Kara Baysinger, Partner, SNR Denton

Ms. Baysinger serves as the Chair of SNR Denton’s  Global Insurance Sector team and Insurance Regulatory Practice.  She represents national and international insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance-related service companies, other financial services entities, e-business enterprises and state governments.  She has extensive experience in reinsurance, market conduct issues (including multi-state examinations and investigations), licensing, sales practices, regulatory approvals, unclaimed property electronic commerce, transactional matters (including acquisitions, mergers and divestitures of insurance and non insurance entities), as well as product and market development issues. Before joining SNR Denton, Ms. Baysinger spent almost a decade in-house in insurance companies, managing compliance, government relations and products.  Ms. Baysinger  serves in executive firm leadership at SNR Denton, where she is a member of the Firm’s Global Advisory Committee, US Policy and Planning Board, Public Law and Policy Strategies Group, Financial Crisis Special Situations Group, and E-Business Group.

Kirby Chown, Ontario Regional Managing Partner, McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto (Retired)

Kirby Chown was the Ontario Regional Managing Partner at McCarthy Tétrault , one of the largest law firms in Canada, until she retired in 2008. She has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and has received multiple awards for her work on behalf of women in the law.

“Pick one thing that’s highly valued and do it. Find something you can do that’s not incredibly time intensive, but highly valued. Women need to take their considerable energies, which are fractured, and focus them in places that have high impact.”

Mary Cranston, Firm Senior Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Mary Cranston is a senior partner and Immediate Past Chair at international law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. While serving as Chair she oversaw two of the largest law firm mergers in history, and added seven offices. She also serves on the boards of GrafTech International, VISA, Inc., Juniper Networks, International Rectifier, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the San Francisco Ballet, and Catalyst.

“I got onto the power of vision early on. And in hindsight, I can see now that by holding that vision, I was able to prioritize every day the steps I needed to take to get what I wanted and to ask for what I wanted.”

Kathryn Burkett Dickson, Partner, Dickson Geesman LLP

Kathryn Dickson is a partner at Dickson Geesman LLP, where she represents individuals in discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and whistleblower actions. Dickson has been recognized repeatedly as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Northern California. She belongs to the governing council of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment section and serves on the board of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

“Don’t wait for managers or other people to approach you with a project. If you see something that you’re really interested in that you really want to work on, you have to go and say, “I want to do that.”

Karen Edson, Vice President Policy and Client Services, California Independent System Operator

Karen Edson is a Vice President for the California Independent System Operator (ISO). The ISO is responsible for electric system reliability for most of California and manages markets clearing approximately $8 billion/year. Change defines her work history. In her twenties, she left a promising criminal justice career to start over in the environmental policy field. In her early thirties, after serving as a California Energy Commissioner, she took a year off to travel. Next, she started a small business that provided work flexibility while her children were young. When they started their teens, she closed the business, and later returned to the workforce as they finished high school.

“As I’ve gone through my career, I’ve been fearless and willing to make dramatic choices.”

Alison Hooker, Partner, Ernst & Young

Alison Hooker is a partner with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, where she focuses on rapid deployment of resources and capital to high growth areas of the business. She is currently facilitating the global firm’s financial investments in its South American practices.

“Perform your job admirably, and stop asking for permission to attend to your life.”

Catherine Lamboley, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Shell Oil Company (retired)

Catherine Lamboley was the General Counsel for Shell Oil Company from 2000 until 2007, and was with the company for a total of 28 years. Over the course of her career she consistently served as an advocate for women and minorities. She serves on the executive committee of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas Law School and has served on boards of organizations including the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the board of advisors for Catalyst and the Corporate Advisory Committee of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.

“Women bring tremendous strength, authenticity and purpose to their professions and leadership positions.”

Roberta Liebenberg, Partner, Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.

Roberta Liebenberg is a senior partner at Fine Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia, where she focuses her practice on class actions, antitrust and complex commercial litigation, and white collar criminal defense. She is the former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession and has been named as one of the National Law Journal’s 50 most influential women lawyers in America. She also serves as a Leader-In-Residence at the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law.

“As early as possible in your career, set both short-term and long-term goals. Be strategic and take the long view as to what kind of practice you want; what skills and experience you will need; and which individuals and organizations can help you get where you want to go. Planning, persistence and prioritization will pay off.”

