Global & Cultural Effectiveness

Shilpa Pherwani is an organizational psychologist by training and the Principal and CEO of IBIS Consulting Group, Inc. She has expertise in the areas of cultural competency, diversity and inclusion, organizational development and e-­learning.  As a consultant and trainer, Shilpa provides guidance to organizations to develop and achieve their D&I business goals.  She provides subject matter expertise in change management, organizational development and diversity to help organizations align D&I with business strategy. Shilpa heads the design and development team at IBIS for diversity e-­learning tools. She has led the team for several highly effective programs for clients such as Aetna, Boeing, Campbell Soup, Grainger, ESPN, Nestle, Microsoft, Sun Life Financial, and Xerox. Shilpa’s work with global organizations has included conducting diversity assessments, diversity and cross-­cultural training, leadership development, and implementation of diversity strategic plans. Shilpa received her Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Springfield College with a focus on Organizational Development.

Dr. Edward E. Hubbard, President and CEO of Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc., an International Business Performance Consulting Corp. specializing in Business Improvement, Diversity Return on Investment (DROI®) Measurement/Analytics, and organizational development.  Author of more than 59 DEI ROI and Business-related books, Dr. Hubbard is an expert in Organizational Analysis, ROI Measurement, Strategic Planning, and more. Dr. Hubbard was an honoree at the Inaugural International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals Living Legends of Diversity Award Ceremony in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico where he received the “Living Legends of Diversity Award” for creating the “Diversity ROI Analytics” and “Diversity Measurement Fields and their associated Disciplines” and is recognized globally as the creator of these unique sciences and fields of study. 

Dr. Hubbard received the “Excellence in Global Leadership Award” from the World HRD Congress (the highest individual professional award given), the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences, the Sentry Award from the U.S. Pentagon, and many others.

Dr. Hubbard serves on the Harvard Business Review, Diversity Executive Magazine and Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management (SDIM) magazine Editorial Advisory Boards and serves on the Board of Directors for The Ohio State University African American Alumni Society. He also holds a Practitioner Certification and Master Practitioner Certification in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), a Neuroscience discipline. Dr. Hubbard earned Bachelors, Masters Degrees from The Ohio State University and earned a Ph.D. with Honors in Business Administration.

Dr. Edna Chun is associate vice chancellor for Human Resource Services at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She came from Broward College, a very large, multi-campus community college, where she was vice president for human resources and equity. At Broward College, she led the development of its Total Rewards Strategy, resulting in an employee compensation system that promoted consistency and equity. She negotiated labor agreements with faculty and staff. And she initiated a range of cost-savings initiatives. Chun received the Kathryn G. Hansen Publication Award for her co-authored book “Bridging the Divide: Globalization and Reciprocal Empowerment in Higher Education” (2009). She also received that award for the co-authored book “Are the Walls Really Down? Behavioral and Organizational Barriers to Diversity” (2007).

Mark Butler graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1979.  

He joined Marathon Oil Company in 1981 in the Findlay, Ohio office as an Associate Employee Relations Representative.  During his 25 years with the Company, Mark has held a variety of positions within the human resources function.  In 2002, Mark was assigned to his current position as Manager of Diversity.   In this capacity, he’s responsible for the development and implementation of diversity initiatives that create an environment where the talents and differences of all employees are respected and valued for business success.

Over the last 5 years, he’s spoken to over 3,000 people from both inside and outside of his company.  He continues to speak on a national level and has been a presenter at the national conferences for the American Association for Affirmative Action, The National Conference Board and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Maryella Gockel is the EY Americas Flexibility Strategy Leader and a member of the EY Americas Inclusiveness Center of Excellence. In this role, she is focused on embedding a sustainable inclusive and flexible culture to enable EY professionals to achieve their potential and make a difference, wherever they come from and whatever their characteristics.

