla serves as the President of the US India Chamber of Commerce DFW (USICOC). As President, she oversees strategic planning activities in addition to providing oversight of daily operations including, but not limited to, member services, event management and fundraising for the organization. Under her leadership, the Chamber has grown its member participation by 34% and event-based activity by 40%. Prior to joining the Chamber, Mrs. Gonuguntla served as President of READYTOWORK®, an education and workforce development consulting company. Mrs. Gonuguntla

received her education from Boston University and Baylor University where she earned her Bachelors in Political Science and her J.D./M.B.A, respectively. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association as well as the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. Mrs. Gonuguntla is also an active volunteer dedicating her time to women’s empowerment, education, and international relations. Currently, she serves on the boards of: • COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF THE DALLAS REGION which supports education and well-being of 6500 at-risk youth in Dallas • JONSSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING DEAN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL which serves over 7,000 students in the Dallas area • KERA COMMUNITY BOARD which serves in an advisory role to staff and Board of Directors, helping KERA/KXT to better understand and respond to community needs and interests regarding programming and services • US GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COALITION which provides support for the United States’ diplomatic and development efforts among both politicians and the public

Julie Goodman | CEO, Goodman Global Consulting Ms. Julie Goodman has worked in the offset and countertrade industry for four years and primarily focuses on the indirect offset niche sourcing projects for needs in education, environment and healthcare for major defense contractors. She developed an innovative business structure that has earned attention from Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments and the United Nations. She has worked in 6 countries across 3 continents. Julie earned a BA in Economics and International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global

Management. She currently serves on the board of directors at World Affairs Council, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League and Thunderbird and serves as the President of the Thunderbird DFW Alumni Chapter. She initiated the Get on Board pilot program with the Dallas Regional Chamber to match highly motivated young professionals with local nonprofits that have open board seats. Julie cares deeply about adults with intellectual disabilities and gives monthly manicures to ladies with intellectual disabilities through Community Homes for Adults, Inc. She is a proud recipient of the Dallas Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award (2018), Tomodachi-Mitsui Leadership Program (2018) and AJC Game Changer of the Year (2016).

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Mentors

Alicia Hall | President, Junior League of Dallas, Inc.Alicia Hall, a native of the DFW area, is a CPS and currently serves as the Corporate Controller and Chief Compliance Officer at Kitano Capital LLC, a private asset management company. Alicia is currently serving as President of the Junior League of Dallas. She has served previously served on the board as the Finance VP. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a MSA and BBA in accounting with a concentration in auditing. Alicia is married to Andrew and has two sons, Hudson and Holt.

Julia Harman | Market President, SunTrust BankJulia Harman has been with SunTrust since 2013. Mrs. Harman is currently the Market President of the North Texas Region. She is responsible for the firm’s commercial banking expansion efforts in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. Previously she was a Managing Director within SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Southwest Corporate Banking team, where she was responsible for new business development of banking and corporate finance transactions with mid- and large-cap companies located in Texas and throughout the Southwest. Prior to joining SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Mrs. Harman

held Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, and Commercial Banking roles with Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo (and its predecessor Wachovia), and JPMorgan. Mrs. Harman graduated summa cum laude with her BBA from Baylor University. She has previously served on the Board of Directors and currently serves on the Board Advisory Committee for the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ( JDRF). She is actively involved in other local organizations including the American Heart Association, the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), and is a Senior Member of Texas Wall Street Women. She is a frequent volunteer within the Dallas Independent School District. She is also a graduate of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas Class of 2018, during which she was Chair of the Leadership Dallas Project for Promise House, an organization that supports homeless and runaway youth in Dallas County. She was recognized by Dallas Business Journal as a 2018 “40 Under 40” nominee for her civic and professional leadership.

Hilary Jackson | Vice President, Head of The Catalyst Lab, Capital OneHilary Jackson is the Head of The Catalyst Lab for Capital One’s Financial Services division. In this role, Hilary’s team is responsible for cultivating an innovation pipeline, and quickly moving proven transformational ideas from concept to market. Her team focuses on external research and partnerships, customer strategy, internal rapid experimentation, and accelerating time to production. She joined Capital One in November 2014. Since joining Capital One, Hilary has held several executive leadership positions within mortgage servicing.

