Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Dallas for 2024. The city of Dallas is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, a well-populated metropolitan region with a booming economy and thriving culture. Home to over 62,000 businesses, this area of the country has some of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, and with world-class, trailblazing women leading the way, it’s no wonder this region is flourishing.
A few of the top industries in the Dallas area include technology, hospitality, transportation, financial services, education, and health services. Starting with health, this year we recognize the amazing work of Betty Murray, Founder and CEO of Living Well Dallas Functional Medicine Center. Murray’s personal health journey inspired her to give back to her community by founding the first multi-specialty clinic in Dallas dedicated to the functional medicine mode.
Moving to the technology sector, we honor Ingrid Myers, Director of Innovation and Optimization for DocuSign, the premier eSignature software. With a Ph.D. in Organization and Management and a career advising Fortune 500 companies, Myers brings her passion for solving complex business challenges and experience increasing topline revenue by over $3 billion to this role.
Finally, we highlight the achievements of Laura Mathieu, a leader in the financial services industry. As a Managing Director and Community and Business Development Leader for JPMorgan Chase, Mathieu has three decades of banking and leadership experience.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Dallas for 2024.
1. Jennifer Federici
Chief Brand Officer, YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
Jennifer Federici is Chief Brand Officer at YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, where she leads marketing and communications, including the development and execution of strategic communications and promotions for the organization to raise brand awareness and elevate the mission of the YMCA. Federici joined the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas in 2014 after more than a decade of experience marketing in the financial sector.
Federici’s extensive experience includes overseeing the creation of effective fundraising and stewardship campaigns, overseeing market research, and leveraging reporting to scale data-driven, multi-channel marketing efforts. She also serves as a member of the Y Collective Marketing Initiative (YCMI) Steering Committee, a group of 13 Y marketing and communications leaders from across the country who work with YUSA’s marketing team to strengthen the Y’s position as a vital community asset. Federici also sits on the national steering committee for YUSA’s Hispanic-Latino Leadership Network and is Chair of her local Hispanic/Latino ERG.
Federici is a member of the 2024 class of Leadership Dallas, the region’s premier leadership development program composed of a group of diverse leaders, selected in a competitive process based on proven leadership potential within their organizations and in the community. She is also the immediate past Board Chair of Girls on the Run DFW, a nonprofit focused on helping young girls build self-confidence, kindness, and decision-making skills through an evidence-based program that creatively integrates running. She is also a volunteer at her community’s church and school and a long-time fundraiser and team captain for the Dallas Walk to End Alzheimer’s. She and her husband have two children.
2. Kalisha Holland
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, & General Director of Talent Acquisition, BNSF Railway
Kalisha Holland is the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and General Director of Talent Acquisition for BNSF. In this role, she leads company-wide initiatives to successfully attract, engage, develop, and retain a diverse workforce, thereby fostering inclusion, equity, and a sense of belonging across BNSF.
Holland has been with BNSF for over 20 years and has held numerous roles in Topeka, St. Paul, and Fort Worth in accounting and finance, technology, marketing, and operations. She’s a member of the National Association of Railway Business Women, a group dedicated to growing women leaders in the railroad industry, and she serves on the board of directors for Girls Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains and the JPS Foundation. Holland’s professional membership also includes the National Black MBA Association and the National Association of Black Accountants. Her community service contributions include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Salvation Army Angel Tree, and Tarrant Area Food Bank. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated, a 75-year-old women’s civic and service organization, and a graduate of Cohort IX of the Scott Hawkins Leadership Institute, the prestigious leadership program of The Links, Incorporated. She is a member of the esteemed Jack and Jill of America Incorporated, DFW Mid-Cities Chapter, and The Society, Incorporated Tarrant County, Texas, Chapter.
Holland has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Ottawa University, an MBA from Washburn University, and a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems from Friends University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Fort Worth (Texas) Leadership Class of 2020 and an alum of Leadership Greater Topeka (Kansas).
3. Addie Gundry
Founder & CEO, Pluie
Gundry is the founder and CEO of Pluie, the world's first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table that uses UV-C light to kill 99.9% of germs, including COVID-19. With over 4 years of experience in developing and launching this revolutionary product, she has a mission to make diaper-changing in public restrooms safer, cleaner, more comfortable, and more convenient for parents and babies. She has been recognized as one of the Female Founder 100 by Inc. Magazine, Pluie was one of the Best Inventions of 2021 by TIME Magazine, and one of the World-Changing Ideas by Fast Company.
Gundry also has a passion for creating and delivering innovative and delightful products and content in the culinary and media industry. She has a Master of Culinary Arts from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and has studied and worked with Michelin-starred chefs. She has written and produced a bestselling cookbook series, appeared and won on The Food Network, and developed new food and beverage products for large CPG brands. As a member of The Female Founder Collective, she is also committed to supporting and empowering other women entrepreneurs who are positively impacting our communities and the planet.
4. Teri Ijeoma
Founder & CEO, Trade and Travel
Teri Ijeoma is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Trade and Travel, a self-paced program that helps everyday people trade stocks for income.
When Ijeoma started trading stocks over a decade ago, she initially saw it as an opportunity to simply supplement her income. In 2017, she became so successful with this side hustle that she quit her job as an assistant principal of an elementary school to trade stocks full-time and travel the world. While traveling, Ijeoma taught her first class in Thailand, and her second in Vietnam, and by the time she returned to the United States, she had created a full-fledged curriculum. For the past three consecutive years, Trade and Travel has ranked the number one school on the online course platform Teachable, surpassing over 100,000 other courses and recently topping $55 million in revenue.
It’s Ijeoma’s education from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and her Master’s degree in Communications from the Dallas Theological Seminary that gives her a unique trading perspective. Her teaching style draws a diverse community of new traders. She’s a proud recipient of the 2022 Financial Literacy & Financial Educator CoSign Award. Through The Teri Ijeoma Family Foundation, she has donated close to $2 million to ministries and nonprofits and an additional $3 million to help grow a host of minority, female-owned, and small businesses.
5. Thana Simmons
CEO, Viola's House Shelter
Thana Simmons is the Chief Executive Officer of Viola's House Shelter. She brings over 20 years of experience in nonprofit and business administration experience to the role. Having experienced pregnancy as a teenager herself, Simmons wanted to find a way to help other girls and give them a place to turn to for help and support. Thus, Viola's House was birthed, an emergency placement shelter for homeless teenage mothers faced with an unplanned pregnancy.
Simmons has organized annual conferences and health fairs for women to empower them on issues of health, wholeness, and literacy, as well as various other topics. She was inspired to create Viola’s House by her work, passion, personal experience, and the need within the Dallas area. Her goal is to emphasize the importance of community and support for pregnant teens. Simmons has worked for several of the top insurance companies in the nation, such as Zurich American Insurance Company, Bank of America, and The Hartford Insurance Company, as a commercial catastrophe adjuster and claims manager handling property and business interruption claims for top accounts in the insurance industry. She has also worked for several years in nonprofits for local churches in the Chicago area and now in the Texas area as a financial manager and administrator.
