HONOLULU – Top women leaders from eight different nations who are unparalleled in their achievements will gather in Honolulu on Sept. 24 to share their personal and professional stories of success at the fifth annual International Women's Leadership Conference (IWLC), Perspectives, Reflections and Visions for a Global Community, at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and Resort.

The public is encouraged to attend. Online registration for conference attendees and sponsors is available through the conference website, http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/iwlc/2008 <http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/iwlc/2008> . Registration will remain open until midnight Sunday..

The one-day conference will feature the first female police chief in the nation's capitol, the first female and first Filipino-American executive chef of the White House, the first female Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) at the Tower of London, the first African-American female combat pilot, the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, an Australian business executive specializing in cultural change in the workplace, a CFO of an international developer of advanced defense and aerospace systems, and a Sudanese refugee who is now a paralegal in a top legal firm. The nations that will be represented are: Australia, China, Japan, Philippines, Sudan, Uganda, United Kingdom and United States.

The conference will also feature a panel discussion with international higher education leaders, including university presidents and chancellors from Australia, China, Japan, Uganda, and the United States. The panel will be held in a Q & A format, at first being moderated, and then opened to the attendees for questions.

In addition to the keynote speakers and a video message from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the conference will include time set aside specifically for networking opportunities for attendees.