Foundation for Women's Resources (FWR) announces
The Leadership Texas Class of 2010
120 women competitively selected to explore "Leading with Strength into the Future"
Debbie K Womack, CEO, President, Greater > Yield, Ltd. and Horizon Commerce Inc., has been selected to join an elite network of more than 2,500 women as a member of the Leadership Texas Class of 2010.
“Debbie Womack is one of 120 outstanding women leaders competitively selected from across the state to participate in the longest-running women’s leadership development program in the US. Throughout the year-long program, she will have the opportunity to broaden her perspective on our state by exploring five Texas cities and receiving cutting-edge information from renowned experts, government officials and other leaders to positively inform her work and community for years to come,” said Candace O’Keefe-Mathis, CEO of the Foundation for Women’s Resources. Leadership Texas, now in its 28th consecutive year, is the flagship program of the Texas-based foundation headquartered in Dallas.
Launched in 1983 as the first statewide program for women’s leadership development, Leadership Texas is patterned after, though not affiliated with, the co-educational civic programs that have found success in a number of cities throughout the state and nation. “Our founders decided to create Leadership Texas to help women become better, more informed leaders in our state’s communities, organizations and corporations,” O’Keefe-Mathis added. (Note: More Foundation information is provided below.)
The theme for the 2010 program year is ‘Leading with Strength into the Future’ “Participants will visit Dallas, Laredo, Lubbock, Waco and Austin where each city’s opportunities and challenges will help to illuminate the participants’ knowledge of our rapidly evolving state across three common themes– the economy, education and the environment,” O’Keefe-Mathis said.
“We consider it a privilege to offer these influential women leaders from a broad diversity of professional and personal backgrounds some new perspectives, opinions and validation on some of the issues, people and places they might not otherwise encounter outside of the program. We recognize that it is necessary for today’s successful leaders to understand the cultural, social and economic shift before us and the programming of Leadership Texas provides opportunities and access to help the women impact the future of our evolving state.”
Through the generous contributions of the Leadership Texas Program Partners, the program continues to provide the most up-to-date information on leadership and issues affecting Texas. Corporate Program Partners providing financial support for Leadership Texas 2010 include Dell Inc., Bell Helicopter/Textron, Johnson Controls, Southwest Airlines and Texas Instruments.
“Program Partners provide more than financial support for the program; their women leaders also participate in Leadership Texas to build connections for the benefit of the entire state,” O’Keefe-Mathis said.
Foundation for Women’s Resources
Leadership Texas is a program of the Foundation for Women’s Resources (FWR). Established in Austin, Texas, in 1974, the foundation seeks to advance the power of leadership and legacy through programs that connect, inspire, empower and honor women. To extend the foundation’s message of strength and build bridges to and opportunities for women, FWR founded Leadership America in 1988 and helped in the creation of complementary women’s programs in California, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, among others. FWR also established the nation’s first comprehensive women’s history museum, The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future, which opened in Dallas, Texas, in association with the Smithsonian Institution in 2000. Since 1996, FWR has been offering a series of national retreats for emerging women leaders called Power Pipeline. In 2009, the Foundation launched new globally focused programming under its newly acquired banner, Leadership International, the Sandy Tyler Regional Series and Leadership Short Courses for the 21st Century.