Simmons has served on several boards and is the founder and host of the annual Sister Summer Soiree, an annual gathering for women of color in business. Simmons has volunteered relentlessly at homeless shelters ministering to those women and children in need. She currently holds a license and ordination certificate in ministry, which is recognized nationally. She has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and is a certified Life Coach. She is a proud mother of three young adult women and currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
6. Manisha Mahajan
Global Director, Partner Experience, Anaplan
Manisha Mahajan is the Global Director of Partner Experience for Anaplan, where she oversees all facets of partner experience, engagement, and communications, ensuring all partners are provided an experience that enables and supports positive and impactful outcomes for everyone. She’s a leader in the technology industry with more than twenty years of expertise in building and executing go-to-market strategies, with a specific focus on partnerships, channels, and alliances. Her experiences span a broad range of roles across partner program leadership, including program strategy and execution, business development and engagement, partner marketing, enablement, and operations.
Mahajan began her career at Ernst & Young but quickly pivoted into technology, landing her first alliances role at an IBM reseller. Then, while at Rackspace, she successfully launched the company's first vertical channel, building a repeatable and scalable model for digital agencies to partner with Rackspace in their efforts to bring managed services and cloud technology to their clients. Throughout her career, Mahajan has always been passionate about prioritizing the people behind the projects. She attributes her success largely in part to a love for developing and nurturing long-standing professional relationships with clients, partners, colleagues, and vendors.
Mahajan earned her BS in business administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She holds a PSM1 certification, is a Certified Neuro-transformational Coach, and is an active member of the Female Founder Collective. Mahajan currently resides in Dallas, Texas.
7. Maria Allen
General Manager & Regional Head of Banking & Financial Services, Wipro Limited
Maria Allen started her career in financial services 30 years ago. She is currently the General Manager and Regional Head of Banking and Financial Services for Wipro Limited. A senior leader at Wipro, Allen leads a portfolio of clients in the banking and financial services strategic markets organization.
She is an award-winning leader experienced in leading high-performance products and mission-critical and technology-enabled business services for complex and compliance-driven industries. Impeccable with customer relationship management, she is recognized as a trusted advisor, helping clients develop and execute a comprehensive business transformation approach, from strategy to delivery. Throughout her career, Allen has led major operations in business and technology in the US, Europe, and Latin America. Her particular areas of experience include developing business and technology strategy to expand revenue opportunities, and implement new business models focused on improving customer experience and growth. She has also held leadership positions with large technology services companies, such as Unisys, First Data, BancTec, HP, and EDS.
Allen is a 35-year resident of the Dallas area, where she lives with her family and volunteers to support organizations, such as military charities and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has mentored young women on career progression and leadership. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
8. Janet Robertson
Board Advisor & Experienced CIO, Collins Aerospace
Janet Robertson is a Board Advisor & Experienced CIO. Her area of expertise is leading massive reorganizations and transformations for industry titans. She thrives on challenges and consistently delivers world-class results. As a compassionate servant leader, she is known for building, mentoring, and empowering extraordinary teams that drive tremendous results.
In her last role as CIO for Raytheon Technologies, she led the integration and consolidation of enterprise architecture and application services. Before that, she was vice president of digital transformation for Collins Aerospace. She was recruited to this role prior to the Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems merger to navigate the integration of the digital application space, software engineering, and enterprise architecture. She’s held similar leadership roles at AT&T, and Nationstar Mortgage, and she has extensive experience working as a consultant and project manager, even launching and running her own consulting firm for ten years.
Robertson has a Project Management Professional Certification, and she graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Distribution.
9. Claudia Schaefer
Chief Experience Officer, Caliber Collision
Claudia Schaefer serves as Chief Experience Officer at Caliber Collision, where she is responsible for creating a powerful and emotional experience for both customers and teammates through an insights-led approach to strategy, which will ultimately strengthen engagement with the Brand.
Caliber Collision is the nation's largest auto collision repair provider across 41 states, Caliber Auto Glass for glass repair and replacement, and Caliber Auto Care for mechanical repair and quick oil change services. Caliber was recognized as the only company of its kind to make the Forbes 2021 list of "America's Best Large Employers," an honor awarded to companies with high employee satisfaction. Prior to her current role, Schaefer was the CMO at Jamba Juice, where she was responsible for evolving the overarching brand experience, as well as driving the brand marketing and innovation efforts, all through a consumer-led approach to strategy and differentiation. Her time at Jamba was a culmination of a career steeped in innovation, working with brands, including Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and Brinker International's Chili's.
Schaefer has a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Southern Methodist University. She currently serves on the board of Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza.
10. Tiphany Hall
Chief Growth Officer, Aesthetic Record
Tiphany Hall serves as the Chief Growth Officer at Aesthetic Record, a cloud-based, HIPAA-compliant Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Practice Management Solution built for the unique needs of practices operating in the high-growth aesthetic industry. After joining the organization in 2019, she grew the company from five employees in 2019 to a team of 45 who sell, onboard, and manage more than 8,000 locations, serving more than 2 million patients. In addition to driving revenue for the company, Hall leads a team of 30 software engineers, where she is heavily involved in the continuous development of features and infrastructure improvements of the AR platform.
In addition to working inside the business, she’s also focused externally, bringing about key partnerships and integrations within the industry. Her commitment to bringing the collective power of multiple software platforms into a single, connected user experience has been a pivotal selling point for Aesthetic Record and a major driver of its explosive growth. During her tenure, she launched the Aesthetic Record Marketplace, an eCommerce platform that connects business owners to the vendors, goods, and services they need to run their practice. In early 2023, Hall led the launch of LeadAR, a CRM, sales, and marketing automation platform, that extends AR’s reach beyond its in-practice solution to include every aspect of the patient journey. She also serves as the executive producer of Aesthetic Next Productions, a full video and digital media agency.
Hall is the co-founder and director of Aesthetic Next, a multi-disciplinary international educational meeting for injectors, practice managers, staff, and industry partners. Now in its fifth year, Aesthetic Next brings 1,500 attendees, over 100 faculty members, and nearly 100 exhibiting companies to Dallas each year. Hall is also the host of For The Record, an industry podcast now in its third season, highlighting practice owners and industry advisors who are disrupting the status quo and changing the Aesthetic industry.
11. Trish Herskovitz
Head of Treasury Management Enablement & Technical Sales, Capital One
Trish Herskovitz is the Head of Treasury Management Enablement and Technical Sales at Capital One. Capital One offers a broad array of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients in the US, Canada, and the UK.
Herskovitz is a seasoned commercial banking executive with 24 years of experience. She brings deep treasury management sales, sales enablement, client relationship, deposit growth, and risk management expertise across a range of banking segments with a focus on revenue growth and exceptional customer and associate experience. She started at Capital One as a treasury management consultant in 2003. After several promotions, she landed her first management role as regional sales manager in 2010. Soon after she was promoted to national sales director and was appointed to her current role in 2020.
Previously, Herskovitz was a vice president at JPMorgan Chase Bank. She has a degree in finance from Texas A&M University and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) from the Association for Financial Professionals.
12. Debbie Rheder
Global Chief Ethics Officer, Deloitte
Debbie Rheder is the Global Chief Ethics Officer at Deloitte. Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands. She and the Global Ethics team work with Ethics Officers in numerous countries to implement and sustain a culture of integrity. She oversees ethics governance, strategy, and policy setting, as well as ensuring ethics program quality and consistency. She is responsible for setting and communicating expectations with country Ethics Officers around embedding ethical decision-making into key processes and initiatives on a global scale.
