EmpowerHER

Community

EmpowerHER

03.05.20

11:00 AM – 02:00 PM

Ion Accelerator and Prototyping Lab

FREE

ADD TO CALENDAR

The objective of this event is to share and learn from the stories of female leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and technology experts in shaping how we as a collective community of change leaders can leverage technology and innovation to create sustainable solutions to Houston's biggest problems.

We have also partnered with Kendra Scott and will have them onsite to purchase some of their signature pieces. During the event 20% of the proceeds will be reinvested back into the startup ecosystem to further the success of female entrepreneurs!

Panelists:

Allison K. Thacker | Joined Rice University in 2011 and serves as the Chief Investment Officer and President of the Rice Management Company, Vice President of Investments and Treasurer. Prior to joining Rice University, Ms. Thacker spent 11 years with RS Investments, a San Francisco-based investment firm specializing in public equities. At RS Investments, Ms. Thacker held roles including Portfolio Manager, Managing Director and Research Analyst. In the earlier portion of her career, Ms. Thacker served as a Summer Analyst at Putnam Investments and as a Financial Analyst in the energy investment banking group at Merrill Lynch & Co. She is a member of the KIPP Houston Executive Board, with 24 public charter schools serving 12,500 students in Houston, Chairman of the Houston Ballet Board of Trustees, a board member for Black Stone Minerals, Houston Endowment Investment Committee member and a member of YPO. Ms. Thacker is a graduate of Harvard Business School where she received an M.B.A. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with honors from Rice University.

Elizabeth Haines McGee | Director of the Internet of Things Group at Intel focused on Smart City and Transportation Solutions. Elizabeth also consults with F500 corporations on their digital transformation initiatives - with an emphasis on analytics, artificial intelligence, datacenter modernization, and industrial IOT. She serves on the Greater Houston Partnership’s Regional Economic Development and Sustainability committees and the IOT, Data Science, and Early Stage investment committees for Houston Exponential. Elizabeth holds a BS in Computer Engineering, University of Washington, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Kim Roxie | In college, she worked as a makeup artist at the mall and loved helping women discover their natural beauty. She felt a calling to work in the beauty industry and dreamed of creating a makeup line. But when she researched the ingredients used to make the products, she was appalled and remember thinking, “I can’t put my name on that and sell it to people!” So she set out to find a manufacturer who could work with her to launch a natural, safe beauty brand for women of color. It was not easy to find someone who would work with a startup, but she didn’t give up! In a moment that felt like destiny fulfilled, she met a chemist who worked with her to create her brand, LAMIK. She first opened s a brick and mortar store in Houston, Texas. The store sold her collection of natural, organic and vegan beauty products for women of color. Soon LAMIK was much more than a place! LAMIK became a community where women knew they belonged. Last year, she felt a new calling. As she looked around and saw how LAMIK was empowering women of color in Houston, she dreamed of more and wanted women around the world to experience the same thing. After winning a business competition, she moved to Austin, Texas to join a startup accelerator and launch LAMIK online.

Moderator | Gaby Rowe, Executive Director, The Ion

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