W&L AlumnaE
Professional Exchange
The Alumnae Professional Exchange is a joint program of Washington and Lee University and the School of Law designed to strengthen networks, foster personal and professional growth, and create new opportunities for women across the W&L community.
Wednesday, November 4
6–8:30 p.m.
Piedmont Driving Club
1215 Piedmont Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30309-3704
Speakers
Thomas is a nationally recognized corporate director, boardroom advisor and lawyer, and a civic and philanthropic leader.
Lizanne Thomas ’82L
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Thomas practiced law for over 40 years, leading acquisition transactions valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Basing her practice in multiple offices from New York to Atlanta for the international law firm Jones Day, She advised boards across the globe on matters ranging from shareholder activism to mergers to CEO succession. She has served on the boards of directors of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Atlantic Capital Bancshares, Inc., Logility Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. (f/k/a American Software, Inc.), RS&H, Inc., an aerospace architectural and engineering company, and Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest utilities. She has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 100 directors and one of the top ten women in M&A.
Thomas’ boardroom experience extends into the philanthropic world as well, where she chairs the Georgia Research Alliance, Inc. and serves as a trustee of the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation (the first woman to do so after Lettie Pate Evans herself), and formerly served on the boards of the Woodruff Arts Center and Furman University. Her favorite civic boardroom, however, is that of Washington and Lee University—just last year, she completed ten years of service on that board, concluding her time as chair of the audit committee.
Thomas has served W&L in a variety of roles, from Class Agent to establishing three scholarships at the law school.
Thomas earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with honors, from Furman University in 1979, where she served as student body president and was awarded by the faculty the Donaldson Watkins Medal as the outstanding female graduate. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1982, where she served as Managing Editor of the Law Review. In 2005, she became an honorary member of the Order of the Coif and of ODK in 2011.
When not thinking deep thoughts in a board room, Thomas moves to thoughts of perfecting her swing on the golf course. She, her husband David Black (also ’82L), and their sons are all avid golfers and enjoy playing together near their homes in Georgia and Colorado when schedules and the weather cooperate.
Russell is a partner at Bain & Company, where she leads work in the firm’s Consumer Products and Organization practices and serves as talent lead for the Americas.
Rebecca Timmis Russell ’08
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Rebecca Timmis Russell ’08 graduated magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She earned her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Palmer Scholar and an F.H. Shields Fellow. She is a partner at Bain & Company, a leading global management consulting firm that advises businesses on strategy, marketing, organization, operations and technology.
Russell joined Bain’s Atlanta office in 2008. She is a leader in the firm’s Consumer Products and Organization practices, as well as the talent lead for the Americas. In her role, she works closely with senior executives to drive growth, strengthen organizational effectiveness and lead large-scale transformations. Her work centers on helping organizations translate strategy into meaningful, sustained impact, and she has a particular interest in how emerging technologies are reshaping the future of work.
Russell currently serves on the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees and has supported W&L in numerous volunteer roles. She also serves on the board of directors for the National Institute of Student Success, a nonprofit focused on improving outcomes in higher education.
As a W&L student, she was a member of the 2007 NCAA Division III national championship women’s tennis team, Kappa Delta sorority and the Washington and Lee Student Consulting Group, where she served as executive director. An L.K. Johnson-Rosasco Scholar, she was also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society and the Outing Club.
Russell lives in Atlanta with her husband and their two children.
Tysinger is a consultant at Bain & Company in Atlanta, where her work has focused on healthcare, growth strategy and artificial intelligence.
Peyton Tysinger ’23
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Peyton Tysinger ’23 graduated from Washington and Lee University in 2023, where she studied economics and entrepreneurship and played on the women’s field hockey team.
Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, Tysinger joined Bain & Company’s Atlanta office after graduation. Her work has spanned healthcare, growth strategy and artificial intelligence (AI). She recently completed an externship with Bluebird Kids Health, a pediatric healthcare startup, where she focused on strategic finance and growth.
Tysinger lives in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood with several of her closest friends from W&L and enjoys staying connected to the university community.