Trisa currently serves as an Advisor to Pledgeling Inc, a charitable giving platform for the corporate world. In this role, she provides strategic advice on corporate needs, as well as growth opportunity areas for the business.
Trisa also recently retired from Dell, where she was a Senior Vice President and the Chief Responsibility Officer from 2008 to 2018. In this role, Trisa created and directed the company’s long-term strategic CSR plan, the 2020 Legacy of Good. Trisa reported regularly to Dell’s Governance and Nominating Committee, as well as to the Executive Leadership Team. Under her leadership, Dell became a global leader in driving innovative circular economy practices. By driving these practices across the company, Dell received the first large corporate World Economic Forum Circular Award. She took a new perspective on sustainability initiatives, working across the business, focusing on customer needs and business objectives, while simultaneously saving money and reducing the company’s footprint. Under her leadership, Dell was recognized for many awards, including, among others, 2018 CES Innovation Award, 2017 Environmental Leader Award, 2017 Fortune Change the World List, 2014 Keep America Beautiful Award, and the 2015 World Economic Forum Circular Award.
Prior to becoming Dell’s CRO, Trisa was a Senior Vice President in Dell’s legal department. Trisa served as the general counsel for the US Public business ($9B+), the Americas Large Corporate Sales Business ($35B+), the global Consumer Business ($5B+) and the Global Operations Team ($50B+). At Dell, Trisa spent much of her time helping the company grow internationally, from setting up global call centers to negotiating multi-billion dollar complex deals to managing key trade compliance issues and a global product recall. Her broad corporate law, compliance, and business technology background, as well as her strong leadership skills, make her an asset to any board on which she serves.
Prior to her time with Dell, Trisa was a partner with Seyfarth Shaw in Washington, DC, where she specialized in federal, state, and local procurement law and litigation. There, she represented major DoD, technology and other suppliers on issues ranging from bid protests and litigation to the TAA and false claims. Trisa has appeared in federal and state courts, as well as before numerous administrative agencies.
Trisa has been recognized for her efforts, both professional and philanthropic, in national, state, and local arenas. She has also been a featured speaker at numerous events. The National Diversity Council honored Trisa with their Most Powerful and Influential Women of Texas Award and named her one of the Top 50 Women in Technology in the United States in 2014. Trisa was honored as United Way’s Volunteer of the Year Award (2008) and was a finalist for the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles In Power Award (2005). Trisa was one of GirlStart’s 2018 “Austin Women in STEM” honoree, and Austin’s “Net Zero Hero”. She was also awarded the 2019 Integrity Award by the First Tee of Greater Austin. She has been a featured speaker at events and conferences including the Vanity Fair’s Founders Fair, Fast Company Innovation Festival, The Business of Green: An Atlantic Forum, The Economist Sustainability Forum, Exponential Manufacturing Forum for Singularity University, and SXSW. Interviews with Trisa appear in media outlets including Law and Technology News, Corporate Counsel Magazine, Fortune, Forbes, CGTN America, Business Insider, GreenBiz, CSR Vision, TriplePundit, Sustainable Brands, Huffington Post, The New York Times, and, most recently as a key note speaker at the NACD 2019 Annual Summit. She was a Tech Advisory Panel Member for Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures and McKinsey & Company: “Rebooting Representation”, 2018. Trisa was also a judge for the Circulars Awards at the World Economic Forum, 2015-2018.
She earned a J.D. with honors from The National Law Center, George Washington University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Boston University, magna cum laude.
Trisa currently serves on the boards of directors for LifeWorks Austin and The Miracle Foundation. In the past, she has serves as the chair of the board for Zachary Scott Theatre and KLRU – TV. She has also served on the board of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the American Red Cross National Advisory Board, The United Way, Central Texas Advisory Board and I Live Here, I Give Here Board of Governors.