Eighth Annual Dallas C-Suite Dinner

This unique setting provides a special opportunity to engage in candid and meaningful conversations with successful C-Suite executives who are female superstars in the financial industry and related fields over a multi-course seated dinner. The speakers will answer your questions, share their experiences and sacrifices made along their career journey, and tips for success.

When: Tuesday, June 7, 2022

5:30 pm – 8:30 pm CST

Where: Dallas Petroleum Club
Chase Tower – 40th Floor
2200 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75201

Discounted parking will be available in the building ($3 with validation)

Cost:   $110 for Members

$125 for Non-Members and Guests

Cost includes a 3-course seated dinner with wine, and – best of all – priceless conversation and advice.

Meet the Speakers

Attend an Upcoming TXWSW Event

Lynn McBee

CEO at the Young Women’s Preparatory Network (YWPN)

As a volunteer leader in Dallas for more than 27 years, Lynn has worked more than 45,000 hours of service for more than 30 different non-profit groups. Lynn’s work has made a difference on tough issues like improving education, serving homeless, protecting children, fighting domestic violence and helping underserved students succeed in college. As a deeply engaged civic leader, Lynn has learned how to bring different stakeholders to the table, find common ground and solutions, and get everyone moving in a productive manner that gets results.

As a biochemistry grad from the University of Texas in the early 90’s, Lynn was an early hire of New England Biolabs, where she worked as a research scientist and later created partnerships to grow the company. Today, NEB is the world leader in genomic research and employs more than 500, and Lynn still serves as a manager and employee owner.

Lynn has served more than seven years as CEO of Young Women’s Preparatory Network, a public-private partnership that creates STEM-focused schools of choice in an all-girls setting. To date, YWPN grads have a 100% college acceptance rate – many of them first generation college goers. Over seven years as CEO, Lynn has grown revenues 300% and gained a deep understanding of how to partner with ISDs to improve student achievement.

A native of Freeport, Texas, Lynn was raised by parents who believed in the power of education. Through her years in public school, at the University of Texas and throughout her career in biotech and as a CEO, Lynn’s has kept true to her guiding principles of life-long learning, valuing honesty and integrity, and always finding ways to help others. Lynn and her husband, Allan, live off Turtle Creek in Dallas.

Becca Weigman

Managing Director, Executive Leadership South at Accenture

A multi-talented, results-oriented Marketing Executive with over 25 years of experience in Agency Management, Strategy Development, Branding, Digital, Customer and Channel Management, Change Management and New Product Development. Business accomplishments include complete P & L responsibility in excess of $100 million in agency revenue and over $500 million in billings for Fortune 500 companies. Retail, BtoC and BtoB experience in multiple business segments – retail, franchise systems, technology, financial services, energy and consumer goods.

Becca believes impatience can be a virtue, too. She expects results, and she expects them quick. In a fast-paced industry such as advertising, it helps that she is an equally fast-paced leader.
Directing, guiding and overseeing the high-level strategic thinking, she is the leadership beacon for the agencies she has run. Over-delivery is her only option; inspiring each client with the results they deserve. She pushes everyone at the agencies to achieve more in every sense of the word.



After successfully running several advertising agencies, Becca took over the helm as the CEO at TM for ten years. After 5 years, Becca bought the agency from IPG and sold it before joining Accenture in 2021.

When she’s not running an agency, running a half marathon or running around with her four children, Becca gets involved with several charitable organizations – really involved. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Notre Dame School of Dallas as well as The Jesuit Art Museum. She is a member of Chief, She Runs It and the Women’s Purpose Community and sits on the Advisory Board of the Marcus Graham Project, where she helped TM win the Change Agency award. She has won the “Changing the Game: Quantum Leap” award from She Runs It, The Dallas Business Journal “Power Women” award and is a TEDx speaker on “Balance is Bullshit.”

Karen Hughes

President and CEO, Vogel Alcove

Karen Hughes is President & CEO of Vogel Alcove, a non-profit organization providing childcare and comprehensive social services for homeless children in Dallas.  Since taking the helm in January 2011, Hughes has worked to strengthen internal processes in order to best support the children and families of Vogel Alcove and expand the programs offered. These improvements included the implementation of a strategic measurement plan to measure outcomes of goals and objectives; the development of an electronic data collection system; revised “customer friendly” enrollment procedures; the implementation of an EOS operating system to track annual, quarterly, and weekly outcomes of strategic initiatives; the implementation of an intensive culture improvement program; locating and remodeling a new facility which doubled the capacity; the implementation of a board diversity program; and the expansion of the development team and implementation of a fundraising model to diversify revenue streams for the organization; and the creation of the Vogel Alcove Foundation and governing board to oversee and expand the organization’s investments. New programs that have been implemented under her leadership include a Health clinic onsite, a Mental Health program, the Parent Opportunity Center which is the focus of a new strategy of two generational programming, and a summer camp program for elementary and middle school children. New fundraising events that have been added include Day 1 Dallas a children and family fair held on New Year’s Day and the Blue Bird Bash in the fall. She is currently spearheading efforts to expand the impact of Vogel Alcove through new programming that involves collaborating with community partners, and expanding the onsite mental health programming to include a sensory lab for children.

Prior to joining Vogel Alcove, Hughes was the President & CEO at The Campagna Center, an organization which operates high-quality programs that support children in Alexandria, Virginia, by providing services that allow them to arrive at school ready to learn and ensure they are academically successful at each grade level. Hughes resume includes positions as Associate Executive Director/COO at the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Director, Child Care Services at Houston Community College.

In addition, her 41 years experience in the field of early childhood and 25 years experience in non-profit management includes teaching kindergarten in the public school system; owning and operating an early childhood center; teaching at the community college level; directing a child development lab school at a community college; and serving as an early childhood trainer and consultant. 

