Heidi S. Berenson
President, Berenson Communications, Inc.
Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Women Presidents' Organization

Two-time Emmy and Peabody award winner Heidi S. Berenson, president of Washington, DC-based Berenson Communications, powers up the performance of top professionals whether they are facing the press, a presentation or a pitch.

Berenson harnesses two decades of media prowess to equip clients – from Members of Congress to FORTUNE 500 executives to Nobel Laureates – with tools to tackle a range of communication challenges. 

Featured among her credits: ABC News/TIME forums anchored by Peter Jennings, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS News and CNN’s Crossfire.  She has been published in The Legal Times and Allure; appeared on Good Morning America, and been featured in The Washington Post, The Seattle Times and Glamour, among many others.  According to Capital Style, “(Heidi) likes to lead by example.  It’s a style that sets her apart from Washington’s growing legion of media trainers.”

Berenson earned her MS degree from Boston University’s College of Communication and her BA in Journalism/English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award from BU’s College of Communication and the 1993 University of Massachusetts Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Professional Service.  She was honored as a 2004 Woman-Owned Business Star by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and serves as Vice Chairman for the Women Presidents’ Organization Board of Directors.

Linda Gooden
President, Lockheed Martin Information Technology

Linda Gooden is President of Lockheed Martin Information Technology (LMIT) and an officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation.  LMIT, an operating company within the corporation’s Information and Technology Services business area, is a fast-growing 16,000-member organization responsible for Information Technology and professional services for federal agencies across the U.S. in more than 60 major locations and in 18 foreign countries. 

Ms. Gooden manages the core external Government IT Services business for Lockheed Martin.  Across the breadth of federal Government, she is well known for mission and business solutions that help agencies perform more effectively and provide outcomes that help make America a better place to live.  Under her guidance, the company provides software development and maintenance, enterprise-wide IT infrastructure, and managed services.  Through a robust Business Process Management practice, she is helping transform people-intensive businesses into efficient business services.  Her company also serves the needs of government customers through Professional Services by providing quick-reaction, task-order-driven logistics, engineering and information technology support.

She actively supports professional, academic, and civic organizations, serving on numerous executive boards including Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) International;  Information Technology Association of America (ITAA); University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Electronic Markets & Enterprises; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Prince George's Community College Foundation; Maryland Business Roundtable for Education; and Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable; and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council.

Ms. Gooden was selected as 2006 Black Engineer of the Year by U.S Black Engineer and IT Magazine, was featured as one of Black Enterprise Magazine’s Women of Power in Business for 2006, and was named a 2006 Aiming High honoree by Legal Momentum.  She was named winner of the 2002 Federal 100 “Eagle” Award by Federal Computer Week and received the 2002 Corporate Leadership Award by Women in Technology.  She was voted one of Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” in 2004. Ms. Gooden also holds Dollars & Sense Magazine’s 1997 Salute to America’s Best and Brightest; and the Annual Peat Marwick High Tech Entrepreneur Award in 1994.

Ms. Gooden was named to her current position in 1997. She served as Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s Software Support Services unit from 1994 and earlier held other positions of increasing responsibility within the corporation’s Data Systems and Information Systems companies.  Prior to joining the corporation in 1980, Ms. Gooden was employed as a software engineer for General Dynamics of San Diego in support of engineering systems.

She received her degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University and completed post-baccalaureate studies at San Diego State University.   She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree in 2005 from the University of Maryland University College in recognition of her service to the community and to higher education.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III
President, UMBC

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, has served as President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since May, 1992.  His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. 

He serves as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and universities and school systems nationally.  He also sits on several corporate and civic boards.  Examples include the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Constellation Energy Group, the France-Merrick Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, McCormick & Company, Inc., Mercantile Safe Deposit & Trust Company, and the Urban Institute. 

Examples of recent awards or honors include election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, receiving the prestigious McGraw Prize in Education and the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, being named Marylander of the Year by the editors of the Baltimore Sun, and being listed among Fast Company magazine’s first “Fast 50 Champions of Innovation” in business and technology.  He also holds a number of honorary degrees, including most recently from Duke University, the University of Illinois, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Gallaudet University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Binghamton University. 

He has co-authored two books, Beating the Odds and Overcoming the Odds (Oxford University Press), focusing on parenting and high-achieving African American males and females in science.  Both books are used by universities, school systems, and community groups around the country. 
A child-leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Hrabowski was prominently featured in Spike Lee’s 1997 documentary, Four Little Girls, on the racially motivated bombing in 1963 of Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

Born in 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Hrabowski graduated at 19 from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics.  At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he received his M.A. (mathematics) and four years later his Ph.D. (higher education administration/statistics) at age 24.

Beth S. Perlman
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Constellation Energy

Beth S. Perlman joined Constellation Energy in 2002. As Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Ms. Perlman is responsible for all company-wide information technology initiatives, including the standardization of systems and architecture.

Before joining Constellation, Ms. Perlman had been Vice President of Enron Wholesale Trading Technology where she was responsible for 750 technologists and a budget of $180 million. Ms. Perlman, who began her career with Enron in 1995 as Director, Risk Management Administration, was named Senior Director, Strategic Systems Initiatives in 1997, Senior Director, Enron Europe Limited Technology in 1999, and was promoted to her last position in 2000.

Prior to joining Enron, Ms. Perlman had been Project Manager, Equity Derivatives Technology for Lehman Brothers from 1993 to 1995. She was also Group Manager, Finance & Accounting Systems for Kidder, Peabody & Company from 1990 to 1993. Prior to that, she worked for J.P. Morgan from 1982 to 1990.

Ms. Perlman serves as a board member of the American Technion Society, The Baltimore Opera and the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
A New York native, Ms. Perlman graduated with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and finance from Syracuse University.