Prior to joining Capital One, Hilary spent 12 years at Bank of America, where she provided executive leadership in the mortgage lines of business. Within mortgage servicing, she led risk assessment and analytics, horizontal business controls, business transformation, strategic implementation, program management, and loss mitigation operations. She held executive leadership roles within the mortgage originations and sales organizations. Hilary started her career as a financial analyst with a nationwide medical practice management company. Hilary holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Texas A&M University – Commerce, and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from Texas Tech University. She is an active community leader with the Junior League of Collin County, serves as a board member for Communities in Schools in the Dallas Region, and is the executive sponsor for Capital One’s summer education camp, Math Corps - benefiting Communities in Schools, Plano ISD, and the Boys & Girls Club of Collin County. Hilary lives in Dallas with her husband and their daughter.

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Mentors

Sophia Johnson | President, ABISophia Johnson is founder and president of ABI, a Dallas-based advertising and marketing agency. In 15 years the firm has expanded its offices to Atlanta and Fort Worth and Dallas Business Journal ranks it as #21 in North Texas. ABI is a leading agency in four main industries: travel/transportation, healthcare, education and non-profit organizations. ABI has an impressive track record of effective, winning campaigns integrating digital and traditional platforms that maximize marketing dollars while achieving our clients’ business goals. Johnson leads research and strategic planning.

Johnson is Chair of FRIENDS of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, Chair of the Programming Committee and Executive Committee member for AT&T Performing Arts Center. In 2017, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings nominated Johnson as the board member to lead Communications for the City of Dallas’ Trinity River Local Government Corporation, which stewards development of public recreation in the Trinity River Corridor. She is the former Chair of The Concilio and former board member of Cafe Momentum, Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas and New Friends New Life Advisory Board. Johnson is also involved in several civic organizations including Boy Scouts of America, Dallas Assembly, local minority business advocacy organizations and is active with her congregation, Concord Church. Johnson is a mom of four and married to Dallas entrepreneur Willis Johnson.

Maureen Kelly Cooper | Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. Professional Expertise As part of the Corporate Capital Markets group and with more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience, Maureen Kelly Cooper is a vital team member during the development of strategy and execution of significant and complex real estate transactions. She uses structured financial products, involving tax, capital and accounting strategies, to assist major national and international corporations in maximizing real estate value and executes transaction such as headquarter’s relocations, sale-leasebacks, lease restructurings, build to suits, and private public partnerships. Cooper was based in the Manhattan office from 2006-2013

and relocated to the Dallas office in 2013. Prior to her current position, She spent eight years at the corporate headquarters of The Staubach Company in Dallas. She began her career in 1991 working in real estate accounting for Trammell Crow and JPI Inc. in Dallas, followed by UBS in London, England. Major recent transactions: • Ericsson, U.S. headquarters sale-leaseback – 500,000 and 260,000 SF • Verizon, lease restructure – 1.2 million SF • Brinker International, headquarters BTS lease – 216,000 SF • NEC of America, lease relocation – 120,000 SF • Altair Global, headquarters relocation – 65,000 SF Professional Affiliations • Certified Public Accountant, State of Texas • Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, State of Texas • Member, Financial Executives International Professional Recognition • Dallas Business Journal Women in Business honoree, 2018 • D CEO Power Broker, multiple years • D CEO Commercial Real Estate Awards finalist, 2016-2017 • Dallas Business Journal Best Real Estate Deals finalist, 2016-2017 Education • MBA, Southern Methodist University • BBA, Accounting, University of Arkansas

Linda Kunz | Vice President - Flight Service, Envoy Air Inc. (An American Airlines Group wholly-owned company)Linda Kunz has been Vice President - Flight Service for Envoy Air since August 2001. Kunz is responsible for the Inflight Services department and 1,700 Flight Attendants providing service on American Eagle flights throughout the U.S., the Bahamas, Canada and Mexico.Previously, Kunz served as the Director of Inflight Operations for TWA, overseeing TWA’s inflight communications, policies and procedures, duty-free, in-seat catalog and Web site.Kunz began her career as a flight attendant for Ozark Airlines, where she served for

17 years. Additionally, she held a variety of staff and line positions in InFlight Services, Flight Operations, Regulatory Compliance, Corporate Safety and Training. She is certified Emergenetics Associate, Certified in Interest Based Bargaining, and experienced labor contract negotiator. She specializes in employee development, relationship building, and the customer experience. Throughout her career, she has been able to collect many stories that have inspired her to go on. She shares them with her teams. As sensible, human and empathetic as Linda can be, she’s also a determined woman who has never stopped believing in herself and has always stayed true to herself. Her leadership is honest and open. She tells her teams “I sat in your seat and look where I am now.” She feels anyone can succeed as long as they “don’t pass on opportunities and don’t turn their back on their future.” A mother of two, Kunz completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University while she was working as a flight attendant.

