2011 Panel to come
2010 Panel
Karen Hastie Williams
Retired Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP
Ms. Williams is a graduate of Bates College and the Catholic University School of Law. She was a law clerk to both Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She also served as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Budget, and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1976 as Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. She is currently a retired partner in the Washington law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP where her practice has focused on public contract law, legislation, and strategic diversity counseling for corporate clients. From 1992-93 she served as Chair of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law. Ms. Williams is also a member of the National Contract Management Association, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association, the National Bar Association, and the Women’s Forum of Washington, D.C.
Ms. Williams community activities include service on the Board of Directors of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as well as the Board of Trustees of both the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and of Amherst College. She also serves as Chair of the Black Student Fund and The BOLD Initiative. (“Business Opportunities for Leadership Diversity”). Ms. Williams was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as one of seven Life Members of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board appointed by the President of the United States and served on the board from 2000-2003.
Ms. Williams serves currently as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chubb Corporation, Continental Airlines, Inc., Gannett Company, Inc., SunTrust Bank, Inc. and Washington Gas Holdings Company. She serves as Lead Director for the Gannett Company and chair of its the Audit Committee. She also chairs the Audit Committee at Washington Gas and serves as a member of the SunTrust Bank Audit Committee. At Chubb she serves as a member of the Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees. She also Chairs the Finance and Budget Committee of Continental Airlines, Inc.
Since the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley legislation, she has lectured widely on its effective implementation including participation in a SEC Roundtable comparing the impact of the legislation in Year One and Year Two. In 2009 Ms. Williams was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).
Ms. Williams is married to Wesley S. Williams, Jr., a retired Covington & Burling partner, who now chairs the Lockhart Companies in the U.S. Virgin Islands and also serves as a Deacon for several congregations on St. Thomas. They have three adult children and four energetic grandchildren.
Sheila Brooks
Founder, President & CEO, SRB Communications, LLC
SHEILA BROOKS is an Emmy-award winning journalist, entrepreneur, and dedicated advocate for minority and women’s issues and small businesses. Ms. Brooks is founder, president and CEO of SRB Communications, LLC. SRB Communications is a Washington, DC-based, full-service media and communications agency and postproduction facility. Celebrating 20 years in business, the agency offers award-winning services including original programming for television and radio, broadcast quality video production, event production; creative, branding and strategy for advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns; multimedia production including webcasting, webinars and streaming media; and post-production services. SRB Communications is a minority and woman-owned firm that is MBE certified with the National Minority Supplier Council (NMSDC), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and municipalities.
Ms. Brooks is an Emmy-award winning journalist and sought-after women’s business advocate. She is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications. In this role, she provides consulting services in strategy, branding and media outreach for the newly established entrepreneurial incubator for students and emerging business owners. Prior to starting her company in 1990, Ms. Brooks built a distinguished television career as a news director, reporter, anchor, and documentary producer at CBS, NBC, PBS and Fox owned-and operated and affiliate TV stations across the country. Her more than 32 years in the television and communications industry has garnered more than 100 awards including induction in the Silver Circle, a Hall of Fame honor for more than 25 years of excellence in journalism from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She serves on many entrepreneurial and community boards and is a sought-after speaker.
A sought-after speaker, Ms. Brooks testifies before the United States Congress and presents at various business and journalism conferences, schools and universities nationwide. She serves on many national boards and has extensive community service commitments.
Ms. Brooks is pursuing a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and Media Studies at Howard University. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a major in broadcast journalism from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a Master of Arts degree in political science from Howard University in Washington, DC. She is an alumna of the Greater Leadership Washington program and the Minority Business Executive Programs at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business and Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School of Business.
Lynn Shapiro Snyder
National Health Care & Life Sciences Practice Leader,
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Founder & President, Women Business Leaders of the
U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation
Lynn Shapiro Snyder, Esq. is a National Health Care & Life Sciences Practice Leader at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. where she serves on the firm’s Board and Finance Committee. She has been in EBG’s DC office for over 30 years, advising clients about federal, state and international health law issues, including Medicare, Medicaid, managed care issues as well as health care fraud defense and compliance. Her clients include health care and life sciences companies. Notably, she served as lead health counsel for the buyout of HCA by three private equity firms. She has been recognized as one of the "Most Powerful People in Healthcare".
Ms. Snyder is the Founder and President of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation (WBL Foundation), a non-profit organization comprised of more than 2,600 senior executive women and women board members worldwide who do business in the U.S. health care industry. WBL’s mission is to help these women improve their businesses and continue to grow professionally through corporate board opportunities.
Ms. Snyder joined the board of Trustmark Companies in 2006. Trustmark provides life, medical, dental, managed care, wellness, disability, critical illness, accident insurance and benefits administration services, with revenues over $1 Billion. She serves on the Compensation and Governance committees.
Ms. Snyder also is a Board member of the Maryland/Israel Development Center that encourages trade, joint ventures, and investment between Maryland and Israeli business and research institutions.
Ms. Snyder has authored two books about serving on corporate boards. She was named a “Director to Watch” by Directors & Boards magazine in August 2009. She is married to Jeffrey M. Snyder and has three children.
Panel Facilitator
Sheila Ronning President & CEO, Sharp UpSwing
Sheila believes in the power of connecting professionals with the tools they need to succeed in business and in life. As the President and CEO of the leadership and business development firm, Sharp UpSwing, she uses her keen insight into business trends to identify and capture growth opportunities for individuals and organizations in their local marketplace.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal has named Sheila one of the top 25 “Women to Watch” in the Twin Cities as well as to their prestigious “40 Under Forty” list for her entrepreneurial dynamism and reputation as a networking maven. She has been honored by the Minnesota NAWBO with a “Changemaker Award” and by the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce as an “Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist for her positive impact on the small business community. And most recently, a winner of the 2010 Enterprising Women of the Year Award and named a 2010 “Minnesotan on the Move” by Finance & Commerce.
Prior to founding Sharp UpSwing in 1996, Sheila garnered 10+ years of strategic marketing, sales management, and operations leadership experience with companies that range from Fortune 500 leaders to visionary start-ups. She credits her ability to mobilize and organize for Sharp UpSwing’s success.
Sheila’s marketing and leadership development expertise has been featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Pioneer Press, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Chicago Sun-Times, Upsize Minnesota magazine, and dbaWomen. Her podcasts on simple tools for long-term success will soon be available in partnership with Todaysbusinessradio.com (AM1500).
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