U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

The Honorable Karen Gren Scholer was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas on March 7, 2018, after being confirmed by the United States Senate 95-0.  She has the distinct honor of being nominated to be an Article III judge by two different Administrations for two different Districts – by President Trump for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas) and by President Obama for the Eastern District of Texas (Plano).  She is the first Asian American federal district judge in Texas and the entire Fifth Circuit.

Before her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Scholer was both a trial lawyer and state trial judge.  She was elected as Judge of the 95^th District Court for two terms, serving from 2001 to 2008.  While on the state court bench, Judge Scholer served as the Presiding Judge of the Dallas County Civil District Judges in 2007 and was appointed by the Governor of the State of Texas to serve as a temporary Justice on the Tenth Court of Appeals.

In private practice, Judge Scholer was a co-managing and named partner at litigation boutique law firm Carter Scholer (2014-2018) and a litigation partner at Jones Day (2009-2013), Andrews & Kurth (1996-2000), and Strasburger & Price (1982-1996).  She was repeatedly recognized as one of the top lawyers in Texas, selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers® (Texas), D Magazine’s Best Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America.  She was identified as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers® and earned the rating of AV Preeminent (5.0 out of 5) Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell.  She was honored by the Texas Lawyer as a 2019 Finalist for Attorney of the Year.

Over her long career, Judge Scholer has received numerous other honors for professional excellence and dedication to community service, including the Dallas Women Lawyers Association Louise Raggio Award, the Dallas Asian American Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award and Judicial Trailblazer Award, the Dallas Fort Worth Asian American Citizens Council Chair’s Award and Civil Servant of the Year Award, the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce Judicial Excellence Award, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Trailblazer Award.  Judge Scholer is a former chair and Life Benefactor Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation.  She has served as co-chair of Attorneys Serving the Community and in leadership positions in the Dallas Bar Association and State Bar of Texas.  In demand as a speaker and panelist, she has been honored as the keynote speaker to many audiences.

Judge Scholer is a graduate of Rice University and Cornell University Law School.  She has served on the board of directors for the Association of Rice Alumni and the Cornell Law Association Executive Board.

 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Judge Alan Albright is the federal district judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. Judge Albright was nominated by President Trump on January 24, 2018 and confirmed on September 6, 2018. He was sworn in on September 18, 2018.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Albright was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell, LLP.  He practiced IP litigation and handled trials in both federal court and the ITC.  Before practicing law in Austin, he earned a BA in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review. Following law school, Judge Albright clerked for The Honorable James R. Nowlin in Austin, Texas. Judge Albright later served as a United States Magistrate Judge from 1992–99. He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at The University of Texas School of Law. Judge Albright was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has two sons and he is an avid runner and cyclist.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Judge Pitman was appointed United States District Judge by President Barack Obama in 2014. Prior to his appointment, Judge Pitman served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas from 2011-2014. From 2003-2011, Judge Pitman was a United States Magistrate Judge in Austin.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and earned a masters degree in law from the University of Oxford. Following law school, Judge Pitman clerked for Judge David O. Belew, Jr. in the Northern District of Texas. He then practiced as an associate at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright) before joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, where he prosecuted a wide variety of criminal cases and served in many roles, including Chief of the Austin Division, Deputy U.S. Attorney and Interim U.S. Attorney.

During his tenure as United States Attorney, Judge Pitman also served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. He is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Texas, where he teaches courses in the law school and in the undergraduate Plan II Honors program. He has twice been recognized as Texas Jurist of the Year by the Texas Review of Litigation, in 2012 and 2015. Judge Pitman has co-authored two books on criminal justice reform and is a frequent speaker and panelist at legal conferences. He was the founding president of the Lloyd Lochridge Inn of Court, and is a trustee of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and KMFA Classical music station.

Judge Pitman sits in the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas.

Former CEO of Burger King

Jeff Campbell is the former CEO of Burger King and ex-Chairman of the Pillsbury Restaurant Group. He has also held the posts of Senior Vice President for Brand Development for Pepsi-Cola as well as CEO of the Johnny Rockets and Catalina Restaurant Groups. He has a B.A. in Psychology from Fairfield University, an M.B.A. in Marketing from Columbia University and an M.A. in History from the University of Miami. He did his military service with the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. Jeff is currently a Chairman Emeritus of The Chairmen’s Roundtable, a San Diego-based organization composed of former CEO’s and entrepreneurs that engage in free-of-charge mentoring services for local businesses. He is also the Program Director for the online
Master’s degree program in Hospitality and Tourism at San Diego State University and a regular lecturer in both graduate and undergraduate programs at the school. Jeff serves as an Advisor to TS Restaurants and Opt-In, a start-up firm seeking to improve the lives of hourly workers in the United States. He is also the Co-Founder of Wisdom Capture, a 21^st century leadership development enterprise.

Premier Thought Leader on Human Connection

Josh Hotsenpiller is a premier thought leader on human connection.

As a TEDx alum and U.S. Department of State speaker ambassador Josh travels globally equipping and inspiring people across all sectors to re-learn and resurrect the power of human connection and soft skills. From keynotes to executive training, Josh partners with leading companies like HP and Atrium (one of Crain’s top companies to work for) to increase employees soft skills and emotional well-being.

Josh earned his theology degree in Nyack, New York. Josh started a faith community in San Diego, CA with only his wife; the community grew to over 1000 regular attendees. Harnessing his desire to scale purpose centered ideas, Josh co-founded Profits 4 Purpose, a SAAS software company empowering nearly 1 million global employees to volunteer and donate. After an exit to now Blackbaud, Josh founded and remains CEO of CrowdHub, WIsdom Capture, and JUNOLIVE. With millions of users connected to their various platforms, his clients include Unilever, UNICEF. HP, GoPro, Kaiser Permanente, among many others.

Today Josh is committed to revolutionizing relationships at all levels. As a human connection expert, he challenges teams and individuals to reframe their approach in connecting with others. His guidance will challenge you to develop a renewed commitment to yourself and the people in your life.

Former CEO of Weatherford International

Mr. Mark McCollum served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Weatherford International plc from April 2017 until June 2020.  Weatherford, based in Houston, Texas, is one of the largest global oilfield service companies, operating in over 80 countries and employing over 25,000 people to provide highly-engineered solutions, technologies and services to the oil and gas industry.

Prior to joining Weatherford, Mr. McCollum served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Halliburton, also a global oilfield service company, from 2007 until March 2017.  He also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for Halliburton from 2003 to 2007.

Prior to joining Halliburton, Mr. McCollum served in various senior executive positions for Tenneco from 1995 through 2003.  Before joining Tenneco, he spent 14 years with Arthur Andersen LLP and served as an audit and business advisory partner of the firm’s worldwide partnership from 1991 through 1994.

Mr. McCollum earned a BBA in accounting from Baylor University in 1980.  He remains actively involved with the university, currently serving on Baylor’s Endowment Investment Committee and the board of advocates for Baylor’s Engineering and Computer Science department.

Mr. McCollum also serves on the board of directors for Westlake Chemical Corporation.  He is a member of the board of trustees for Baylor College of Medicine, the board of directors of Yellowstone Academy and the advisory board of Every Village.