Bonner

Cathy Bonner, our 2010 morning keynote speaker, is a philanthropic entrepreneur who has started and managed multi-million dollar organizations in both the private and public sectors. As President of the Austin based firm, Bonner Incorporated, she led the marketing launch for twelve states college savings programs now totaling over $30 billion in assets.
 
Fortune Magazine named Bonner one of the 25 most influential women entrepreneurs in America saying she is “smart, gutsy, and innovative--as interested in making a difference as in making money.”
 As Executive Director of the Texas Department of Commerce, Bonner managed the state’s economic development, foreign trade, tourism, and workforce development efforts from 1991 to 1994.  She was responsible for a $500 million biennial budget and helped Texas lead the nation in job creation for three years in a row.
 
Bonner is the founder of the nation’s only comprehensive women’s history museum, THE WOMEN’S MUSEUM:  AN INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution (www.thewomensmuseum.org).  She was honored by the Office Depot Visionary Award for her “extraordinary dedication and vision for raising $32 million” to build this nationally acclaimed museum with technology driven exhibits in historic Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.
 
Bonner is the founder of Leadership Texas, Leadership America and Power Pipeline.  She chairs the Advisory Board of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Austin’s only public school dedicated to the education of young women.
 
In 2007, Bonner started the coalition effort that passed the legislation and the $3 billion state ballot initiative creating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of
Texas. The Institute funds innovative research grants to find cures for cancer and prevention programs that help communities address early detection of cancer.