Kim Annunziata is Director of Supply Chain Management at Delta Airlines. Prior to joining Delta Airlines, Annunziata was the Southern Group Procurement Director for Waste Management, Incorporated, a Vice President at Bear Stearns & Company in the Crude Oil and Natural Gas Trading unit, Corporate Director of Supply Management at M.A. Hanna Company, and Senior Trader at BP and The Williams Companies. She began her career in the U.S. Navy as a Supply Corps Officer, retiring as a Commander. Annunziata received her Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Miami University in Oxford, OH and her Master of Science in Management from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Residing in Atlanta, Annunziata regularly supports Westminster School student activities, and is a founding member of the Waste Management Women's Professional Network.

Ms. Denise Billups is Director, Sales Learning, Americas and WW ibm.com where she is responsible for enabling the success of over 2000 sellers, sales teams and sales leaders through effective learning and training initiatives. After 28 years with IBM it was Ms. Billups career-long passion for the skill, personal, professional and career development of all employees that led to her current assignment.

Ms. Billups is active with many IBM groups dedicated to enhancing diversity, mentoring and leadership development. She was the founding chair of the Atlanta Black Network of IBM Employees in 1997 and is active with the Black Executive Network at IBM. Ms. Billups serves on the boards of Possible Woman Foundation International (Scholarship Committee Chair), Cool Girls, Inc. (past Board Chair) and the Atlanta Women’s Alliance (past President). She serves as an advisory board member for the Atlanta chapter of Women in Technology International. Ms. Billups is also proud to serve as a mentor for other top performing professional women through
Pathbuilders, Inc. where she has volunteered for the past eight years. In the past she has served on the Boards of Directors of the Northside Hospital Foundation, Greater Atlanta Metropolitan YWCA, Sheltering Arms, Atlanta Women’s Network, National Coalition of 100 Black Women of Metropolitan Atlanta and Quality Care for Children (Past Vice President). Ms. Billups volunteers her time with many other charitable organizations which focus on literacy and initiatives that positively impact the lives of children, women and minorities.

For her professional leadership and her many contributions to the community Ms. Billups was recognized with a United Way of Dekalb County Legacy Award in 2008 and a Turknett Leadership Character award in 2007. In 2005 she was spotlighted by Atlanta Woman Magazine as one of the 25 Power Women to Watch and as Women Looking Ahead’s 100s List of Georgia’s Most Powerful and Influential Women.

Kathy Leggett Eldridge

Certified Public Accountant

As a sole practitioner licensed in Georgia, Kathy provides various accounting and audit preparation services to nonprofit clients.  Her areas of expertise include providing accounting, auditing, compliance, and consulting services to organizations including churches, religious organizations, voluntary health and welfare organizations, and membership-based associations.  Kathy has drafted accounting policies and procedures manuals for several churches including the evaluation of these churches’ internal control systems.  She holds a Certificate of Educational Achievement in Governmental/Nonprofit Accounting and Auditing from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  She has presented workshops and seminars for the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA), Automated Church Systems (ACS) Users’ Group in Atlanta, National Business Managers’ Conference for Alumni Associations, ACS National Convention, as well as the Atlanta and Peach State chapters of the National Association of Church Business Administrators.

Kathy has been practicing in public accounting since 1991 when she first joined Brooks, McGinnis & Company, LLC (a local firm of Certified Public Accountants) in Atlanta.  She began as a staff accountant and attained ownership in that Firm.  Kathy left in 2006 to establish her own practice.    

Angie is Chief Financial Officer for her company. Her company is a  privately held hotel development and renovation company that specializes in hotel project management, offering unbeatable project management services throughout the world. Ms. Fife provides financial management expertise for PDSI and its clients. Her responsibilities as CFO include leading teams to establish financial controls, analyzing accounting and project cost reporting and controlling the funding and payment processes. As one of PDSI’s founding partners, Ms. Fife has been an key member of PDSI’s strategic planning committee and overseen PDSI’s double digit growth since its inception as well as the expansion of multiple offices throughout the United States. She has been integral in gaining PDSI’s clients’ confidence in financial controls.

Prior to joining PDSI Ms. Fife worked in the banking and hospitality industries. Ms. Fife is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with degrees in Finance and Economics. She has been actively involved with the Girls Scouts of America as well as several local community service organizations.
 

