FRAN ALLEN has made outstanding contributions to the field of programming languages for almost 40 years, and her work has significantly influenced the wider computer science community. Ms. Allen is a pioneer in the field of optimizing compilers. Her achievements include seminal work in compilers, code optimization, and parallelization. In the early 1980s, she formed the Parallel TRANslation (PTRAN) group to study the issues involved in compiling for parallel machines. The group was considered one of the top research groups in the world working with parallelization issues. Her work on these projects culminated in algorithms and technologies that form the basis for the theory of program optimization and are widely used in today’s commercial compilers throughout the industry.

PATTY ARCHIBECK currently manages Investor Relations for Cisco Systems in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and is based out of London. She has spent over five years at Cisco Systems, primarily in the role of senior manager, executive communications for the chief financial officer and the Office of the President based in San Jose, California. Patty earned a B.S. degree in business administration- accounting from Santa Clara University in 1991 and her license as a Certified Public Accountant in 1993 while working at Coopers & Lybrand. Patty lives in London with her husband, David Charles, and their son, Archie Charles.

LILACH ASOFSKY is the senior vice president of marketing/ research/creative services for CNBC, the global leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 175 million homes worldwide. In this position, Lilach is responsible for the overall marketing and management of the CNBC brand, including advertising and sales marketing for the network. Based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, she also oversees CNBC’s research operations. Lilach joined CNBC in 1999 as vice president, product development and marketing for CNBC.com. In this position, she built and led a world-class team responsible for overall customer experience, including core financial tools and applications, site navigation, content expansion, and site product innovations as well as advertising, promotion, and research. Previously, Lilach was the vice president of Internet marketing and business strategy for e-Citi, a division of Citigroup. While there, she built an organization focused on online marketing, Web site construction, portal deal negotiation and execution, and relationship management of other business units. In that role, she also led a Global Internet Steering Committee to maximize successful transfer and communication between all of Citi’s consumer businesses. As the vice president of access marketing, Lilach was responsible for the mass market launch of Direct Access, Citi’s online banking service, in which she increased users by 650 percent over a one-year period through an integrated marketing campaign consisting of broadcast and print advertising, direct mail, promotions, and the creation of a trade show strategy. As a result of her successful programs, including an award-winning online campaign introducing “trial without purchase” within financial services, she has spoken frequently on the topic of “brand-action marketing” both at industry events and academic forums.

ANITA BORG (1949-2003) was the founder of the Institute for Women and Technology (IWT). On her passing, IWT was renamed in her honor as the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. The Institute is supported by Xerox, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Microsoft Corporation, and individuals as it works to bring women’s perspectives, needs, and brilliance to the development of future technologies for a better world. Dr. Borg has been featured in numerous national print, television, radio, and Web publications, including CBS’s 60 Minutes. In 1999 she was appointed by President Clinton to the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology (CAWMSET) and in 2002 she was recognized with the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. Throughout her career, Dr. Borg has worked to encourage women to pursue careers in computing. In 1987 she started systers, an electronic community for technical women in computing. Today, systers has 2,500 members in 38 countries and provides an international community of advice and support. Dr. Borg was born Anita Borg Naffz in 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in Palatine, Illinois; Kaneohe, Hawaii; and Mukilteo, Washington. She moved to Palo Alto, California, in 1986, where she was an outdoorswoman, enjoying hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, scuba diving, gardening, and flying.

MARC BUCKLAND began his career as a production assistant at Steven Bochco Productions. After working his way up to associate producer, he wrote, produced, and directed Dead Guy, a 16-minute short film that received accolades on the festival circuit and caught the attention of industry professionals. He then produced and directed the critically acclaimed Bochco series Murder One for two seasons, followed by a stint as supervising producer and director of the drama Brooklyn South. Following that, Marc directed episodes of The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Felicity, Sports Night, Buddy Faro, Maximum Bob, Popular, and Scrubs, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also directed the pilot episodes of My Name Is Earl, Medical Investigation, Cracking Up, Partners, It’s Not About Me, Couples, News from the Edge, and Brutally Normal. Marc executive produced and directed the series Ed, It’s Not About Me, Brutally Normal, and Medical Investigation.

LEE BUTLER was in charge of the United States’ strategic nuclear forces—encompassing the nation’s long-range bomber and landand sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are equipped to carry up to ten thousand nuclear warheads—from January 1991 to February 1994. In this position, he was also responsible for developing the nuclear war plan and was the principal advisor to the President on the execution of that plan. He is a 1961 graduate of the Air Force Academy and was an Olmsted Scholar at the University of Paris, where he earned a master’s degree in international relations. General Butler has flown more than three thousand hours in 15 different types of aircraft. He flew the F-4 in combat in Vietnam. He has been a member of numerous civic organizations, including the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academy of Sciences. He served on the Boards of several service organizations while living in Omaha, Nebraska. He has received numerous awards and honors, both military and civic, including the Heinz Award for Public Policy. He is married to the former Dorene Nunley of Norwalk, California. He and his wife have two children, Brett and Lisa, and six grandchildren. General and Mrs. Butler make their home in Laguna Beach, California.

