Global & Cultural Effectiveness

Tara Taylor, MPA, is the Managing Director of ADR Vantage, Inc., a woman-owned consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., that supports clients across the U.S. through conflict management, organizational effectiveness and leadership development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices, as well as training and coaching. Tara holds a B.A. in Organizational Communication, an M.A. in Management & Public Administration and is a professional mediator and facilitator. She is a highly sought-after consultant and a dynamic speaker focused on helping audiences engage, get inspired, and walk away with ready-to-implement solutions for their professional challenges.

Dr. David S Cohen, Ed. D. has a vision: organizations that thrive by living their values in good times and especially VUCA times. David's first career was in elementary and high school education, where he built a reputation for building school communities based on purpose and social responsibility. Thirty-three years ago, David transitioned to corporate consulting. As a consultant, David earned a reputation as a contrarian consultant because he does not always follow what is popular in his chosen field. David works with leaders helping them understand what is and what is not necessary to build an active and positive organization. He helps leaders' step into life's challenges, inspiring them to create a sustained approach through a values-based focus, resulting in better business results. David has had the privilege of partnering with firms across five continents and all business sectors. Additionally, he has worked with governments, from the local to the federal levels, and not-for-profits.

He has taught at Queens University School of Labour Relations and the executive education program at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Currently, he teaches organizational development at Durham College. David earned his doctorate from Boston University in Humanistic and Behavioural Studies. During that time, he also completed independent studies at the Harvard School of Education, where he was a teaching assistant.

David is a keynote speaker, educator, disruptor, facilitator, team builder, and executive coach. He has authored two books and numerous articles in professional journals.

• The Talent Edge: A Behavioral Approach to Hiring, Developing, and Keeping Top Performers (John Wiley and Sons, August 2001)
• Inside the Box: Leading With Corporate Values to Drive Sustained Business Success (Jossey-Bass September 2006)

When David is not travelling, he is hanging out with his five grandchildren, when possible, attending Toronto Raptor's games, or relaxing with family and friends.

David is honored to be recognized by the GlobalGurus30 as one of the top 30 GlobalGurus in Organizational Culture.

Anne Comer is a Vice President with Senn Delaney, a Heidrick & Struggles company. She has helped clients ranging from small non-profits to Fortune 500 companies shape healthier, higher performing cultures in Canada, the US, Europe and Asia. With over 25 years of experience in human resources and corporate leadership, consulting and education, Anne now focuses on her passion for guiding leaders, organizations and teams to create a healthy environment in which all people can thrive and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving strong and sustainable results.

Jason Sheffield is BRPs National Director of Compliance for the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative. He oversees the ongoing evolution of our firm's national compliance operations. Jason develops, designs and implements educational programming and compliance assuredness services by creating timely and relevant solutions designed for the benefit of our clients and colleagues, our industry partners, and the general benefits community. Jason has practiced employee benefits law and consulting for nearly two decades, representing individual, corporate, and tribal interests at the local, state, and federal levels. He has advised clients and provided representative services before administrative agencies such as the DOL, the IRS, CMS, OCR, several state-level treasury authorities, and others. He has experience with both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation matters, and extensive experience respecting health and welfare plan matters. Jason received his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University (magna cum laude) and his Juris Doctor from Western New England College School of Law. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.

Trent serves as the VP of Research at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM),  the world’s largest HR professional society, representing more than 300,000 members in more than 165 countries.  In this position, Trent leads a comprehensive research program that identifies workplace needs, conducts research, and develops research-based solutions and products to allow HR and business leaders to further the goals of their organization.  Trent also served as a SHRM Certification Commissioner.  In this position, Trent served as a chief technical advisor for the development of the SHRM competency model and certification exams.  Prior to SHRM, Trent spent 15 years at Walmart Stores, Inc. leading global HR Centers of Expertise and has led large, multinational HR projects in China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Canada, the UK, and the US.  Trent holds a BA in Psychology and a MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron.   He is also holds the SHRM-SCP certification. 

Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams. She has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams. Safstrom currently serves as President for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's new mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals.  

Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of their Foundation's most recent five-year strategic plan, and was responsible for all Foundation programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives. The NRAEF's philanthropic programming supported a number of audiences including high school youth, veterans transitioning from service to civilian work and life, opportunity youth and incumbent workers. Of particular note, she led the implementation of the restaurant industry's premier high school career and technical education program, growing the program to over 2,000 public high schools, engaging over 150,000 students annually, nationwide. In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10 million contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture.  

Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. She has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry.  

Dionna Smith, GPHR is a Strategic Global D&I Executive at PowertoFly, where she provides D&I solutions for companies with more than 10,000 employees.

Prior to joining PowerToFly, Dionna led Diversity Talent strategies at Delta Air Lines and has led Talent Acquisition teams at a number of fortune 500 companies.

Dionna is a sought after diversity recruitment subject matter expert and speaker who has contributed to several media outlets, in print and on-air, including Forbes, INC, Entrepreneur, CNN Money, NPR and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

People Strategy leader focused on developing and implementing initiatives and strategies across the organization to attract, hire, develop, and engage top talent. Strong background in talent acquisition and employer branding, coupled with a passion for data analytics and leveraging technology to fuel business strategy and leadership decisions. 

Experienced in hyper-growth organizations both in-house, as well as consulting, working with a goal of creating scalable processes that lead to reaching overall business objectives related to people operations and human strategy.  Jessica has just completed her Certificate in the Foundations of Neuroleadership.

Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, President of SDS Global Enterprises, a global workforce solutions firm, is an award-winning Human Resources expert, with over 30 years of business experience in a variety of senior executive roles for several Fortune 100 companies, as well as her last role of Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion for the Society for Human Resource Management. She’s also a best-selling author of 5 books, serves on the National Speakers Association and the NSA Foundation Boards, and the Make A Wish Foundation Board. She is a popular facilitator for eight LinkedIn Learning leadership courses.

Pam Jeffords is a Partner in PwC’s Workforce of the Future Practice. Pam has over 25 years of experience advising companies and organizations on how they can break the status quo and drive progress with their diversity, inclusion and engagement goals. Pam has deep industry expertise in Technology, Energy, Consumer Goods and Financial Services. Pam is a member of the Global Leadership Council for Colorado State University’s College of Business, an advisory board member for University of Denver's Women’s College, Limited Partner in The JumpFund, and has served as Chair of Women United for the Mile High United Way where she received the prestigious Frances Wisebart Jacobs award for philanthropy.

Pam holds a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and a MBA from Georgia State University. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and four children.

Tyronne is the new Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a global hospitality company with widely recognized, industry leading brands and a tradition of innovation developed over its more than 50-year history. At Hyatt, Corporation Stoudemire Collaborates with senior leadership team to implement culture, talent, and marketplace strategies that leverage diversity and inclusion globally growing the enterprise wide across brand portfolio. As such, his team and internal corporate stakeholders implement diversity initiatives that include Resource Groups, mentoring programs for high potential women and people of color, a communications and public relations strategy to drive internal engagement and external brand recognition, and enhanced brand marketing effort to further focus on multicultural and LGBT audiences. Formerly, a principal in Mercer’s Diversity & Inclusion Practice, part of the Talent business segment, he joined Mercer from Aon Hewitt where he served as the Global Head of Diversity. A proven thought leader in the space of diversity and inclusion who seeks to enable a transformation of mindset, he is a visionary leader and strategist, certified administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)TM and a certified facilitator in Cultural Transformation ToolsTM. Tyronne identifies and leverages the opportunities and challenges presented by the expanding multicultural mosaic of worldviews and attitudes regarding health, wealth and performance given the increasing diversity in the workplace and global marketplace. A globally recognized executive and highly sought-after speaker, Tyronne routinely consults with Fortune 100 clients on diversity strategy, with particular insight around how organizational leaders can understand and harness the shifts evident in national and global demographic trends. Tyronne employs a unique talent that results in extraordinary benefits for individuals and organizations and has a proven ability to advance socially responsible corporate initiatives by fostering strategic relationships to catalyze international grassroots movements.

With more than 20 years of professional experience, Tyronne brings deep knowledge and commitment to Diversity & Inclusion and Community Relations by partnering with various internal and external constituents to consult, advice and advance the work of Mercer’s diversity strategy and community efforts. He provides the overall firm wide diversity strategy for recruiting to effectively source and recruit diverse talent across Mercer’s global landscape and is responsible for the strategic planning for local and national events. Tyronne partners with Orlando Ashford, the President of Mercer’s Talent business, to drive the overall operation in optimizing a comprehensive suite of diversity programs impacting 19,000 employees within 35 countries. This governance supports and empowers associate network focus groups and leadership forums, and provides opportunities for meaningful dialogue between management and key multicultural talent.