State Senator Jackie Speier and Author Malcolm Gladwell Among Keynotes at 16th Annual Professional Businesswomen's Conference

Premier Women's Professional Development Forum Features Expert Sessions, Youth Scholarships, Industry Pacesetter Awards and More Than 150 Exhibitors

4,000 attendees will salute the achievements, spirit, diversity and potential of women on May 3rd at the Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC) Conference, the largest gathering of its kind in Northern California. The day-long event allows women of all backgrounds, industries and generations to improve their skill sets, widen their spheres of influence and gather insights from remarkable women role models. The conference will be held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on May 3rd from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. To register, visit www.pbwc.org.

"PBWC is a life-changing experience for thousands of women and girls," said Jackie Speier, California State Senator (8th District) and PBWC Co-Founder. "This unique conference offers an extraordinary opportunity to join women from a variety of professions and backgrounds in a day of learning, sharing and inspiring."

Scholarship Programs Support Exemplary Young Women

PBWC is supporting the next generation of women leaders by joining with industry sponsors and Bay Area school districts to host 400 Bay Area high school girls for a special day of learning and mentoring at the conference.

In an award ceremony hosted by PBWC Director-at-Large Marianne Bordogna, PBWC will also present $5,000 scholarships to support the academic advancement of young women who are making significant contributions in academic and non-profit arenas:

--  Stanford University-bound Chi Nguyen, a senior at California High
    School in San Ramon, is dedicated to helping abandoned children in Vietnam.
    With $45,000 raised from benefit concerts and selling her homemade toffee,
    Chi teamed with the Vietnam Health Education and Literature Projects to
    provide clothing, meals, literacy classes and basic medical needs for more
    than 100 orphans. She also founded Green Team, a recycling program at
    California High School campuses.  Chi also volunteers at the Pleasanton
    Convalescent Hospital.

--  Melanie Forsythe, a senior at Danville High School, mentors
    underprivileged young girls as a volunteer for Girls, Inc.  During the
    school year, Melanie dedicates her time to visiting girls at elementary
    schools in Oakland to develop their reading, writing and interpersonal
    skills.  In the summer, she volunteers for the Girls Inc.'s summer program
    in San Leandro.  Melanie will enter University of California, Davis this
    Fall.
    

Bank of America Tops List of Bay Area Companies Advancing Women in the Workplace

PBWC announced separately today it will recognize 14 Bay Area companies for their commitment to women business leaders in a luncheon ceremony hosted by Jackie Speier. PBWC's 2005 Pacesetter Award winners include: Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, AT&T, Genentech, Wells Fargo, State Farm Insurance, SBC Communications, Guidant Corporation, Knight Ridder, Silicon Graphics, IBM, ChevronTexaco, Seagate Technology and McKesson.

Expert Speakers on Women's Health, Finance, Business, Life balance and Politics

In addition to Jackie Speier, keynote speakers include Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Blink" and "The Tipping Point"; Safra Catz, Oracle Co-President; Tom Rath, author of "How Full is Your Bucket?" and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, "Hot Tamales" chefs and restaurateurs. Featured speakers include Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal Work & Family columnist; Ana Corrales, Director, and Eugenia Corrales, Vice President, Cisco Systems; Andrea Peiro, CEO, Small Business Technology Institute; Anna Fels, M.D., Psychiatrist and Author, "Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women's Changing Lives," and Maria Degois-Sainz, President of Cardiac Surgery, Guidant Corporation.

2005 PBWC Sponsors

Corporate sponsors for the PBWC Conference include: American Airlines, AT&T, Bank of America, California Pacific Medical Center, California State Automobile Association, California Teachers Association, Charles Schwab, ChevronTexaco, Cisco Systems, Genentech, Guidant, Hewlett-Packard, Hyundai, Kaiser Permanente, Merrill Lynch, Oracle, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Seagate, State Farm Insurance, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, Wells Fargo and Western Digital. Media sponsors include: ABC7, KGO NEWSTALK AM810, and San Francisco Business Times.

Media Pre-Registration and Interviews

Accredited journalists can pre-register for a complimentary conference pass or arrange interviews with guest speakers, Pacesetter and scholarship winners by contacting Joanna Rustin, Rustin Communications, 866-297-6070, jrustin@rustincommunications.com; or Kelly Cytron, Kelcyn Communications, 415-271-3638, kcytron@kelcyn.com.

About PBWC

The Professional BusinessWomen of California (www.pbwc.org) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the professional and personal development of Bay Area women by providing tools, resources, training and inspiration.

Distributed by Market Wire