Page 8: Mentors - media.bizj.us · public relations, advocacy efforts and manages event production to illuminate the truth about child abuse and elevate DCAC’s role within the community

MentorsLan Chi Le | Chief Executive Officer, ZYGO Dental Management GroupI’ve been practicing dentistry since 2006, married for 11 years and raising two young boys. I have learned along the way that I have a huge passion for business, dentistry and family life. There will always be sacrifices of some sort but stretching my dreams and maximizing my potential is something I will never look back and regret. I currently lead approximately 45-50 employees and manage 11 dental practices.

Melody Lenox | Vice President of Operations, Axxess Melody Lenox is Vice President of Operations at Axxess, the fastest growing home healthcare technology company in North America. She is responsible for advancing global growth strategies, improving operational excellence, human resources, talent, facilities management and procurement. Melody has played a key role in doubling growth year over year. Prior to Axxess, Melody worked in entrepreneurial, mid-sized and multi-national Fortune 500 firms in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, distribution, and government. She is a member of several civic and community organizations

and very involved and committed to the advancement of women and diversity in the workplace. Melody volunteers at schools and community centers, teaching life-skills trainings and speaking to youth on preparing for life after high school and college Melody is a member of the Forbes HR Council, Texas Women’s Foundation Economic Leadership Council, Dallas Regional Chamber Leadership Dallas Alumni Association, Dallas Friday Group Board Member, Society of Human Resources Management, and Dallas Human Resources. She has served on the Executive Roundtable for McKinney Chamber of Commerce, numerous committees for the Central Arkansas Human Resources Association and served on the boards of the North Collin County Habitat for Humanity and the Women and Children First Shelter. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Dallas Business Journal Women in Business Award, Minority Business Leader Award, LEAD (Leadership Excellence And Development) Top Corporate Leader Award, National Women’s Council Top 15 Business Women of Dallas Award, and Power 50 Award by the National Diversity Council.

Tanya Little | CEO, Hart Advisors Group Tanya Hart Little is the founder and CEO of Hart Advisors, a real estate advisory firm based in Dallas, Texas. Since Hart’s inception in 2009. Prior to founding Hart, Tanya served as the CEO of RBC Capital Markets’, where she was responsible for developing and overseeing all business operations and strategy for a new lending platform. Ms. Little has been honored to receive multiple awards and serve in the community over the past ten years. She was the 2017 Co-Chair, a Dallas board founding member and on-going mentor for 4Word, a Christian organization serving women in the workplace.

Tanya served as the 2017 Gatehouse Hand-Up luncheon chair, a mentor for Young Professionals and received the 2015 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. She served as the 2015 Giving Gala Chair for the Real Estate Council in Dallas where she also served two term board positions in 2008-2010 and 2013-2015. Ms. Little was on the 2014-2016 Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Fort Worth, was the first recipient of the 2011 Individual Career Advancement for Women recognition from Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) in Dallas, and is a past Board Member of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). Finally, she received the Dallas Business Journal’s 2012 Women in Business Award and the 2008 Real Estate Forum Magazine’s Woman of Influence Award. Tanya enjoys mentoring and promoting young professionals through the Real Estate Council’s Young Guns Program, 4Word, CREW, Ladies in CRE and individual relationships.

Jenny Martinez | Senior Litigation Partner, Munck WilsonJenny Martinez is a senior litigation partner at Munck Wilson Mandala. In her 20-year legal career Jenny was a key member of the legal team that defended Halliburton in connection with civil litigation and investigations arising out of BP’s Macondo well (Deepwater Horizon) blowout in the Gulf of Mexico — the largest environmental lawsuit in the history of the United States. She rose to the rank of name partner and executive vice president at her previous law firm, and she continues to be honored annually as a D Magazine Best Lawyer in Dallas and a Texas Super Lawyer. Jenny has accomplished significant milestones while

raising a family with four children. She is an exemplary leader and mentor in her profession and an involved parent and business woman in her community. Jenny received her J.D., cum laude, from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 1999, along with her B.A., magna cum laude, in political science in 1995. While at SMU, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the law school director for Texas Women Lawyers, and treasurer of SMU Women in Law.

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MentorsDiane Seay McNulty | Associate Dean for External Affairs and Corporate Development in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas Diane Seay McNulty, PhD, is associate dean for External Affairs and Corporate Development in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas.She also serves as executive editor of MANAGEMENT, the school’s magazine, which has earned MarCom Gold, Dallas Press Club Katie and Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awards.

