Interpersonal (Behavioral)

Sarah Bettman is the founder of Bettman Consulting Group. She blends organizational culture, leadership, and change principles to support meaningful change for her clients. Sarah’s style is deeply rooted in her values of integrity and authenticity. She brings forward her experiences with passion and humor that ignites engagement and creates traction where there none before. 

Ama Agyapong, also known as 'That Inclusion Lady,' is the CEO of Inclusion Enterprises. She is a Speaker, Master Facilitator, certified EEOC investigator, and talented senior-level consultant with 15 years of progressive leadership experience in human resources, strategic planning, program development, employee engagement, and culture change management experience. With an MBA in Global Management, she has implemented functional diversity and inclusion strategies in partnership with key stakeholders focused on improving the employee experience, leadership development, and profit margins. Ama works with global and domestic Fortune 500 companies, mid-size companies, non-profits, and universities. 

Ama is a DEI subject matter expert passionate about cultural competence, feedback, implicit bias, and workplace equity. She always says, “Either you change the workplace culture, or you become the culture you want to change; it's your choice.”

Doug Stuke, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is the founder of Transform Performance Partners, a boutique consulting firm dedicated to transforming human potential into performance through coaching, training, and HR strategy solutions. His mission is to develop the next generation of HR and business leaders, believing the world needs them now more than ever.

Doug's passion lies in integrating people and business strategies to drive mutual success. He draws from his extensive "scar tissue database" of experiences, accumulated over decades of challenging HR and Business leadership roles across five industries. Additionally, Doug inspires new learners by teaching accredited HR and business curricula at several universities as well seminars for Skillsoft and SHRM.

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.

Tiana Sanchez is CEO and founder of TSI LLC, a talent and development company in SoCal. Tiana is a 4X published author, #1 bestselling author, executive coach, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and host of Like a REAL Boss podcast. Sanchez got her career start at age 16 with a 90 percent female-led national franchise organization, became a manager at 17, was promoted to regional manager, and welcomed the company as her first consulting client. Sanchez’s public and private-sector corporate training and development client list includes Fortune 100 companies. Her latest book, The New C-Suite is releasing on September 3rd, 2024!

Kara Richardson Whitely is the CEO of The Gorgeous Agency, as well as a plus-size adventurer and advisor. Her book, Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds, is being made into a movie produced by and starring ‘This Is Us’ actress, Chrissy Metz.

Kara has partnered with brands such as Peloton, Jolt Film, L.L. Bean, Keen and Discover Puerto Rico to showcase diversity and inclusion, and build positive brand sentiment in the plus-sized community. Her mission to encourage people of all sizes and abilities to get active outside made her a great fit for Come Alive Outside’s Board of Directors, and she has inspired teams and individuals to overcome obstacles and bet on their own success at companies such as J.M. Smucker, Pfizer, Google and Uber. Here is a link recapping her Body Appreciation Panel with Peloton. 

She has also been featured in countless media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Morning America, The Today Show, She Explores, and more. 

Before entering into leadership coaching, Daniel Olexa was a highly successful sales rep who understood that sales success, like business success, is based on collaborative communication and building relationships grounded in trust.

As a Master Certified Coach (MCC), LPI Trained Coach, and Certified DiSC Practitioner, his expertise in transforming leadership is centered on improving communication through building awareness, authenticity, and collaboration. 

Daniel has trained over 3,500 individuals around the world to embrace a coaching-approach to their conversations and relationships.

Daniel was featured in the 2018 bestseller Stop Selling and Start Leading by James Kouzes, Barry Posner, and Deb Calvert, and has co-authored three Amazon #1 Bestsellers, including My Two Minute Journal.

Jessica (she/her) is the Director of Educational Equity at the Center for Equity and Inclusion in Portland, Oregon. She's been an educator, facilitator and creative leader for more than a decade. Jessica's expertise lies at the intersection of strategic leadership, curriculum design, engaging facilitation, and developing organizational culture. With a track record in facilitating equity-focused training and guiding organizations through transformational journeys, she brings a strategic lens as well as a holistic approach to development and learning. Her dynamic leadership and service in school districts and consulting firms underscore her ability to drive impactful change in diverse settings.

Chris Diaz is a dedicated professional who began his academic journey by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas State University. Recognizing the importance of data-driven decision-making, he obtained his MS in Business Analytics from TAMU-Commerce, acquiring the skills to leverage data for strategic HR planning. Driven by a passion for continuous improvement, Chris earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) and the Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certifications. He has also recently completed the MSHRM program with TAMU-College Station. This pursuit of knowledge demonstrates his commitment to staying at the forefront of HR best practices.

Liz comes from a physician recruitment background, most recently as a physician and provider recruitment professional at Berkshire Health Systems in Pittsfield, MA. As Director of Professional Development and Solutions at AAPPR Liz partners with recruitment professionals to develop tools and resources to advance the profession.  She is an experienced facilitator and public speaker and enjoys writing articles and blog posts on trends in physician and provider recruitment.

Liz holds a BA in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and an MFA in Theatrical Management and Producing from Columbia University in New York, NY