Join the Rio Grande Valley's most influential thought leaders in an engaging conversation around the social, economic, political and educational challenges facing today's girls and hear from the 2021 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award Recipients.
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2022 Women of Distinction Panel Speakers
Leslie Bingham
Leslie Bingham is the Chief Executive Officer of Valley Baptist Brownsville.
Ms. Bingham has over thirty years of experience as a leader and executive within the healthcare industry.
Ms. Bingham holds a Bachelors and Master degrees from the University of Mississippi. She also earned her MBA from UTRGV (formerly the University of Texas-Pan American).
Committed to serving our community, Ms. Bingham served on the Governing Board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. She currently serves as a board member for the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA), and is Board Vice Chair for The Council for South Texas Economic Progress (COSTEP). She serves as an advisor to UTRGV’s Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, and the UTRGV College of Health Professions.
Maribel Guerrero
Assistant Director for Engineering and Public Works for the City of Brownsville and Mayor for the Town of Rancho Viejo, Texas.
Maribel Guerrero has a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master in Public Affairs. She has over 27 years of experience as an environmental consultant for developing NEPA and FERC environmental assessments (EA), Federal environmental impact statements (FEIS), and federal and state regulatory compliance including public participatory process. Ms. Guerrero has extensive public relations, marketing, and staff management as senior project manager for various environmental projects and as a public relations representative and communications specialist for the private sector.
She is currently the Assistant Director for Engineering and Public Works for the City of Brownsville and serves her homestead community as Mayor for the Town of Rancho Viejo, Texas. Ms. Guerrero is a mother of two daughters, enjoys devoting her volunteer time to local non-profit organizations, membership boards, environmental stewardship programs, reading, traveling, and the great outdoors.
Aida Coronado-Garcia
Aida Coronado-Garica is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer for DHR Health Hospital in Brownsville, Texas servicing Cameron County. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Brownsville and her Masters of Science in Nursing at Texas A & M CorpusChristi. Aida holds a national board certification with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She is pursuing a Healthcare Administration certification through Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Aida is the chairwoman for DHR Health Advanced Practice Providers Practice Improvement Committee as well as Allied Health Committee. She also sits on the Medical Executive Committee representing all advanced practice providers partners/non-partners. Aida is also a board member of the Chamber of Commerce in Brownsville. In the time Aida has served, DHR Health has grown organicall through acquisition and has expanded its geographic footprint fostering her passion for community engagement and involvement in mentorship programs.
Aida began her nursing career 16 years ago in hospitals focusing on critical care and pediatric oncology. She then went on to join the United States Public Health Service as a Commissioned Officer. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, American Association of Nurse Practitioners and Texas Nurse Practitioners. Aida is a Brownsville native and believes it is of the utmost importance to support Hispanics when it comes to higher education, career building and apprenticeship pathways. Aida enjoys spending timewith her two beautiful daughters and husband who she has been married to for 21 years.
Lauren Davis
Lauren Davis joined HCA in January 2015. She is the Chief Operating Officer at Valley Regional Medical Center. She was appointed Chief Operations Officer in 2020 after serving as Associate Chief Operating Officer at the Methodist and Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
Her career achievements include driving improvements in employee, patient and physician satisfaction scores, as well as, overseeing numerous construction and expansion projects totaling well over $45M. As the Chief Operations Officer,
Lauren leads operations teams and provides oversight for operational, clinical, and programmatic departments.
Lauren also serves as the ethics and compliance officer and holds experience in facility accreditation and regulatory compliance surveys. Lauren most currently serves as a board member for Cameron County Workforce Solutions.
Lauren earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her master’s degree in Health Care Administration from TrinityUniversity. Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband and two little boys.
Nurith Galonsky Pizaña
Born and raised in Brownsville, Nurith Galonsky Pizana has been the District 1 City Commissioner for Brownsville since June 2019. She graduated from Stanford University with her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Spanish Literature, went to Southern Methodist University for law school, and received her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Texas.
Luz Griselda Zamora
Luz Griselda Zamora has been an educator for 23 years. Upon graduating from Glady’s Porter High School, she went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts with a major in English from the University of Texas at Brownsville & Texas Southmost College. She taught high school English for 7 years in the Southmost area of Brownsville where she grew up. Being a first-generation student herself and witnessing the daily struggles of students she taught led her to pursue a Masters in Guidance and Counseling which she acquired from UTB/TSC. As a school counselor she has held multiple counseling positions including Migrant Counselor, At-Risk Counselor, Career & Technology Counselor, and provided Family counseling services to families of students in need within BISD. She is currently serving as an academic school counselor at STISD’s Medical Professions High School.
Luz is a firm believer that through education everything is possible! Her commitment to her students and their education has earned her several recognitions. In 2012 while at Lopez High School and in 2018 while at Medical Professions she was awarded the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction for her dedication and commitment to excellence in the profession. In 2019, she was inducted into the BISD Alumnus Hall of Fame which honors some of the district’s brightest alumni and their success story. She has been invited as keynote speaker to Honor Society induction ceremonies to encourage young students to pursue their dreams.
She is the proud mother of three fine young sons who make her proud everyday and with whom she enjoys watching everything Marvel. Her hobby and self-care therapy is triathlon—swim, bike, run and she has completed multiple distances. Her most recent accomplishment was completing a Full Ironman which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. Her motto is “live to inspire!”
Lillian Kim
Anna Oquin
Girl Scouts | Women Leaders of Tomorrow
Gold Award
Silver Award
Bronze Award
