2017 Trailblazers recognized at The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Eleven women were recognized as Trailblazers during the 2017 The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women hosted by The Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce Nov. 9 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott.

The following industry and community were honored as a 2017 Trailblazer for their work in industries that don't typically have high numbers of women and for demonstrating amazing courage, resilience and leadership in their journey to reach their career goals:

• Rhonda Arnold, Houston Airport Systems
• Linda Head, Lone Star College System
• Brenda James, Clayton Services
• Brenda Mainwaring, Union Pacific Railroad
• Nina Marino, Nina Marino Real Estate
• Judy Olson, Spirit of Texas Bank
• Michelle Riley-Brown, Texas Children’s Hospital
• Shelia Redmon-Jones, North Houston District
• Jennifer Stewart, SWN
• Angela Strong, A Strong CPA, LLC
• Gindi Vincent, ExxonMobil

During the conference, several influential speakers/panelists presented their empowering personal and business insights, representing a variety of topics on leadership.

The keynote speakers, Jan Sieving and Sandy Asch, covered a variety of topics from leadership to what feminism means to them. Seiving spoke about resilience and shared her story about the importance of relationships. Asch is an author and motivational speaker who talks to corporations and coaches them on leadership. Her speech focused on women and how they can advance in leadership roles.

Panel topics and speakers included:

Feminism, Changing the Stereotype

• Christina Ptasinski, Crane
• Kim Hoover, Nabors
• Robin Fielder, Anadarko
• Sherri Scott, McDermott

You Don’t Need a Title To Be A Leader

• Leann Alvarez, The UPS Store at Shadow Creek
• Shawntell McWilliams, Infinity Cleaning Solutions, LLC
• Erika Tolar, FedEx Services

Proceeds from the conference benefited programs that help to advance the positions of women and girls in the greater Houston area.