Keynote Speakers

Sponsored by

Dr. Marvalene Hughes

“In the Wake of Adversity: Leading Dillard University Through the Storm”
Monday, September 20 • 5:00-6:15 p.m.

Marvalene Hughes, Ph.D., is the eighth president of Dillard University in New Orleans and is the first woman to hold that position. Since she began her tenure as president in 2005, Hughes’ leadership has been most profound, as she guides the university through transformation following the effects of Hurricane Katrina. With unwavering determination, Hughes has led Dillard University and facilitated the rebuilding of the campus, which sustained more than $400 million in flood, fire and wind damage to its 55-acre campus. In addition, Hughes continues to lead the myriad and complex functions required of a university president.

Prior to beginning her tenure at Dillard University, Dr. Hughes served as president of California State University Stanislaus for 11 years. In addition, she has served in high-level administrative positions at major research institutions including the University of Minnesota, the University of Toledo, Arizona State University, and San Diego State University.

Dr. Hughes has also been an active leader in the American Council on Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the Association of American State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.

In 2005, she was named among the “Top 10 Black Women in Higher Education in America” by Black Voices and in March 2010, demonstrating her commitment to mentoring, Hughes was presented with the 2010 Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor’s Award which is given annually to acknowledge the enormous role of mentors in the success of ACE Fellows Program participants.

Dr. Hughes, who earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University and has pursued post-doctoral study at three Harvard University Summer Institutes and one institute at Oxford University, England, has conducted research on and authored or co-authored numerous articles related to education, managing organizations, human behavior and diversity. She has also served on editorial boards of major journals and has made hundreds of presentations to national and international audiences, as well as keynote addresses worldwide.

Hughes’ career reveals a deep commitment to academic excellence, community service and partnerships with public and private sectors to advance higher education and social progress.

Gary Heil

“Change Leadership: Creating a Different Tomorrow”
Tuesday, September 21 • 8:45-10:15 a.m.

Gary Heil is a sought-after business advisor and thought leader who has written extensively in the areas of leadership and loyalty. He has been a lifelong student of the human side of organizations and a pioneer in the study of employee and customer engagement. He has given hundreds of presentations to thousands of executives and continues to be a passionate advocate for finding more effective ways to lead inspired teams.

Heil has served on a number of public, private and nonprofit boards and presently serves as chairman of the compensation committee of the Gymboree board of directors and chairman of the board of CellTech Metals. He is the cofounder of the innovative webcast “Leadership Lessons From the Fast Lane” and has served as a member of the Board of Examiners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

In 1992, Heil co-founded The Center for Innovative Leadership, an organization dedicated to helping leaders find more effective ways to organize their collective efforts. As part of that effort, he has conducted hundreds of organizational assessments in a wide range of industries and recently completed a study of more than 500 leaders attempting to create substantial changes in their organizations. He has co-authored numerous books, including Leadership and the Customer Revolution, One Size Fits One, Maslow on Management, Douglas McGregor Revisited: Managing the Human Side of Enterprise and The Leader’s New Clothes.

In addition, together with some greats of the game, Heil served as the founder and CEO of the National Pitching Association (NPA). The NPA is an organization dedicated to the education of baseball pitchers and their parents and coaches so that the pitchers can pitch more effectively, stay healthier, and develop a positive mental attitude and a greater love for the game. He coauthored The Art and Science of Pitching with Tom House and Steve Johnson.

Heil is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior and a juris doctorate from the University of California Hastings College of Law. He is a member of the California Bar Association.

Immaculée Ilibagiza

“Left to Tell: A Story of Peace, Hope and Forgiveness”
Wednesday, September 22 • 8:45-10:00 a.m.

Immaculée Ilibagiza is a living example of faith put into action. Ilibagiza’s life was transformed dramatically during the 1994 Rwandan genocide when she spent 91 days huddled silently in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house. Ilibagiza entered the bathroom a vibrant, 115-pound university student with a loving family. She emerged weighing just 65 pounds to find nearly her entire family had been brutally murdered. Ilibagiza credits her salvage mostly to prayer and to a set of rosary beads given to her by her devout Catholic father prior to going into hiding. Ilibagiza found solace and peace in prayer and began to pray from the time she opened her eyes in the morning to the time she closed her eyes at night. Through prayer, she eventually found it possible, and in fact imperative, to forgive her tormentors and her family’s murderers.

Ilibagiza has honorary doctoral degrees from The University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s University, Seton Hall University and Siena College. She has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards including The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace in 2007.

Left to Tell, a New York Times best seller and Ilibagiza’s first book, received a Christopher Award “affirming the highest values of human spirit,” and has been adopted into the curriculum of dozens of high schools and universities, including Villanova University, which selected it for the 2007-08 “One Book Program,” making Left to Tell mandatory reading for 6,000 students. Ilibagiza’s latest book is Led By Faith: Rising From the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide (September 2008).

Today Ilibagiza is regarded as one of world’s leading speakers on peace, faith and forgiveness. She has shared her universal message with world dignitaries, school children, multinational corporations, churches and at countless conferences.