February 4, 2023

The fourth Annual Women’s Conference will be held on February 4, 2023 at the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library.
The day will mark the Irish Government making St. Brigid’s Day an official Irish National Holiday.

Keynote Speakers

Maria Walsh

MEP Walsh was born in Boston, USA, but the village of Shrule, Co. Mayo has been home for her since 1994. She graduated from Griffith College Dublin with a B.A. in Journalism and Visual Media in 2009 and went on to a career in television production and creative management. Maria was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the Midlands–North-West constituency at the 2019 European Parliament elections. In 2014, she was crowned the International Rose of Tralee, at the festival of the same name that celebrates young women of Irish heritage. Up until July 2019, Maria served as a member of the Irish Reserve Defense Force in the First Armoured Cavalry Squadron, based in the Curragh Co. Kildare. MEP Walsh is a member of Fine Gael and sits in the European People’s Party political group. She sits on three European Parliament Committees; Committee on Employment and Social Affairs [EMPL], Committee on Culture and Education [CULT], and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs [LIBE]. MEP Walsh is also the Irish EPP representative on the Delegation for relations with the United States and for the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States. As a Co-Chair of both the Mental Health Alliance and the Coalition of Mental Health and Wellbeing Intergroups in the Parliament, MEP Walsh is dedicated to raising the cross-sectional impacts of mental health throughout her policy work. With her work on the Intergroups, Maria is leading the call for an EU Year of Mental Health & Well-Being to ensure that we are prepared for the oncoming mental health crisis which will follow the pandemic.

Dr. Ann B. Kelleher

Dr. Ann B. Kelleher is executive vice president and general manager of Technology Development at Intel Corporation. She is responsible for the research, development and deployment of next-generation silicon logic, packaging and test technologies that power the future of Intel’s innovation.
Previously, Kelleher was general manager of Manufacturing and Operations, where she oversaw Intel’s worldwide manufacturing operations including Fab Sort Manufacturing, Assembly Test Manufacturing and strategic planning, as well as corporate quality assurance and corporate services. Before that, she served as co-general manager of the Technology and Manufacturing Group.
Kelleher joined Intel in 1996 as a process engineer, going on to manage technology transfers and factory ramp-ups in a variety of positions spanning 200mm and 300mm technologies. She started her manufacturing leadership journey as the factory manager of Fab 24 in Leixlip, Ireland. She then moved to Chandler, Arizona, to manage Intel’s Fab 12 facility, followed by serving as the site manager of Intel’s Fab 11X fabrication facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She then became general manager of the Fab Sort Manufacturing organization where she was responsible for all aspects of Intel’s high-volume silicon manufacturing.
Kelleher holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, all from University College Cork in Ireland.

Special Guests

Marcella Smyth

Marcella Smyth is Ireland’s Consul General to the South Western United States. Prior to this role, Ms. Smyth served as Deputy Director for International Security Policy in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, working on UN Security Council issues such as UN peacekeeping, and protection of civilians. Previously, Ms. Smyth was posted to Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union where she served as press spokesperson. Ms. Smyth previously served in Ireland’s Embassy to Belgium as Deputy Head of Mission and then as Chargé d’Affaires. Ms. Smyth’s work within the Department of Foreign Affairs has also seen in her in the roles of Deputy Director, Programme Countries, Development Cooperation Division, and as Deputy Head of Mission to Ireland’s Embassy to Canada. Ms. Smyth has also previously combined this work with her role as lecturer on social policy in the Institute of Public Administration. Ms. Smyth holds a BA in social science as well as a Masters in Social Policy and a Masters in Strategic Studies.