DFW Collaboratory

LINDA VALDEZ THOMPSON

Linda is an accomplished executive with extensive experience and expertise in leading global private and public sector organizations. After a successful 20+ year  career at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Linda consults with clients in the areas of Leadership Development & Training, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, and Inclusion.  She consults with organizations and coaches individual clients and teams through her firm, Valdez Thompson Consulting, LLC. Linda is located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  She facilitates the North Texas Commission’s Leadership North Texas, Emerging Leaders of North Texas programs and Inclusion Initiative.

In her role as the Executive Vice President of Administration. Linda provided strategic leadership for the following departments: Human Resources, Procurement and Materials Management, Risk Management, Business Diversity & Development, and Corporate Communications & Marketing, including community engagement. She was also responsible for managing the Board of Directors process.   Prior to her tenure at the Airport, Linda served as a Human Resource executive for Fortune 500 companies such as Levi Strauss, Baxter Healthcare, Fruit of the Loom and Hasbro.

Linda has a Masters in Organizational Management and a Bachelors of Business Administration and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources and holds other credentials such as Board Certified Coach, Certified Strengths Coach from Gallup, Certified Career Coach, and Emotional Intelligence EQi Certification. She is also a Certified Benefits Professional and Certified Compensation Professional.

Linda provides leadership training on topics such as: Strengths at Work, Personal Responsibility, Emotional Intelligence, Performance Management, Inclusive Leadership, Well-being, Executive Presence, Managing Effectively, Team Building, Change Management and many other contemporary and relevant topics.  Linda has received several distinctions during her career.  Most recently she was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal with the Leaders in Diversity Lifetime Achievement award and the Diversity Leadership Award by the North Texas Commission. She has been recognized by the Hispanic 100 as a Latina Living Legend.  Linda is active in the community having served on various boards such as the United Way Tarrant County, American Heart Association, North Texas Commission, Tarrant County College Foundation and Visit Fort Worth. She currently serves on the Regional Hispanic Contractors’ Foundation board, the Hispanic 100, Irving Hispanic Chamber and 4word board since 2023. She has been active in 4word participating in the EW4C program, the mentorship program and serves on the Strategic planning committee.

PAMELA WALTERS

Pamela is a Talent Management Consultant serving organizations by identifying success factors using analytics that clarify ‘Job & Culture FIT’. She manages the client lifecycle from needs identification, solution development to implementation of new tools and practices. She started her career with Marriott’s Global HR organization developing HR programs and implementation protocols that impacted 90k employees.

With over 30 years of experience working with leaders from multinational companies representing diverse industries, she has helped to equip organizations achieve performance break-through and sustainability through their people. Her passion is to help, individuals, teams and organizations achieve their dreams.

Her expertise lies in partnering with leadership to develop strategies and tools that will facilitate necessary transitions and desired transformations. Change is facilitated by building skill and establishing trust through connection, listening and intentional communication. She has been a volunteer mentor and coach to many professionals discovering their unique set of skills, interests and passion to help them craft a path forward.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Clarion University and an MA in Communication Studies from Regent University.

linkedin.com/in/pamela-walters