Saturday, March 16, 2013

Congratulations IWF-Houston member Jane Weiner on her wonderful TEDx Houston 2012 performance

Monday, February 18, 2013

Y Ping Sun

Happy Birthday Y Ping Sun!


Ping is a Representative of Rice University and of Counsel at Yetter Coleman LLP.   A native of Shanghai, China, Ping attended school in Beijing and received a full scholarship to Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude with an AB degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  She received a law degree from Columbia University School of Law, where she served as an editor of the Journal of Transnational Law.  Ping practiced law in the New York offices of White & Case LLP and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, where her practice focused on corporate and cross border issues. In Houston, Ping is of counsel with the law firm of Yetter Coleman LLP, a boutique litigation firm with offices in Houston and Austin.

Ping came to Houston from New York City in 2004, when her husband David W. Leebron became Rice University's seventh president. As University Representative, Ping is fully engaged with the community both on and off campus.  Ping has many roles: Member of the advisory board of Rice’s Shepherd School of Music and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research; and honorary co-chair of Rice’s Baker Institute Roundtable.  She also hosts a luncheon series called “Something New for Lunch at Rice University,” which brings Rice faculty members together with civic leaders. 
She is a trustee of Texas Children's Hospital and a board member of the Asia Society, Texas Center, St. John’s School and the United Way of Greater Houston. She also serves on the advisory boards of Asian Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Community Center, Houston Arts Alliance, Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners, and the Mayor’s International Trade and Development Council for Asia/Australia. Ping is also a director of MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc.and is an alum of Center for Houston’s Future Leadership Forum .  
Ping’s community service has been recognized by several organizations: In 2010-Teach For America;  International Executives of the Year (along with her husband) by the Greater Houston Partnership and 50 Most Influential Women of 2010.  In 2011: Texas China Distinguished Leader in Education Award, the Asian American Leadership Award from Asia Society Texas Center, and Woman on the Move by Texas Executive Women. In 2012 she was an ABC Channel 13 Woman of Distinction.  
Ping and David have two children, Daniel, 16, and Merissa, 13. 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

An Energized Evening Launches IWF in Houston

Several dozen founding members of the Houston chapter gathered at Gigi's Asian Bistro this evening--our first "meeting" and celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Snake.  Pat Smothers dropped in from San Antonio as part of the official welcome crew.  Not a shy gal in the bunch, it didn't take a second after introductions for conversation to flow.  Even those who had planned to duck out early, stayed for hours. A most welcome and welcoming evening.  Mark your calendars for noon on March 13 at Sparrow.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Happy Birthday to Loretta Cross!  

Loretta Cross
Now Vice President, Energy and Environment for Charles River Associates, Loretta has built and led a number of practices with specialized consulting expertise and has been responsible for both the growth of mature organizations, along with building practices from the ground up. 

She recently joined Charles River Associates to open their Houston office and to expand the Energy Practice.  Prior to joining Charles River Associates, Loretta led the Grant Thornton, LLP Energy Advisory Services, which encompasses economic, operational and control-related consulting. 

Loretta has more than 30 years of experience including bankruptcy, restructuring, audit, management consulting and financial consulting.  Her key specialization is assisting companies in financial distress with their out-of-court restructures, in court restructures and liquidations.

She has been the key business advisor to parties of interest in some of the largest bankruptcies and restructurings in the United States including, Flying J, Idearc, Calpine, Reliant Resources and Enron Corp.  She has provided expert testimony in numerous courts from Connecticut to Phoenix on issues including plan viability, valuation, use of cash collateral, substantive consolidation, avoidance actions and subordination issues. 

Loretta's awards and recognitions are numerous, including selection as a 2012 Woman on the Move, Texas Executive Women; 2011 Who’s Who in Energy, Houston Business Journal and in 2010 as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Texas.





Monday, February 4, 2013

Music: An Instrument For Change

The International Women’s Forum is proud to open registration for the 2013 World Cornerstone Conference in Jamaica.  Music: An Instrument for Change will take place in Montego Bay from May 29-31, 2013.

Due to the popular demand for and space limitations on IWF’s global conferences, IWF has established, as a courtesy to our members and on a trial basis, a specially blocked, Member-Only Registration period of 6 weeks from release date today,  February 4, through March 18, 2013.  Members are encouraged to use our portal gateway detailed below to register now.  After March 18, members will be able to register Guests and/or Young Leaders for the Conference by way of electronic access. PLEASE NOTE: YOUR HOUSTON DUES MUST BE PAID IN FULL BEFORE YOUR INTERNATIONAL CREDENTIALS WILL BE RELEASED.
From the roots of recorded Jamaican music - born out of struggle and social and economic change - the voices of the people, expressed through the music, have moved social and political change at home and have inspired artistic protest abroad.  Between the rage against unequal power structures and the grace of music’s ability to communicate and inspire, Jamaica has taken its place in the world as an instrument for change.   Sending shock waves of artistic and creative influence around the world in a new era that is trending away from the monopolization of power, how are new modalities of music, the internet, blogging and mash-ups of cartoons, slogans, jokes and web series driving attitudes that shape markets, win elections, change hearts and minds and the way nations are governed?  And how will the gems of cultural output, artistic resistance, and the creative disobedience that continues to sprout across the internet and at the grassroots of viral peer-production ignite global transformation?
Featuring the interplay of art, business, politics and society and the” players” at its intersection, Music: An Instrument for Change brings IWF, from the heart of Jamaica, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, the leaders and storied artistic legends whose imprint on our world is changing us.

READ MORE DETAILS HERE

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Happy Birthday, Sandra Bernhard!

SandraBernhard
Sandy is Director of HGOco, Houston Grand Opera's award winning unique initiative that explores ways of making opera relevant to its changing audiences.  She has directed main stage productions at major companies throughout the U.S. including San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Bernhard held the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) from 2003-2007.

She has written librettos and opera education materials for productions at San Francisco Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Virginia Opera, Utah Opera and Florida Grand Opera, and has taught for the Merola Opera Program, the Adler Fellowship Program, the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Louisiana State University, Utah Opera Young Artist Program, Florida Grand Opera Young Artist Program, Rising Star Audition Program, and Chautauqua Opera among others.

At CCM, Sandy received the 2007 Harmony Fund for projects exploring diversity in a theatrical event and four National Opera Association Awards for her directing work.  She also serves on the Defiant Requiem Foundation, headquartered in Washington D.C.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

And we are off!

Excited to be launching a new chapter of International Women's Forum right here in Houston, with 39 other amazing ladies as founding members. Stay tuned for chapter news and member escapades shared here.