In addition, Karen has been actively involved with MDHA (Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance) for several years. She has served as a board member, on the Executive committee, the chair of the PRAC committee, the chair of the Children and Families committee, chair of the CEO selection team, MDHA board chair, and chair of the COC restructuring work group. She is currently serving as a member of the MDHA board and a member of the COC Selection committee and the Homeless Collaborative Board. She also serves on the COC Assembly Executive Council.

Hughes has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education/Kindergarten from Baylor University and a Master’s of Science degree in Educational Management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.  She is a native Texan and resides with her husband and 15-year-old son in Allen.

Gechi P. Tesic

Partner, Securities & Corporate Finance at Polsinelli

Gechi P. Tesic is a member of the Securities and Corporate Finance practice and focuses on the formation and operation of domestic and offshore private investment funds, including real estate funds, venture capital funds, private equity funds and hedge funds. In addition, she routinely helps to establish joint ventures and separate accounts, organize fund sponsor and manager entities, and advise fund managers with respect to employee compensation structures.

Gechi’s business-centric philosophy allows her to partner with clients ranging from emerging to institutional to achieve key objectives while building and preserving industry relationships. Her robust experience, coupled with her commercial approach, positions her to create and execute tailored solutions to a range of concerns in the private investment context, including privacy, ERISA, tax and regulatory considerations.

Prior to joining Polsinelli, Gechi practiced at a major international law firm.

Samantha Colletti

Managing Director and Dallas Market Manager at Silicon Valley Bank

Samantha Colletti is a managing director with Silicon Valley Bank. As the Dallas market manager, Samantha and her team provide innovative financial solutions — venture debt, private banking, recurring revenue lines of credit, foreign exchange, treasury management and more —dedicated to serving innovative and institutionally backed companies in North Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.



Samantha has more than a decade of experience in the financial services and banking industry, covering venture capital, private equity, leveraged buyouts, technology and innovation. Before joining SVB, she was a senior credit analyst with Texas Security Bank and a portfolio manager with ORIX.



Samantha holds a master’s degree in accounting and bachelor’s degrees in economics and business administration in finance from Southern Methodist University. She is an active supporter of the technology and innovation communities in the Dallas metroplex and frequently serves on technology panels and guest lectures for area universities. Samantha is a volunteer mentor for area startups and develops and organizes events for the investor, entrepreneur and innovation communities, in addition to co-founding the Venture Dallas technology conference.

Star Carter

Co-Founder, COO and General Counsel at Kanarys, Inc.

Starlett (Star) Carter (she/her/hers) is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and co-founder of Kanarys, Inc. Kanarys is a technology platform that fosters collaboration between companies and  employees on DEI in the workplace. Kanarys uses DEI data to assist its partner companies to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing them and to build a more inclusive workplace culture. Kanarys then provides tailored DEI recommendations and strategy implementation to transform DEI data into action. Kanarys is helping partner companies use DEI as a strategy to achieve strategic priorities and ultimately creating a workplace where everyone belongs.

Kanarys has been covered by Good Morning America, Forbes, CNBC, AfroTech, Business Insider, and HR.com and participated in the Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders class (one of 12 companies selected from over 1,000 applicants). Star and her cofounder, Mandy Price, were also named two of Inc.’s Female Founders 100 List of Inspiring Women of 2021 and Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women of 2020. Star regularly speaks at a number of corporate events as well as notable DEI, technology, and leadership conferences like AfroTech, Corporate Counsel of Women of Color, DEI Tech, Association of Corporate Counsel, Alliance of Technology and Women, and more, where she shares her expertise on DEI in the workplace.

Given her work with Kanarys and daily discussions with C-suite executives to discuss their DEI efforts, Star truly has her finger on the pulse of DEI in the workplace. Star practiced law as a Harvard-educated attorney for over 12 years before leaving to co-found Kanarys. Passionate about social justice, she also successfully provided representation on a number of pro bono matters. Committed to giving back to her community, Star has been acknowledged by the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program as the Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year and she serves as a member and past chairwoman of the board of directors for Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, a non-profit organization that provides free civil legal services to eligible low-income residents in Texas.

Prior to joining Kanarys, Star served as an associate counsel at Hudson Advisors, L.P., a globally integrated asset manager, and as counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, a large international law firm. Star received her Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Business Administration with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two children.

Trisha Cunningham

President and CEO at North Texas Food Bank (NTFB)

Trisha Cunningham is President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), a $200 million nonprofit focused on eradicating hunger in a diverse 13-county service area. Together with their partners, the NTFB team of 180 employees and thousands of volunteers provided access to 125 million meals in their last fiscal year.

Prior to North Texas Food Bank, Cunningham was a 30-year global marketing, communications, branding, and public affairs executive at Texas Instruments where she most recently served as Chief Citizenship Officer. She currently serves on the boards of Feeding Texas (chair), Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, and International Women’s Forum (IWF) Dallas Chapter. She is a member of several local organizations and national Feeding America committees as well as faculty in a nonprofit governance program at UT Dallas.

Cunningham was named as DCEO’s Dallas 500 Most Influential Business Leaders (2019-22), a Texas Women’s Foundation 2021 Maura Women Helping Women Awardee, Dallas Business Journal’s 2020 Women in Business honoree and 2020 Most Inspiring Leader, D Magazine’s 78 Women Who Make Dallas Great (2021), United Nations Global Leadership Award-SDG2 Zero Hunger (2021), Collin County Business Alliance’s 2020 Leadership Award, Dallas Morning News 2020 Texan of the Year finalist, Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas 2019 Distinguished Alumni and the Junior League of Collin County’s 2019 Nonprofit Executive of the Year.

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