Speakers

Keynote Speaker
Colleen Barrett, President and Corporate Secretary of Southwest Airlines

She started out as an Executive Assistant and now runs one of the country’s most successful and consistently profitable airlines. As President of the “airline that love built,” Barrett has ranked among the World’s Most Powerful Women by Forbes.com, 50 Most Powerful Women by Fortune and Top 50 Leaders by Fast Company.

She is a member of the Southwest Airlines Board of Directors and the company’s Executive Planning Committee. She served as Secretary of the Corporation since 1978 and previously as Vice President Administration and Executive Vice President Customers.

Her many awards include Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, Tony Jannus, Horatio Alger, Texas Trailblazer, America’s Most Powerful Business Women, Woman Who Makes a Difference, and Texas Business Woman of the Year.

Keynote Speaker
Libby Gill, Entertainment Industry Veteran and Branding Expert

She’s the branding brain behind the launch that catapulted the Dr. Phil Show to the highest ratings in daytime television since the Oprah Winfrey Show debuted. After starting as an office assistant, Gill worked her way up in just five years to VP of publicity, advertising, and promotion at Sony before moving on to Turner Broadcasting and Universal.

A best-selling author, she is an internationally respected brand strategist, coach and columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and has shared her success strategies on the Today Show, Dr. Phil, CNN, Fox News, CBS Early Show, and in Time Magazine, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and O Magazine. Her clients include Microsoft, Pfizer, USAA, Lycos, Sprint, Capital One, Lockheed Martin, Deloitte & Touche, and Hewlett-Packard.

She chronicled her journey of overcoming a family legacy of alcoholism, divorce, and mental illness in her bestselling book TRAVELING HOPEFULLY: How to Lose Your Family Baggage and Jumpstart Your Life.

The star-studded celebrity panel includes:

Angela Shelf Medearis is the President and owner of Diva Productions, Inc., a multimedia company, and stars in The Kitchen Diva! cooking show that airs nationally on public TV. She is a culinary historian and has published several popular cookbooks. An award-winning author of 90 children’s books, she was named one of the most influential writers of children’s literature by Texas Monthly. And she beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay in a Caribbean Jerk Chicken cooking challenge on Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network!

Glenda Kane has personally connected more than 700 women to resources to save their lives from the rare, deadly, and aggressive Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). She chairs the Department of State Health Services Council and the State Government Relations Committee of MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors. A founder of Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, she serves on many boards. Her honors include Humanitarian of the Year and the Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Community Service.

Janelle Monney, Senior VP of Business Operations, Corporate Communications and Marketing Services for Freescale Semiconductor. She is responsible for messaging, branding, advertising, media and investor relations, and business group communications. Her team organizes global customer events like the Freescale Technology Forum, where more than 7,500 people participated. Her speaking engagements have included Microsoft’s 2007 Global High-Tech Summit.

Karen Simon, Executive VP and Managing Partner, Bradford Corfac International, was named 2007 Texas Business Woman of Year. She blazed through a trail of firsts in business, real estate, education, housing and fitness. She writes a newspaper business column, serves on numerous boards, raises money for many causes, and was recognized among Women of Influence, Great Women of Texas and Heavy Hitters.

Francie Willis, founded Texas’ top day spa, the Urban Retreat chain, and an innovative, international mineral-based Franché Cosmetics brand. She was recognized for her success by Allure, Better Homes & Gardens, Redbook, and Vogue. She raised more than $10 million for charities, serves on the University of Houston Board, and received the U of H Distinguished Service, Top 25 Leaders and Legends, Women of Vision, Businesswoman of Year, Top 50 Women Business Owners, Humanitarian of Year, Inspiring Business Woman of Year, and Purple Boot awards.

Christine Haas,
KVUE award-winning Anchor, Celebrity Panel Moderator
Award-winning journalist Christine Haas anchors KVUE’s 6 and 10pm newscasts. In 2005, she received an Emmy for Best Anchor and Hard News Feature. Haas has won seven Texas Associated Press Awards, three Edward R. Murrow Awards, and an Emmy nomination for her work exposing the Texas law that allowed lawmakers to vote anonymously on proposed state laws. She works actively with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to spread awareness in the fight against breast cancer.