Global & Cultural Effectiveness

John Valverde is the President and CEO of YouthBuild USA. He joined YouthBuild in 2017 after decades of work as an advocate for creating access to opportunity and removing barriers for formerly incarcerated and low-income people.

John began working with imprisoned individuals in 1992 to ensure access to HIV/AIDS counseling, high school equivalency instruction, alternatives to violence programs, and college education. In 1995, responding to the gap created by the elimination of TAP and Pell funding for people in prison, he led an initiative to develop and deliver a college-level certificate program, the Certificate in Ministry and Human Services. Today called Rising Hope, this program continues in several New York State prisons. In 1998, he co-founded Hudson Link for Higher Education, the first privately funded accredited college program in New York’s prisons. More than 450 students in prison have graduated from Hudson Link, which has grown to serve five prisons with six college partners.

In 2009, John worked with a team at the Osborne Association to create New York City’s first green jobs training program exclusively for people with criminal records. As Osborne’s Executive Vice President, John launched, managed, and led programs including children, youth, and family services; substance abuse treatment; workforce development; community benefit projects; financial literacy; health and wellness services; housing; alternatives to incarceration; mentoring and leadership development; and social enterprises. John has led teams that offer multiple evidence-based interventions, with a trauma-informed approach, to distinct populations that range from very young children to the elderly.

As a steady and persistent advocate for creating access, John has worked with city, state, and federal agencies to develop and operate proven job readiness and placement programs. He forged Osborne's first relationships with labor unions and has served on the Board of Pathways to Apprenticeship that supports individuals from traditionally underserved communities gain access to apprenticeship programs.

John often serves as a keynote speaker at important and related events to share his personal story of transformation and second chances. As a young man who was incarcerated at 21, John’s work to accept responsibility for his actions and commit to making amends started him on a journey of redemption that allowed him to imagine and build a new future. Though he was incarcerated for almost 16 years, John is now recognized as a proven leader and example for people affected by the criminal justice system. John’s personal and professional life embodies the work of YouthBuild and is a powerful representation of its mission. He is the proud recipient of the 2018 Brian S. Fischer Achievement Award from Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. This award is presented annually to a formerly incarcerated leader who has made an impact by advocating for positive change in the world.

John is a graduate of Aspen Institute’s Sector Skills Academy and a 2018 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow. John received his Master of Professional Studies in Urban Ministry from the New York Theological Seminary and holds a Bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Mercy College.

Steve Garguilo is an instigator with a track record of large-scale, grassroots change inside big companies. As the Founder of Cultivate, he leads a team that empowers changemakers inside many different types of organizations. His team at Cultivate also pioneered an enterprise software platform that supports workplace communities.

He is the author of a #1 bestseller, Surge: Your Guide to Put Any Idea into Action.

Garguilo has also worked on social ventures globally. In 2014, he completed The Mongol Rally, a 10,000-mile adventure from London to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, fundraising for the African Prisons Project. He has visited each of the 48 contiguous United States and is a member of the “century club” having visited over 100 countries.

 

Paul Meshanko, CSP, is an author, professional speaker and thought leader with over 25 years of experience in leadership development and organizational culture change. Known for his down to earth, humorous and highly-interactive style, he has captivated over a half million leaders and business professionals on five continents.

Pulling from the most current research in organization development, psychology and science, his inspiring programs cover a broad range of topics dealing with workplace culture, diversity, respect, motivation, bias and critical thinking. Paul holds a BSBA from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Baldwin Wallace College. His most recent book, The Respect Effect, was released by McGraw-Hill in 2013.

Serilda Summers-McGee is the Principal and CEO of Workplace Change, LLC, a Human Resources firm created to guide, advise, and encourage the business world through internal as well as external growth and transition, while incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into HR systems. Serilda has been an HR/DEI innovator for over 15 years, honing her ability to identify challenges and opportunities while teaching the masses how to be better leaders. She has inspired thousands to create, embrace, and mobilize lasting organizational change.

 

 

Helen Frew is Director of Permits Foundation and has 18 years of international advocacy experience spent in the UK, Brussels and The Hague, representing organisations from both the public and private sphere and working in and around the EU institutions. At Permits Foundation she develops strategy to work with governments worldwide, aiming to improve legislation to facilitate work access for partners and spouses of mobile employees. “Global mobility advocacy is such an exciting field to work in. There is never a dull moment and so much potential for contributing to change that benefits employee integration, company talent acquisition and country attractiveness as a place to do business.

 

Des McKell has spent 30 years in the world of relocation and global talent mobility, working for Relocation Management Companies and now with NetExpat, the world’s leading provider of Intercultural training and Relocating partner assistance. During his career, Des has helped organisations across all sectors and industries to build talent mobility programmes designed to deliver “experience” led support and is an advocate managed intercultural and partner support which if mis-managed, can become a “hard” risk to organisations talent strategy and financial investment. Des is based out of the NetExpat UK office in London and is Regional Director for UK & Ireland. LinkedIn profile

Scott F. Cooper is Senior Counsel of the Troy, Michigan offices of the Fragomen firm. His practice involves business-related immigration matters for small, mid-size and Fortune 100 companies; higher education and research institutions and foundations. Scott has served on the national Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Chaired the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He has been listed in the International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America and served as an instructor/speaker at several law schools, state CLE programs, HR and legal conferences.