Mary Lou Bryant Frank, Ph.D. received degrees in Speech Communication, Counseling, and Psychology from Colorado State University, with a doctoral internship at the University of Delaware. A licensed psychologist, she has received the Distinguished Provider Award in Counseling. She has been the recipient of grants, national leadership awards, teaching and diversity leadership awards, and awards for community service. She has been named in lists of Who's Who and has been a consultant and speaker nationally and internationally on first year programs, learning communities, student success, women in higher education, ethics, leadership, and faculty development.

Dr. Frank has published in journals and textbooks. At Arizona State University, she coordinated the Eating Disorders treatment program and team, co-coordinated the master's and doctoral practicum training programs, and taught in the graduate program in counseling. She was associate professor and assistant academic dean at the University of Virginia at Wise. Dr. Frank next served as professor and department head of Psychology & Sociology at North Georgia College & State University. Prior to coming to Gainesville State, she served as the Dean of Undergraduate Studies and the University College at Kennesaw State University.

Dr. Frank most recently has been the president of the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education and is the Vice President for the Georgia Women's Institute. She serves on many boards in addition to being active in numerous professional and community associations.

Helene Lollis, President

PATHBUILDERS, Inc.

Helene Lollis is the President of PATHBUILDERS, Inc., an organization focused on helping companies shape the future with high-performing women.  PATHBUILDERS works with clients to increase the gender-diversity of their senior leadership teams and focuses on the development of high-potential women at four key stages in their careers.   Since 1995, the organization has worked with over 300 organizations and has impacted the career success of more than 2000 Atlanta-area women.

Prior to being with PATHBUILDERS, Helene spent 12 years with Amoco and then BP Corporations in a wide range of responsibilities in the commodity plastics arena.  An engineer by education, her work spanned the areas of process and product development, marketing, strategic planning, and mergers/acquisitions.  She successfully combines highly-technical skills with broad business sense, and brings tremendous energy to all that she does.  In addition to her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering, Helene is a graduate of Dartmouth’s Tuck-WBENC executive program for female entrepreneurs.

Helene is frequently invited to speak the topics of mentoring and career planning, both inside client companies (e.g., BellSouth, Home Depot, Coca-Cola Enterprises, etc.) and for other organizations (e.g., Georgia Tech’s Alumni Mentoring Program, The International Alliance for Women, the Buckhead Business Ass’n Leadership Development Program, the Jaycees, the Georgia Ass’n of Women Lawyers, etc.)

Helene is extremely active in the Atlanta community.  She serves on the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and she chairs the Teacher Recruitment subcommittee of the Chamber’s Regional Education initiative.  She also chairs the Chamber’s Small to Mid-Sized Business Council.  She is a member of the Board of Advisors for Women’s Leadership Exchange; she was just recently named to the Boards of Directors for the Possible Woman Foundation International and Junior Achievement of Georgia.  Helene has a long history as a Junior Achievement volunteer, and in 2006 she became a lead advisor in the inaugural JA Fellows Program.  She is also a volunteer wedding coordinator at her church.  Helene was selected as a finalist for the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Small Business Person of the Year Award in 2005.

Myra McElhaney Myra McElhaney is a speaker, workshop leader and writer who helps companies and associations to improve workplace relationships and inspires people to push beyond their boundaries. Her programs are based on the belief that when people get along better they do better work, stress is reduced, morale goes up, and turnover goes down.

Investor's Business Daily, The Employment Review, Woman's World, and other renowned publications quote her frequently. Her articles have also appeared in various publications including Customer Relationship Management, Competitive Edge, USIndustry Today, and Atlanta Woman.
Myra's writing is featured in two anthology books published by James & Brookfield in Atlanta, Georgia. Among her professional affiliations: The International Alliance of Women, The National Association of Female Executives and the National Speakers Association.
Myra is currently writing a book based on interviews with 100 women who were "the first woman to…" in a variety of accomplishments. First Women: A Celebration of Women Who Pushed Beyond the Boundaries, scheduled for release in 2006.

Denise Poole
AMI Inflight and AMI Wines

Denise Poole has been CEO of AMI Inflight and AMI Wines for the past 9 years. AMI is a company that sources   food and beverage products in the US and Europe as well as wines from around the globe. The products are then marketed and sold to airlines in the US, Europe and Asia.  Prior to becoming a partner in AMI, Denise was Director of Food and Beverage at Delta Airlines where she and her staff planned menus for all of Delta’s International locations as well as for all cities in the US.

