2023 Arizona Women in Leadership Symposium
March 08, 2023
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM (MT)
Theme
Rising in Resilience: Achieving Empowerment through Advancement & Adaptability
Sponsored By
Panelists
Bickel
Lisa Morganstern Bickel is the Chief Labor and Employment Counsel for Honeywell’s Aerospace Strategic Business Group headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. She has global responsibility for strategic and day-today labor and employment law counseling and litigation management for the Aerospace Business. She is also responsible for advising Honeywell enterprise wide on its strategic approach to Affirmative Action, OFCCP Compliance and Staffing. Lisa is the Chair of the Company’s AllAbilities Employee Network which was launched in 2020. Lisa’s passion for driving disability and caretaker inclusion stems from her experience as a mother of quadruplets, two of whom were disabled. She understands the challenges of navigating complex organizations both as an employee and as an advocate for her children. She views AllAbilities as a path to advance inclusion in the workplace and to showcase how employees with different abilities drive innovation and growth. Lisa was named the 2022 Executive Sponsor of the Year by Disability:IN for outstanding commitment and leading disability inclusion practices. She is also on the Board of Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation which provides hope and healing to children and adults with special needs through the wonders of camp, the beauty of nature and the human-animal connection. Lisa joined Honeywell in 2000 after 9 years in private practice as a Labor and Employment Lawyer in Phoenix. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The Ohio State University and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law.
Esparza
Debbie Esparza serves as CEO of YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix. Her commitment to YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women began more than 20 years ago as a donor, volunteer, and national board member. She was thrilled to come full circle when she began her tenure as CEO. She’s been an advocate for women, girls, and people of color her whole life. Debbie brings a diverse leadership perspective to this role with experiences in banking, consulting, entrepreneurship, academia, and 20 years in non-profit executive leadership. By centering her work on the advancement of marginalized communities and empowerment of women and girls, her viewpoint has always been focused through a lens of race and gender. Blending her intersections and lived experience, Debbie is on a mission to disrupt and dismantle the systemic barriers that perpetuate social and racial inequities, misogyny, and injustices. Debbie is compelled to get up and do this work until injustice is rooted out, institutions are transformed, and the world sees women, girls, and people of color the way she does: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable. Her personal philanthropy supports LGBTQ+ issues, women & girl’s empowerment and leadership endeavors. She is active in Latina Giving Circle and is on the board of NASSPDA, as well as YWCA USA. In her spare time, Debbie enjoys competitive ballroom dancing. She and her female dance partner are trailblazers in gender-neutral dancing and lead switching. In 2018, she crossed a major item off her bucket list when she competed at the Gay Games in Paris, France.
Hanshaw
Julia Hanshaw is the Vice President of Human Resources Culture, Talent and HR Strategy for PetSmart in Phoenix, Arizona. In her role at PetSmart, Julia drives the organization to take intentional steps in creating and advancing a culture centered on its core values, including having a passion for pets and people. Julia has spent her career leading progress and driving efforts to recruit, retain, and advance top talent. She oversees the associate work experience, talent and organizational development, and Belonging, diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Julia is also responsible for the executive HR business partner support of C-suite and other leaders who influence culture through company strategy. Julia is most passionate about creating people-focused strategies that make a business impact. Her approach to her work is centered in a belief that diversity includes everyone and emphasizes that extraordinary business results can happen through embracing differences, investing in people, and being an approachable and authentic leader. Julia practices this belief as a supporting member of PetSmart’s Diversity Action Council and as executive sponsor to the Officer Diversity Council and the company’s VP Connect cohort, where all VPs across the organization come together to drive cultural success. Prior to joining PetSmart in 2011, Julia worked in the non-profit space supporting military history preservation. Julia is a Phoenix native and has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minor in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. Julia’s passion for pets extends beyond the workplace where she and her husband are proud pet parents to three rescue Great Pyrenees dogs named Jessi, Opal, and Chowder.