JOAN BUZZALLINO is vice president, human resources, technology, and manufacturing at IBM. She joined IBM 30 years ago as an educational services representative in New York City and has held positions covering all aspects of sales, including sales manager in Philadelphia and branch manager in Morristown, New Jersey. She was appointed to her first executive position in 1990 as director of human resources, operations, for the IBM United States Marketing and Services organization. In 1994 she was named director, executive programs, responsible for succession planning and executive compensation programs for IBM North America. Joan has served as vice president of HR for IBM Global Industries, responsible for human resource programs for the seventeen thousand employees across 127 countries worldwide. She has been the vice president, human resources, for two of IBM’s global brand units—the personal systems group and the storage products group. She spent the last two years as vice president of HR for IBM’s new strategy to become the premier e-business on demand focusing on the cultural impact of major transformation. She assumed her current role as HR leader for IBM’s 195,000 technical resources in October 2004. Joan graduated from Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania, with a B.S. degree in education and she currently serves on the college’s Board of Trustees.

LARRY R. CARTER is a senior vice president in Cisco’s Office of the President and a member of the Cisco Board of Directors. Carter joined Cisco as chief financial officer (CFO) in 1995 and developed a world-class finance organization during his eight-year tenure. Under his leadership, the Cisco Finance Organization leveraged Internet technologies to pioneer daily financial reporting on crucial metrics for company executives and made the oneday worldwide “virtual close” a reality that cuts finance costs almost in half as a percentage of revenue.

JUDY CHU was elected to the California State Assembly in May 2001. She represents the 49th Assembly District, which includes Alhambra, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, and South El Monte in Southern California.

MARTHA COOLIDGE is one of the more prominent female directors working in Hollywood. She received extensive training at the Rhode Island School of Design, New York’s School of Visual Arts, and the New York University Institute of Film and Television graduate school. During the period of her education, she made many prize-winning films and documentaries. Her first directorial job was a short film, Not a Pretty Picture (1975), which examined high school date rape. It won acclaim and attention, as did her featurelength City Girl (1983), which led to her subsequent job directing the modest commercial feature comedy Valley Girl (1983) with Nicolas Cage in his first starring role. This film’s unexpectedly positive reviews won Coolidge major studio assignments. Coolidge also found satisfying work in television and made the hit movie, Rambling Rose (1991), the story of a free-spirited young woman in a small Southern town, which earned Oscar nominations for its stars Laura Dern and Diane Ladd. Recent credits include The Prince and Me (2004) starring Julia Stiles. Coolidge is currently in production on Hillary Duff’s latest movie, Material Girls. Long active in the Directors Guild of America, she was elected its first female president in March 2002 and she held the position until 2003.

BARBARA CORDAY is recently retired as chair and professor of the Production Division of the world famous USC School of Cinema Television. Previously, Corday was president of Columbia Pictures Television; she was the first woman in Hollywood to hold that position at a major studio. She was also the first woman to head all primetime programming at a network, CBS. She was cocreator of the multiaward winning series Cagney & Lacey, cocreator of the Emmy nominated series American Dream, and writer or producer of many others. Corday lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Roger Lowenstein, and has a grown daughter.

RONALD V. DELLUMS is founder and senior partner of Dellums and Associates, L.L.C. He retired from Congress in 1998 after being first elected in 1970. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Mr. Dellums occupied a number of top leadership positions, including the chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee. As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he was renowned for his visionary leadership in helping to end the U.S. support for the racist apartheid regime of South Africa. Upon retiring from the House of Representatives, Mr. Dellums accepted the position of president of Healthcare International Management Company. Mr. Dellums conceived the AIDS Marshall Plan for Africa, which evolved into today’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. President Clinton appointed Mr. Dellums to chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in 1999. Mr. Dellums currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Constituency for Africa. Mr. Dellums has received numerous honors and awards, including the eponymous naming of two buildings in Oakland, California. His contributions to higher education have earned wide recognition. Mr. Dellums has authored two books, including Lying Down with the Lions: A Public Life from the Streets of Oakland to the Halls of Power (2000). His family was the focus of a 2000 Disney movie, The Color of Friendship, which depicted their experience hosting a white South African exchange student in the 1970s.

