Morning Keynote
"Having Our Presence Felt in the Board Room"
Debra Starnes
The Innis Company
Managing Director, Houston Region
DEBRA L. STARNES was born in Beaumont, Texas and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, the oldest of three children. Her mother worked in the Memphis public school system, and her father was the human resource manager for a consumer products manufacturing facility.
Debbie currently serves as the Managing Director for the Houston region consulting firm The Innis Company, a nationally recognized firm with expertise in career trends and issues. She is an active corporate board member and has served as a Director of Parker Hannifin, a publicly traded motion and control equipment manufacturer, since 1997. She is a member of the Compensation and Management Development, Nominating and Finance Committees. She participates in the Greater Houston Partnership's, Executive Women's Partnership and Of Council programs and is a past Board member of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas.
Prior to joining The Innis Company, Debbie spent 26 years with Lyondell Chemical and its predecessor companies. Starting as a process engineer, Debbie spent 10 years in manufacturing assignments before shifting to business management and strategic planning roles. Since the early 1990's, her assignments involved P & L responsibility for various divisions of the company. While working at Lyondell, Debbie served on an EPA Blue Ribbon Panel and was recognized in 2001 with the Society of Women Engineers Upward Mobility Award.
Debbie has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from Southern Illinois University. She is married to David Lindsay, is a proud mother and grandmother, and loves to ski and play golf.
Afternoon Keynote
"Manager Heroes"
Dr. Mary Ann Reynolds
Stewart Title - Houston
Vice President for Commercial Business Development
Dr. Mary Ann Reynolds was born in Amarillo, Texas and grew up in Canyon, Texas. Her Mother was a teacher for thirty years and later a real estate broker. Her Father was a coach and school administrator for forty years and also a rancher.
Prior to joining Stewart Title as Vice President for Commercial Business Development, Dr. Reynolds devoted 28 years to an educational career. She served as a Teacher, Secondary Principal, Associate Superintendent, Interim Superintendent, and University Adjunct Professor. As Interim Superintendent of Fort Bend ISD, she led a district of 50,000 students, 5,000 employees and oversaw a 200 million dollar budget. In those leadership capacities, as well as in her role at Stewart Title, she has observed and researched the characteristics and behaviors of Teacher and Manger Heroes and has delivered her speech about Heroes in 25 cities across America.
Governor Bush appointed Dr. Reynolds to his Academics 2000 Advisory Panel and she has been elected to local, state, and national boards. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Houston Ballet, The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, the Moore’s School of Music, and the American Heart Association Guild. She is also a member of the Greater Houston Partnership Economic Development Committee, The Symphony League, and is a graduate of Leadership Houston 2002.
She is married to Dr. Clyde W. Reynolds, Retired President of H & H Music. They have three children that are college graduates.