Creating Peace, Prosperity and goodness in the world — that is why Lila Igram started Connecther, a 501c3 nonprofit which matches donors with projects that are providing services to women and children in their quest for self-reliance. Lila put together a bootstrapping, volunteer team that together donated over $50K of in-kind services to launch the Connecther web platform.

Lila recently worked for FLOW, a nonprofit which advocates liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good. During Lila's time at FLOW, she worked in the area of community outreach.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family led to Lila co-founding her first company in 2004, a t-shirt company which advocated for social justice. She also more recently helped a dedicated pain management doctor establish her practice in Austin.

Lila was born and grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa. She has traveled extensively in the Middle East, South America, Africa and Europe - living in Cairo, Egypt for one year. She currently lives in Austin, TX with her husband and three kids. Her oldest son was recently recruited to play football at Harvard and reports to Cambridge in the fall of 2010.

Contact Lila at lila@connecther.org

Veronica Forsyth was born in the USA and educated both here and in Mexico. Her career started in Mexico as a Human Resource Generalist for a Major Soccer Club, followed by a long career as an International Ambassador for the St. Luke's Hospital/Texas Heart Institute in Houston were she acted as patient liaison and marketer of the hospital's services in both Italy and Mexico.

Mrs. Forsyth was Chief Operating Officer for Omnilife USA, a subsidiary of Grupo Omnilife, S.A. de C.V., one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of nutritional supplements in the world. During her tenure as COO, US sales grew by more than 400% while opening 14 distribution centers across the US.

As VP of Customer Strategy for MPower Labs, in conjunction with her team, Mrs. Forsyth worked to identify the customer's wants and needs.

Being both multicultural and multilingual — in English, Spanish and Italian — Mrs. Forsyth understands the need for specific approaches for different cultures as well as how to find common ground.

Mrs. Forsyth holds a BS in Industrial Relations from Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO) and an MS in Human Resource Management from Houston Baptist University. Her continuing education efforts include studies in neurolinguistic programming and a Project Management course.

Currently Mrs. Forsyth works for CASA a non-profit that advocates for children who has been abused and neglected and has opened her own company, Green Frog Biodegradables. Green Frog Biodegradables' mission is to provide a variety of biodegradable goods for everyday living to consumers who are committed to preserve the environment

Mrs. Forsyth serves on the boards of Life Works and has volunteered in numerous organizations.

Sulafa Abou-Samra is currently teaching Global Community Development in the Graduate Community Development Program at Prairie View A&M University.

Prof. Abou-Samra's main areas of specialization, research and teaching are in Middle East Studies, History and International Community and Social Development Studies.

Prof. Abou-Samra graduated from The University of Damascus, Syria with a B.A. in English Literature. She also holds a M.A. degree in Middle Eastern Studies from The University of Texas, Austin.

For many years she worked as an interpreter and a translator for several refugee organizations such as Caritas and the Catholic Archdiocese, working with refugees from around the world. Prof. Abou-Samra's seven years of residency in France enriched her world knowledge and provided her with a multi-cultural experience. She is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Tarik has 20 years of experience in a wide range of business and technology roles, including with double and triple bottom line companies. He is currently an IT Director at Dell, Inc running strategic global programs for Dell's manufacturing and product fulfillment division. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa's business program, having also taken graduate courses there. Tarik is passionate about social and environmental improvement.

Laura Montez received her B.B.A. as an Engineering Route to Business major, with concentrations in mechanical engineering and financial management, from The University of Texas at Austin. After working as an Information Technology Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers implementing warehouse management systems in their Supply Chain Management practice, Laura received an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at The University of California, Berkeley.

Post business school, Laura served as the Strategic Marketing Manager for the San Francisco Giants before ultimately returning to Austin to be the Publicist and Assistant Marketing Manager for the Frank Erwin Center at The University of Texas. She has since established her own public relations company and works with former Longhorns, professional athletes and other businesses to develop and market their brand, publicize their foundations and fundraising events, and deliver their message to the community. Laura has developed expertise in media relations, brand development, sponsorship generation and event management.

Salwa Khan was born in Kuwait and attended school in England. She received her Bachelors Degree in Business and Masters Degree in Accounting from UT. Salwa previously worked for Dell as a Senior Financial Analyst and currently runs her own logo design business.