Rheder’s corporate governance experience includes leading the Deloitte USA partnership agreement modernization and working closely with the Chairman, CEO, board, and executive team. As board secretary, Rheder is responsible for overseeing all aspects of corporate governance, which include managing all board-related activities, executing board decisions, managing partner votes, providing communications on board-related topics, and serving as the custodian of records. Additionally, her responsibilities include all matters related to retired partners and managing directors, overseeing partner consents for outside activities, and board development programs for senior partners and managing directors.
She has over 25 years of professional experience, with over 23 at Deloitte. Rheder has a proven track record of tackling complex issues with successful results. She began her career as an auditor at KPMG and then joined an internet start-up as the controller. In 2001, she joined Deloitte in the strategy and operations practice with a focus on cost optimizations, ERP, point solution implementations, process redesigns, and other impact-driven engagements. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and currently resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two children.
13. Maureen Martin
Vice President, Strategic Alliances, Dynatron
Maureen Martin is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Dynatron Software, the premier provider of automotive fixed operations data analytics, comparative insights, and expert coaching that drives quantifiable and sustainable ROI. She joined the company in 2020 and her prior roles were Vice President of Client Retention & Strategy and Director of Strategy and Business Development.
Martin has been recognized for over 35 years in automotive for cultivating strategic B2B relationships and transforming the client experience by harnessing the power of people, technology-enabled solutions, and the women's market. Previously, Martin was a VP of strategic alliances at PRiME Women Media. She was recruited by the CEO to lead strategic alliances, market expansion, and corporate events for the leading media company focused on diverse interests, lifestyles, and purchasing power of women over 50. She held multiple leadership roles at other companies, including a senior manager role with Ford Motor Company early in her career.
Martin has served her community in nonprofit leadership service for organizations like Girls Inc., Junior League of Dallas, Young Men's Service League, Girls Scouts, and Lewisville Independent School District. In the automotive industry, Martin continues to be an advocate for performance, inclusion, and diversity and has served in leadership for the Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation, Women's Automotive Association International, and Automotive Women's Network. Martin earned an undergraduate degree in marketing and computer information systems from Western Michigan University.
14. Valerie Richardson
COO, ICSC
Valerie Richardson is a proven business strategist with over 40 years of experience in retail real estate. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of ICSC, the professional trade association serving the marketplace industry. Over her career, Richardson worked for major brands, such as Trammell Crow Company, Ann Taylor, Barnes & Noble, and most recently, The Container Store, where she led the real estate team for over 20 years. An active industry participant and advocate, Richardson was elected Chairman of the ICSC for the 2018-2019 term, after having served on that more than 50,000-member organization’s board of trustees since 2004. She is the first ICSC Chairman to come to the post from an active retail company.
Since 2018, Richardson has served on the board of directors for Kimco Realty Corp., North America’s largest publicly traded owner, and operator of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers. In 2023, she joined the board of directors of American Healthcare REIT, a large healthcare-focused real estate investment trust, with a diverse portfolio of medical office buildings, senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, and integrated senior living campuses.
Richardson served as a Trustee at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano from 2010 to 2016, where she chaired the Medical Center’s Quality Committee. Richardson earned an MBA in real estate from the University of North Texas and a BS in education from Texas State University.
15. Jill Galloway
Chief of Product Innovation, engage2learn
Jill Galloway is the Chief of Product Innovation for engage2learn (e2L), which empowers public school systems through talent development solutions and educator support platforms. She uses her background in computer science, engineering, and user experience to innovate and build human-centered products. In a data-rich and complex world, she is passionate about the need for connected data, which cuts through the noise to show what works and what doesn’t.
Prior to working at engage2learn, where she’s been since 2014, Galloway held edtech leadership positions in public school districts, leading many product implementations and innovation initiatives. Her unique career path shaped a perspective that mixes creativity and empathy with the logic needed to execute big ideas. Galloway has turned down the opportunity to work for high-powered tech companies to help advance education and change lives. She wants to help others believe that they can learn their way through any challenge and come out on the other side stronger. That belief is what breeds the courage to tackle hard things, whether it’s an assignment on a new topic or something life-changing, such as escaping poverty or building innovations that make the world a better place. She feels honored to work with the e2L dream team to develop products that nurture this mindset.
Galloway has an undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering, a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology, a Product Strategy Certificate from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Lean Project Management certification.
16. Sarah Martin
Head of Enterprise Sales, Signifyd
Sarah Martin heads Enterprise Sales at Signifyd, where she fights fraud and abuse for eCommerce merchants. Signifyd empowers fearless commerce by leveraging its commerce network to maximize conversion, automate customer experience, and eliminate fraud and customer abuse for retailers.
In her work, Martin leads a team of enterprise sellers who bring an innovative approach to solving these customer needs in ways that resonate. She most enjoys collaborating across the payments ecosystem, bringing together a deep understanding of how to mitigate risk and create opportunities from better data and insights. Martin brings more than twenty years of sales and operations experience stemming primarily from her roles at FICO, where she was responsible for managing a diverse account team of experts and a broad network of client relationships to deliver growth, and value, and capitalize on new ways of thinking across the organization. Further drawing upon nine years leading worldwide sales operations at FICO, Martin worked extensively to help build the sales organization supporting a broad set of global customers across financial services, telecom, retail, healthcare, and government.
Martin has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
17. Jacqueline Burls
SVP & Chief School Support Services Officer, Goddard Systems, LLC
Jacqueline Burls is the Senior Vice President and Chief School Support Services Officer for Goddard Systems, LLC, a Sycamore Partner portfolio company. In her role, Burls provides leadership on brand development, operational excellence, and customer engagement in order to drive long-term growth for more than 600 Goddard Schools, serving more than 80,000 students across the United States.
Burls is a people-first leader. She has a passion for accelerating performance by unlocking potential in teams, franchisees, and partners. To accomplish this, she creates environments and sponsors initiatives that enable interdisciplinary collaboration, continuous improvement, and profitable outcomes.
Burls is an accomplished executive and business leader with a distinguished history of delivering high-impact results within the Fortune 500, privately held companies, as well as within the public sector. She has honed deep expertise in food service, retail operations, franchising, development, finance, and strategic planning. She has held leadership positions at Sodexo, a global food services and facilities management company, as well as Starbucks, Walmart, and 7-Eleven. She double majored in political economy and history at Williams College and earned an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She also studied abroad at Ithaca College London Center in England and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
18. Emily Burroughs
VP of Communications & Culture, BGSF
Emily Burroughs is a Vice President of Communications and Culture at BGSF, a diversified consulting and staffing company that offers workforce solutions across a range of industries. She is a highly accomplished and results-driven communications and marketing executive, driven by a passion for brand strategy, digital innovation, and the creation of exceptional user experiences.
With a proven track record, Burroughs has successfully pioneered the expansion of a national marketing department to an international scale, led comprehensive rebranding initiatives, and integrated multiple acquisitions into organizational culture. As a high-energy leader, she fearlessly embraces imagination, challenging conventional practices to activate positive change and foster sustainable growth. Her overarching goal is to make a meaningful difference while inspiring those around her to partake in the journey. She maintains a steadfast commitment to cultivating positive cultures, overseeing the employee recognition program, implementing organization-wide tracking for philanthropic impact, and developing a comprehensive strategy for workforce and education partnerships.
