2008 Annual Student Leadership Conference


Saturday, November 8
Session I:  9:30 - 10:45 am

Interest Session descriptions include Leadership Track specification.

Ripped From the Headlines: Quick Easy Money – How Decisions You Make Today Can Effect the Rest of Your Life(General Leader Track)
Presenter: Dr. Everett Gibson
Location: Bayou Building Room TBA

The opportunity to make some “quick easy money” can often have serious consequences. Individuals must carefully consider their actions because the long-term results can ruin an opportunity of a lifetime. Dr. Gibson will describe from first-hand knowledge the actions of four college students who did not realize the end result of what they did and how their promising careers were tossed away. He was the “victim” of the theft of lunar and meteorite samples from his NASA laboratory by a group of college students who were attempting to make some easy money by selling the stolen extraterrestrial samples on the internet. The four students were caught in an FBI “sting” operation and spent time in federal prison which ruined their lives. The consequences of these actions will be a burden that will follow these individuals throughout their lives.

About the Presenter: Dr. Everett Gibson is a Senior Scientist with NASA Johnson Space Center. He received his Ph.D. in Geochemistry from Arizona State University and immediately joined NASA. He has spent 39 years conducting research on lunar samples, meteorites and martian samples and is the author of more than 350 scientific papers. He is recognized as an internationally-known speaker and has participated in 28 science documentaries seen on NOVA, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, and other educational programs. He is currently working with British scientists to send a scientific payload to the polar regions of the moon seeking the signatures of water and ice.

TLC: Teamwork, Leadership and Communication (Leadership in the Workplace Track)
Presenter: Dr. Gloria M. Pereira, Assistant Professor, University of Houston – Clear Lake.
Location: Bayou Building Room TBA

Misunderstood frequently? Wish you could motivate your team? Are the chains of conflict keeping you from success? Try a little TLC! In today’s fast-paced work environment, companies are utilizing various economic methods to increase efficiency and productivity. This includes constructing teams within the organization or expanding into global teams. The company’s success is highly dependent on how well the teams communicate. This session will focus on effective communication within teams in the workplace.

About the Presenters:  About the Presenters: Masters students in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with supervision from Dr. Gloria M. Pereira, Assistant Professor, University of Houston – Clear Lake.

Leadership: It’s What You Communicate (General Leader Track)
Presenter: Marlene Morgan, University of Houston – Clear Lake, Lee College
Location:  Bayou Building Room TBA

Leadership is the ability to guide, teach and inspire a team to consistently achieve more than it thought possible. It is a matter of what we communicate, how and why. Using a simple bonfire-building example, leaders of all types learn that what they say and do affects their team’s success and mindset. Leadership is not simply making decisions. What leaders say or do determines a team’s success. The role of a leader is to help a team achieve more as a group than they thought possible through actions, discipline and commitment. This presentation challenges leaders to improve what and how they communicate.

About the Presenters:  Dion McInnis has taken his love or words and images through a variety of careers, all of which have been built on listening, and then celebrating what he heard through his abilities as a writer, photographer and speaker. Passionate, enthusiastic, optimistic and hope-filled for life and living, Dion carries his messages to a variety of audiences. Dion, founder of Her Legacies Foundation, a nonprofit organization that saves women’s stories and images they inspire, was cited as “A Man Who Champions Women” by New Mexico Woman Magazine; and was also recipient of the “Caring Heart” volunteer award from Bay Area Turning Point’s shelter for women. For more information about Dion, please visit his website: www.dionmcinnis.com.

The Invisibility of Diversity: Understanding GLBT Persons in Order to Lead Effectively(Diversity and Leadership Track)
Presenter: Stacy “Colt” Meier
Location: Bayou Building Room TBA

All leaders will come into contact with people of diverse backgrounds. It takes a strong and qualified leader to bring people of differing belief systems, appearances, and lifestyles together to work for a common cause. Come meet and learn about GLBT’s transgender persons’ specific struggles and inspirations so that you may be better prepared to work with people of diverse backgrounds.

About the Presenters: Stacy “Colt” Meier is a second year graduate student in the University of Houston’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral program. His research interests include the Female-to-Male Trans-masculine spectrum, particularly transsexuals. Along with his mentor, Josephine Tittsworth, he has given numerous presentations on transgenderism to undergraduates, graduates, social workers and psychologists. His main leadership background is Tae Kwon Do instruction, and he has been training since 1992, and now holds rank of 5th degree black belt. He thanks his instructor for teaching him the “If not me, then who?” mentality.

Maximize Your Leadership(Leadership in the Workplace)
Presenters: Tracie Robinson, Ed.D. and Cheantal Adams
Location: Bayou Building Room TBA

The learner will leave this session with specific strategies that focus on their individual strengths to build their leadership capacity. Goal-setting, setting expectations, and relationship building will also be used to tap into individual strengths. The interactive session will provide an opportunity for self-reflection and discussion that promote leadership through developing communication skills, self-reflection, and growth.

Tracie Robinson, Ed.D. and Cheantal Adams currently serve as assistant principals in Alief ISD. Dr. Robinson is currently an adjunct professor at UHCL. Dr. Robinson and Ms. Adams have worked with diverse learners and educators at the elementary and secondary levels in the rural and urban settings.

Look Globally, Lead Locally: A Seminar on Leadership and Diversity (Diversity and Leadership/Community Service Track)
Presenters: Marilyn Douglas-Jones and Cherry Steinwender
Location: Bayou Building Room TBA

This workshop will provide an interactive environment for participants to increase their cultural IQ/global literacy, expand their awareness of the diversity in their local communities, and identify strategies that enhance their leadership skills and service effectiveness in this globalization era.