Communication

Global Speaker Sonia Aranza has presented on the international stage from Spain to Singapore.  She brings 27+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion & Global Leadership. Her clients include Boeing, CIA, McDonald’s and more. The U.S. Department of Labor describes her work as “Outstanding” and was selected to execute programs for landmark cases. SHRM featured her as a Diversity & Inclusion Expert in HR Magazine and she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Leadership. She serves on the Faculty of Howard University’s Executive Diversity Program; named “100 Most Influential Filipina Americans in the United States” and honored “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.”

Melvin Brown II is an author, conference speaker and organizational consultant. He is sought out by both government and industry as an expert in the areas of Chanage Management, Program Management, Knowledge Management and Training.

Nicknamed “Mr. Turnaround” he has more than twenty years of not only turning around the lives of individuals but several organizations both in the private sector and the federal government.

He has developed several change management strategies for collaboration and is the recipient of the America Council for Technology, Industry Advisory Council’s, 2007 Excellence in Government award.

Follow Melvin on Twitter @melvinbrownii.

Miguel Payán is Chief Global Strategist at the Global Strategy Group (GSG) at Samsung Headquarters in Seoul, Korea, where he is responsible for engaging and partnering with Samsung Group's global business leaders to develop strategic initiatives that enhance business performance.  Miguel oversees Samsung's 110 consultant strong internal consulting organization (GSG), which also serves as the Group's talent pipeline for its affiliates' global operations 

Prior to joining the Samsung Group, he was an Executive Director at Russell Reynolds Associates where he advised clients on recruiting and retaining outstanding senior leaders across the industrial and natural resources sectors.  Miguel also spent eight years with McKinsey & Company, most recently as an Associate Principal, where he managed teams on strategy, operations, organizational transformation, performance management and technology.  He also has deep expertise in the Consumer Electronics, Semiconductors, Mobile, and Health and Medical Equipment industries.

 Miguel has lived and worked in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, The Netherlands, Japan, and Korea, and spent almost one year in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait when he was an enlisted machine-gunner with the U.S. Marine Corps during both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.  He received his B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Illinois and his M.B.A. in corporate finance from the Ross School of Business, the University of Michigan. He speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish, and is an avid scuba diver.

Jonah Berger is the James G. Campbell associate professor of marketing at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He studies social influence and social epidemics, or how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular. Berger explains the key emotional and societal factors that push people to share a link or mail a video – the basic human drivers that power sharing and word of mouth, one of the most credible and influential forms of advertising. He believes we are too focused on the medium – Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter only serve as tools that amplify this very human process. The author of New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Berger examines how decision making and social dynamics generate collective outcomes such as social contagion and trends. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, he is an exciting and fresh voice on viral marketing.

Dr. Jody Janati teaches in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. She has an Ed.D. degree in Organizational Leadership and her primary interest area pertains to interpersonal conflict resolution strategies. As an author and independent consultant, she offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective interpersonal communication skills. Follow Jodi on Twitter @jjanati.

Brian learned early in his teaching career that he had a knack for connecting with students in a way that was both fun and productive.  Not only did they connect with the course material being covered, Brian helped them become better students by sharing what it takes to be successful in life.  This ability was not lost on his mentor/college professor who urged him to take his show on the road.  His advice . . . “why limit yourself from impacting a handful of students when there are so many more people out there who could benefit from your positive message.”

Fast forward to today and you’ll find that Brian has become one of the most sought after speakers in the country having connected with thousands through his keynotes, seminars and books.  Known for his high-energy presentation, engaging style and infectious sense of humor, Brian’s thought-provoking messages have connected with organizations and audiences of all shapes and sizes . . . from Fortune 100 companies to Ma and Pa retail shops.  Brian loves them all.

Brian is also an author of two books, Cruisin' through Life at 35 MPH and Sending Signals.

Follow Brian on Twitter @bblasko.

Sherrin Ross Ingram, CEO of the International Center for Strategic Planning, is a Master Strategic Planning Facilitator and an Independent Corporate Board Director for companies in need of fresh strategies, an updated strategic plan, improved strategy execution, or restructuring to increase competitive advantage. She is a frequent speaker on strategy development, execution and leadership topics at business meetings and conferences around the world.

Doug Green is currently the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Guaranteed Rate mortgage company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.  He leads the HR efforts for the 2,500 employee company that has a presence in all 50 states, and has mediated countless internal employment disputes.  

Prior to joining Guaranteed Rate, he represented companies in mediations before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

While working for US Congress, he represented the House of Representatives and the Office of House Employment Counsel in mediations before the Office of Compliance.

He works for a sports agent and has negotiated several multi-million dollar coaching contracts with top universities and NFL clubs.

And for the last seven years, Doug has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University College of Law where he teaches a mediation seminar each semester. 

Natalie Holder-Winfield is an employment lawyer who creates innovative sexual harassment prevention and diversity training programs based on the latest workplace trends.  She creates customized leadership and inclusion, produces training videos, and develops training curriculums for Fortune 500 corporations, law firms, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations, such as Wiggin & Dana, Time Warner, Deloitte, Proskauer Rose, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the New York Mission Society. 

She writes for the Huffington Post, Diversity Insight Magazine, and Diversity Executive. Her commentary has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Law Journal, and Good Morning Connecticut.

Natalie wrote, Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce: New Rules for a New Generation, which provides human resource managers, diversity officers, managers, employees and students with practical strategies for improving intergenerational communication and offers ideas for creating inclusive workplace cultures.   The book is used to facilitate discussions at conferences, orientations, meetings, roundtable discussions, recruitment events and diversity training sessions.

Follow Natalie on Twitter @Nhwinfield.