A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Burroughs began her career holding a multitude of roles in brand marketing, event planning, and fundraising. Notable publications and recognitions underscore her impact in the field, including her multiple publications with the Forbes Communication Council, involvement with Leadership Dallas, and inclusion in the Staffing Industry Analysts 40 under 40 list. She enjoys volunteering for various charities, including Girl Scouts, the American Heart Association, the Nomi Network, and Junior Achievement. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two daughters, and two pugs.
19. Cindy Milrany
CFO and Chief Strategy Officer, Freese and Nichols
Cindy Milrany is Freese and Nichols’ first and only Chief Financial Officer, appointed in 1994. She oversees the company’s financial, risk, and project management systems. Under Milrany’s financial leadership, Freese and Nichols have been able to fund significant ownership transitions, growth, and acquisitions without having to borrow money. In addition to her role as CFO, Milrany is the firm’s chief strategy officer, spearheading strategic and future business planning annually through a consistent process that includes market research, client assessment, and analysis and projections of geographic and service line growth. Milrany is a champion for Freese and Nichols’ continuous improvement journey, which resulted in the company becoming the first engineering firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2010, the highest level of recognition for performance excellence in the United States. This deep commitment to quality has led the firm to increased satisfaction among both clients and employees over the last two decades.
Cindy also oversees all the firm’s corporate functions other than human resources and has increased synergy, collaboration, and respect among those departments and with operations. She is passionate about her community and currently serves on the Board of First Command Bank, the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth, and The Women’s Center of Tarrant County. In the past she has served on the boards of Greenhorne & O’Mara, Inc., the March of Dimes, and Fort Worth Sister Cities International. Cindy Milrany was named CFO of the Year in 2021 by Environmental Financial Consulting Group and in 2012 by both the Fort Worth Business Press and the Dallas Business Journal. Milrany is a graduate of Texas Christian University and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
20. Stacy Dillow
CHRO, Fluor Corporation
Stacy Dillow is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Fluor Corporation. Fluor Corporation is building a better world by applying world-class expertise to solve its clients’ greatest challenges.
Dillow is a highly versatile and dynamic executive with 25 years of global senior leadership experience across broad industries, including fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceutical, chemical, mining, oil and gas, and infrastructure, leveraging a chemical engineering background coupled with extensive experience in major capital project management, construction, and operations, Dillow catalyzes transformational change. She is an asset for companies challenged with project execution, culture, and corporate social responsibility. Dillow rejoined Fluor Corporation in late 2019 to lead and transform the HR department. Known for her engaging leadership style, Dillow brings creative solutions aligned with business strategy and is fueled by a passion for people and sustainability.
Previously, Dillow worked for Unilever, where she served as the head of supply chain transformation for Southeast Asia and Australasia. Prior to Unilever, Dillow joined Fluor Corporation in 1996, moving into their fast-track Global Business Leaders program, performing high-paced roles in a variety of functions across engineering, operations, corporate strategy, and sustainability, marketing, sales, quality, talent development, and project management. She was the founder and president of Fluor’s award-winning Diversity & Inclusion program, GROW. Dillow has worked across the globe while based in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering.
21. Brittany Braden
SVP, Prudential Private Capital
Brittany Braden is a Senior Vice President at Prudential Private Capital, the private debt investment arm of Prudential Financial, Inc. For nearly 100 years, Prudential Private Capital has been a provider of private debt, mezzanine, and equity securities to middle-market companies worldwide.
Braden has 20 years of financial consulting and private capital experience while serving in various capacities, including portfolio management, transaction origination, and investing in private debt and equity. In her current role, she has $3.7 billion in assets under management (as of September 2022). She leads a team responsible for marketing, originating, and managing oil and gas-related investments in Canada, Oklahoma, and the Southeast US, as well as internationally.
Prior to joining Prudential, Braden worked as a healthcare consultant, a role that included feasibility studies, M&A, peer benchmarking, and contract renegotiation, before going to business school. She earned a BBA in accounting from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Braden lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and their two children. She enjoys volunteering for various charities, including Susan G Komen, Ronald McDonald House, and the North Texas Food Bank.
22. Rachel Metscher
Head of Educational Marketing, Amazon
Rachel Metscher is the Head of Educational Marketing for Ads of Amazon, the largest online retailer and technology provider. In this role, she oversees a team that shapes the product vision and delivers engaging and scalable learning solutions for advertisers of all sizes and levels. Her superpower is driving teams into action, with a commitment to adaptability, early adoption, and innovation. She is always looking for new ways to maximize connections, awareness, and impact for Amazon Ads.
With over 15 years of experience in leading marketing transformations for high-growth companies, Metscher is a growth strategist who connects products with people. She has a passion for creating customer-centric go-to-market experiences that showcase the value of advertiser education across the Amazon Ads portfolio. Before joining Amazon, Metscher was a brand marketing lead for Amazon Web Services. Before that, she was a global head of brand, and senior director of brand and product marketing at ICF, a $1.2 billion global consultancy with over 7,000 employees supporting clients in 15 different industries. Earlier in her career, she was director of marketing for The Princeton Review and director of corporate communications for Hobsons. She was also an adjunct faculty at Georgetown University for almost three years.
Metscher graduated from Georgetown University with a Master’s degree in Corporate Communications and PR and from Stetson University with an undergraduate degree in marketing.
23. Rhonda England
Global Chief Procurement Officer, Deloitte Consulting
Rhonda England is the Global Chief Procurement Officer at Deloitte, leading a talented team of procurement, supplier sustainability, and diversity experts. Building upon a foundation of strong relationships with strategic suppliers, her team delivers superior cost savings and return on investment while driving meaningful impact to Deloitte’s global WorldClimate strategy and commitment to a diverse and inclusive supplier base.
England is passionate about the strategic value of procurement. Her team proactively engages business partners through intelligent analytics to drive enhanced value. She is committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion across her organization. She is mindful of the opportunities and development she received as she advanced in her career and is particularly interested in paying it forward to empower and develop women leaders.
Prior to joining Deloitte, England’s procurement/purchasing career spanned 30 years in the retail industry. Most recently, she held the position of chief procurement officer for JCPenney Corp, where she led the transformation to a strategic organization while generating consistent cost savings and leading teams in the US and Asia Pacific. England graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with an undergraduate degree in retailing and retail operations.
24. Rosario Geraldino
Head of Talent Management US & Canada, Ericsson
Rosario Geraldino is the Head of Talent Management US & Canada of Ericsson. Ericsson enables communications service providers and enterprises to capture the full value of connectivity. Before this role, she held several leadership positions at Ericsson, starting as an HR business partner in 2007 and soon promoted to head of talent management. She was appointed to her current role in 2022.
Geraldino has over 20 years of experience within the telecommunications, customer service, and technology industry, with work experience across the human resources organization, as a generalist, business partner, and subject matter expert with a special focus on talent strategy, performance, and career enablement, and diversity and inclusion. She has led the people side of managed services deals across the Caribbean and Central America, ensuring financials, transition, and transformation, alignment with labor regulations, cultural diversity, and overall onboarding
Before joining Ericsson, Geraldino was a human resources director at América Móvil. Before that, she was a gerente recursos humanos at Verizon. Earlier in her career, she worked with GTE as a scholarship program analyst and international training coordinator. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration.
