Mary Kay Russo does not think of herself as an influential woman, but going into her 24th year as executive director of the Mental Health Association, she definitely has the experience to be included in a conference featuring successful women of Beaver County.

Russo has been named one of this year's Beaver County Stars. Although she has made her home in Bell Acres for the last 38 years, she said she is a "Beaver County girl," born and raised in Ambridge, and has worked in the county her entire life.

She will be one of eight keynote speakers at the second annual Beaver County Women's Conference, which will be held Saturday at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland, Pa. The event is designed to address current trends and issues impacting the lives of women today, especially those in Beaver County.

"I've been here a long time. That's part of the reason I was nominated, I think."

As modest as she may be, Russo cannot deny her accomplishments over the years, earning numerous awards and recognition related to her work in the mental health field over the span of her career.

She was named Professional Woman of the Year in Beaver County in 2007 and the Mental Health Association, under her leadership, also was named the Nonprofit Business of the Year by the Beaver County chamber of commerce.

Russo also serves on numerous boards of directors and chairs the Jail Task Force for mental health services, sits on the governing council for the SCORES Federal Grant program and has been invited to speak in Harrisburg at the State Conference of Ombudsmen for the Pennsylvania Office on Aging.

Russo said when they first built their building for the Mental Health Association three years ago, there were only two employees. The agency now has grown to 20 and 18 of those employees are women.

In addition to her business accomplishments, she's also a Eucharistic Minister at St. James Catholic Church in Sewickley, as well as a mother of three and grandmother of four.

After the initial keynote speakers finish up in the morning at Saturday's conference, attendees will break into smaller groups, where they will then be able to choose different workshops to attend. Lunch will be served and free massages will be provided in the "Pampering Room."

"I'm very excited," she said about being a presenter at the conference.

"I'm very much in favor of women progressing in business and non-profits. Women need to have more publicity with all they've accomplished."