Nationally Renowned Author, CBS News Contributing Reporter Lee Woodruff To Deliver Opening Keynote At 2012 Women's Leadership Conference

LAS VEGAS, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2012 Women's Leadership Conference, hosted and sponsored by MGM Resorts International and the non-profit MGM Resorts Foundation, proudly announces author and "CBS This Morning" contributing reporter Lee Woodruff as speaker for the event's opening keynote address. The conference takes place at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino and begins Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 with registration/continental breakfast/networking at 7 a.m. Woodruff's keynote will be delivered at 9:15 a.m. Woodruff will also serve as moderator for the Women's Leadership Panel that takes place from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.

In keeping with the conference's theme, Be Inspired, Woodruff will deliver a speech titled "Life Changes in an Instant," drawn from her No. 1 New York Times bestseller In an Instant. Whether it is a child in a car accident, a spouse's request for a divorce, a patient's stroke, a diagnosis of breast cancer or a terrorist attack on a warm day in September - life can change in an instant for us all.

As co-author of In an Instant, the number one New York Times bestseller, Woodruff recounts her story of a marriage, a family, a crisis and a healing. When her husband, ABC's newly appointed co-anchor Bob Woodruff, was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq, Woodruff's life changed in an instant. She had to learn to put her own grief aside to care for her children, as well as her husband, who was gravely injured and close to death. In the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu, "Suffering is not optional. It seems to be part and parcel of the human condition, but suffering can embitter or ennoble."

Woodruff speaks with grace and humor about her own family's experience and how they chose to attack the crisis that befell them, resulting in a life-changing journey of love, healing and miracles for her whole family.

The conference will feature a dynamic roster of diverse and nationally recognized speakers, accomplished women role models and career coaches, as well as provide a forum for small-group dialogue and individual networking among highly motivated conference attendees.

The Women's Leadership Conference is open to women of all ethnicities, professions and social backgrounds, locally and nationally, and men who support women. The non-profit MGM Resorts Foundation is the conference's presenting sponsor. Proceeds of the conference after costs will be donated to one or more local nonprofit agencies devoted to the welfare and development of women and girls.

Additional sponsors for the 2012 Women's Leadership Conference include Cox Communications, CBS Radio Las Vegas, Fish & Richardson and Nevada H.A.N.D. Inc. Participating sponsorships are available to organizations or companies who share the vision and goals of this conference. Inquiries regarding sponsorship may be made by calling (702) 792-4973 or email [email protected].

Individuals may register online at www.mgmresorts.com/womensleadershipconference.  Early registration (before June 30, 2012) is $250 per person; registration thereafter is $350 per person. The cost for students and MGM Resorts employees is $100.  For those interested in attending a specific keynote luncheon only, entrance may be purchased for $150.  Attendees who book now may also take advantage of special room rates (up to 15 percent off) at these MGM Resorts International properties: Aria, Vdara, MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor Las Vegas, Excalibur and Circus Circus.

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, religious 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 International