25. Sharlene Jenner
VP, Engagement Strategy & Marketing Technology, AbelsonTaylor
Sharlene Jenner is the Vice President of Engagement Strategy and Marketing Technology for AbelsonTaylor. She’s a visionary executive with extensive digital marketing expertise, leading engagement strategy capabilities, including AI-enabled engagement and personalization.
Jenner is passionate about mentoring the next generation of digital leaders and teaches a course in artificial intelligence and personalization at Southern Methodist University. She also serves as an advisor for the University of Houston’s Bauer Mini-MBA program. Her key focus has been developing interactions through platforms and ecosystems that bridge gaps, create opportunities, and help companies leverage their strengths for success in the digital world.
Jenner was previously the VP of digital strategy and marketing technology for Vizient, a leading healthcare performance improvement company. Prior to Vizient, she worked in a variety of industries, including hotels and hospitality, consumer goods, small business, retail marketing, domestic manufacturing, and staffing. This diverse past gives her a unique perspective when it comes to translating marketing strategy to its digital components for all kinds of consumers. Jenner is a native Texan and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MBA from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
26. Maureen Wiegert
VP, Allyn Media
Maureen Wiegert is the Vice President of Allyn Media, a PR and communications consultancy. She came to this role with over 15 years of experience helping global brands like Sabre, Mary Kay, and Susan G. Komen grow, thrive, and flourish. As a consumer marketing guru, she excels at brand positioning and message development and brings these elements to life by developing and executing highly successful integrated campaigns and programs. She has a history of leading results-driven large-scale projects, including the re-launch of the Susan G. Komen brand, the marketing roll-out of TripCase (Sabre’s consumer travel app), and Mary Kay’s quarterly Look Book.
As a former reporter and experienced communications professional, Wiegert grows and protects brands recognized across the country and around the world through public and media relations and communications campaigns that drive results. A proud native Dallasite who kicked off her career as a journalist at Park Cities People, she can think of no place she’d rather be than Allyn Media, helping her hometown clients reach their goals and achieve success.
Wiegert also led communications for the Arthritis Foundation, where she generated successful fundraising campaigns and programs, including a benchmark year for North Texas Giving Day, which resulted in a 13.5% boost in online fundraising and double the number of donors, and she was a positioning strategist for TripCase/Sabre Holdings, where she developed targeted messaging for B2B2C emails that resulted in one million downloads of the TripCase app in nine months. Wiegert has a BA in communications and business from Spring Hill College.
27. Rachel Sanchez
CEO & Managing Partner, Prestige Maintenance USA
Rachel Sanchez is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Prestige Maintenance USA (PM USA), a provider of scalable janitorial and facilities maintenance services using environmentally sustainable solutions.
A second-generation owner of PM USA, Sanchez grew up in the family business and knows how to drive growth while maintaining excellent customer service and her company’s world-class reputation. Sanchez utilizes her lifetime of experience to deliver solutions to the company’s diverse customer portfolio. With a broad knowledge of the intricacies of the industry, she has grown PM USA into one of the largest woman-owned, family-owned custodial and facilities maintenance companies in the nation. Under her leadership, PM USA provides services nationwide to Fortune 500 and mid-market clients in industries, including commercial, education, retail, and distribution. Sanchez is actively involved within the diverse supplier community and has been recognized for her leadership, aspiration to other women, and active role at the helm of PM USA. She serves on the board of the Women’s Business Council Southwest.
Sanchez obtained her degree from Collin College and completed the Graduate Finance Program at Southern Methodist University and the Tuck-WBENC Executive Program at Dartmouth. She also received designation as an International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) CIMS Certification Expert, giving her a keen eye in compliance as she leads PM USA with the worldwide Cleaning Industry Management standard of excellence.
28. Betty Murray
Founder & CEO, Living Well Dallas Functional Medicine Center
Betty Murray is the Founder and CEO of the Living Well Dallas Functional Medicine Center, the first multi-specialty clinic in Dallas dedicated to the functional medicine model and the “Coming Into Our Own Project.” Murray created Living Well Dallas with one thought in mind – creating the medical model of the future. The center brings the best of personalized medicine, diagnostic tools, and technologies to provide a truly customized approach to healthcare.
Murray’s interest in nutrition and functional medicine came from her health struggles. In her early 30s, Betty was diagnosed with colitis. She just knew there was more she could do to get to the root of her disease. Her tenacity led to a 25-year educational journey that included immersion into the world of nutrition, biochemistry, and functional medicine, which has become the backbone of her approach to restoring health. Since then, she has focused on the intersection of women's hormones and their complex interplay in the immune, gut, and metabolic functions.
In addition to her roles as a clinician, CEO, and founder, Murray recently earned her PhD from Saybrook University. Her dissertation research examined the intersection between estrogen metabolism, the microbiome, and IBS in women. She is a frequently featured nutrition expert on National Fox News Broadcasting, CW33, NBC, and CBS. She was honored to be among the first 300 internationally Certified Functional Medicine Practitioners with the Institute for Functional Medicine in 2014. She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, the American Nutrition Association, and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
29. Brittany Randecker
Director, CEO & Financial Communications, AT&T
Brittany Randecker is the Director and CEO in charge of Financial Communications for AT&T, where she guides external communications and media relations efforts. AT&T is leading the charge with their nationwide fast, reliable, and secure 5G coupled with their growing multi-gig fiber home internet service. As much as they depend on broadband connectivity today, they think this is only the beginning.
Randecker is the company spokesperson leading media relations strategy and execution for AT&T corporate and financial operations, spanning quarterly earnings, M&A activities, corporate strategy, and executive positioning for the CEO, CFO, and COO. Randecker provides communications counsel to executive leadership and collaborates with leaders to position the company for success amidst its transformation to a more simple and focused connectivity company. She’s adept at building relationships with key members of the press and elevating senior leadership both internally and externally. In 2022, Randecker was named to PRSA’s 40 under 40 for her impact at AT&T, within the community, and the communications industry at large.
Randecker got her start in 2014 as an associate of consumer marketing and public affairs at Jones PR. From there, she went on to Huitt-Zollars, Inc. Randecker graduated from the University of Oklahoma with an undergraduate degree in journalism-public relations.
30. Courtney Petit
COO, JLL Capital Markets
Courtney Petit is the Chief Operating Officer for Capital Markets of JLL, a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company. Petit and her team have direct responsibility and oversight to deliver high-value human resource programs that align with business line and client needs. She sits on the Human Resources Leadership Team that develops people strategy and operations across the globe. Petit has over 23 years of experience in human resource practice and design. She started her career at JLL as a global HR manager for the Procter and Gamble account. She has led and implemented several best-practice HR initiatives within JLL, including global recruiting, organizational design, talent management, reward programs, and employee onboarding with various clients.
She has been a featured speaker at CoreNet on how to successfully engage in vested outsourcing to drive organizational capability. After this, she led the largest corporate outsourcing transition with Bank of America as the HR lead. She was promoted to oversee JLL’s Work Dynamics business across Canada, the US, and Latin America with managerial oversight of over 60 team members across 12 countries. From there, Petit managed the corporate functions teams globally across JLL, in addition to retaining oversight of HR services across the firm’s Latin American businesses.