McNulty coordinates the school’s alumni, community, corporate and media relations, and its marketing, fundraising strategies, advisory council and special events.She teaches undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses in corporate governance and ethics. Her research centers on leadership from a governance perspective.McNulty has been a consultant to nonprofits, and she has worked with the Dallas Independent School District to create a program for its central office leadership track.She serves on the boards of directors of the Public Affairs Council, a national association; the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation; and the World Affairs Council of Greater Dallas. She is a member of and frequent presenter for AACSB International, a collegiate business school accrediting organization.McNulty is a member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Women and Executive Women of Dallas.In February 2018, she received the American Heart Association Sandi Haddock Community Impact Award for her work to improve women’s health. In 2016, the US India Chamber of Commerce recognized her “Outstanding Leadership in Education.” Dallas Business Journal honored her with a “Top 25 Women in Business Award” in 2011.

Deepa Menon | Managing Director, CBIZ Valuation Group Ms. Menon is a managing director in the Southwest Region of CBIZ Valuation Group in its Dallas, Texas office and is responsible for client service and business development related to financial valuation. Ms. Menon has 24 years of financial valuation experience, specializing in valuation consulting, financial advisory, transfer pricing, and the valuation of business enterprises and intangible assets for tax, international tax, financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance and related purposes. Ms. Menon’s prior experience also includes solvency opinions and fairness

opinions for various transactions. With a diverse background that includes finance, math and pure sciences, Ms. Menon has performed extensive valuation work in the health care and life sciences industries. She has valued various entities involved in drug development ranging from early stage ventures to post FDA-approved companies. In the healthcare space, Ms. Menon has been involved in the valuation of hospitals, physician practices, surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers, home health entities, long term acute care facilities and medical device facilities. Ms. Menon adds to the firm an extensive knowledge of financial markets, security analysis, economics, statistics, tax and accounting aspects of valuation issues. She also bears significant experience in executive compensation analyses. Ms. Menon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, math and biology; a Master of Arts degree in social sciences; and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sandi Mitchell | CEO, APEX Leadership Mastery Sandi Mitchell is CEO of APEX Leadership Mastery - a leadership development and business strategy firm. She is an EOS Implementer for small businesses who want to grow quickly in a sustainable manner. Sandi and her firm helps companies and nonprofits large and small get leaders and their teams aligned with the Vision of where the company is going, Traction for becoming more disciplined and accountable in achieving the vision, and become a Healthy, functional, cohesive team. In addition to this strategic framework, Sandi and her firm focus on communication because, as

Stanford says, 9 out of 10 conversations “miss the mark.” Almost every issue our clients have dealt with, at the core of it was a miscommunication. We help leaders and their teams have clearer, more transparent, and more collaborative conversations which enables teams to work together more easily, which produces more and better work, which increases the individuals’ pride in what they do. Sandi is a master at getting leaders and their teams to collaborate, but at home, pups Coco and Chanel rule the roost!

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MentorsLin O’Neill | Consultant, O’Neill EnterprisesLin O’Neill is a thought leader, consultant, speaker and coach who inspires radical transformation. With clients, she demonstrates and guides the incorporation of strategic plans into the everyday decisions of their organization. She has led strategic planning teams for Fortune 100 companies and a variety of not-for-profits. Lin has coached multiple CEO’s and E.D.’s in strategic plan development, facilitated strategic planning as part of major contract negotiations and aided small businesses and organizations as they apply their strategies in their day-to-day operations.

Lin’s experience spans numerous industries and includes Operations, Consulting and HR. She is a former Vice President and Corporate Officer (Board Member) for Continental Airlines, where she operated a $300MM division with responsibility for several thousand employees and a former HR Director for TRW where she had both national and international HR responsibility. While living in California, Lin founded Futures Consulting and Sakred Cow Enterprises. Since returning to Texas, she has founded Entrepreneurs Dallas, Entrepreneurs Fort Worth and re-branded Futures Consulting as O’Neill Enterprises.In addition to her speaking, consulting and coaching, Lin is currently serving as: Lead Faculty for the DFW Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and for the National (Blended) 10,000 Small Businesses Program at Babson College, DFW Instructor for the SBA’s Emerging Leaders (e200) and ISC for Interise’s 60-city Alumni Program, GDHCC’s Instructor for the ScaleUp program, Advisory Board Member for the Network Bar, Member of S.M.U.’s Associate Board, Board of Governors, Tower Club Dallas, Board Member, TeXchange Dallas and Board Member, NTEA.

Caren Lock | Regional Vice President & Associate General Counsel, TIAACaren Lock is the Regional Vice President and Associate General Counsel of TIAA. In her role at TIAA, Caren is the primary interface for the company on all legislative, executive, administrative, and regulatory matters for her 20 states region. At her company, Caren is active in gender and racial diversity initiatives. She was the former Co-Chair of the Women’s Employee Resource Group and is currently a member of the Denver Leadership Council and Dallas Leadership Council. Prior to joining TIAA, Caren was General Counsel with a consumer financial company.

