Women's Forum

Flourishing in a Competitive World
4-6 p.m., Thursday, March 27
Dunne Conference Center

Texas Lutheran University will present the 2008 Women’s Forum:  Flourishing in a Competitive World, 4-6 p.m., Thursday, March 27, in the Dunne Conference Center of Tschoepe Hall on the TLU campus.  The forum is free and open to all TLU students, alumni, and faculty and staff.

Four panelists in high-powered positions will discuss their career challenges and experiences.  The forum leader will be Texas Lutheran University President Ann M. Svennungsen, the first female president in the 117-year history of the university.

Participating on the panel will be Cynthia (Brantley) Beverly, business executive for the technology industry; Paula DiFonzo, CEO, New Braunfels Utilities; Angela Laird, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Research Imaging Center at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio; and Robin Melvin, Austin attorney.

Beverly

Beverly graduated magna cum laude from Texas Lutheran in 1975 with two degrees in business communications and political science, and she has studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  She has held various progressively responsible and senior positions in marketing and sales in the telecommunications industry. Currently she is a business consultant working with Capgemini Consulting in San Antonio.  Until October 2006, Beverly held the position of sales vice president for Lucent Technologies, a company of AT&T. She retired from Lucent after a 31-year career, where she held position throughout the U.S. and in South Africa.

DiFonzo

DiFonzo began her career with New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) in 1981 in the accounting division and graduated summa cum laude from Texas State University in San Marcos with a B.B.A.in accounting. Di Fonzo was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NBU in July 1994.  As CEO, she oversees the day-to-day operations, the hiring of employees and associated personnel issues, budget planning and capital plans to serve the needs of nearly 29,000 utility customers. DiFonzo has been recognized for her efforts by many organizations, and she was named New Braunfels 2007 Citizen of the Year.

Laird

Laird earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002.  In 2003 she began a post-doctoral fellowship at the Research Imaging Center (RIC) of the University of Texas Health Science Center of San Antonio (UTHSCSA).  Dr. Laird was promoted to faculty member at UTHSCSA in August of 2004 and is currently an assistant professor at the RIC, with an appointment in the department of Radiology.  In addition, Dr. Laird teaches a multi-institutional course at UTHSCSA and UTSA for graduate students in psychology, biology, biomedical engineering, and radiological sciences.

Melvin

Melvin earned a B.A. in history, summa cum laude, from Texas Lutheran University in 1979.  She received a J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in December 1981. She has been a shareholder in the Austin law firm of Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody, P.C. since 1992. She practices administrative law, with an emphasis on insurance, utility, land use, and water law.  Melvin is a frequent author and speaker on administrative law, land use regulation, and water topics, and she is listed in the 2008 Best Lawyers in America® in water law.

The 2008 TLU Women’s Forum is sponsored by the TLU Alumni Relations Office and the Center for Women’s Studies.  For more information, contact alumni@tlu.edu.