Petit graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University and obtained her Master’s in Education from The University of Virginia. Outside of work, she volunteers at her daughter’s schools, Clayton Dabney, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Park Cities Preservation Society.
31. Basia Huss-Kaniewska
SVP, CBRE
Basia Huss-Kaniewska is a Senior Vice President with CBRE, a worldwide commercial real estate services and investment company.
Basia joined CBRE in 2008 and has held several leadership roles with the company. She was instrumental in building and managing the EMEA Business Services Center, leading platform standardization and automation, transforming our operations, and partnering with stakeholders to support the CBRE business strategy. Basia Huss-Kaniewska came to CBRE from JLL, where she set up and led a centralized client accounting team, servicing European and global clients. Before JLL, she was with DuPont, where she worked in accounting and internal audits.
Basia Huss-Kaniewska was named the Global BSO Leader in July of 2021 and has since been leading the transformation of the BSO. She has transformed its structure into a truly global one and introduced a strategy that brought the BSO on a journey to become a competitive advantage for CBRE.
32. Laura Mathieu
Managing Director, Community & Business Development Leader - Greater West Division, JPMorgan Chase
Laura Mathieu is a Managing Director and Community and Business Development Leader for the Greater West Division at JP Morgan Chase, one of the world's oldest, largest, and best-known financial institutions-carrying forth the innovative spirit of our heritage firms in global operations across 100 markets. Mathieu leads a dynamic team of community managers across the Western US to improve the financial health of the local community and build trust.
With 30 years of banking and leadership experience, Mathieu is an accomplished management professional with expertise in overseeing large-scale events, managing budgets, and developing and maintaining client relationships. She has proven project management abilities that help create an energetic and inspiring environment for a successful event. Recognized as a decisive and results-driven leader who has successfully managed high-profile events, Mathieu has excellent communication skills while interacting with internal and external partners and building strong business relationships.
Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, she spent 25 years at Capital One, leading markets across Louisiana and Texas. Mathieu has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Davenport University.
33. Erica Lockwood
Managing Director & Executive Partner, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Joseph Chris Partners Executive Search
Erica Lockwood is the Managing Director, Executive Partner, and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Joseph Chris Partners Executive Search. She’s been a part of Joseph Chris Partners since 2000, bringing with her several years of recruiting experience and a strong professional drive. She has flourished and advanced in an organization that supported its team and is thankful to have found that environment there. In 2020, she relocated from the Midwest to the vibrant state of Texas, embracing all the big and exciting things Texas has to offer.
Lockwood specializes in the construction and real estate development industries and has been securing top talent for companies nationwide for over two decades. She is a published author of the collaborative book New Homes Sales & Marketing Best Practices: A Collection of Industry Experts. She also writes multiple guest blogs throughout the industry and co-hosts “Off the Hook with Erica & Luke,” an industry-focused podcast. She and Luke Hill interview influential figures from across the construction industry and share insightful discussions on a wide range of topics. Lockwood has also been a featured guest on multiple industry-focused podcasts and webinars.
She recently completed her “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace” training certificate through the University of South Florida. Currently, Lockwood is serving on a subcommittee for the National Association of Homebuilders’ DEI/Culture Vibrancy Task Force. She is also an active member of the Dallas Builders Association and a volunteer on the Membership Committee. She is a proud member of Professional Women in Building (PWB).
34. Danielle Barnett
Director of Sales, Equinix
Danielle Barnett is currently Director of Sales at Equinix, where she leads the acquisition sales team for the Central Region. She has over 10 years of experience in the high-tech, big data, and SaaS space, driving revenue, sparking innovation, and coaching teams. She is passionate about transformational technology, fostering inclusion, and problem-solving.
As a Salesforce administrator and a sales transformation expert, Barnett has successfully deployed and integrated multiple sales platforms, such as Gong, Outreach, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, across national business sales at her previous company, AT&T. She also developed and launched dynamic sales reports and dashboards to measure and improve sales performance, funnel management, and deal progression. She has received multiple honors and awards for her outstanding contributions to sales excellence and innovation.
Barnett began her career in 2011 by joining AT&T’s Business Sales Leadership Development Program (BSLDP) in Atlanta. As a first-generation college student born to Air Force veterans, she came from humble beginnings to parents who instilled in her that “the only way to succeed in life is to take calculated risks and work smarter and harder than everyone around you.”
Currently, Barnett is an active member of Black Connect and Women in Technology Sales (WiTS) at Equinix. She also sits on the board of directors for Cafe Momentum and is an advocate for the Dallas Girl Scouts STEM program and GirlUp. She has a BA from Willamette University.
35. Amy Streater
Director of Operations & HR Manager, SOCOTEC Advisory, LLC
Amy Streater is the Director of Operations and Human Resources Manager for SOCOTEC (USA), specializing in the construction, engineering, architectural, and financial sectors. As a leader of the company with over 25 years of experience, Streater strives for superior standards assisting in the development and maintenance of company policies, operations, procedures, and a holistic platform of HR benefits, which services over 500 employees in the United States. Streater spearheads the HR department for the Dispute Resolution and Project Advisory business unit, which comprises 14 office locations.
Streater is dedicated to the development and implementation of strategies that enhance the company’s talent, leadership, management, and training for recruiters, vendors, and colleagues of the business. Aside from working in conjunction with corporate operations and legal dynamics, Streater has worked with the company for over 14 years, providing strong commitment and productivity to a number of responsibilities, including 401K, health benefits, payroll, policy handbooks, processes and standardization, recruitment, onboarding, training, and information technology systems. Her problem-solving leadership focuses on consistency, transparency, and communication, aiding to reduce challenges in the workplace and providing exceptional service to SOCOTEC’s employees across the nation.
Prior to joining SOCOTEC (formerly known as Veritas Advisory Group), Streater served in numerous leadership roles, such as division manager, practice and hospital manager, and contract administrator, for various other industries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Streater holds a Notary Public license from the Texas Office of the Secretary of State and a certification from the Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) professional program, with a focus on insurance and financial concepts from LOMA.
36. Laken Avonne Rapier
CCO, University of North Texas System
Laken Avonne Rapier is the Chief Communications Officer and Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications for the University of North Texas System. In this role, Rapier serves as the primary contact for marketing and communications, providing strategic guidance to the chancellor and Board of Regents. She also oversees the development of marketing and communications strategies in alignment with systemwide strategic priorities.
Previously, Rapier served as the director of communications and community engagement for the City of Fort Worth’s Mayor and City Council. In this capacity, she managed all communications and media relations efforts for Mayor Betsy Price. Rapier also played a crucial role in supporting community engagement initiatives, including town halls and civic engagement programs throughout the city. Collaborating closely with community leaders and stakeholders, Rapier contributed to enhancing resident engagement and bolstering Fort Worth's national presence.
Her professional journey began on Capitol Hill, where she served as a congressional staffer in the US House of Representatives. Her responsibilities included managing legislative correspondence, constituent communications, and media relations. After her time in DC, she brought her expertise to Justin Boot Company, where she successfully transitioned several marketing, communications, and public relations efforts in-house. Rapier’s expertise, combined with her sense of humor, makes her a trusted, innovative, and effective leader.
