Cliffe Killam, who recently assumed the role of Chairman of the Board for the Laredo Chamber, named ten female leaders to the Board as one of his first executive actions.; This move is significant since ten women have never been elected or appointed at any one time in the history of the organization.
“I was sitting in the board room looking at all the pictures of the past Chairs, and they were all men, except for 4 in our 105-year history,”
stated Mr. Killam.
“It occurred to me that we need to have more female leaders in our organization. I personally know most of the ten female leaders I appointed, and they all could be future Chairs,”
he added. Killam further reflected,
“I have a newborn daughter, and she needs to see more role models of highly visible, successful female leaders making a difference like I know these new Board Members will.”
The Board of Directors of the Laredo Chamber consists of forty members, representative of Laredo’s various industries. Thirty members are elected to three-year terms and ten are appointed by the incoming chairman of the board annually.
Women have played an important role in the Chamber over the years taking on positions as officers of the Board or as heads of committees. Yet, it is noteworthy, to literally raise their participation to a 38% level in one swift move.
Joining Killam on the Board as his appointees in 2020/2021 are Melissa Huddleston, Laredo Motor Carriers Association; Jackie Jimenez, Main Event Entertainment; Leticia G. Martinez, Laredo Title and Abstract; Lisa Morales, Lula Morales Realty; Diana Ortiz, UISD Curriculum & Instruction; Rosanne Palacios, TAMIU, Office of Institutional Advancement; Magali Rodriguez, The Vaswani Group; Sandra Valdez, Elite Employment Services, LLC; Olivia Varela, former CEO for Laredo EDC; and Abelina Veliz Perez, Texas Community Bank.
Story Courtesy of https://texasborderbusiness.com/unprecedented-move-killam-appoints-10-female-leaders-to-chamber-board-in-historic-move/