Before entering the corporate world, Caren spent over a decade litigating complex business matters.Caren is the Chairman of the Board and a member of the Executive Committee at the Texas Women’s Foundation. Caren is also an Executive Board member of the Texas State Bar College. Previously, she served on the Boards of Girls Inc. Metropolitan Dallas, Dallas Bar Association, State of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section, and was President and former Board member of the Dallas Asian American Bar Association, and the Center for Nonprofit Management in Dallas. Caren is also a member of The Dallas Assembly and a graduate of The Leadership Dallas Program. From 2008 - 2013, she served on the Texas State Bar Grievance Panel and was Chair of her panel. Caren co-founded The Orchid Giving Circle in 2015 which provides community grants to support social change and services to the DFW Asian Community.

Debbie Mrazek | President, The Sales Company Debbie Mrazek coaches and consults with Fortune 500 companies, CEOs, solopreneurs, entre¬preneurs, business startups and family businesses, helping her clients to identify their tough¬est business challenges and guiding them through the process of developing and devising a clear, concise plan; a road map to achieving their vision and exponentially growing by working “smarter not harder”. She is passionate about bringing the “fun” back to selling. Additionally, Debbie is the author of “The Field Guide to Sales” and is a prolific writer and speaker sharing her wealth of experiences and sales

growth expertise to numerous organizations and publications. Also, honored by Dallas Business Journal - 2016 Women In Business Award Winner. Currently Debbie is serving as: • UTD - Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Mentor • ATW - Alliance of Technology and Women, Board of Advisors • Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Faculty - Sales/Marketing • TexChange Board of Directors

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Adrienne Palmer | Founder, Insite Interactive Adrienne Palmer is a proven, accomplished entrepreneur. She is the Founder of Insite Interactive, one of Dallas’ leading digital agencies, founded in 1998. Insite provides digital development strategy, creative, user experience design, website development, application development for web and mobile, implementation and integration of third-party systems, and ongoing web/mobile support services. www.insite.net Since turning over the helm to a new President, Adrienne is focused on ways to support entrepreneurs and business growth, and empowering women entrepreneurs. Through her consulting

firm, Global Impact Advisory, she supports programs that support entrepreneurship, and create diplomatic dialog for cross-cultural engagement, understanding and education. She frequently creates, manages and participates in initiatives to unite entrepreneurs around the world in the pursuit of increasing business success, job creation and economic stability. www.globalimpactadvisory.com Adrienne is also Co-Founder and CEO of the World Citizens Guide, a cross-cultural education initiative. www.worldcitizensguide.org Adrienne was named one of Dallas’ Top Women in Business, as well as Women in Technology by the Dallas Business Journal, as well as receiving numerous industry awards and recognitions. She has been a speaker on global business and using entrepreneurship as a diplomatic platform at the United Nations and the US Department of State.

Karen Liu Pang | President, Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of CommerceAs the newly appointed President of the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce (GDAACC), Karen Liu Pang is the first female President for the chamber and brings a global vision for innovation and a stronger GDAACC.A committed community advocate, Karen has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations in North Texas. Karen currently serves on the Midwestern State University Board of Regents, UT System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, Advisory Council

for UT Austin’s Moody College of Communication, Advisory Board of Break Bread, Break Borders, and as the Nominating Chair for the Friends of Fair Park Board. She also proudly supports Junior League of Dallas as a JLD Sustainer.She graduated from leadership programs from Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies’ (APAICS) National Leadership Academy, Texas Federation of Republican Women’s (TFRW) Candidate Development Program and the inaugural Mayor’s Star Council class. The following year, she served as President for the Mayor’s Star Council.Karen grew up in North Texas and graduated from SMU Dedman School of Law with a Juris Doctorate and UT Austin Moody College of Communication with a B.S. in Advertising. She currently resides in Hackberry Creek in Irving with her husband Roland and her son Russell Clark.

Toni Portmann | CEO and President, Diamond P, Inc Toni has 30 years of executive and management experience in the information technology, education and training, crm/bpo, hospitality, and financial services industries. She has been the CEO of 4 companies; and grew a small 1500 employee, US based company into a global BPO industry leader by opening up centers in 16 countries with 15,000 employees worldwide. Toni was the CEO of DHISCO, a hospitality technology company connects 11 million hotel rooms to travelers across 191 countries and is now consulting with private equity companies.