Jennings-Roggensack
Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, arts leader and visionary is Vice President for Cultural Affairs for Arizona State University and Executive Director of ASU Gammage. She has artistic, fiscal and administrative responsibility for the historic Frank Lloyd Wright designed ASU Gammage, ASU Kerr Cultural Center, with responsibility for Sun Devil Stadium and Desert Financial Arena for non-athletic activities. She oversees the activation and transformation of Sun Devil Stadium into a year-round hub of cultural activity as ASU 365 Community Union. Colleen was also appointed by ASU President Michael Crow to co-lead the Advisory Council on African American Affairs. The council enhances diversity, growth and opportunity for Black undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff. She serves on The Broadway League's Executive Committee and Board of Governors as Vice Chair of the Road and numerous League committees. She is Arizona's only Tony voter. Colleen is a founding and current member of the Creative Capital Board and Senior Advisor to Women of Color in the Arts, former Association of Performing Arts Professionals board president, served on the National Council on the Arts at the bequest of President Clinton and is a Life Director of the Fiesta Bowl. She is a consultant to universities, international governments and a featured speaker at conferences. Since 2020, she has served on multiple panels addressing human rights, justice, diversity, equity and inclusion and the future of Broadway. Colleen was part of the summit with Black Theatre United and The Broadway League on the creation of A New Deal for Broadway. She is serving with Black Theatre United addressing EDIAB issues. Colleen has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2021 Arizona's 48 Most Intriguing Women, 2021 City of Tempe Arts and Culture Community Impactor, 2020 National Coalition of 100 Black Women Education Legend and 2019 Valley Leadership Woman of the Year. Formerly a dancer and choreographer, Colleen is married to Dr. Kurt Roggensack, volcanologist at Arizona State University. Proud parents of Kelsey, an All-American swimmer, Williams College graduate, two-time Fulbright Scholar, received her master’s degree at Harvard University and is currently pursuing her PhD at Cornell University.
Moderator
Mai
Tram Mai anchors 12 @ 12, 12News’ multi-platform noon show, with 12 minutes of uninterrupted content. She also anchors First @ 4 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., and reports across all 12News shows and platforms. Tram began her career in 1995 as a production assistant at KABC in Los Angeles. She got her first reporting job at WOFL in Orlando, FL out of the Gainesville bureau. A year later, she worked at CFN-13 out of the Volusia County bureau in Florida. She then moved to Columbus, OH as a reporter and weekend anchor for three years, before coming to KPNX in 2003. During her career, Tram has won Emmy’s for anchoring and reporting. She has also been nominated for several Emmys, most recently for Best Anchor in 2019; She’s also won a Casey Award and awards from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalism. Tram was born in Saigon, Vietnam. When she was a year old, she and her family fled on the last plane out of Saigon before the Communists took over the country. She took her first steps at a refugee camp at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Her family eventually made their way to southern California, where Tram was raised most of her life. She graduated from UCLA, majoring in communication studies with a minor in Asian American Studies. From the hurricanes in Florida, to the death of Senator John McCain and Arizona’s historic ‘Red for Ed’ teacher walkout in Arizona, Tram has covered the some of the biggest stories of our time. Tram has also co-hosted with Regis Philbin, interviewed numerous celebrities, covered the red carpet for the Emmys in Los Angeles and the Arizona Cardinals when they went to the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. As a journalist, the most rewarding part of Tram's job is making a difference in people’s lives. Tram is married and has twins, Zakary and Zoey. She also has a golden retriever, Pressley Ann. FUN FACTS: • Tram enjoys camping, NOT “glamping” • Tram loves to bake: her specialties are angel food cake and key lime pie • Tram loves to decorate and host parties for friends and family, especially kids’ parties
In partnership with Dress for Success Phoenix, we are encouraging all attendees to donate new or nearly-new women’s business attire (suits, dresses, slacks, and blouses), purses, closed toe pumps and heels, and brand-new personal items (cosmetics/cosmetic bags, etc.). Your donation helps women secure, retain, and develop their professional careers.
Drop off will be at the event on March 8 at the
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
Or to make a monetary donation, please do so below. Leave a note that you are affiliated with 2023 Arizona WILS event.
Link for monetary donation: https://dfsphoenix.org/donate-now/
$3 Transaction Fee Will Be Added