Female Trailblazer from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to Deliver Keynote at Women’s Leadership Conference in Las Vegas

Roslyn M. Brock, the youngest person and fourth woman to chair the National Board of Directors for the NAACP, will address sold out crowd at MGM Resorts Foundation’s WLC 2017
Jul 31, 2017 2:00 PM ET

LAS VEGAS, July 31, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Roslyn M. Brock, the youngest person to be elected to chair the National Board of Directors of the NAACP, will be a featured keynote speaker during the MGM Resorts Foundation’s 11th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC) August 7-8 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas Conference Center.

Brock, an advocate of health and social justice initiatives and noted public speaker, will share how the core leadership traits of character, conviction, and courage contributed to her historic election to Chairwoman in 2010. She will address a capacity crowd of nearly 1,200 attendees.  

Brock was an active member of the NAACP for nearly three decades before being elected to lead the storied organization’s board of directors. She founded the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit, a recruitment and training initiative to cultivate a new generation of civil rights leaders. Brock also developed and directed the board’s historic policy decision to support urgent, impactful issues such as marriage equality and The Black Church and HIV: The Social Justice Imperative, a national network of faith leaders, religious institutions, and community members committed to ending the HIV epidemic among the black community in the United States. Brock currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP National Board of Directors.

She also built cross-cultural understanding and professional networks with young leaders in China as a Young Leaders Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. 

Brock currently serves as the Vice-President of Advocacy and Government Relations for Bon Secours Health System, Inc., a non-profit health care provider with 19 acute-care hospitals and over 25,000 employees across the United States. In this role, Brock directs health care policy and reform, health equity, and social justice legislative and regulatory efforts. Her experience in the health program industry includes a decade of advocacy and policy development at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and more than thirty years of professional experience in health care policy, equity analysis, social justice advocacy, financial management, philanthropy, leadership formation and community development. 

“Roslyn is a trailblazer,” said conference organizer Dawn Christensen, Executive Director of National Diversity Relations for MGM Resorts International. “A notable social advocate, her decades-long tenure with the NAACP helped pave the way for others, and she continues to lead by example today. We’re excited to share her secrets for success and what drives her passion.” 

She has been featured on Essence magazine’s list of “40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who Are Changing the World” and in Black Entertainment Television’s inaugural “Black Girls Rock” broadcast. Brock has also received the National Urban League’s Women of Power Award, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Coretta Scott King Award, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Leadership Award.

Brock graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Union University. She obtained a master’s degree in health services administration from The George Washington University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Additionally, she holds honorary doctorate degrees from Virginia Union University, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and Smith College. 
 
Brock currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University, and is a past chair of the Board of Advisors of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. She is also a member of the Kellogg School of Management Global Advisory Board at Northwestern University, the American Public Health Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and The LINKS, Inc.  

Conference background:

The 2017 Women’s Leadership Conference theme is “Women Inspiring Women.” The conference sold out in June, earlier than ever before, and this is the fourth year in a row that registration has reached capacity.  The conference will offer a wide range of learning opportunities, career guidance and personal growth tools, including:

  • Exposure to diverse and nationally recognized speakers and accomplished women role models. 
  • Two days of career-oriented workshops that will give women hands-on opportunities to develop skills based on their career needs. 
  • Three distinct learning tracks: Emerging Leaders, Emerging Executives and Executives.
  • Workshops for entrepreneurs who are well-established or just thinking of starting their own businesses. 

The conference is open to women of all ethnicities, professions and social backgrounds, locally and nationally, and men who support them. The MGM Resorts Foundation is the conference’s presenting sponsor. Each year, proceeds from the conference after costs, are donated to one or more local nonprofit agencies devoted to the welfare and development of women and children.
Dress for Success Southern Nevada recently received a $30,000 gift from the 2016 conference.

Participating sponsorships are available to organizations or companies who share the vision and goals of this conference. Current sponsors include: The Coca-Cola Company, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Bank of America, CBS Radio, Southwest Airlines, Diageo, Everi Payments Inc., Cashman Photo, Enterprises, Greenspun Media Group, Vegas PBS, COX Communications, Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, R&R Partners Foundation, Cirque du Soleil, Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, Agilysys, Inc., L3 Technologies, Inc., Kr8, CORT Events, Quick Change Display, Global Gaming Women, Black Stallion Winery, Taylor Communications, Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, and Waggl. Conference supporters include: America First Credit Union, Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., BMW of Las Vegas and Henderson, Caesars Entertainment, Clear Channel Outdoor-Las Vegas, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Las Vegas Billboards, Las Vegas Springs Preserve, MasterCard, McCarran International Airport, M Resort, Phyllis A. James, sbe and Winston & Strawn LLP.

For more information about WLC, please visit mgmresortsfoundation.org/WLC.

About MGM Resorts International 
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is one of the world's leading global hospitality companies, operating a portfolio of destination resort brands including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage. The Company opened MGM National Harbor in Maryland on December 8, 2016, and is in the process of developing MGM Springfield in Massachusetts. MGM Resorts controls and holds a 76 percent economic interest in the operating partnership of MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP), a premier triple-net lease real estate investment trust engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts. The Company also owns 56 percent of MGM China Holdings Limited (SEHK: 2282), which owns MGM MACAU and is developing MGM COTAI, and 50 percent of CityCenter in Las Vegas, which features ARIA Resort & Casino. MGM Resorts is named among FORTUNE® Magazine's 2016 list of World's Most Admired Companies®. For more information about MGM Resorts International, visit the Company's website at www.mgmresorts.com. 

About The MGM Resorts Foundation
The purpose of The MGM Resorts Foundation is to collect and distribute monies and assets donated by employees of MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) for the aid and support of qualified community nonprofit programs, agencies or organizations designated exclusively by 
MGM Resorts employees. In addition, the Foundation collects and distributes donations to the Foundation by third-party non-employees to support charitable, scientific, literary, and educational activities approved by the Foundation's Board of Directors and organized by 
MGM Resorts employees to benefit qualified non-profit charitable organizations designated by the Foundation's Board.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sonya Padgett
MGM Resorts International 
702-692-6807
spadgett@mgmresorts.com

Callie Driehorst
MGM Resorts International
702-692-6814
cdriehorst@mgmresorts.com