37. Ingrid Myers
Director, Innovation & Optimization, DocuSign
Ingrid Myers is the Director of Innovation and Optimization at DocuSign, a leading eSignature software that helps organizations connect and automate how they navigate their systems of agreement. Myers has spent her career advising executives and developing innovative business, technology, and people strategies in Fortune 500 companies and across multiple industries. Her ideas and programs have created new partnerships, business models, products, and services that have directly resulted in cumulative increases in topline revenue by more than $3 billion.
Prior to her position at DocuSign, Myers held a variety of roles across the enterprise, including business development, customer experience, operations, product management, information technology, and talent strategy. She is valued for her thought leadership and known for her unique ways of solving complex business challenges. In addition to developing programs aimed at closing the skill and talent gap in technology, her passion for people and their workplace experience is presently powering her focus on the intersection of diversity and talent.
Myers has contributed to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts throughout her career as a founder of a Women’s Leadership Network, a steering committee member for Women in Tech, a Black employee resource group global lead, and with her ongoing research that shares the often-undiscussed lived experiences of historically underrepresented groups. Her love of continuous learning compelled her to pursue a PhD in Organization and Management, with a specialization in leadership.
38. Kenya Jackson
Secondary Managing Director, Uplift Education
Kenya Jackson is the Secondary Managing Director of Uplift Education, the largest, free public charter school network in North Texas. Jackson came to this role in 2022 from her position as chief academic officer for Magnolia Public Schools. During her time with Magnolia, she brought discipline, professional development, and support to the academic team, implementing peer-led and professional training and symposiums organization-wide, with a focus on explicit direct instruction, culturally relevant teaching practices, and curriculum.
Before her time with Magnolia, Jackson was the director of the Inner City Education Foundation, a writing coach for Downtown Value School, and a content specialist for Teach For America NYC Summer Institute. She started her career as a seventh and eighth-grade English language arts and history teacher for Joseph Wade Academies and a seventh-grade teacher at Community Action School, where she also served as department chair.
Jackson earned an undergraduate degree in English from Dillard University and a Master’s degree in Secondary Education and teaching from Pace University.
39. Pamela Brown-Matthis
Director of Education, Specialty Equipment Market Association
Pamela Brown-Matthis is the Director of Education for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). She has more than 25 years of experience as a learning and development practitioner, executive, instructional designer, content developer, master-certified trainer, and author. She co-founded a consulting firm specializing in organizational development, content development, and program development, working in various industries. As a professional speaker, coach, and workshop leader, she has presented on topics, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion, leadership development, and interpersonal skills development. As a curriculum developer, she has developed a portfolio of competency-based leadership development solutions for hybrid learning and development programs. She has been instrumental in leading, developing, and managing national leadership development programs, conferences, summits, and workshops for emerging leaders, executives, and C-suite professionals.
Brown-Matthis and her husband are co-authors of the book, Diversity IQ. Diversity IQ, which provides a framework for understanding the unique contributions and talents of staff, students, and parents by exploring the necessary strategies to create an inclusive learning community, that connects educators to students.
Brown-Matthis is active in her church ministry, where she leads a global educational missions ministry in the Caribbean. Her mission’s ministry focuses on improving the quality of education for trauma-impacted girls who reside in group home facilities. Brown-Matthis is also active in philanthropic giving, community development, and political and social justice, serving on several educational advisory boards and committees. She prioritizes her faith, family, and service. She has been happily married for over 25 years, with three children and one grandchild.
40. Stacey Mirelez
Partner, KPMG
Stacey Mirelez has more than 24 years of experience serving both private and publicly traded companies. She is now a Partner of KPMG and a member of KPMG’s National Research Credit Services Team. KPMG is a global organization of independent professional services firms providing audit, tax, and advisory services.
Mirelez has been involved with numerous domestic and international tax compliance and planning projects focusing on tax issues for manufacturing, professional services, retail, software services, healthcare, and telecommunications clients. She has also led numerous global lift-outs and tax outsourcing projects, which encompass both direct and indirect tax, global provision, and transfer pricing.
Mirelez has a Master’s degree in Accounting from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
41. Virginia Schaefer
Head of U.S. State and Local Government Relations, Texas Instruments
Virginia Schaefer is the Head of U.S. State and Local Government Relations at Texas Instruments (TI), where she strategically leads public policy advocacy and political activity across states where TI operates. She is also the treasurer of the TI PAC.
Schaefer has a proven ability to drive growth for corporations, associations, and communities. Her accomplishments include a track record of leading site selection negotiations for multibillion-dollar investments in advanced technology manufacturing capacity. Prior to joining Texas Instruments, Schaefer was the SVP of public policy at the Dallas Regional Chamber, where she led the public policy team and worked with members to develop and advocate for public policy positions related to economic development, energy, transportation, and water supply issues. Schaefer’s experience also includes serving as a law clerk to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and a law clerk for Chief Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of the Southern District of Texas.
Schaefer earned a JD from South Texas College of Law Houston and an undergraduate degree in government from The University of Texas at Austin.
42. Michelle Orsi
SVP, Capital One
Michelle Orsi is a Senior Vice President at Capital One, a financial institution that provides financial products and services to clients, including personal customers, small businesses, and commercial enterprises.
A motivational and strategic leader, Orsi drives change by optimizing talent and technology to create operational efficiencies. She has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate finance industry, with a diverse real estate background in underwriting, capital markets, asset management, risk management, regulatory compliance, loan workout, and system development (domestic and global). Orsi is highly skilled at mentoring talent to greatness. She has a proven track record of assembling talent to maximize returns and streamlining technology to achieve a competitive advantage that positively shapes the company’s culture for sustained growth.
Before her current role, Orsi was a senior managing director at JLL and a director of multifamily asset management at Freddie Mac. She’s also served as a VP for Greystone & Co., a director for Fannie Mae, and an SVP at National Cooperative Bank. Orsi graduated from Salisbury University with an undergraduate degree in banking, corporate, finance, and securities law.
43. Teresa Walter
Head of Americas Sales, Software Defined Edge Business, Broadcom Software
Teresa Walter is the Head of Americas Sales for Software Defined Edge Business at Broadcom Software, a global technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies a broad range of semiconductor, enterprise software and security solutions.
Walter is a seasoned and successful leader in technology sales, with over 25 years of experience in building high-performing teams and delivering significant growth in new markets. Before starting at Broadcom Software, she was a vice president at VMware, a leading provider of cloud computing and virtualization solutions, where she oversaw an organization of over 100 contributors and a revenue responsibility of over $600 million in net new revenue annually.
Walter was previously a sales leader of the Verizon team at Cisco and a vice president at Syniverse. Earlier in her career, she worked with Cabletron Systems as a strategic account manager. Walter graduated from American University with an undergraduate degree in international economics and from Ritsumeikan University with an undergraduate degree in Japanese language.
44. Jody Bailey
Head of Scholarly Communications Office, Emory University
Jody Bailey is the Head of Scholarly Communications Office of Emory Libraries at Emory University, ranked among the top 20 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in North America.
Bailey leads the Scholarly Communications Office and has leadership, management, policy, planning, and advocacy responsibilities for scholarly communications for all Emory libraries, including promoting scholarly repositories and scholarly communications services to the Emory community. The scholarly communications advocacy and services include contributing to the evolution of scholarly publishing and research data management practices in the academy; copyright guidance, advocacy, and policy development for the creation, use, and re-use of content in all formats; open access advocacy and policy development, including management of funds to promote open access publishing and open data distribution; and promoting open access and data repositories in support of the library’s and university’s educational and research mission.
