2024 LACE CONFERENCE
Keynote & Featured Speakers

Dima Ghawi 
Keynote Speaker, Author and Leadership Coach

Sessions:  Shattering Limitations and Daring to Thrive and Engaging Gen Z

Dima is Middle-Eastern in her genes, American in her heart, and a global citizen in her spirit. She ignites the untapped potential in individuals across the globe, empowering them to shatter limitations and become courageous, purpose driven leaders. Her own journey is one of escaping confinement, crossing continents, and transforming her life’s purpose. Harnessing the power of her story, Dima is committed to inspiring individuals to attain personal and professional growth.

Through keynote speeches, workshops, and executive coaching, Dima shares her unique leadership transformation journey with one goal in mind: motivate and activate those around her to reimagine their potential and grow into leaders.

Dima draws from two decades of corporate experience leading global teams and developing future leaders worldwide. She has worked across the United States, Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa for several Fortune 100 companies including IBM, Merrill Lynch, and Intuit. She has honed a keen expertise in developing leaders to meet the demands of the global workforce.

Dima’s memoir Breaking Vases received many awards including Writer’s Digest 2018GrandPrize Award, Best Indie Book Award, Readers’ Favorite Award, National Indie Excellence Award, and Nautilus Book Award.

She has been recognized for her services with the 2014 President of the United States Bronze Volunteer Service Award, the2019 Baton Rouge Business Report “Influential Women in Business,”2014 Baton Rouge Business Report’s “Forty Under 40” Award, and the 2016 Louisiana State University “Esprit de Femme Award.” She has been featured innumerous publications for her professional and philanthropic work.

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Dr. Tristan Denely
Deputy Commissioner
Academic Affairs and Innovation
LA Board of Regents

Bio Coming Soon!

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Susana (Susie) Schowen
Secretary, LA Workforce Commission

Susana (Susie) Schowen serves as the Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. She was appointed by Governor Jeff Landry in January of 2024. Prior to joining the LWC, she spent two years as the Vice President of Education at the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and before that, she was at LED FastStart, the workforce development division of Louisiana Economic Development, for over ten years. Through all these roles, Susie has focused on building coalitions of industry partners, economic developers, and educators to align education and workforce development efforts with the needs of employers and the economy, increasing the prosperity of our people and our communities. She takes a highly innovative and employer-responsive approach, restructuring systems to lift individuals out of poverty while driving economic growth, and measuring success using performance-based models that reward results, not promises. She also works across agencies and with regional partners to identify inefficiencies in the system, and better align the delivery of social services with workforce development efforts. Susie has degrees in chemistry from Wellesley College and Columbia University.

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Jacquelyn Craddock
Innovative Workforce Initiatives, CGI

Craddock has extensive experience as an economic, workforce and partnership development executive. She has significant expertise in project management, proposal development, and sector partnerships. Her skill sets include coalition building among local, state, federal levels inclusive of community organizations, economic development, and government agencies; public relations, marketing and communication strategies; and fiduciary structures.

Craddock designs and implements CGI talent transformation programs, including management of CGI’s USDOL registered apprentices to CGI project teams. She coordinates throughout the candidate and member lifecycle. This includes sourcing and selection of candidates, preparation of technical instruction (logistics and content), organization of CGI teams and managers, structure of on-the-job training/employment for duration of apprenticeship (learning & development and work plan), registration of state and/or local apprenticeship as appropriate, resource allocation, application of workforce funds, and program completion and evaluation.

She is the Lafayette Women’s Forum Area Chair, a passionate advocate and leader in spearheading the Women’s Forum Principles: Connections, Growth, and Inspiration. She is dedicated to advancing women's representation and empowerment within both CGI and the ever-evolving landscape of technology.