LAS VEGAS, May 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lisa Ling,
executive producer and host of the investigative documentary series
"This is Life" on CNN, will speak at The MGM Resorts Foundation's
11th annual Women's Leadership Conference (WLC)
Aug. 7-8 at MGM Grand Hotel &
Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
Ling, a best-selling author and one of the most respected and
well-known investigative journalists in the industry, is expected
to address a sell-out crowd at WLC 2017.
The nonprofit conference is designed to inspire attendees to
seek their highest level of personal and professional growth by
presenting participants with inspiring role models, varying
perspectives and strategies for development.
Ling, who has reported from the farthest reaches of the planet,
covering harrowing stories for The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC News'
Nightline and National Geographic's Explorer, will no doubt
captivate audiences with her personal experiences, WLC 2017
organizers said.
"Throughout her career, Lisa has traveled to some of the most
dangerous locations in the world in an effort to bring social
change through awareness and aid to those who need it most," said
Dawn Christensen, the conference's
organizer and director of National Diversity Relations for MGM
Resorts. "She is a champion of women and we are very excited to
welcome her to the main stage at WLC 2017."
Over the past decade, WLC has grown in size, scope and
reputation, drawing sellout crowds for the past three years.
Through relevant and dynamic programming and acclaimed national
speakers, organizers have also established it as the premier
conference of its kind in the Western region. Attendance for this
year's event is expected to surpass last year's record of more than
1,000 attendees. Registration, which costs $485, is selling faster than ever, organizers
said.
As executive producer and host of "This is Life" on CNN, Ling
has covered a range of issues that impact women, including the
scourge of prescription pill addiction in Utah and the recent influx of women in
North Dakota's boomtown.
As the former field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show,
contributor to ABC News' Nightline and National Geographic's
Explorer, Ling has reported stories about gang rape in the
Congo; the practice of burning
brides in India; the Lord's
Resistance Army in Uganda, and the
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang in Central
America, among other issues that are too often ignored.
Ling also executive produced and hosted the acclaimed
documentary series "Our America" on OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Throughout the show's five-season run, Lisa embedded in a Midwest
town ravaged by an onslaught of heroin, got exclusive access inside
an anti-gay religious movement, witnessed the manifestation of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning veterans of war
and went undercover to investigate the under-age sex trafficking of
minors in Washington, D.C. She has
also profiled Americans living beneath the poverty line for the
first time, and people serving long prison sentences for crimes
they did not commit.
Ling got her start in journalism as a correspondent for Channel
One News, where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan, as well as stories in dozens of
countries around the world. She later went on to become a
co-host of ABC Daytime's hit show The View, which won its first
daytime Emmy during her time at the show.
In 2009, Ling's younger sister and fellow journalist,
Laura Ling, was arrested in
North Korea while trying to get
footage of human trafficking on the North Korean-Chinese border.
Lisa Ling launched appeals to the
highest U.S. government officials to negotiate her sister's
release, which was ultimately secured after a meeting between
President Bill Clinton and Kim Jong
Il. The sisters collaborated in Lisa
Ling's first book "Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity
in North Korea and the Other's
Fight to Bring Her Home." She is also the author of "Mother,
Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood," which explores the
various roles of women in different cultures.
In 2015, President Obama appointed Ling as a member of the
Commission on White House Fellows.
Conference background:
WLC 2017 will also feature CNN International anchor and
broadcast journalist Natalie Allen
as a returning host. The conference is open to women of all
ethnicities, professions and social backgrounds, locally and
nationally, and the men who support them. The MGM Resorts
Foundation is the conference's presenting sponsor.
Each year, after costs, proceeds from the event are donated to a
nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare and development of
women and children in Las Vegas.
Dress for Success Southern Nevada, the local nonprofit that
provides gently used professional clothing and career counseling
services to empower women to achieve economic independence,
recently received a $25,000 gift from
the 2016 conference.
Registration costs $485 and
includes the full conference and all workshops and lectures, a
networking reception, and continental breakfasts and lunches
catered by MGM Grand. Time is also allotted for attendees to build
key professional relationships with other women attending while
enjoying the hospitality and entertainment of MGM Grand and other
MGM Resorts International destinations.
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, R&R
Partners Foundation, McCarran International Airport, Cirque du
Soleil, America First Credit Union,
Deloitte & Touche LLP, Everi Payments Inc. Cashman Photo
Enterprises, Agilysys, Inc., L3 Technologies, Inc., and Large
Vision Business Network Mixer.
For more information or to register, please visit
mgmresorts.com/womensleadershipconference.
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.
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SOURCE MGM Resorts Foundation