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Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks host the fifth-annual Women\u2019s Symposium on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at Perot Museum in Dallas, Texas. (Nicole Malunowicz\/Dallas Mavericks)<\/p>\n
Throughout the day, speakers shared personal stories of resilience, leadership and mentorship, reminding attendees that meaningful progress happens when women support and empower one another.<\/p>\n
The Power of Voice and Visibility<\/p>\n
One of the symposium\u2019s most compelling conversations was the panel\u00a0\u201cThe Power of Voice and Visibility,\u201d\u00a0featuring\u00a0Christine Perez, editor of D CEO magazine, and radio personality\u00a0DeDe McGuire, host of the nationally syndicated \u201cDeDe in the Morning\u201d show. The discussion was moderated by\u00a0Gina Miller.<\/p>\n
The panel explored how storytelling, authenticity and intention shape influence across media platforms.<\/p>\n
Perez reflected on the importance of persistence early in her career. After pitching a story that unexpectedly landed in Cosmopolitan magazine, she realized that perseverance could open doors that initially seemed closed.<\/p>\n
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Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks host the fifth-annual Women\u2019s Symposium on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at Perot Museum in Dallas, Texas. (Nicole Malunowicz\/Dallas Mavericks)<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t kept calling, I never would have gotten the job,\u201d Perez said while recounting how persistence helped launch her journalism career.<\/p>\n
She later credited mentorship and encouragement from the late D Magazine founder\u00a0Wick Allison<\/a>\u00a0as a key factor in building her confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cOther people did see something in me and supported me,\u201d Perez said. \u201cIt was really wonderful to have that kind of support.\u201d<\/p>\n Since becoming editor of D CEO in 2018, Perez said her guiding principle has been to\u00a0\u201cuse the megaphone wisely\u201d <\/strong>when deciding which stories to spotlight across North Texas\u2019 business landscape.<\/p>\n Authenticity in Media and Community Impact<\/p>\n McGuire spoke candidly about the responsibility that comes with having a public platform and the importance of staying authentic.<\/p>\n \u201cNowadays in radio, it is all about authenticity,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cI can\u2019t lie about who I am. I am who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n The longtime broadcaster also described the moment she realized the impact of her voice while working in national radio. Watching influential radio host\u00a0Tom Joyner\u00a0use his platform to drive civic engagement and community initiatives inspired her to think more intentionally about her own influence.<\/p>\n RELATED: Dede McGuire: The Blueprint for Grace, Grit and Greatness<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI realized, wait a minute, I can do something else with this microphone,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n That realization eventually led to the creation of the\u00a0DeDe McGuire Foundation<\/a>, which provides scholarships and resources to women pursuing education and career advancement. Through her morning show, McGuire also highlights financial literacy initiatives such as \u201cMoney Mondays,\u201d <\/a>aimed at helping listeners build stronger financial futures.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize it has entertainment value, but it\u2019s also helping the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Navigating Criticism and Owning Your Space<\/p>\n The conversation also addressed a common challenge for women in visible leadership roles: criticism.<\/p>\n McGuire emphasized the importance of focusing on the positive rather than the negativity that sometimes comes with public visibility.<\/p>\n \u201cNot everyone\u2019s gonna like you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I see 300 comments and two don\u2019t like me, I\u2019m not getting ready to concentrate on those two.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez shared a similar lesson learned after a particularly pointed critique early in her career.<\/p>\n \u201cLearn to have fun, remember it\u2019s a small minority,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd who really cares?\u201d<\/p>\n Both speakers encouraged women to embrace their voice, trust their instincts and remember that their perspective has value.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody has a voice. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody is worthy,\u201d Perez added.<\/p>\n Building Community Through Sisterhood<\/p>\n Beyond the panels and keynote conversations, the symposium created space for attendees to connect and reflect. A closing reflection activity invited guests to share personal affirmations and words of encouragement, reinforcing the event\u2019s theme of collective strength.<\/p>\n Participants spoke openly about the importance of showing up for one another and creating supportive networks across industries and communities.<\/p>\n As one attendee reflected during the closing session, simply sharing encouragement between women can be transformative:\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s strength in sisterhood.\u201d<\/p>\n The fifth annual symposium reinforced that message, leaving many guests inspired to lead with confidence and uplift others along the way.<\/p>\n During Women\u2019s History Month and beyond, the Mavericks\u2019 W.O.M.E.N. initiative continues to demonstrate that when women amplify one another\u2019s voices, with their overall impact reaching far beyond a single room.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overview: The Dallas Mavericks Women of the Mavs Empowering Network (W.O.M.E.N.) Employee Resource Group hosted its fifth annual…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":655935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,277994,277995,1596,277996,259099,277997,277998,1730,277999,154718,358,278000,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,278001,278002,16966,87051,265817,278003],"class_list":["post-655934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-christine-perez","tag-d-magazine","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-mavericks-women-of-the-mavs-empowering-network","tag-dede-mcguire","tag-ethan-casson","tag-gina-miller","tag-impact","tag-radio-print","tag-rick-welts","tag-texas","tag-tom-joyner","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-voice-and-visibility","tag-wick-allison","tag-women","tag-women-supporting-women","tag-womens-history-month","tag-womens-symposium"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116229664184385837","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260310-NM-Womens-Symposium-9589.jpg\")
Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks host the fifth-annual Women\u2019s Symposium on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at Perot Museum in Dallas, Texas. (Nicole Malunowicz\/Dallas Mavericks)<\/p>\n