Shanthi Rajaram | President, Amazech Solutions

Mentors

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Heidi Rasmussen | Co-Founder & COO, freshbenies After 27 years in the retail industry, Heidi took on a new challenge. From corporate life to entrepreneurship. From fashion retail to the employee benefits industry. At 15 years old, Heidi started at JCPenney where she went from a sales floor associate to Divisional Vice President at the corporate office & led the largest brand launch in JCPenney history. In her current role as a co-founder and COO, she launched freshbenies (as in, a fresh approach to benefits) to give employers and individuals practical tools to control their healthcare dime, time and peace of mind. freshbenies has been named to the Inc.

5000 list of fastest growing companies in America for four consecutive years and the Dallas 100 for two consecutive years.

Erma Saracho | Senior Coordinator - Small Business Initiatives, City of Dallas Office of Economic Development Erma is a Senior Coordinator for the City of Dallas Economic Development Office, where she is responsible for the contract management of the City’s Business Revolving Loan Programs which have provided approximately 202 business loans totaling an estimated $20,270,565.00 in capital for Dallas business owners. These loans have been used to leverage an estimated $42,439,502 in private investment and have created/retained over 2,024 jobs for Dallas residents since the inception of the programs. Erma brings

30 years of community development experience. She provides business advice and mentorship to business owners and entrepreneurs. Her objective is to identify economic development opportunities that promote business growth and expansion that will create/retain jobs and increase the city’s tax base. Erma also serves as a liaison on behalf of the City of Dallas with the community and non-profit organizations to create awareness of financial education and to help align and promote economic development initiatives in the City of Dallas. Her efforts are focused on the promotion of women in employment, education, acquisition, social issues and more recently was sworn in as a Court Appointed Child Advocate for Dallas CASA, a non-profit champion for children in foster care. Erma is actively engaged and advocates for the West Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, General Consulate of Mexico in Dallas, C.C. Young Umphress Terrace, WiNGS, United Way, Dallas CASA, Hispanic 100 and in 2016 was appointed by District 4 Trustee Jaime Resendez to serve on the 2015 Bond Advisory Board.

Melanie Shaffer | President, Talent Suite, LLC Melanie Shaffer is President and Founder of Talent Suite, LLC, an integrated firm founded upon the mission of building stronger more productive workplaces through retained search, workforce analytics, training, coaching and leadership development. Melanie’s passion for this work came from over 16 years of executive recruiting experience working with companies that varied in size and ownership spanning from mid-market to Fortune 500. During this time, Melanie consulted closely with executives around leadership of their teams, resolving conflict, retaining employees and recruiting

strategies. Melanie is active in the community having been a leader in multiple roles while a member of the Junior League of Dallas including Chair of their leadership program, the T. Boone Pickens Leadership Institute. She also has served on the Board of the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas and currently on the Board of Women’s Finance Exchange as VP Strategy. Melanie is a graduate of Business Council for the Arts of Dallas Leadership Arts Institute as well as Texas Ballet Theater Leadership Class. Melanie resides in Richardson with her husband and 2 children.

Mentors

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Nancy Shemwell | Chief Operating Officer, IoT Community - Internet of Things Ms. Shemwell, is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer of IoT Community, the largest global IoT industry thought leader association. A three-time Chief Executive Officer, she recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of entegra technologies, inc., recruited to migrate this early stage, ruggedized tablet company to provider of fully integrated portfolio of cyber security solutions for mission critical, industrial control systems (ICS). With a 20-year track record of driving high performance transformational

global organizations, Ms. Shemwell has been Ranked #93 in ExecRank’s Top CSO Rankings” from 15,000 Chief Sales Officers and C-Level executives in the United States, she has also been recognized as a Finalist for 2015 D CEO M&A of the Year Award, Semi-finalist, 2018 Emerging Technology Tech Titan CEO of the Year and named a 2018 Phenomenal Women by Texas Wall Street Women. Ms. Shemwell holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University and a Master of Science in Business Administration from Texas A&M. She was named to the VoodooVox, Inc. (VVX – TSX) Board of Directors in 2006, and the NTXRCIC in 2012. Ms. Shemwell also serves as the Chair of the entegra technologies Board of Advisors, appointed in 2018 to the Board of Advisors of IoT Communities, a 22,000-member global IoT industry association. Ms. Shemwell also serves on the Associate Board at the SMU Cox School of Business and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and Women Corporate Directors.

