Ladies Who Launch | Helping Women Entrepreneurs Grow and Thrive

Let's face it -- we all know women and non-binary founders continue to encounter significant barriers accessing financing and funding opportunities as well as critical educational resources and a supportive community. Ladies Who Launch is here to change that.

Join us for our event in Dallas, powered by Pegasus Park and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, where we'll prepare you with the resources you need to access capital to grow your business, provide a healthy dose of inspiration and education from thought leaders and experts who have walked in your shoes and give you a chance to connect with others in the small business community.

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Learn tips on how to strategically use the power of AI to grow your business.
• Explore the emotions behind money while gaining insight into strategies for shifting your mindset around financial setbacks in life and in business.
• Take your business to new heights with the know-how to tap into financial resources—from loans to venture capital—in your home state of Texas.
• Connect and network with other hard-working entrepreneurs in the Dallas community.

A BIG thank you to Pegasus Park and Lyda Hill Philanthropies for their generous support of this event.

Jill Burns is the co-founder of Austin Cocktails, a woman-owned spirits brand that was inspired by her family’s farmland traditions, supported by angel investors, and acquired in 2022 by Constellation Brands the #1 total beverage alcohol company in the U.S.

After decades working in sports marketing and public relations, Jill teamed up with her sister, Kelly, to fulfill their dream of designing natural, bar-quality cocktails in a convenient can that would stand out among the artificial flavors and syrupy spirits dominating the market. They learned hard work and high standards by spending summers at their grandfather’s farm in Minnesota, values that continue to drive Jill’s business career and company today.

In its early days, Austin Cocktails was awarded one of the largest rounds of funding by Central Texas Angel Network and became the Ardagh Group’s first beverage investment. Constellation’s purchase of Austin Cocktails made it one of the few women-owned beverage brands fully acquired by a corporate venture partner.

Before launching Austin Cocktails, Jill led her own marketing firm, elevating and communicating on behalf of NFL stars, Olympians, innovative startups, and household-name brands. She began her career working with legendary agent Leigh Steinberg and for celebrated professional athletes at his premier sports agenc,y Steinberg and Moorad.

Jill serves on The United Way’s Women of Tocqueville Society, the board of YPO Dallas Gold, and is a former board member of the First Tee.

When she isn’t searching for a new flavor or spending time with her husband, two sons, and family dog, Sugar, she gives back by inspiring and mentoring the next generation of female entrepreneurs.

Sarah Friar is the CFO of OpenAI, overseeing financial strategy and operations. Previously, she was CEO of Nextdoor from December 2018 to May 2024, where she took the company public and tripled its user base. Before Nextdoor, Sarah was CFO at Square, leading its IPO and increasing its market capitalization by $30 billion. She also held senior roles at Salesforce, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey. Sarah serves on the board of Consensys and several advisory boards, co-founded Ladies Who Launch, and earned degrees from Oxford and Stanford. She holds an OBE for services to entrepreneurship.

A native of Texas, René Graham is a licensed architect and holds a Master in Architecture from Rice University. Before entering the world of product design, beauty-tech, and entrepreneurship founding Renzoe Box, Graham achieved significant and diverse experience in architectural practice and real estate development.
She is the co-founder of LaurelHouse Studio, a boutique architecture practice and design studio based in Bryan, Texas. She is also the co-founder of BCS Modern, a real estate development company focused on design-driven community-based development in Downtown Bryan, Texas.
Graham has taught at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. She has received grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, has been featured on national TV, won the international Good Design Award®, received the 2022 Mayor's Impact Award, finalist for SXSW Pitch, is a Tory Burch Fellow & Ladies Who Launch Fellow, has raised funding from Andreessen Horowitz, and holds national & international patents & trademarks for Renzoe Box®. She has served as a design critic at Harvard University, SciArc, Syracuse University, Rice University, Texas Tech, Louisiana State, University of Texas, & Texas A&M University.

Christina Hale serves as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women's Business Ownership.

Prior to this role, she served as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL), where she provided executive leadership and direction to OCPL operations and nationwide programs. She has more than 20 years of executive experience working with business leaders in government and civil society. Before joining the SBA, she served as Head of Communications at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, where she oversaw the Agency’s strategic communications, including planning, development, and implementation. In 2012, she was elected to serve in the Indiana General Assembly, where she worked with a focus on supporting the success of employers, the workforce, and the economy. She has led teams, projects, and offices throughout the United States and several countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Ms. Hale was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar and graduated from Purdue University.

Alison Harmon is the current Head of Growth at OpenAI. She brings over a decade of experience in the tech industry, having worked in sales, business strategy, operations, and product-led growth. She successfully grew the self-serve business at Asana from its launch to generating hundreds of millions of dollars. Now at OpenAI, she focuses on expanding the user base, revenue, and global reach.

Frédérique Irwin, president and CEO of the National Women's History Museum, has more than 25 years of experience in strategic management, nonprofit and commercial business, operations, impact, and entrepreneurship. Prior to joining the Museum, she served as Managing Director of Impact Strategy at the Sorenson Impact Center, where she managed high-level partnerships with leading organizations in the social impact sector. During that time she also led initiatives around improving equity in higher education and driving systems-level change for equity for women in entrepreneurship. She was the founder and CEO of Her Corner, a company educating women on how to scale their businesses, from 2012 until its sale in 2021. Over that period, she expanded Her Corner across multiple cities in the US, was a frequent speaker on the state of entrepreneurship for women in the US, and helped thousands of women-owned businesses scale. Her work supporting women earned her a spot as a New Zealand Edmund Hillary Fellow, a global fellowship for impact leaders. She has taught business management, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior at the Kogod School of Business at American University.
Irwin holds a Master of Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business at The College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Arts in Russian studies from Davidson College. She is a dual citizen of the United States and European Union, is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and conversant in Russian.

