2008 Conference Schedule
Printable Version | Tentative - Schedule Subject to Change
Sheraton Waikīkī Hotel and Resort
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
| 7:00 a.m. | Pre-Registration for Early Conference Registrants (prior to August 26) |
| 7:30 a.m. | Breakfast with and Remarks by Ms. Cristeta Comerford – Washington, D.C., USA |
| As the first female executive chef for the White House, Cristeta Comerford’s schedule is never dull. Comerford will share her experiences as the first female executive chef for the White House and the first Filipino to run the White House’s kitchen. From state dinners to casual meals in the East Wing, Comerford’s menus are as diverse and multi-cultural as her training. |
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| 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. | General Registration |
| 8:30 a.m. | Opening Ceremonies |
| 8:45 a.m. | Opening Remarks by Governor Linda Lingle |
| 9:30 a.m. | Remarks by Ambassador Kristie Kenney – Manila, Philippines |
| A distinguished senior diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Kenney currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines. Among her leadership roles, Kenney coordinated a critical public-private partnership to addresses the education needs of Filipino child laborers and victims of abusive child labor practices in the Philippines. | |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break – Opportunity for networking |
| 10:30 a.m. | Remarks by Chief Cathy Lanier – Washington, D.C., USA |
| Despite low numbers of women in the field of law enforcement, Chief Lanier serves as the first-ever female Chief of Police for the District of Columbia. As the former Commander of the Special Operations Division (SOD), she established the agency’s first Homeland Security/Counter-Terrorism Branch. | |
| 11:15 a.m. | Remarks by Ms. Moira Cameron – London, United Kingdom |
| Appointed as the first female Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London in 2007, Moira Cameron overcame centuries of inequality in the United Kingdom. Cameron remains the only woman to hold this honored position in the Tower’s 900 year history. | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Networking Luncheon – Hosted by AAUW (American Association of University Women) |
| 1:15 p.m. | Remarks by Ms. Jayne Schmitt – Arlington, Virginia, USA |
| Beginning as a systems programmer for Unisys, Jayne Schmitt has since gained over 30 years of experience in the defense contracting industry, currently serving as the vice president and CFO of the Customer Solutions Operating Group for BAE Systems, Inc., a $31 billion international firm. Schmitt believes strongly in managing by expectation and giving employees license to do their job. | |
| 2:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion with International Education Leaders Joined by university presidents from Finland, New Zealand, Uganda, China, Japan and the U.S., Hawai‘i’s education leaders will discuss the critical role women play in higher education worldwide. |
| 3:15 p.m. | Break – Opportunity for networking |
| 3:30 p.m. | Remarks by Ms. Aduei Riak – Originally from Sudan, Africa – Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Currently a paralegal for the Boston law firm, Ropes & Gray, Aduei Riak was one of the 4,000 Sudanese refugees as a child. Among her stories is the thousand mile walk she took to flee the civil war in Sudan. At age 23, Riak says, “I’ve seen a lot of things that a person my age should not have been exposed to.” | |
| 4:15 p.m. | Break – Opportunity for networking |
| 4:15 p.m. | Remarks by Ms. Alison Spencer – Sydney, Australia |
| Under Alison Spencer’s leadership as IBM’s Manager for Organizational Culture and Change in Australia, her company has been named “Employer of Choice for Women” by the federal government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) for the seventh year in a row. For her vision and leadership, Spencer herself was named EOWA’s Diversity Leader of the Year in 2003. | |
| 5:00 p.m. | Remarks by Captain Vernice Armour – Washington, D.C., USA |
| Vernice Armour earned her pilot's wings in July 2001 and was ranked first in her class. She was recognized as America's first African-American female combat pilot by the Department of Defense and completed two combat tours of duty in the Persian Gulf as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Closing Remarks by Governor Linda Lingle |
| 6:30 p.m. | Closing Reception with conference speakers and attendees |
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