Liz Smith | Founder & CEO, Trocchio Advantage The “Liz Factor” blends intuition, deep business experience, and personal success that enables clients to pull themselves out of their comfort zones, find their “aha” moments, and rise to the occasion to get to the next level. Clients trust Liz and say that just working with her makes them want to be better than they are today. LIZ TROCCHIO brings irresistible energy, an optimistic and encouraging style, and a devotion to creating synergistic relationships that deliver results. Throughout her career she has coached and mentored high potential professionals who subsequently grew in their

careers and established themselves as players in the industry, along with proven leaders continuing to help them grow in their positions of authority and power. Liz holds a MBA from Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business and a BBA in Business and Marketing from Dallas Baptist University. She is a certified Strengths Coach through the Gallup Strengths Center, an Associate Certified Coach (ACC), a Certified Executive Business Coach, and a licensed Texas real estate broker. Liz is co-author with 17 other commercial real estate women of the best selling book titled Winning Ways in Commercial Real Estate. Liz is a frequent and sought after guest speaker at conferences, workshops, and seminars.

Kym Sosolik | SVP, Lee Hecht Harrison Kym Sosolik is SVP, Area Sales Director for Lee Hecht Harrison. Her focus is to help organizations build and develop talent mobility strategies as a key element of successful business execution. Previously Kym was the President of Allure Talent Consulting. Other roles include Vice President of Human Resources, Director of Training and Organizational Development, and Regional Sales Director. She served as the Mentoring Program Manager for the George W. Bush Presidential Center Women’s Initiative Fellowship Program to enhance leadership skills of women in the Middle East. Kym’s

background also includes a 20-year track record in the pharmaceutical industry, higher education, and family owned businesses. Community service is very important to Kym and she has served on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations in the Dallas community. Kym received a Master of Arts degree in Professional Development from Dallas Baptist University and Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from Midwestern State University. This unique blend of science and organizational studies has enabled Kym to provide business solutions with a perspective of people development based on scientific knowledge.

Mentors

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Heather Stroh | Chief Operating Officer, CornerStone StaffingHeather has a genuine passion for helping people, and her career with CornerStone Staffing has allowed her to do just that for many years. Heather started with CornerStone in 1996 as an Assistant Operations Manager. Her personal drive and strong work ethic propelled her to higher levels in the organization going from Operations Manager to Sr. Operations Manager, to Assistant Vice President of Operations then Vice President of Operations within 10 years. Presently, As Chief Operating Officer, Heather directs the company’s recruiting and sales teams to ensure client needs are met and

service expectations are surpassed. She also serves as the company’s HR expert and holds her SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) & SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)-CSP certifications. Through CornerStone’s philanthropic efforts, she has volunteered for several worthy organizations including Dress for Success, The Ladder Alliance, Feed the Hunger, Golden Retriever Rescue of North Texas, Golden Retriever Rescue Alliance, Humane Tomorrow and Love on Wheels, as well as many others. She continues to lead the company as an organization that cares about and gives back to the community.

Linda Valdez Thompson | Executive Vice President, Administration & Diversity, DFW International Airport Linda Valdez Thompson is the Executive Vice President of Administration and Diversity at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport since 2001, Linda provides strategic leadership for the Human Resources, Procurement and Materials Management, Risk Management, Business Diversity and Development, and Corporate Communications & Marketing functions. Linda is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce by

implementing strategies that promote engagement and develop a culture of inclusion. She has established a leadership council, various employee resource groups (including HOLA – Hispanic Outreach by Leaders in Action), networks, and mentoring programs. She has personally mentored over 150 women, including many Latinas. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Midwestern State University and a Masters in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. She is a Certified Corporate Citizenship Professional through Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; and is a Certified Diversity Professional/Advanced Practitioner from Cornell University. Furthermore, Linda is an alumni of the prestigious National Hispana Leadership Institute. Linda has received several distinctions, including being named Woman of the Year by Hispanic Business Magazine, recognized as one of the top Latinas of influence by Latino Leaders Magazine, and named an Ultimate Latina by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She’s also been the recipient of the Dallas Business Journal Minority Business Award - Corporate Executive of the Year. Recently she was recognized by the National Diversity Council as a 2018 Top Latino in the U.S.

Vera Viviona Wang | Founder, Miss Fashion WeekVera is a leader, successful business owner, fortune 500 executive, visionary, mentor and coach. She is the Founder of Miss Fashion Week, a platform that bridges modeling with pageant and empowers women through body positivity and self-love. Vera is a single mother of two beautiful children and serves as the CEO of Viviona Fashion Manufacturing and Branding. Vera calls herself a geeky fashionista. Her two passions are fashion and technology. Vera learned the art of survival at an early age working as a single mother in the male

dominated competitive fashion industry in an effort to provide for her children. She worked at top-level positions in a fortune 500 company and later built a million-dollar business from the ground up. Vera holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor’s in English Language and Literature. Therefore, she is keen with digital marketing. With cross-functional experiences in B2B and B2C, Vera assisted thousands of mid to start-up fashion companies with strategy, sourcing, manufacturing and branding.Vera focuses her life on 5 pillars: spirituality, health, wealth, love, and fulfillment. She is a strong believer of living life with purpose, love and joy and inspires hundreds of people to do the same. She is a big advocate for body-positivity and self-love. She truly believes that only when we can embrace ourselves for who we are, we are able to connect deeper with our inner self and be confident.

