Keynotes
Eric Holder
82nd Attorney General of the United States
Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African American to hold the position of U.S. Attorney General (in both a confirmed and acting position).
Born in New York City to a middle class family of Barbadian origins, Holder was raised in a predominantly black community but attended school with mostly white students as part of a gifted education program. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College, and Columbia Law School. Following law school, he left New York to work for the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice for 12 years. He next served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before being appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and subsequently Deputy Attorney General. While U.S. Attorney, he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal.
Following the Clinton administration, he worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He was senior legal advisor to Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee. Holder was a close ally and confidant of Obama's and was selected as President Obama's first Attorney General. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives held Holder in contempt of Congress during an investigation of the Operation Fast and Furious ATF gunwalking scandal; the Justice Department's Inspector General later cleared Holder of any wrongdoing. Holder was succeeded as Attorney General by Loretta Lynch in April 2015. He returned to Covington & Burling, where he continues to practice, and is also involved with efforts at gerrymandering reform through the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Katherine Hargis
SVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Key Energy Services, Inc.
Currently the SVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary for Key Energy Services, Inc., Katherine Hargis is a strategic and award-winning public company General Counsel with 15+ years of experience in domestic and international environments, and a track record of effective results across a full range of critical legal challenges. She advises Board and executive leadership on matters of corporate governance, executive compensation, public disclosure obligations and strategic planning. Her expertise includes oversight and management of internal audit, risk and regulatory compliance, SEC reporting, M&A; and divestitures, commercial transactions, intellectual property protection, litigation, restructuring, FCPA, and employment issues. Prior to joining Key Energy, Katherine served as VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of U.S. Concrete, Inc. As a young lawyer she held associate positions with King & Spalding, and Hunton Andrews Kurth.
A thought leader, she speaks at and prepares materials for numerous conferences and events, is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and the recipient of First Chair’s 2018 Top General Counsel Award, and National Diversity Council’s 2018 Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Oil & Gas Award.
Katherine earned a J.D. degree from Tulane Law School, and a B.S. (Administration of Justice, summa cum laude), from Arizona State University, Barrett, the Honors College. She was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 2002, and to the United States Court for the Southern District of Texas in 2003.
Liz Cedillo-Pereira
Chief of Equity & Inclusion
City of Dallas
Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Cedillo-Pereira is the Chief of Equity and Inclusion for the City of Dallas. Liz has executive leadership oversight of the Office of Ethics and Compliance, Office of Equity, Office of Fair Housing and Human Rights, and the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs. Liz Cedillo-Pereira previously served as the Director of the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs (WCIA) established in March 2017. In that position, Liz has overseen the community-driven process to develop a comprehensive Strategic Welcoming Plan for the City of Dallas that was unanimously adopted by Dallas City Council in 2018.
A native Dallasite, Liz has more than 15 years of experience at the federal, state and local level in human rights, immigration, and anti-trafficking related matters. Prior to joining the City of Dalla, Liz served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she focused on immigration policy overseeing the agency implementation numerous policy priorities. In addition, Liz led the agency’s revamped community engagement initiatives through the establishment of the Office of Community Engagement to foster relations in communities across the U.S.
Liz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania; earned her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Liz is married to Oscar Pereira, an aeronautical engineer, and they are blessed with Amanda, Gabriela and Oscar Samuel.