Gennady Babankov, J.D. is a Manager of SHRM Exchange Visitor (J-1) Program. Babankov oversees two private sector exchange programs for foreign trainees and interns and helps develop, implement, and promote SHRM benefits portfolio for global mobility and immigration members.

Babankov has more than 20 years of experience building and managing global education and training programs for students and professionals. He has experience in teacher training, study abroad, cross-cultural training, and language acquisition, and has directed field operations in Russia, Central Asia, Middle East, and the Caucasus.

Prior to joining SHRM in 2019, Babankov managed several education and training programs sponsored by the federal government, including the Flagship Overseas Language Program (U.S. Department of Defense), Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program (U.S. Department of State), and the Open World Program (Library of Congress).

Babankov earned his J.D. degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia.

Babankov has lived in the United States since 1994 and currently resides in Fairfax, VA.

Nishant is the SVP and GM of Topia’s Business Travel solution responsible for strategy and growth. Nishant joined Topia as part of its acquisition of Monaeo, a technology company he co-founded and led. Nishant brings extensive experience in Business Travel Analytics and extensive change management experience working with Fourtune 500 companies during his tenure at McKinsey & Co. and General Atlantic.

Prior to founding Monaeo, Nishant was a Vice President at General Atlantic where he led the Financial Services sector in India and was subsequently a part of the U.S. technology team.

Before General Atlantic, he worked in McKinsey & Company’s New Jersey office advising Fortune 500 companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, Nishant held a variety of engineering and technical roles including at Mayo Clinic, where he developed algorithms for early detection of heart disease, and Lucent Technologies, where he helped develop a new IP product.

Nishant is a published author with publications in machine learning and image processing in leading peer-reviewed journals. Nishant has a BS in Computer Engineering, an MS in Biomedical Engineering, and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Patrick Shen is a partner with Fragomen’s Government Strategies and Compliance Group. He previously was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2007 as Special Counsel for Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices. He also served as ICE Policy and Planning Director, Chief Immigration Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and trial attorney with DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation. Patrick was an adjunct professor of law at American University, and became an emergency medical technician in 2002 in Maryland where he still volunteers with his fire department. Patrick was a sports reporter in Taiwan before law school.

 

Tahmina Watson is a nationally acclaimed immigration attorney and founder of Watson Immigration Law in Seattle, Washington, USA. Her practice focuses on business and investment immigration matters. She handles all employment-based visas such as L1A, H1B, O1, E2, EB5 etc.  Her clients include individuals and businesses from all over the world. 

Tahmina was a barrister in London, UK, before immigrating to America herself.  A passionate advocate for immigration reform, Tahmina is the author of “The Startup Visa: Key to Job Growth & Economic Prosperity in America”.  In addition to regularly publishing articles and appearing in the media including CNN, Forbes, The Telegraph and much more, she is the host of “Tahmina Talks Immigration” a radio show turned podcast available on itunes/Spotify and other podcast applications.  Recently, Tahmina founded a non-profit, the Washington Immigrant Defense Network- WIDEN which funds and facilitates legal representation in the immigration courtroom.   She is also cofounder of www.airportlawyer.org, a web portal that helps passengers at the airports seek assistance of volunteer lawyers.

Learn more about Tahmina at www.watsonimmigrationlaw.com and can contact her info@watsonimmigrationlaw.com.

Alejandra Zapatero is a Managing Director with Erickson Immigration Group. Alejandra has been practicing immigration law for 10+ years in Virginia, Washington D.C., and California. Her practice focuses on corporate immigration working with large, medium, small, and startup companies in filing employment-based petitions for foreign workers seeking temporary and permanent employment in the U.S. Her experience includes immigrant and non-immigrant visa petitions. Alejandra advises employers from startups to Fortune 500 companies on establishing and refining immigration programs including strategies for hiring, compliance, and complex immigration matters resulting from corporate restructuring including mergers, acquisitions, and reductions-in-force. 

She has counseled clients on workforce compliance including I-9 issues and public access file audits. Alejandra is proficient in the preparation and filing of non-immigrant visas such as E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, and TN. She is also adept in immigrant visa processes, including the preparation and filing of PERM, I-140 petitions, and I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. She is also well-versed in family immigration law and has represented individuals seeking family-based green cards, deferred action of childhood arrival (DACA) work authorization, and naturalization applications. 

Alejandra is a frequent speaker on immigration issues and has presented at various conferences and events including SHRM, Worldwide ERC, Bay Area Mobility Management, British American Business Council, sf.citi, Global HR Business News, and the Council for Global Immigration.