Mentors

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Leah Williams | President, Dala Communications Leah Ekmark Williams is a seasoned PR strategist and tactician, serving as president of Dala Communications, a full-service public relations agency. An accredited PR professional, Leah’s expertise lies in creating and implementing communications campaigns for B2B and B2C clients in industries ranging from real estate, construction and engineering to healthcare, financial services and retail. She excels at developing integrative media relations strategies that combine traditional communications campaigns with digital/social media plans. An East Dallas native, Leah developed the

grassroots creative strategy and led a community in renewing and celebrating a new co-brand for the beloved area she still calls home, East Dallas. Her strategic approach to client work and ongoing involvement in the community earned her a spot as one of Dallas’ Top 40 Under 40 2018 from the Dallas Business Journal. She is committed to giving back and mentoring others through her involvement in professional and industry organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters where she served as a Big Sister for more than 12 years in addition to board service for seven years. Leah was the president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Dallas Chapter in 2014, and she received the 2016 Norm Teich Community Service Award from PRSA Dallas for her work in community leadership. Most recently Leah was named to the Dallas Regional Chamber’s 44th class of Leadership Dallas 2019.

Cynthia Williams Young | Assistant Vice President for Executive Administration, UT Southwestern Medical Center Cynthia’s career path began in public education, where she taught junior high and high school for 7 years. She left teaching for Child Protective Services, where she served as an Investigative Caseworker for several years before moving to work that has spanned three industries: aviation, energy, and healthcare. The common thread throughout each of her roles has been serving others and equipping people to serve and to lead. Her 21 years in a progression of leadership roles at Southwest Airlines allowed her to learn the

tenets of Servant Leadership directly from Herb Kelleher and Colleen Barrett, who charged her with leading departments and teams, like People Relations (ER function) and People Services (Benefits Service Center), as well as taking on new challenges and creating new departments and teams, like Internal Customer Care and Labor and Employee Communications. Cynthia was pleased to be invited to bring what she had learned at Southwest Airlines to Ambit Energy, where she served as Chief People Officer, helping a rapidly growing retail energy provider ensure a positive culture of productivity. She moved next to UT Southwestern Medical Center where, reporting to the Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs, her work is focused on communication and the delivery of a great experience for staff, patients, and guests. Still passionate about strong advocacy for children, Cynthia serves as a Dallas County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). She and her husband, Sam, live in Oak Cliff and enjoy travel and spending time with their large extended family.

Tina Young | CEO, Marketwave Tina Young is an entrepreneur and Dallas business leader who founded Marketwave, a strategic marketing and communications agency 20 years ago with the purpose of creating connections that move people -- toward trusted brands, innovative ideas and a great place to work. The Marketwave team produces consistently award-winning programs and campaigns, and follows the tenets of conscious capitalism that include a stakeholder model and servant leadership that fuels a positive culture. The agency has decades-long client relationships and a dedicated and talented team that thrives

together. Tina is currently Chair of the Conscious Capitalism Dallas Chapter, serves on the Advisory Board for the UNT Mayborn School of Journalism, is a member of the Communities Foundation of Texas for Business (CFT4B), and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Mentors

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Susan Younger | Consultant / Certified B.A.N.K.™ Trainer with BANKCODE, 1952Susan K Younger, Certified B.A.N.K.™ Trainer with BANKCODE and Consultant, is introducing a fast track, ground breaking, communication tool to create “One World One Language”. BANKCODE’s 90 second assessment tool combined with live and virtual training programs help companies and entrepreneurs increase sales and improve relationships within the company’s teams and with their clients and vendor partners. Susan has a diverse background in architecture, retail management, and as a massage

therapist & solopreneur. In a corporate position and DVP for Carter Hawley Hale Stores she coordinated new store design and renovations of existing stores, visual presentation and construction of stores in the southwest. She has led teams building & renovating department stores including Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s as a consultant to design firms and architects. Her clients have ranged from small firms to large corporations including Sephora, CallisonRTKL, GENPACT, & more. Her skills to deal with the diversity of people have given her a depth of experience few business leaders acquire.

Mentors