The 34th-annual Texas Women’s Foundation luncheon featured Elaine Welteroth, an award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, judge on the new Project Runway, and former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue.
Fossil Group vice president of global philanthropy and sustainability Janiece Evans-Paige and administrator of the Margot Perot Center for Women and Infants at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas Hospital/Texas Health Resources officer Virginia Rose-Harris served as co-chairs of the luncheon. The event marked the foundation’s first luncheon as the Texas Women’s Foundation.
“We’re increasing our impact statewide…at Texas Women’s Foundation, we know we want to invest in women. It creates a powerful ripple effect changing not only her life, but the lives of her children, her community, and also her world,” Rose-Harris said.
Welteroth spoke about her new book, More Than Enough.
“The hardest part was figuring out what to call the thing, and I remember struggling with it and I found this statistic that said young girls’ confidence peaks at age nine,” she said. “As someone who has worked to empower, and uplift, and give voice to young women, and as someone who’s still a young girl, obviously, myself, it really hit home for me…and More Than Enough came to me almost as a counternarrative to push back against…the self-doubt…a lot of times the self-doubt is internalized from messages we receive our whole lives that make us feel we’re not enough…in order for us to step into our roles as leaders, whether that be as a mother, or in the workplace, or in your community, you have to believe you are enough as you are.”
Target served as a speaker sponsor for the luncheon and Target executive vice president and chief external engagement officer Laysha Ward hosted a conversation with Welteroth. Community leader A. Shonn Brown and Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall also spoke at the event.
“For all of us, women and men alike, we have to come together to inspire change for future generations. We can all be advocates for women and girls,” Marshall said.
Ward also praised the work of the Texas Women’s Foundation.
“I like to say when women support women, nothing can stop us, and I’m also grateful for our male allies,” she said. “At Target, our purpose is to help all families discover the joy of everyday life. That’s why we’re proud to partner with organizations like this that lift up women and the many roles we play every day, whether in our career, at home, or in the community.”