Previously, Bailey was a director of publishing at the University of Texas at Arlington. Before that, she was a sales and stock associate at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Earlier in her career, she worked at Virginia Tech as an instructor. Bailey earned an MA in English and linguistics from Louisiana State University and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Louisiana Monroe.
45. Morgan Dillon
VP of Food & Beverage, The Village Dallas
Morgan Dillon is the Vice President of Food and Beverage for The Village Dallas, one of the premier multi-family living properties in the entire United States. She is responsible for all of the food and beverage operations within the Village, including the creation of new venues, brands, and future development.
Originally from New York City, Dillon has been integrated in the Dallas community the last four years. She started working in restaurants at age 15 and fell in love with it. She found that being hospitable and finding creative ways to make people feel special came very naturally to her. It gave her a lot of personal satisfaction, so she decided to pursue a career in hospitality. She was offered a job with Hillstone Restaurant Group upon graduating college and progressed to a general manager role within a year and a half. She had the opportunity to run the Hillstone in Midtown Manhattan, the Houston’s in Bergen County, the Bandera in Chicago, The Hillstone on Park Avenue in Manhattan, and the Houston’s in Pompano Beach, Florida. She also had leadership roles at the Thompson Hotel, first in New York and then in Dallas. She then accepted the role of director of operations with 50 Eggs Hospitality Group.
Dillon has a Bachelor of Science in Food and Beverage Management from Johnson & Wales University. She graduated at 19 as Student Body President and Valedictorian. Dillon has played classical piano for 15 years.
46. Jennifer Fraser
Managing Director, Real Estate, Greystar
Jennifer Fraser serves as the Managing Director of the Centralized Operations - Resource Center at Greystar. In her current role, she is responsible for overseeing the Centralized Resource Center teams located in Dallas and Memphis. Jennifer plays a pivotal role in supporting Greystar's Centralized Elevate Operations platform across both the owned and 3rd Party managed portfolios. With extensive experience in the industry, Jennifer's primary focus is on leading and enhancing the Resource Center by implementing continuous improvement initiatives. Jennifer collaborates closely with Product Development, Technology Development, Learning and Development, and Centralization Scaling teams to introduce, sustain, and rapidly scale best practices throughout the Resource Center platform. Jennifer brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her current role, driving operational excellence and delivering exceptional results for Greystar.
Prior to her current position, Jennifer served as the Managing Director of Real Estate for Greystar's Student Living Property Management business. In that role, she excelled in client outreach, relationship management, and business development efforts. She also successfully led the management and operations of the off-campus fee-managed assets, while leading a team of directors and regional property managers responsible for all business operations, financials, leasing, and staffing.
Jennifer has been active in the real estate industry since 1996 and joined Greystar through the JPI acquisition in 2008. She began her career as an on-site Leasing Associate and held several roles including, Operations Trainer, and Vice President of Operations – Regional Property Manager. She also served as the JPI Director of People Development, where she developed, trained, and implemented educational programs across the country.
Jennifer is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council, National Apartment Association, and Texas Apartment Association.
47. Sharla Jones
VP, Global Talent Acquisition, Cinemark
Jones is responsible for leading both the talent and learning team, and responsible for strategic development of processes, HR technology, employer branding and onboarding. She serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership regarding talent programs, policies, and procedures related to various internal and external employment issues and concerns. She is responsible for managing, coaching, and developing a world class recruitment and learning team that is held responsible for staffing and training across Cinemark theaters.
Before moving to Cinemark, Jones was the Talent Acquisition Director for Main Event Entertainment, a fast-growing Dallas-based company founded in 1998, operating family entertainment centers in the Southern US. Earlier in her career, she worked in multiple talent acquisition and recruitment roles at various companies, including Bank of America and InteliStaf Healthcare. Jones has a BBA in business management from Prairie View A&M University.
48. Teresa Theinhan
VP, Goldman Sachs
Teresa Theinhan is a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the Change Management team. She manages technical programs within global banking and markets in structured products, driving the uplifts and integration of technology systems, operations, and reporting that support the firm’s strategic objectives and vision. Theinhan is actively involved in various networks at Goldman Sachs as a Pillar member. Additionally, she is a fellow returnee for the Americas Returnship Program and a Data School graduate at Goldman Sachs.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Theinhan gained experience in various industries. She previously worked at EY in both the internal audit and financial management teams. Her previous roles include positions at Atmos Energy, White Rock Networks, and The University of Texas at Dallas. In addition to her corporate roles, Theinhan was a real estate entrepreneur, where she actively invested and managed real estate deals.
Theinhan graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Dallas with a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. She is also PMP certified and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified. Outside of work, Theinhan volunteers at her children’s school in STEM programs as a co-chair for events, such as the science fair, invention convention, and book fair.
49. Ashleigh Hughes
Managing Director, Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Ashleigh Hughes is the Managing Director of Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where she supports the national movement to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. As a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), securing over $300 million in private/public funding, she specializes in developing philanthropy programs from the ground up in complex, multi-level environments.
In previous roles, Hughes served as VP of Development for Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), an organization supporting underserved tribes for over 30 years, providing community-led solutions in multiple verticals. As lead fundraising strategist, Hughes implemented an integrated moves management structure across six distinct sources of revenue to generate $36.5 million in only 18 months, resulting in a cash surplus within six months. While serving Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Hughes led the vision and design of the organization’s first in-house resource development team to expand Goodwill’s business model, securing more than $30 million in revenue. While representing The Army Distaff Foundation, she spearheaded new-market growth and public affairs for capital growth at a medical facility for America’s service members and their families, named 50 Most Innovative Nonprofit Organizations. While at the non-partisan think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, she co-authored The Surge: The Untold Story, accredited with the 2010 Military Channel Award, GI Film Festival Award, and Special Jury Award. Hughes personally secured $24 million and a lead gift of $10 million to construct phase II of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia and served as a research analyst for the Presbyterian Clergy Project on Human Rights and United States Congressman Pete Sessions in Washington DC.
Hughes graduated from Cornell University with a Master’s degree in International Marketing and Communications and from the University of North Texas with an undergraduate degree in political science.
50. Dustin Jones
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Dallas Country Club
Dustin Jones is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at the Dallas Country Club and runs her own training and development and coaching business. She is an HR executive with more than two decades of experience in both tactical HR and HR Leadership, with more than 13 years in an executive leadership role. Jones has experience in a range of companies and industries – from manufacturing to telecommunications to hospitality. During her career, she has developed expertise and best practices in HR compliance, mentorship, leadership development, strategic planning, change management, and training and development.
Jones holds a Master of Arts in Communications from Grand Canyon University, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California State University San Marcos, and a Management Certification from Southern Methodist University. She is a certified Leadership Trainer and Speaker for The John Maxwell Group. She is an active member of Dallas HR and SHRM and is an auxiliary member of the Frisco, Texas, VFW
Jones is a speaker and trainer and has presented at local, regional, and state conferences and seminars, including HR Southwest, DallasHR Executive Series, GenHERation, eWomen Network State Chapters, and Collin County HR Education Luncheons. Dustin is happily married with five children and two grandchildren.