Karen M. Lockwood, Founder & CEO, The Lockwood Group LLC

Karen M. Lockwood, a trial law partner of 30 years’ experience, founded The Lockwood Group to research and advise the law profession on “achieving sustainable diversity through business.” She is a member of the ABA’s Presidential Task Force on Gender Diversity, liaison to the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession, and member of the boards of The College of Wooster (Trustee), the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, and formerly the WBA of DC (President). As a Howrey LLP partner for 10 years, she led the imaginative Women’s Leadership Initiative as Global Co-Chair. Also a keynote speaker, author, law professor, and arbitrator, Karen will soon serve the National Institute of Trial Advocacy as its full-time Executive Director.

“If you want to really change someone, you have to start where they are and move them forward. You can’t stand here and say, ‘Come to me.’”

Mika Mayer, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP

Mika Mayer is a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP, where she specializes in patent prosecution and due diligence reviews in the medical device, drug delivery, and pharmaceutical fields. She provides startup and large companies alike with strategic guidance on intellectual property and business risks. She has been consistently listed as one of the leading young lawyers in the country.

“I believe that from a woman’s capacity to love, comes the strength to raise a family and at the same time, succeed in her career. Had I accepted that women had limits, I never would have crossed them.”

Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel, The New York Public Library

Michele Coleman Mayes is Vice President, General Counsel at The New York Public Library (NYPL).  Before joining NYPL in June 2012, Mayes was Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Allstate Insurance Company, which she joined in 2007. Prior to her tenure at Allstate, she was Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Pitney Bowes and Vice President-Legal and Assistant Secretary at Colgate-Palmolive Company. She was been named one of the most influential General Counsel in the country by The National Law Journal.

“There is nothing wrong with selling your brand. People think of you in sound bites. If you don’t work at developing your brand, you risk becoming a generic. And I always say, generics are cheaper.”

Laura McMahon, Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Laura McMahon is a partner in the Corporate and International Departments of international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski, and co-chair of the firm’s Latin America Practice Group. She has been named one of Latin American’s top 50 businesswomen, and serves on the boards of several local philanthropic organizations in Houston, where she lives. She also heads up her firm’s gender initiatives and is a founder of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law.

“You have to make a choice. Are you going to choose the principle over being effective? Sometimes that’s the right choice, but most of the time, it’s not.”

Leslie Morgan Steiner, Author

Leslie Morgan Steiner is the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Love, a memoir on domestic violence, and the editor of the critically-acclaimed anthology Mommy Wars. From 2006 to 2008 she wrote washingpost.com’s daily “On Balance” parenting column, and her writing has appeared in Glamour, Psychology Today, Redbook, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, among other publications. Before beginning to write full-time, Steiner had a successful career as a businesswoman at the Washington Post Magazine, Johnson & Johnson, and Leo Burnett. She has a BA in English from Harvard College, and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School.

“Your own passion, for what you’re doing, who you are as a person, your particular skills, should be your divining rod. You can’t just mold yourself into what you think a boss or a company wants.”

Vernā Myers, Diversity Management Consultant, Vernā Myers Consulting Group, LLC

Vernā Myers is a former corporate lawyer and the founder of the Vernā Myers Consulting Group, a diversity consulting firm that collaborates with legal clients and corporations to improve recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented groups. Prior to founding VMCG, she served as the first Executive Director of the Boston Law Firm Group, a consortium of firms committed to diversity, and served as a Deputy Chief of Staff for the Massachusetts Attorney General, where she successfully executed a comprehensive diversity and inclusion initiative. She is a highly sought after speaker and best selling author of the American Bar Association book, “Moving Diversity Forward: How From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing,” and is planning to release her new book “What if I Say the Wrong Thing: Learning the Language of Inclusion” in Winter 2012.

“If it looks like you can get another woman in your department to do well, by golly, figure out how you can do that. How you can mentor another woman; how you can bring another woman along? Because you’re going to need that person at some point. You’re going to need her support, camaraderie and her talent.”