NICK M. DONOFRIO is the senior vice president, technology and manufacturing for IBM. He is the leader of IBM’s technology strategy and is a champion for innovation across IBM and its global ecosystem. His responsibilities include IBM Research, the Integrated Supply Chain and Integrated Product Development teams, Governmental Programs, Environmental Health and Product Safety, Quality, and IBM’s enterprise on-demand transformation team.

DAVID DREIER was born in Kansas City, Missouri, where he remains active in his family’s real estate investment firm. Dreier graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College in 1975 and earned a master’s degree in American government from Claremont Graduate University the following year. From 1976 to 1978, Dreier served as director of corporate relations for Claremont McKenna College. He also worked in marketing for a San Dimas industrial firm until his election to Congress in 1980. Congressman Dreier has established a record of leadership through honesty, integrity, and accountability. At the start of the 106^th Congress in January 1999, Dreier joined the House Leadership when he took the helm of the powerful House Committee on Rules. One of the youngest as well as the first Californian Rules Chairman in history, David Dreier plays a pivotal role in fashioning key legislation. In May 2001 Dreier was unanimously selected by his California colleagues to chair the state’s Republican Congressional delegation. As chairman, he leads the Congress’s largest Republican delegation on matters of importance to California. In the fall of 2003, he was asked by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to chair his transition team. As a member of the House Republican leadership, he encourages bipartisan solutions, while sticking to his core principles of working to promote individual liberty, economic opportunity, strong U.S. global leadership, and limited but effective government.

KIM FISHER is a director at Prologue International, which provides the expertise and technology required to effectively and efficiently build world-class centers of innovation that foster entrepreneurship. Through her role at Prologue, Ms. Fisher has started, run, turned around, and built sustainable revenue models for incubators, technology parks, and business centers.

DIXIE GARR has been vice president of customer success engineering at Cisco Systems, Inc.—the leader in Internet communication solutions—for the past six years. The scope of her direct teams has included specialized technical support, laboratories, and clientfunded strategic cross-corporation initiatives. During Ms. Garr’s tenure, the level of customer satisfaction improved from a 3.85 baseline to 4.78 of 5.0 maximum; a single cross-functional improvement program saved over one half billion dollars last year. Prior to joining Cisco, Ms. Garr held leadership positions in six large corporations. As director of software engineering at Texas Instruments, Ms. Garr led a team of more than nine hundred software engineers responsible for hundreds of development projects as well as office automation. Her industry recognitions include being named one of the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology (2004), NSBE Technology Woman of the Year (2002), IT Executive of the Year by Career Communication (2000), Black Engineer of the Year for Professional Achievement in Industry, and Corporate Most Influential African American in the Bay Area. She is an alumnus of Leadership America and Leadership Texas. She was cofounder and president of the Minority Leadership Initiative at TI. Ms. Garr is married to David Schultz. Her greatest in-progress masterpiece is her daughter, Alexandra Garr-Schultz, a high school senior.

LEEZA GIBBONS has been entering America’s living rooms for over 20 years. In 2004, Leeza and Westwood One launched Leeza at Night. Gibbons currently hosts Lifetime’s successful primetime magazine, What Should You Do? Gibbons left her daily post as managing editor and host of the newsmagazine EXTRA in order to form the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation. Gibbons has been a national anchor/reporter on Entertainment Tonight and has hosted and served as executive producer of her own daytime talk show, Leeza. Gibbons received nominations for both Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host every year she was eligible, and Leeza garnered 27 Daytime Emmy Nominations and won three Emmys. Gibbons was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Televised projects produced by or in association with LGE and Leeza include a CBS special with IWON.com, E!’s Assignment E! with Leeza Gibbons, the highest-rated non-news series in the channel’s history, and the Emmy-winning Teen Files. Gibbons is the national spokesperson for Kids Peace, a celebrity ambassador for ChildHelp USA, and a Board member of Marc Klass’s Beyond Missing. Gibbons has testified before Congress and is most proud to have received the Congressional Horizon Award for her crusade on children’s issues. Gibbons is married to architect/actor Stephen Meadows. They have three children—a daughter, Lexi, and sons, Troy and Nathan.

LESLI LINKA GLATTER’s first film, Tales of Meeting and Parting, received an Academy Award nomination. Glatter made her feature directorial debut with New Line’s successful coming-of-age comedy, Now and Then. Previously, she directed HBO’s highly acclaimed State of Emergency, which received a Cable ACE nomination for Best Picture as well as a nomination for the Humanitas award. Lesli is based at John Wells Production and is in development on numerous film and television projects. Currently she is directing the final two episodes of the upcoming NBC miniseries Revelations with Bill Pullman, by David O. Seltzer. She directed episodes of The O.C., Jonny Zero, and Numbers. Lesli has also directed multiple episodes of The West Wing, ER—including the 1998 season finale—and various episodes of Third Watch, NYPD Blue, Brooklyn South, Murder One, the highly acclaimed Freaks and Geeks, Stephen Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, and Twin Peaks for David Lynch, for which she received a Director’s Guild Nomination. She also directed the pilot In My Life for Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope and the WB and Newton for Joel Silver and Warner Bros. Lesli presently serves on AFI’s Education and Training Board, the Western Directors Council of the Director’s Guild of America, and the Silver Circle of Women in Film and is a mentor for the Independent Feature Projects’ Project Involve.

