Columnist, author, speaker and television personality Jeannette Walls will serve as keynote speaker at the 2010 Governor’s Housing Conference, to be held Nov. 17 – 19 in Richmond Virginia.

Walls is the author of The Glass Castle, an inspirational book that has been taught at universities in courses on literature, psychology, parenting, child development, and poverty.  

The story describes growing up in the desert of the American Southwest and then in a West Virginia mining town with her three siblings and the brilliant, unorthodox, irresponsible parents who manage at once to neglect them, love them, and teach them to face their fears.
 
The book has been a New York Times best-seller for more than three years and was named one of the “Top 10 Books of the Decade” by Amazon.  
 
She has spoken at colleges, corporations and business associations about overcoming hardship and the keys to turning adversity into advantage.  She lives in the Virginia piedmont with her husband John Taylor, and has appeared on Prime Time Live, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Oprah, and the Diane Rheem Show.
 
The 2010 Governor’s Housing Conference will be held at the Richmond Marriott, and is Virginia’s largest and most comprehensive affordable housing event of the year.
 
Registration is online now.  Register by Sept. 24 for the best rate