Former Press Secretary to Laura Bush To Speak At U. T. Dallas on Nov. 15

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).

Noelia Rodriguez

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.