ARACELI GONZALEZ is an American of Mexican decent. Gonzalez’s dedication to assisting working families and improving their quality of life led her to a career as a small business consultant in which role she helps aspiring entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses. She is the proud owner of AG Business Services, which provides small business consulting, document preparation services, and business plan preparation. In 1996 Gonzalez became the first and youngest Latina to be elected as city council member and Vice-Mayor of Cudahy, California. In 2000 Gonzalez was a regional cochair and national Hispanic media spokesperson on the Bush for President campaign and was a delegate at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia. Later in 2000 Gonzalez announced her intentions to run for the State Senate when she became increasingly frustrated with political leaders in Sacramento. In 2002 President George W. Bush recognized her for outstanding Hispanic leadership. She is a 2003 nominee for the American Institute of Young Political Leaders and currently serves on the Republican Central Committee of Orange County for Senate District 34. In 2004 she served as a delegate for the convention in New York and was selected as platform chair for California. She is a founding member and former member of the Board of Directors/President for the National Latina Business Women Association of Orange County (NLBWA-OC) and a JAYCEES member.

JUDITH GWATHMEY is the founder and CEO of Gwathmey, Inc., a pre-clinical contract research laboratory that supports small to midsized biotechnology companies in getting safe drugs to the FDA for approval to enter clinical trial. She formerly was an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and she currently is professor of medicine and physiology at Boston University Medical Center and senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Medicine. She has received two of the highest awards from the Ohio State University—the William Oxley Thompson Distinguished Alumnus Award for Excellence in Science Before Age 35 and Distinguished Alumnus for Outstanding Accomplishments in Science and Mentoring from the School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Gwathmey is a highly respected and referenced thought leader in cardiovascular disease, who has received over $12 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. With these funds, she has published over 160 papers. Dr. Gwathmey wrote and edited a landmark book on cardiovascular disease entitled Heart Failure: Basic Research and Clinical Aspects and is the author of the most cited paper in heart failure research on the role of calcium in heart failure. She is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association and the first nonphysician Fellow elected to the American College of Cardiology. In 2001 Dr. Gwathmey was awarded the Presidential Mentoring Award in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering. Since that time, Dr. Gwathmey has coauthored a major mentoring article published in the Journal of Social Issues. Judith lives in Virginia with her family.

ANTHONY HAYTER is the owner and operator of a Marble Slab Creamery ice cream shop. He is the CEO of VHA Creamery, Inc., the business entity behind the shop, and is currently in the process of opening his second Marble Slab. Mr. Hayter earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Prairie View A&M University in 1996 and completed his master’s degree in electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998. He began his career in technical sales and marketing at Texas Instruments. After spending five years at the company, he worked for several high-tech startups and eventually traded in his world of chips and silicon for scoops and cones in 2003. Anthony enjoys giving back to an organization called BUILD, which helps at-risk youth groom their entrepreneurial skills while preparing them for college. He lives in San Jose with his wife Vickye Hayter.

GALE ANNE HURD is one of the most respected and accomplished movie producers in the entertainment industry and is the chairman of her own production entity, Valhalla Motion Pictures. She has more than two-dozen feature films to her credit, including the three blockbuster Terminator movies, Aliens, The Abyss, The Hulk, Armageddon, and the award-winning indie, The Waterdance. Her films have grossed over $2 billion at the box office and garnered numerous Oscars. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University with a degree in economics and communications, Hurd began her entertainment career as an executive assistant to legendary filmmaker Roger Corman. At New World Pictures, she became the head of marketing and later a producer. Hurd has received many honors and awards for her producing and charitable work, including the prestigious Crystal Award from Women in Film, which honors those “outstanding women who have helped enhance the role of women within the entertainment industry.” In 2004 the National Board of Review honored her with a Special Achievement in Producing Award and in March 2004 Hurd received the Millennium Award for Entertainment Industry Environmental Leadership from former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev’s Green Cross.

RONALD KIRK is a partner in the Dallas office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Mr. Kirk earned his J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979. Kirk served as Mayor of the City of Dallas from 1995 until 2001, and in 1994, he served as the Texas Secretary of State. He has over 20 years of experience as legislative counsel for numerous public and private entities. He is a former Dallas Assistant District Attorney for Governmental Relations and has served as an aide to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Brinker International, Dean Foods Company, and PetsMart, Inc., and he is a National Trustee for the March of Dimes. Mr. Kirk lives in Dallas with his wife, Matrice Ellis-Kirk, and their two daughters, Elizabeth Alexandra Kirk and Catherine Victoria Kirk.