Maryella is a noted speaker on flexibility in the workplace and has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Working Mother Magazine and Good Morning America. She is the recipient of the 2012 Ted Childs Life Work Excellence Award and Families and Work Institute’s 2009 Work Life Legacy Award.

Maryella joined Ernst & Young in the US in 1980 as a client service professional after completing her M.B.A. in accounting from Rutgers Graduate School of Management. She also completed her CPA certification during that time. She then transitioned to becoming a Human Resources professional, serving as a People Leader for numerous business units in Ernst & Young LLP before taking her current EY Americas role. She also consults with other EY member firms around the world, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, to help make flexibility initiatives locally relevant in those cultures and locations.

During Maryella’s leadership tenure, Ernst & Young LLP has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for its inclusive and flexible culture, including 15 consecutive years on FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For^® list and the 2012 Great Place to Work^® Top 25 World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list. The firm has also achieved 16 consecutive years on the Working Mother100 Best Companies list, the past seven as a Top 10 employer.

In his current role, Mark is responsible for program development, project management and the expansion of Tanenbaum programs nationally and internationally. A sought-after expert on equality issues like race, gender, sexual orientation and religion, Mark's recent engagements include workshops at SHRM’s Annual Conference & Exposition, the National Association for Multicultural Education, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, and Multicultural Forum for Workplace Diversity.

Kathy Kacher, President of Career/Life Alliance Services, (CLAS) and Cofounder of The SMART Workplace, is a workforce transformation expert with a focus on workplace mobility, change management and leadership engagement. She is also a faculty member with World at Work.

Diana Solash joined EY in 1994 and is currently a Director in the organization’s Americas Inclusiveness Office. In this capacity, Diana works closely with senior leaders, EY member firm partners and all EY people so that EY values are reflected across the Americas. She helps member firms leverage the diversity that each person brings to the table — e.g., generations, cultural background, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, experiences, and education. Diana has worked in several Talent team functions in building her career at EY, including campus recruiting, experienced recruiting and organizational development. She also co-chaired the Northeast Inclusiveness & Diversity Council and served as the Northeast Community Engagement Champion for Ernst & Young LLP.  

Diana has been involved with several community organizations. Currently, she serves as a board member and the immediate past President of the Metro NY Chapter of Ascend, a professional society for Asians in business, as well as a member of the New York Women’s Foundation Corporate Leadership Committee. Previously, she served as a member of Jumpstart’s Advisory Board and she is a past member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Minority Initiatives Committee. Diana also completed the Coro Leadership New York Program in 2009 and currently serves on Coro’s Alumni Advisory Board.  

Diana graduated Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology. She lives in downtown Manhattan with her son, Max, and daughter, Mia. 

Michael John Carley joined the Asperger Syndrome Training and Employment Partnership, as the Executive Director, in January, 2011. In addition, Mr. Carley serves as the Executive Director of the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP) and he is also the author of Asperger’s From the Inside-Out (Penguin/Perigee).

Mr. Carley has appeared in the media widely, most notably in the New York Times, Washington Post, NY Newsday, the London Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Chronicle of Higher Education, NEWSWEEK OnAir, ABCNews, BBC News, Psychology Today, and on radio with Terry Gross’ Fresh Air, and The Infinite Mind. NPR News also aired a 12-minute story in June of 2006 that featured Mr. Carley and GRASP. He was also featured in the documentary, “On the Spectrum.” His articles have been published in magazines such as Autism Spectrum News, Autism Spectrum Quarterly, TAP (The Autism Perspective), and Autism/Asperger Digest. He has made over 70 speaking engagements to conferences, hospitals, universities, and health care organizations.

Todd Solomon is a partner in and Chicago local practice group leader of the employee benefits practice group of McDermott Will & Emery LLP in its Chicago office.  Todd focuses his practice primarily on designing, amending, and administering pension plans, 401(k) plans, employee stock ownership plans, 403(b) plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements.  He also counsels corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under ERISA, employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation and Code Section 409A compliance and correction matters, and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners.