RICHARDSON, Texas (Nov. 10, 2003) — Noelia Rodriguez , former press secretary to First Lady Laura Bush, will speak about her journey to the White House and Washington politics on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. in the Conference Center at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).

Rodriguez's lecture, "The Voice Behind The First Lady…Lessons Learned, Lessons Shared," is co-sponsored by UTD's School of Social Sciences and the Career Center with the support of the Multicultural Office and the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies.

Rodriguez, a lifetime Democrat, stepped down from her position as Mrs. Bush's press secretary and director of communications last month to work with billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad, as chief of staff and director of external affairs for The Broad Foundation. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Rodriguez was the president and chief executive officer of LA Convention 2000, the host committee for the first democratic national convention of the 21 st Century and the first political convention in Los Angeles since John F. Kennedy was nominated in 1960.

In Los Angeles , Rodriguez served as press secretary to Mayor Richard J. Riordan from 1994 to 1998, when she was promoted to deputy mayor responsible for communications and scheduling. At City Hall, Rodriguez managed and executed a variety of communications and public relations campaigns, involving such issue as Los Angeles' recovery from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Federal Crime Bill and the 1999 Charter Reform campaign.

Prior to embarking on a career in public service, Rodriguez worked at the United States' second largest electric utility company, Southern California Edison. As part of the Corporate Communications department, she performed in a wide array of communications efforts, including advertising, media relations, educational and consumer services and employee communications. For her accomplishments and community services, Rodriguez was named one of Edison's top 10 women leaders.

Her media appearances include ABC's Good Morning America , CBS This Morning, MSNBC, KNBC's News Conference , CNN with Paula Zahn, CBS The Early Sho w and Despierta America , among others. Rodriguez earned her associate of arts degree with honors from East Los Angeles College in the evening while working full time, and her bachelor of science in business administration from California State University , Los Angeles .

The event is free and open to the public. For more information please contact Sheila Amín Gutiérrez de Piñeres, associate dean , School of Social Sciences , at 972-883-6228, or e-mail her at pineres@utdallas.edu.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls about 13,700 students. The school's freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university's web site at www.utdallas.edu.