KAY KOPLOVITZ is the founder of USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, and USA Networks International, a company launched in 1977. Ms. Koplovitz served as chairperson and CEO until the company was sold for $4.5 billion in 1989. She is the principal of Koplovitz & Co., LLC. Ms. Koplovitz created Springboard Enterprises, which was launched in 2000 to raise venture capital for women entrepreneurs and has since then presented 275 companies with $2 billion in capital. In 2001 she cofounded Boldcap Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in technology and life science, mid-stage companies. She is presently on the Boards of Liz Claiborne and Instinet and is chairman of Reality 24/7 Network and a partner in The Directors’ Council. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas (2002), which she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs to create wealth through equity.

MITCHELL KOSS has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. He started in the television news and documentary business in the fall of 1983 at KCET, the Los Angeles PBS station. At KCET he worked the Newshour on PBS, as a writer, associate producer, and producer of documentaries for the PBS system, and for the science series Nova. Some of his projects won awards, including a Peabody. He has also produced for National Geographic. He joined Channel One News in the fall of 1992, where he worked with Lisa Ling from 1994 to 1999. Through Channel One, he also produced segments or documentaries for ABC News, Nightline, the Today Show, CBS News, CNN, KCET, PBS, the WB Network, and HBO. With Serena Altschul, Laura Ling, and Pat Lope, he created the MTV investigative documentary series, Breaking It Down with Serena, which ran from 2000 to 2002. He has contributed to the Detroit News, Advertising Age, National Review, the New York Times, the NewsAmerica syndicate, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Los Angeles Weekly, and the Los Angeles Times.

CHARLES LICKEL is vice president, systems software and storage development, Systems & Technology Group at the IBM Corporation. Mr. Lickel is responsible for development activity for IBM TotalStorage solutions, software development for the IBM eServer iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, and zSeries, and the Linux Technology Center. Mr. Lickel joined IBM in 1978 as a software engineer after graduating with a B.A. degree from the State University of New York at Albany. In the course of his IBM career, he has contributed significantly towards “reinventing” the S/390 and creating the OS/390 operating system, in addition to pioneering efforts to propel IBM’s family of data management products to the leadership position in the industry. Mr. Lickel is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum in Silicon Valley, is on the Board of Directors for United Way of Southern Arizona, and serves as IBM’s senior site executive for Arizona—IBM’s principal link with Arizona’s state and federal elected officials. Recognized as a leader of diversity within IBM, then-chairman Lou Gerstner appointed Mr. Lickel co-chair of the corporation’s GLBT diversity task force in 1998. In 2001 he was honored as one of the “Gay Financial Network 25” for his effectiveness in shaping a diversity-friendly climate at work as well as for service as a role model in business leadership. Mr. Lickel currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his partner.

LISA LING has been working in television for 14 years and is currently with National Geographic Explorer. Most recently, she co-hosted The View, sitting alongside Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Joy Behar.

PAULA MADISON is the president and general manager of NBC4 (KNBC), NBC’s owned and operated station in Los Angeles. She is the first African American woman to become general manager at a network-owned station in a top five market. She was also named regional general manager for the NBC/Telemundo television stations in Los Angeles (KNBC, KVEA, and KWHY) when the NBC network purchased the Telemundo network in April 2002.

ROSARIO MARIN was sworn in as the 41^st Treasurer of the United States in August 2001. She was the first immigrant ever to hold that honor and the highest-ranking Latina in President George W. Bush’s first administration. A council member and Mayor of the City of Huntington Park, she was elected in 1994 and overwhelmingly reelected in 1999. Ms. Marin served in Governor Pete Wilson’s administration for seven years. Her last position was Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Relations. As a result of her first son, Eric, being born with Down syndrome, Ms. Marin became an advocate for people with disabilities. Her work in this field has earned her numerous awards, including the distinguished Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Prize given to her at the United Nations in 1995. A graduate of the California State University, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, she completed the Senior Executives of State and Local Government Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She received an Honoris Causa Doctorate of Laws Degree from her alma mater CSULA in 2002. She resides in Huntington Park with her husband of 23 years, Alvaro Alejandro Marin, and their three children—Eric, Carmen, and Alex.

SHARON MARTINEZ is founder and president of SMART Temporary Personnel Services, a woman- and minority-owned employment agency that specializes in clerical, bilingual, and promotional staffing founded in Monterey Park and now located in Alhambra, California. SMART Temporary Personnel Services was founded in June 1993 and now services the greater Los Angeles area, including the counties of Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.

DEBRA MARTUCCI is the vice president of information technology (IT) at Synopsys. Debra has been with Synopsys for over 12 years and has contributed to the success of many mergers and acquisitions in her role as vice president of IT as well as through her responsibilities in managing the Release Engineering functions and driving the Porting and Licensing teams. Her IT group provides a strategic advantage for Synopsys. Prior to her time at Synopsys, Debra worked in the area of software simulation, which included positions within NASA in the Space Shuttle Training Division as well as managing teams responsible for developing code with objectoriented design methodologies for very large-scale real-time embedded microprocessor and database generation systems for advanced aircraft radar simulation. She earned her bachelor of science degree in physics from North Adams State College (Massachusetts) and completed a master’s degree in physics from the University of Houston, publishing her thesis entitled “The Optical Degradation of Solar Absorbing Black Chrome Thin Films.” She is originally from Boston and now lives in San Mateo, California, where she enjoys family time with her husband and two dogs.

LAURA J. MEDINA’s life and show business career both began in New York City—although not at the same time. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Laura’s film career began at New York University Graduate Institute of Film and Television, Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a master’s degree in fine arts in film directing. After graduation, her student film, the documentary short, Leslie Tulips (about a young exotic dancer/stripper and her mother), won Laura a Directing Fellowship from the Astoria Studios /New York State Council of the Arts. Within a few years, Laura’s career took an unexpected detour into the production side of filmmaking. Based in New York and later Los Angeles, Laura worked as a production manager, then as a line producer, and eventually as a producer on over a dozen feature films and assorted other media projects, filming all over the United States, Mexico, Europe, and North Africa. With the coming of the millennium, Laura decided to return to her directing career by writing, directing, and producing a short comedy film, Heart Attack, which was an official selection at numerous film festivals. Since then, Laura has continued to pursue directing film and television, while also writing and developing her own feature film projects.

RON MEYER was appointed president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios on August 1, 1995. Prior to joining Universal Studios, Mr. Meyer was president of Creative Artists Agency, Inc., which he founded in 1975 with four fellow agents from the William Morris Agency. Over the years they built the company into the preeminent talent agency, representing many of the industry’s most influential and talented people, and later expanded its range of services to include consulting with leading American and international corporations. Previously, Mr. Meyer was a television agent with the William Morris Agency from 1970 to 1975. Prior to that, he worked as a messenger at the Paul Kohner Agency in Los Angeles from 1964 to 1970. Before joining the Paul Kohner Agency, Mr. Meyer served in the United States Marine Corps. He lives in Malibu, California, with his wife, Kelly Chapman, and his three daughters and son.

MARTHA J. MORRIS is currently on leave of absence from IBM Corp. Prior to her leave, she served as vice president of global services procurement in Somers, New York. Martha earned her degree in engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1980. She served in many executive positions during her career at IBM, including vice president of world wide server and storage manufacturing. She has served on the Global Women’s Board and as a trustee of Marist College and has been recognized for her commitment to mentoring by the YWCA and other nonprofit organizations. Martha lives in Tennessee with her husband, John.

JUAN (JOHN) NOQUEZ was raised in the diverse community of Boyle Heights, a small suburb just three miles east of downtown Los Angeles. John later received his formal education at California State University, Los Angeles. His concentration was in real estate, which greatly assisted him in his more than 18-year career with the Los Angeles Assessor’s Office. John’s current assignment—to value the most architecturally significant properties in downtown Los Angeles—has allowed him to become a specialist in the Historic Core of downtown Los Angeles. In John’s leisure time, he plays an active role in the community of Huntington Park. In September 2000, he was appointed City Clerk, and in March 2003, he received the greatest number of votes in the race for City Council. His peers on the Council immediately selected him as Vice-Mayor. In March 2004, John was selected to be Mayor of the City of Huntington Park. He is actively educating Huntington Park and the Southeast areas of Los Angeles in historic preservation. He is also very active in transportation issues, senior health care, and youth activities in his city.

DONALD P. PETTIT is a retired Air Force Brigadier General. He has 28 years of experience working in space and strategic force mission areas. During his time of service, he held numerous senior command and management positions. In his last USAF assignment, he served as the commander, 45^th Space Wing, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, with responsibility for all space launch operations (civil, commercial, and DoD) on the Eastern Range, the busiest spaceport in the world. Other key senior leadership positions he has held include director of plans and programs, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, chief, Nuclear Operations Division, and deputy director for operations, NMCC, Operations Directorate, the Joint Staff, commander, 341^st Space Wing, Malmstrom Air Force Base, our nation’s largest ICBM complex. Additionally, he has been a member of the Air Force Space Panel and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and currently serves on several U.S. government commissioned senior level study/review groups. He is currently the executive director, operations and programs, for Aero Thermo Technology (AT2), Inc., a small business with highly experienced technical and managerial professionals specializing in engineering services, design and analysis, program management, and ballistic missile technology development.

JIM ROBBINS founded Business Cluster Development in 1993. BCD has helped over twenty organizations with the formation of sectorfocused incubators. The latest BCD projects are an open source software incubator in Beaverton, Oregon, and a homeland security incubator in Annapolis, Maryland. Jim is executive director of the Software Business Cluster, the first software incubator in California. The Software Business Cluster was named Incubator of the Year for 2000 by the National Business Incubation Association. Over $550 million in venture investment has been made in SBC companies over the last four years, and four SBC companies have gone public. Jim is also director of the Environmental Business Cluster in San Jose, California. The EBC was the first environmental incubator in the United States when it was formed in 1994. The EBC specializes in technology commercialization of clean and renewable energy technology. Jim developed the Panasonic Incubator in 1999. It incubates early stage companies in order to create technology partnerships for Panasonic. Jim is also on the Board of Directors of the National Business Incubation Association. He has worked for Digital Equipment Corporation and the U.S. Supreme Court and was a trial attorney.

DIANE L. ROBINA is a 17-year veteran of MTV Networks. Her latest assignment at Viacom is as executive vice president for acquisitions strategies for MTVN. Robina was executive vice president and general manager of TNN cable network. The New TNN—which was a country music/country lifestyle network for most of its 20 years—went national in appeal and enjoyed a 100 percent ratings increase in its target demo of 18-49. Formerly ranked 28^th among basic cable networks, it jumped to top ten, becoming the fifth highest prime time. During the relaunch, Robina managed the successful transition of cable’s high-rated program, WWE RAW. She also led the New TNN’s efforts to acquire some of television’s top franchises, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and the powerhouse CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Previously, Robina was associated general manager and senior vice president of programming of TV Land starting in 1997 and played a key role in the programming strategy for both Nick at Nite and TV Land, while leading TV Land’s distribution and advertising goals. Robina quickly rose through the ranks to become director of acquisitions and then vice president of acquisitions before moving to TV Land. Robina was named vice president of programming for Nick at Nite/TV Land and was charged with programming the launch of the new network. A year later, she was promoted to the top post at the network.

NIKKI ROCCO has resided as president of Universal Pictures Distribution organization since 1996 and has been with Universal Pictures since 1967. With Nikki heading the distribution strategy, the studio opened three movies in a row at $50-plus million domestic gross (Bruce Almighty, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and The Hulk) and had five $100-plus million domestic-grossing films in one summer.

BETHANY ROONEY has directed over 100 hours of prime-time network series television and eight TV movies. Her series work includes Joan of Arcadia, Crossing Jordan, One Tree Hill, Ally McBeal, Beverly Hills 90210, and St. Elsewhere, among many others. She received a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and currently teaches directing at UCLA Extensions and numerous acting workshops in the Los Angeles area. She is married and lives in Los Angeles with her family.

LINDA SANFORD, senior vice president, Enterprise On Demand Transformation and Information Technology, is leading IBM’s internal transformation to the industry’s premier on-demand business. In this role, Ms. Sanford is responsible for working across IBM to transform core business processes, create an IT infrastructure to support those processes, and help create a culture that recognizes the value that on-demand leadership can bring to IBM.

HILDA L. SOLIS was first elected to Congress in 2000. Currently, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32) is serving her third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She represents parts of the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles. Solis serves on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee; she is the first Latina to serve on this committee. She is the Ranking Member of the Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. She is also chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s Task Force on Health and Democratic vice-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues. Solis’s hard work and passion to fight for environmental justice is nationally recognized. In August 2000 she was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her pioneering work on environmental justice issues in California. She has proven her dedication to the pursuit of good environmental public policy. Her priorities are protecting the environment, improving the quality of healthcare, and fighting for the rights of working families.

ANNE SWEENEY is the cochairman, Media Networks, for the Walt Disney Company and president of Disney-ABC Television Group. Named the “Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment” by The Hollywood Reporter, one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune, and one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes, Anne Sweeney is responsible for all of Disney’s nonsports, cable, satellite, and broadcast properties globally, including ABC Television Network, Touchstone Television, and the DISNEY ABC Cable Networks Group. She also oversees Walt Disney Television Animation and Buena Vista Domestic and International Television and manages Disney’s equity interests in Lifetime Entertainment Services, A&E Television Networks, and E! Entertainment Networks.

PAMELA THOMAS-GRAHAM is the chairman of CNBC, the global leader in business news. CNBC provides business news programming and financial market coverage to more than 201 million homes worldwide. Prior to her promotion to chairman, Thomas-Graham served as president and chief executive officer of CNBC. Under Thomas-Graham’s leadership, the network has achieved record profitability, and CNBC’s audience continues to be the wealthiest in all of cable television. Previously, Thomas-Graham served as president and chief executive officer of CNBC.com. Thomas-Graham is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College and a 1989 graduate of Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Before joining NBC in September 1999, Thomas-Graham was a partner at McKinsey & Company, the global managementconsulting firm. She joined the firm in 1989 and six years later became its first black woman partner. She has received numerous awards, including being named “Woman of the Year” by Glamour Magazine, Ms. Magazine, and the Financial Woman’s Association. Fortune Magazine named her one of the “50 Most Powerful Blacks in Business.” In addition to her corporate work, Thomas-Graham is the best-selling author of the critically acclaimed “Ivy League Mystery Series,” which includes three novels published by Simon & Schuster.

KATHLEEN VON DER AHE is a vice president in Affiliate Relations for the ABC Television Network. Kathleen earned her B.A. degree in communications and broadcasting from Slippery Rock University and also graduated from Simmons School of Management. Kathleen began her career with ABC in 1988 and has held various positions within the network, including positions in National TV sales, ABC Sports, and Broadcast Operations and Engineering. Kathleen joined Affiliate Relations in 1994 as an account representative. Subsequently she was promoted to associate director, Pacific/Mountain region, director, Southeast region, and director Pacific/Mountain region, where she launched the West Coast Satellite office for Affiliate Relations. Kathleen lives in Toluca Lake with her husband, Tim Von der Ahe, and her two children, Timmy and MaryJane Von der Ahe.

LOUISE J. WANNIER, a successful serial entrepreneur, founded and built three companies and is embarking on her fourth. My Shape.org is focused on making it easier to find fashion that fits and flatters your body. Enfish Software makes the “google” for your PC, offering personal search technology for solving the problem of information overload. Prior to establishing Enfish, Ms. Wannier was a cofounder, member of the Board of Directors, and chief operating officer of Gemstar Development Corporation, the makers of VCRPlus+, and then chief executive of Gemstar Europe. Gemstar grew to $65 million in revenues within three-and-a-half years with substantial profitability. VCRPlus+ is widely recognized as the most successful launch of a new consumer electronics product since the Sony Walkman. Gemstar is publicly quoted on NAS-DAQ, with a market capitalization of over $1 billion.

BOB WRIGHT became chairman and chief executive officer of NBC Universal in May 2004 in conjunction with the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment. He joined NBC as president and chief executive officer on September 1, 1986, and became chairman and chief executive officer on June 4, 2001. Mr. Wright has had one of the longest and most successful tenures of any media company chief executive. Under his leadership, NBC was transformed from a broadcast network into a global media powerhouse with leadership in television programming, station ownership, and television production. With the formation of NBC Universal, Mr. Wright takes the reins of one of the world’s fastestgrowing and most profitable media and entertainment companies. Mr. Wright serves as vice chairman of the Board and executive officer of the General Electric Company. Mr. Wright has received the Golden Mike Award from the Broadcasters’ Foundation, the Steven J. Ross Humanitarian of the Year award from the UJA-Federation of New York, and the Gold Medal Award from the International Radio and Television Society Foundation. Along with his wife, Suzanne, Mr. Wright serves as cofounder of Autism Speaks, a new initiative dedicated to raising public awareness and research funds to find the answers to autism.

WILLIAM A. WULF is currently the president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Together with its sibling, the National Academy of Sciences, the NAE is both an honorific organization and an independent, authoritative advisor to the government on issues involving science and technology. Previously, Dr. Wulf was an assistant director of the National Science Foundation, founder and CEO of Tartan Laboratories, and a professor of computer science at the University of Virginia and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Wulf is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a corresponding member of the Academia Espanola De Ingeniera, a member of the Academy Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria), a foreign member of the Engineering Academy of Japan, and a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of five professional societies: the ACM, the IEEE, the AAAS, IEC, and AWlS. He is the author of over 100 papers and technical reports, has written three books, holds two U.S. patents, and has supervised over 25 Ph.D.’s in computer science.

HENRY YUEN, cofounder and previous CEO of Gemstar, along with Daniel Kwoh, invented the VCR Plus. To use this product, consumer electronic companies pay royalties for the privilege of incorporating Gemstar’s program access code circuitry into its TV sets, VCRs, and set-top boxes. Publications like Murdoch’s TV Guide pay for the privilege of publishing the one- to eight-digit VCR Plus codes in program listings, and then consumers use them to program their VCRs. Gemstar later merged with TV Guide to become Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. At the time of Yuen’s departure in 2002, it was a leading global media and technology company involved in developing, licensing, marketing, and distributing products and services that simplify and enhance television guidance and consumer entertainment.