Sandra L. Pierce, The Bag Lady of Bay Street, Macquarie Private Wealth

Sandra L. Pierce is an Associate Director at the private equity firm Macquarie Private Wealth. As “The Bag Lady of Bay StreetTM,” she helps well-established women—CEOs, law firm partners, executives and young professionals—with their investments, helping them to overcome “Bay Lady Syndrome” —the irrational fear some successful women (even some very rich and famous women) have that they will end up penniless on the street. As part of her work as an Investment Advisor, Pierce works with women in one-on-one or group meetings, in which she demystifies investing through a presentation called “Financial Security is in the Bag.” Sandra’s passion to empower women has global reach: she is a devoted philanthropist who supports Plan Canada’s Because I am a Girl campaign to educate girls in the developing world.

“After working in this industry for a few years, one day I woke up and realized I was trying to be masculine. I had lost myself and had to be me. That’s the best advice I can give to any female: you have to find your voice and it has to be authentic. If you’re feminine, that’s fine; if you’re masculine, that’s fine—as long as you’re authentic. This is the most important insight to me.”

Marci Rubin, Executive Director, California Minority Counsel Program, Deputy General Counsel, Wells Fargo (ret.)

Marci Rubin is Executive Director of the California Minority Counsel Program, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to promoting diversity in the legal profession by providing attorneys of color with access and opportunity for business and professional development. Prior to joining CMCP, Marci was Deputy General Counsel of Wells Fargo where she managed the group of lawyers responsible for the company’s commercial credit legal work.

“Young minority & women professionals come into the work force believing their differences count & are valued – a view too often shattered early in their careers, especially when they don’t see people like themselves in positions of power. They start to feel isolated, view their differences as a negative, and get demoralized. But when I look at these young professionals I’m so very excited – they are a huge contingent of highly qualified women & minorities who individually and as a group have greater power than they realize. The power to use their differences as their strength, to be today’s leaders, and to change the face of the professional world.”

Carol Sabransky, Managing Director, Huron Consulting Group

Carol Sabransky is one of the founding Managing Directors at Huron Consulting, where she creates and leads sales and business development strategies for the Legal Advisory Group. She provides legal and financial consulting services to firms and corporate law departments in improving their business performance by providing strategic consulting, process improvement and technology-related solutions. Her focus has been primarily in the Office of the General Counsel in large corporations helping deliver law department assessments, legal department organizational design, benchmarking, performance measurement and streamlining discovery processes. She is also a founding member of the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago, and has sat on numerous civic boards including the Board of the Civic Orchestra in Chicago.

“My advice is to buy a pair of pink boxing gloves (preferably 5oz.) and take up mixed martial arts or some other contact sport. There will be plenty of opportunities to use it. Just make sure to choose your battles wisely and don’t allow yourself to be bullied. Don’t be afraid to speak up because chances are you are one of the smarter people in the room. And, never ever never define your value by what others say or think about you. If you don’t see a career path that fits for you, then create one.”

Phyllis Stewart Pires, Vice President, Global Head of Diversity, SAP

Phyllis Stewart Pires is currently Vice President, Global Head of Diversity for the multi-national, enterprise software giant SAP. She has held a variety of HR, communications, and change-management roles at SAP and Cisco. Phyllis spent many years designing, building, and managing corporate child care centers including those for Disney, Apple, PG&E and other companies. She founded and grew the award-winning Family Services programs at Cisco which included the largest and most comprehensive child care center at the time. Phyllis has held various policy and program influence roles in the private, public, and non-profit sectors focused on supporting families. She served as the Chair of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Child Care for two terms and currently serves on the Conference Board’s WorkLife Leadership Council.

“I do not let a lot of things stand in my way of getting things done. Now, I do use lots of types of persuasion and sometimes politeness, but at the end of the day, I will execute and get things done.”

Sally Thornton, Founder and Chief Curator, Forshay, Inc.

Sally Thornton is the founder of Forshay, a San Francisco-based recruiting firm that connects top interim talent with companies through an on-demand model. Forshay works with high-growth start ups and Fortune 100 companies (well, the ones that are growing). Prior to creating Forshay, Sally co-founded Flexperience in 2006, growing it into a nationally acclaimed talent firm that was named in 2010 to San Francisco Business Times’ “Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies” and guest lectures at both Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Berkeley’s Haas’ School of Business.