Women's Business Conference Adds Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh to Speaker Lineup

DALLAS, TEXAS (September 25, 2008)… The Dallas Regional Chamber announces the addition of Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh to the already impressive speaker lineup for the 13th Annual Women’s Business Conference. Walsh replaces Jane Seymour as the closing keynote speaker. The 2008 Conference takes place on Tuesday, October 14 at the Dallas Convention Center (650 S. Griffin St., 8 AM – 5:30 PM).

The Women’s Business Conference is a day-long professional development and networking opportunity for businesswomen and men - professional, corporate and entrepreneurial - at all levels in their careers. This year’s Conference boasts a stellar line-up featuring topics ranging from brain health to networking and is expected to be another sell-out event.

Kerri Walsh is one of the best female beach volleyball players of all time. Walsh is a two-time Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) MVP (2003, 2004) and part of the Tour's Team of the Year for the past five seasons. She was also named Best Offensive Player in 2003. For the third straight season, she was chosen as the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB's) Best Hitter, Best Blocker and Sportsperson in addition to collecting the 2007 Best Offensive and Most Outstanding Player awards. Along with her partner Misty May-Treanor, Walsh enjoyed one of the longest and most impressive winning streaks in professional sports, winning more than 100 consecutive matches.

Walsh and May-Treanor became the first beach volleyball team to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals, taking the top spots in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing games.

OTHER KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, the luncheon keynote of the 13th Annual Women’s Business Conference. The Duchess is an author, philanthropist, and the founder of Hartmoor, a media and lifestyle company.

Drum Café - hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, this interactive drumming troupe helps companies and their employees find their rhythm, create synergy, and come together to meet vital organizational goals. The Drum Café teaches two main principles for achieving successful group dynamics: everyone has a rhythm and everyone must learn to listen. In this hands-on session participants will feel the power of teamwork in action.

Major General (ret.) Mary Saunders is the executive director of the Leadership Institute at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Saunders also served as Vice Director for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), where she was responsible for a workforce of over 22,000 military and civilian personnel located both overseas and across the United States, who ensured the procurement and delivery of food, fuel, uniforms, medical supplies, and spare parts for all military services. In 2005, her agency was responsible for more than $28 billion in sales.

This year’s SEMINAR TOPICS AND SPEAKERS include:

Your Brain is Your Business - We are all victims of multi-tasking, but is it making us smarter and is it building a healthier brain? Sandra Chapman, Ph.D., Executive Director, and Jennifer Zientz, MS CCC/SLP, Head of Clinical Services, with The University of Texas at Dallas Center for BrainHealth, will lead this seminar which focuses on three pivotal brain functions that can make or break your productivity.

Women Working with Women - Unlock the critical cultural differences that males and females encounter and the genetic reasons why women may not always support one another. This informative and humorous session is presented by Michele Hanson, CEO of ExecuInsight, LLC and founder of the Network for Executive Women in the Consumer Products and Retail Food Industry.

Blah Blah Blah: How to Stand Out and Be Anything But Boring - Do you make the most of your networking opportunities or do you gravitate towards people you already have relationships with? Learn how to make the most of your networking opportunities in this interactive networking workshop led by Terri Langhans. Langhans is an author and the COE (Chief of Everything) at her company Blah Blah Blah.

How to Connect with Others Who are Not like You - Advertising and marketing guru Kelly McDonald will show you how to grow your relationships by tapping into relevant beliefs, values or habits to better understand your co-workers and clients. McDonald has more than 20 years of advertising agency experience and has worked in top positions for several global agencies.

Passion, Courage, and Faith: Key Ingredients for Professional Distinction and Personal Achievement - Learn the seven crucial steps that lead to bold and personal distinction from former executive vice president of Diversity at MTV Networks Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale. Taylor O'Neale is recognized as one of the top diversity experts in the country.

Jackson Walker L.L.P. and Wachovia are Platinum sponsors of the 13th Annual Women’s Business Conference. Additional confirmed Gold sponsors include American Airlines, Bank of America, Deloitte & Touche USA, LLP, Hunt Consolidated Inc./Hunt Oil Company, Texas Instruments and WFAA Channel 8. Chase is the ATHENA Award sponsor.

For more information on the conference call 214-746-6787 or womenbiz@dallaschamber.org. Cost for attendance is $120 for Chamber members and $150 for non-members. Corporate sponsorships are still available. Register for the conference at www.dallaschamber.org/womens.

Dallas is home to a dynamic community of successful businesswomen. The Dallas Regional Chamber promotes economic opportunities for all women-entrepreneurial, professional and corporate. The Chamber is turning the challenges facing working women into unlimited opportunities through programs that educate, inform and provide access for business development as well as professional and personal growth.