Denise has held several positions on the Board of Directors of the Inflight Food Service Association. She has also been a judge for the association’s Mercury award and President’s awards and has been on the associations Government Affairs committee. 

Denise has been active with Big Brothers/Big sisters for the past 11 years as she mentored a youth from the age of 8 to 19. Boys and Girls Clubs of America is an organization that Denise has financially supported for the past 4 years.

Barbara B. Rose, president of New Generation Partnerships Inc., has twenty-five years experience in strategic planning, management, development, training, recruiting and fundraising and now heads up an all service firm for not-for- profit organizations. She has specialized in philanthropic management as Vice President for Development at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, in several positions at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Director of College Relations at Keystone College, La Plume, PA. Rose is co-author of Dollars for Dreams, a book on focused fundraising on campuses. In 1981, Ms. Rose was among twenty women chosen for the American Council on Education’s National Identification Program, in 1983 was the recipient of Association for Fund Raising Officers, Inc.’s Distinguished Service Award, and attended the 1995 United Nations Women’s Conference in Beijing. She is a member of the National Advisory Panel of The Women’s Museum, Dallas, Texas, on the board of the Center for International Business Education and Research at Georgia Institute of Technology, a board member of the Possible Woman Foundation International. Inc. and on the national board of Leadership America.

Debbie Sessions
Porter Keadle Moore, LLP

Debbie Sessions is a partner at Porter Keadle Moore, LLP, a nationally recognized Atlanta based accounting and consulting firm. Debbie is an honor graduate of Mercer University. She joined the firm in 1983 and as the firm's Chief Operating Officer she is responsible for coordinating the financial, personnel and administrative aspects of the its operations. Debbie is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of CPAs and has held numerous executive positions with a variety of civic and professional organizations including the Partnership Against Domestic Violence, the Atlanta Women's Network, the Henry W. Grady Foundation, and the Association for Accounting Administration. She has been on the board of the Possible Woman Foundation International since 2003, serving on a variety of committees including branding and scholarship.

Laura Snyder is the director of marketing for Porter Keadle Moore, LLP, a nationally recognized Atlanta based accounting and consulting firm. Laura graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication. Experienced in both corporate and agency settings, Laura has assisted companies with marketing communications activities for 15 years. She is a member of the PKF North American Network SuperMarketer Task Force, which is responsible for developing marketing programs for the association's 90+ member firms. She is also the Chairman of the Marketing Committee for ProfitCrew, an association of public accounting firms designed to help construction industry members maximize their operational and financial performance. She is the Secretary of the Financial Institutions Forum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education of bank executives. She is active in the Association for Accounting Marketing, serving as a board member of both the national association and the Atlanta Chapter. For Possible Woman Foundation International, she serves on the branding committee and helps the organization with this marketing and branding initiatives.

Melissa Vernon, Director of Sustainable Strategy

InterfaceFLOR

Melissa Vernon is the Director of Sustainable Strategy for InterfaceFLOR. She supports sales efforts as a Sustainability Expert and researches trends and opportunities in the green product market. She oversees the company’s image, messaging and presence at key environmental conferences. As a member of the Construction Specifications Institute’s GreenFormat Team, Melissa is developing a common reporting format and database for collecting and evaluating sustainable product information in. Melissa is a LEED Accredited Professional. She has an MBA and an MS in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan.

Susan Willis Updegraff

Susan Updegraff was born in Atlanta to parents who were both native Georgians. Her mother was from a very old Roswell, Georgia family and her father was from a family who owned most of Monroe County, (Forsyth) Georgia in the late 1800’s. She grew up in Sandy Springs and attended Sandy Springs High School and Georgia State University where she graduated with a degree in business. Susan began her banking career at the Citizens and Southern National Bank (now known as Bank of America). Her banking career spans four decades and includes 14 years experience in mortgage banking and 11 years experience in Private Banking. She is a Vice President with Georgian Bank and is a Private Banking Relationship Manager. Her clients are primarily entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals. Georgian Bank is unique in its high level of service and attention to details for its clients including a Corporate Concierge available to all bank clients and custom-designed banking products. Susan has three adult daughters and three grand-daughters. She attends Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia where she is an ordained deacon and has taught Adult Sunday School for more than 15 years. She does volunteer work with Families First serving in Cobb County with a social worker in a group called Roller Coasters which focuses on children whose families are going through a divorce. She has been a volunteer there for seven years. Her hobbies are interior design and gardening. She is married to Don Updegraff, who himself, has a four-plus decade banking career.