Featured Speaker(s)

Moderator:
Annette Smith is currently the Managing Director for The Woodlands and Houston, TX with Modis, an international, award-winning IT, Engineering, and Smart Technology Consulting Solutions and Professional Services provider. Annette is known for being a great-connector and building teams; delivering excellent people, projects, and technology. She believes it is people who drive business success and possibilities. It is her purpose to bring people together. Annette also loves to develop others on her team and help them achieve their goals. She comes to WITI-The Woodlands, TX with a 25-year background in Human Resources and Technology leadership.

Annette is local to The Woodlands area. She is active in promoting women within technology and leadership roles, she participates with The Boy Scouts of America, Girls, Inc., is a leader for National Charity League, Inc., and sits on the Board with Little League International-Montgomery County. Annette is a great example of service here in our community; accelerating support in her industry, business, and philanthropic endeavors.

Panelists:
Parna Sarkar-Basu, a tech evangelist, serves as a strategic advisor to transformational leaders and tech pioneers and helps them launch and reinvent companies. A brand architect, Parna also designs powerful programs to spotlight entrepreneurs and innovators, and elevate startup founders to industry thought leaders.

Her expertise includes changing industry perception, building market relevance, corporate (re)-positioning and new market entry as well as supporting fundraising activities. Recipient of multiple awards, she has propelled tech companies into innovation leaders in highly competitive markets-artificial intelligence and enterprise software to robots and consulting services.

She frequently speaks and writes on a range of topics, including cognitive robotics, innovation for social good, digital transformation, tech trends and automation's impact on the workforce.

A STEM champion, Parna builds and supports programs to inspire women in technology and future innovators. She empowers women entrepreneurs by expanding their digital footprint so they can enhance their personal brand and grow the business.

Jeanette Sanchez has an accomplished career background in technology and leadership roles in the healthcare, medical device, consumer packaged goods, and manufacturing industries. Ms. Sanchez held global leadership roles in strategic planning, large-scale technology modernization, business transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and governance at AMN Healthcare, Carefusion, Mattel, Edwards Lifesciences, Bausch & Lomb and Allergan.

Currently, Ms. Sanchez is Chairman of the Board for Mental Health Systems, Inc. (MHS) located in San Diego, CA. Since 1978, MHS has become one of the most well-established behavioral health service providers in the State of California with an extensive range of community-based interventions and treatment options. The organization serves over 14,000 clients across 9 counties with a contract portfolio of $118M in programs serving those in need of behavioral health services, substance abuse & recovery, housing, and work reentry programs. MHS services are structured around the guiding principles: people, culture, and growth and rooted in the core values of integrity, diversity, mentorship, and inclusion.

Dr. Tammy Wong's professional career spans over three decades of sales, marketing, and strategy experience in Fortune 500 companies. She is known for her demonstrated leadership abilities and her commitment in developing leadership in others.

She is the CEO of Fostering Executive Leadership, Inc. Fostering Executive Leadership, Inc. is an international business results executive coaching firm. The firm consists of hundreds of leadership coaches worldwide. The coaches work with leaders by improving leadership capability, capacity, and have established a proven record with a ROI through our coaching engagements.

Before starting her own company, Dr. Wong worked in the technology industry for companies that included IBM, Xerox, and Sun Microsystems advancing into many leadership roles. At Sun, she founded and was the president of the women's organization that included over 2000 women worldwide. With this achievement, she was recognized by her peers when they selected her for the highly coveted
"Making a Difference" Award.

Dr. Wong's extensive education includes a B.S. in Economics from St. Mary's College, an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, and a Ph.D. in Organization and Management with an emphasis in Leadership. Her doctoral dissertation is titled "Fostering Executive Leadership in Women." She is the author of a book called the Hour Glass Effect, Leveraging Female Talent for your Competitive Advantage.

Tammy currently serves on the boards of several not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. In addition, she leads a select group of executives who meet regularly to discuss leadership and business issues.