Texas Executive Women recognize Women on the Move Award recipients at November luncheon

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Congratulations are in order for the 2016 recipients of prestigious Women on the Move (WOM) Award who are being recognized by the Texas Executive Women (TEW) for their amazing accomplishments.

The legacy continues this year with the naming of the ten members of the Class of 2016, and the recipient of the Rising Star Award.

“Each nominee was amazing in her own right, exuding strong leadership, impressive career achievement and an exceptional heart for service,” said Debra Ibarra Mayfield, a co-chair of the 2016 WOM luncheon. “Our judging committee had a challenging task in selecting only ten of these phenomenal women to honor at this year’s luncheon.”

Meet 2016 WOMEN ON THE MOVE HONOREES:

Maria W. Boyce:  is a native Houstonian and a third-generation Texan. She is employed by Hogan Lovells LLP, and is a member of the Global Leadership Team of the firm’s Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment Department, the largest in the firm. She also dedicates significant time to mentoring and inspiring others. In just the past 18 months, she has published a chapter regarding expert witness testimony in well-recognized legal publication, Texas Business Litigation. She has also spoken on legal issues and developments to the Women’s Energy Network and the Texas Minority Counsel Program, a Texas Bar Association-sponsored seminar sponsored by the Texas Lawyer. Boyce’s trial results have been recognized in the American Lawyer, the National Law Journal’s “Top 100 Verdicts of 2012,” and the Texas Lawyer. She was also named one of Texas’ Top 50 Women Lawyers in 2013.

Katy Caldwell: is a native Houstonian who grew up in the Bellaire/Meyerland area. Caldwell is the CEO of Legacy Community Health and loves being able to work in a place that provides access to quality healthcare for anyone and works to end discrimination. Caldwell’s goal has always been to serve the public and in 1991, when she was elected Harris County Treasurer, the high of her four-year term was participating in the implementation of the Ryan White Care Act, the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Wendy Dawson: was born in Brusly, Louisiana. She began working in emerging markets in 1989 after earning a degree in International Business from the American University in Paris, France. Rising to VP of Business Development for the energy subsidiary of the French Bank Societe Generale in New York, she proceeded to lead the opening of the Houston marketing office. When her four-year-old stepson came into her life, his previous diagnosis of Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Diagnosed was a new phenomenon for her. She set out to find suitable social skills classes geared to high-functioning children on the spectrum. Not having found such a program that offered 100% social skills concentration, she and her husband created Social Motion Inc.

Janine Iannarelli: is from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, one of four children raised by two WWII U.S. Navy Veterans. With her own funds and a huge dose of bravado, in 1997, Iannarelli started Par Avion Ltd., an international business aircraft brokerage firm based in Houston. Recently, Iannarelli received an appointment to the Texas Aerospace & Aviation Advisory Committee by Governor Abbott, serving as its presiding officer. She was also recently appointed to the European Business Aviation Association’s Associate Member’s Sales & Acquisition Committee.

Amy Lynn McGuire: born in New York is the Leon Jaworski Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Dr. McGuire’s research focuses on ethical and policy issues in genomics and human genetics with a focus on genomic research and the clinical integration of emerging technologies. She has been named to many national committees and reviewing bodies with responsibility for approving grant recommendations and funding decisions, reviewing research, and setting national policy priorities in genetics and bioethics. Some of the most notable are the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program Advisory Council, and the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research,Genomics and Society Working Group. Dr. McGuire’s current research is being funded by the NIH-NHGRI and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Paula Mendoza: is a native Houstonian. She is known as an entrepreneur, innovator, advocate and barrier-breaker. In 2011, with one hundred dollars in her business bank account, Mendoza established Possible Missions, Inc., an experienced project management company specializing in Project Management Solutions throughout all industries across the country.  Mendoza was appointed as the first Hispanic woman to serve as chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) from 2009-2010, has been the only female to serve a full two-year term as chairman of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC), and she has also served as a past board member of the Texas Board of Public Accountants. In 2013, Mendoza was appointed to a six-year term to the University Of Houston System Board Of Regents, becoming the first Hispanic female to receive the prestigious appointment.

Mia Mends: a Ghanaian immigrant who has benefited first hand from the opportunity the United States offers, was uprooted with her family at the age of seven due to political unrest. Being admitted into Wellesley College and then later Harvard business school was for her, the quintessential American Dream come true. In 2014, Mends became the CEO of Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services, USA. In 2016, Mends became CEO of Inspirus, after she lead Sodexo´s acquisition of the Employee Engagement company. She joined Sodexo Benefits and Rewards in 2012 in the newly created position of Vice President of Sales for Americas Region in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In that role, she was charged with overseeing sales processes and the strategic and profitable growth of Sodexo´s products and services through diversified distribution channels in 8 countries in Latin America.

Carrie Potter: Potter had a passion for sports and business that led her to an internship with start-up company PMG Sports & Entertainment her senior year. After graduating, she was promoted to Marketing Manager, then Senior Vice President of Operations. In its first three years, the company represented seven top picks in the NBA draft. Being a woman in a male dominated industry was never intimidating to Potter. With determination and self-confidence, she knew that she could hold her own, and by the age of 23, she had negotiated her first million-dollar deal. In 2006, Potter formed The Carrie Potter Group, LLC to manage professional athletes. Her advisory business expanded its services and now offers financial planning and business consulting services to both small businesses and professional athletes.

Karen Carter Richards: is a native Houstonian and is the CEO and Publisher of the Forward Times Publishing Company, the South’s largest independently owned and published newspaper. Richards’ parents always stressed the importance of the Black Press and the value of its consistent voice. Richards received a degree from The University of Houston and was recently nominated and selected as 1st Vice Chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which consists of more than 200 African American newspapers across the country. She serves as the chairperson of “Go Red Girlfriend,” an African American Awareness Initiative for the American Heart Association, and has recently founded the Julius and Lenora Carter Scholarship & Youth Foundation.

Laura Robertson: is a native Texan and fourth-generation Houstonian. Robertson dreamed of attending UT Law for as long as she can remember. Once accepted and enrolled as a student, she worked tirelessly to earn her spot and her first professional accomplishment was graduating with honors in 1998. Currently, Robertson is the Deputy General Counsel for ConocoPhillips. She credits many of her professional achievements to the negotiating skills that she began developing at King & Spalding. She has been the lead negotiator in several settlement discussions with foreign sovereigns and state owned oil companies. In 2016, she negotiated a $157 million dollar settlement in a tax dispute.

Meet our 2016 Rising Star Awardee

Nicole Soussan: is a native Houstonian who  attended Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in African-American studies. Upon graduation, she moved to Los Angeles and began to train as an English teacher in Watts through the Teach for America program at Locke High School. She is currently an associate in Reed Smith’s U.S. Commercial Litigation Group and represents clients in the energy industry at the trial and appellate levels. In addition to energy litigation, she has experience in real estate, employment, and trade secret litigation. She was recognized with the Texas Young Lawyers Association President’s Award of Merit and the Judge Thomas Gibbs Gee Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service.

Buy a Lunch, Change a Life

You can meet these amazing 11 women, while helping raise scholarship funds for girls and young women who truly need it by attending the 2016 Women on the Move Luncheon. It will be held Tuesday, November 15 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Houston’s Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Rd. 77045.

For additional information regarding the Texas Executive Women or the special event, visit https://texasexecutivewomen.org.

 

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