Global & Cultural Effectiveness

Angelina Darrisaw Cheeks is a business and career coach, who firmly believes that career advancement is a social justice issue. As the founder and CEO of C-Suite Coach, a career-coaching platform that provides accessible professional development resources to diverse working professionals, Angelina collaborates with employers to create business solutions that empower and educate teams, as well as retain and engage diverse employees. She also facilitates transformative career workshops and experiences that have reached over 6,000 working and aspiring
professionals in person, through outlets like outlets including: TEDx, Brown University, West Point, Bank of America, the 2016 Democratic National Convention, WICT, Ebony Magazine’s WomenUp Series, and The NYC BAR Association. She has also appeared as a career expert on Univision and Fox 5.

A 1st prize winner of Uber’s NYC Pitch Competition, C-Suite Coach has a growing global client footprint with companies like BLKTechCLT, TIAA, and individual entrepreneurs and across the United States, Israel, Australia, Canada, and more. C-Suite Coach has been featured in
numerous media outlets, including Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes, Black Enterprise, Thrive Global, Essence, and career sites such as Levo.com, Recruiter.com and Monster.com. Angelina covered Google’s Thrive magazine, highlighting women business owners who
partner with Google, and services small businesses as a Google Digital Coach. She joins Google in bridging the digital divide, by offering free coaching and resources to over 2500 NY-based small businesses. She’s helped these businesses strategically revamp their digital
outreach strategies through over 70 in-person programs. C-Suite Coach now runs the program, nationally, supporting coaches for 8 major markets in this same work. She has also mentored entrepreneurs through General Assembly’s inaugural mentoring program and teaches related
content as an adjunct professor at New York University. These efforts helped her earn “Program of The Year” by Black Googlers and Walker’s Legacy Power25 award in 2017.

Prior to C-Suite Coach, Angelina was the Senior Manager of Digital Business Development at Viacom, developing strategic business partnerships with social media platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr and more. She did similar digital strategy work at ESPN. As a My Black is Beautiful and Pantene brand ambassador, Angelina was featured in national ads in Oprah, Ebony and Essence magazines and profiled in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post and on BET. She has also appeared in ad campaigns for 23andMe, Hairfinity and more.

Angelina holds an M.A. in Management from Wake Forest University, a Certificate of Coaching from New York University and a B.A. in Political Science from Davidson College. Angelina serves on the board of Youth Communication and the steering committee for the Alvin Ailey’s Young Patrons Circle and was a founding member of the Wake Forest School of Business’ Development Council. She is a two-time Top 20 finalist for Miss New York USA, a marathoner, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Meera joined Gradifi with 20 years of B2C and B2B marketing experience, and oversees all aspects of the company’s marketing and brand strategy. Most recently, Meera spent over 5 years at Valore (formerly SimpleTuition) as VP of Marketing, where she led a team responsible for a number of education brands including SimpleTuition, ValoreBooks and Boundless. Prior to Valore, Meera worked in consumer marketing roles at major consumer brands including Sports Illustrated and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Meera has a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

 

Laura Rodnitzky is VP of People at 3Q Digital, the largest independent agency in digital marketing, headquartered in Silicon Valley. Laura joined 3Q Digital as a search engine marketer in 2009, when there were just three employees, and has helped the company grow to nearly 300 employees in nine offices across the U.S. and overseas. Having previously managed process innovation and training at 3Q, she currently oversees the company’s HR, Payroll, Benefits, Recruiting, Diversity and Inclusion, and Employee Engagement initiatives.

Marlin D. Smith is a dynamic HR professional that is passionate about helping employees and companies find common ground for success. As founder of Mandrake HR Consulting, LLC, he has a solid background in leadership, safety, and employee culture from over 15 years in Human Resources leadership. He believes that the key to a successful employer/employee relationship is commitment: on the part of the employer to provide the best environment for employee to thrive, and on the part of the employee to bring the whole of their skills to the table to fulfill their given roles. When both parties bring their best, it’s amazing what can happen!

Shyrl Scalice is Assistant Director in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf Center on Employment at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.  In addition to supporting students, she provides consultation and training to numerous employer organizations nationwide on recruitment, communication and inclusion strategies related to working with deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.  She regularly participates in conferences of national organizations including the NACE, SHRM, Disability:IN and ILG.

She previously worked as a Career Consultant and Trainer with Lee Hecht Harrison, a career transition and outplacement firm where her clients were from the Financial, Pharmaceutical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing industries.  She managed Diversity Training programs and also worked as a Corporate Recruiter at Eastman Kodak.  Her areas of expertise include Career Management and Transition, Networking and Job Search Best Practices, Inclusion practices for the deaf and hard of hearing.  Shyrl holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Nazareth College and Biology degree from SUNY at Geneseo.

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.”

Heather Tinsley-Fix is a Senior Advisor at AARP, where she leads the organization’s work on employer engagement and helps drive AARP’s focus on providing workers 50+ with the tools they need to thrive in today’s work environment.  With a background in marketing, innovation, and program management, Heather works with employers and job seekers, external partners, and academics to provide thought leadership on 50+ labor market issues and create practical resources that enable employers to capitalize on the value of experience. 

Dr. Michael Baran is the CEO of Iris Inclusion, a global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) firm. Dr. Baran draws on his own social science research to inform his DEI speaking engagements, writings, consulting, leadership development, and eLearning. After teaching at Harvard University, he has been supporting DEI in organizations for 20 years. His work has been covered in the New York Times, BBC, Forbes, CNN, NPR, and more.

His recent book, Subtle Acts of Exclusion, was named by Forbes as one of “The 11 Books To Read To Be A More Inclusive Leader” and has won several awards.

Ricardo is an international keynote speaker, consultant, author, filmmaker, and explorer. He immigrated to the United States from Mexico City after graduating from photography school with the singular focus of building a career that would allow him to explore the world. Later he earned a Film degree at the University of Texas at Austin, then he went on to create documentary work in Mexico and China, and make the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago in Spain. His most recent project, Pedal South, entailed leading a team on a two-year expedition cycling from Alaska to Argentina.

Natalie Egan (she / hers) is an openly transgender, award-winning B2B software entrepreneur and a recognized thought leader living her life at the intersection of technology and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Natalie has over 20 years of experience driving digital change, developing high performing teams, building complex products, and selling enterprise solutions. Today, she is the CEO & Founder of Translator, Inc., where she and her team are on a mission to scale empathy and equality through technology. Prior to founding Translator in 2016––and prior to her transition––Natalie was CEO & Founder of PeopleLinx, a venture capital backed sales technology solution that was acquired in 2015. In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Natalie has also worked in sales leadership positions at large public companies like LinkedIn, Autonomy, and Ecolab. Outside of work, Natalie is a parent, a marathon runner, an artist, and a consummate activist for transgender rights and representation. Based in Philadelphia, PA––Natalie received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, her MBA from The Villanova School of Business, and is currently writing her first book about her gender transition as a CEO in corporate America and the business lessons learned along the way.

Steve joined Workhuman in December of 2017 as chief human resources officer (CHRO) and works with HR leaders and senior management executives worldwide to help build workplaces where every employee feels recognized, respected, and appreciated for who they are and what they do. He champions and promotes our Workhuman movement to inspire HR leaders to embrace more humanity and foster a sense of purpose in the workplace. Steve is focused on building upon Workhuman’s award-winning culture, which has set a new industry standard through its own power usage of recognition and positivity. Before joining Workhuman, Steve served in senior HR executive roles for Walgreens Boots Alliance and Monster.com. A frequent presenter on Capitol Hill, in 2015, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Competitive Integrated Employment of People with Disabilities.