Margo Jordan, a Milwaukee native and former U.S. Army service member, is a venture-backed award-winning social entrepreneur and part of the less than 2% of Black women to raise over $1M in venture capital. She graduated with honors from Texas Southern University (BA in Finance) and Capella University (MBA). Passionate about social impact, Margo has developed self-esteem-based solutions for youth, impacting over 200,000 children globally. Her ventures include hosting youth conferences, creating self-esteem-based learning centers, and founding Enrichly, a digital health/e-learning SaaS platform. Enrichly is backed by Google, Microsoft, IBM and Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority. Recognized by the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi and featured in Entrepreneur Middle East Magazine and INC Magazines Top 250 Female Founders of 2024. She has won significant awards and over $1M in grants. Margo has also delivered a TEDx talk and continues to expand her platform to benefit both children and adults with 'self-esteem challenges.’

Bianca McGee is the Founder and CEO of Plan Profit Grow, a coaching and consulting firm helping women coaches and consultants navigate cash flow, profitability, and money mindset challenges by co-creating a personalized strategic PLAN to prioritize PROFIT and GROW sustainably.

Prior to starting her firm, Bianca was a finance leader for over 15 years at Fortune 500 companies managing billion-dollar P&L budgets and operations alongside marketing and sales teams. Her educational background and training includes Bachelor's degrees in Accounting and Organizational Behavior as well as a Master's in Accounting all from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She is also a certified Life Coach and trained Financial Coach.

When Bianca is not helping women become Cash Flow Confident CEOs, you can find her homeschooling her entrepreneur in training, planning the next travel adventure with her hubby, or indulging in a good book or podcast.

Rosie Rios is the Chair of America 250, the United States Congressional Commission planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. She served as the 43rd Treasurer of the United States and was the CEO of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint, including Fort Knox with oversight over 4,000 employees and a $5 billion budget. She also initiated and led the efforts to place a portrait of a woman on U.S. currency for the first time in over a century. Following her eight-year tenure, she was appointed as a Visiting Scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University with a focus on Millennials and Post-Millennials and resumed her role as CEO of Red River Associates, an investment management consulting firm and a co-host of several reality series focused on pre-IPO investments. Rosie served twice on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Teams on behalf of President Barack Obama at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and again during the pandemic economy of 2020 on behalf of President Biden.

Rosie’s entire career has focused on real estate finance, economic development, and urban revitalization in both the public and private sectors. Prior to her presidential appointment in Treasury, she was Managing Director of Investments for MacFarlane Partners, a $22 billion real estate investment management firm based in San Francisco. She is a graduate of Harvard University and was selected as the first Latina in Harvard’s 388-year history to have a portrait commissioned in her honor. The portrait was unveiled in Winthrop House in 2019. She currently serves on the board of American Family Insurance, Ripple Labs, Inc., and Fidelity Charitable Trust and was previously a board member for the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association (ACERA) prior to her time in the Obama Administration. Her personal passion includes serving as Founder and CEO of , an initiative that facilitates the physical recognition of historical American women in classrooms and public spaces across the country. Rosie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was honored as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century.

Famous for creating SusieCakes, one of California's top destinations for satisfying the sweet tooth, Susan Sarich is a twenty-five-year veteran of the hospitality industry. Upon graduation from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, she launched her hospitality career at Hyatt Hotels before being recruited to the famous House of Blues. She then lent her talents to a variety of renowned hospitality groups, including the Mobil 5-Star Everest restaurant and Ian Schrager's Clift Hotel. Ready for an entrepreneurial challenge, Susan moved to Portland, OR where she co-founded Zinc Bistrot, honored as one of Zagat's "America's Top Restaurants".

Susan continued to reminisce about her Midwest upbringing and memories of baking alongside her grandmothers. She craved home-style, American treats made from scratch, with real ingredients. Combining her business savvy expertise with the treasured 3”x5” recipe cards passed down from her grandmothers, Mildred and Madeline, she opened SusieCakes in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2006. Serving up everything from classic layer cakes to decadent pies and cookies, SusieCakes’ delicious desserts, superior service, and old-fashioned atmosphere quickly coined the bakery a neighborhood favorite along with a large celebrity following. Her commitment to careers for women in hospitality is evidenced by SusieCakes’ 85% female employee base.

The company steadily expanded throughout Southern and Northern California and has continued to grow, opening new locations in Texas and Tennessee. With sights set on further expansion, the Company launched nationwide shipping of their baked goods to bring more cakes to more states.

Susan is a proud recipient of the Forbes 50 over 50 Award as well as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Greater Los Angeles. Additionally, she’s received the Junior League Community Achievement Award and the Phi Beta Phi National Lichtenberg Crest Award for Professional Achievement. She has been a Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer at Cornell University and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Restaurant Association. In her free time, she enjoys traveling in search of great baked goods and donating her efforts to supporting local animal and women’s causes.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Convene at Pegasus Park (Doors open at 5:30), 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Dallas, United States