Leadership (Behavioral)

Sharon Steed is an international keynote speaker, author and founder of Communilogue, an empathy consultancy. She teaches teams and organizations the key empathy behaviors necessary to retain top talent and improve individual and team performance. A lifelong stutterer, Sharon uses her speech impediment to both teach what empathy is and to inspire audiences to engage in empathy actions daily. Sharon’s LinkedIn Learning course "Communicating With Empathy" has been translated to a dozen languages and has over 600,000 views. Her client list includes Microsoft, Google, Booking.com, LinkedIn, British Telecommunications, KraftHeinz and DraftKings.

Jessica Miller-Merrell is the Founder of Workology, a workplace resource for HR, recruiting professionals and business leaders, and host of the Workology Podcast. The site has been listed twice as a top 75 career resource by Forbes. Jessica is the president and CEO of Xceptional HR, a human capital strategy and consulting agency. Because of her industry expertise and knowledge, Jessica’s expertise is sought after and sourced by publications and media including: The Economist, Forbes, CIO Magazine, CBS, Entrepreneur Magazine, and SHRM’s HR Magazine. Her new book, Digitizing Talent: Creative Strategies for the Digital Recruiting Age was published in 2023 by SHRM.

As an Executive Coach within The Black In HR community, Willena is dedicated to driving positive change in the HR industry. Her passion for diversity and inclusion has positioned her as a key influencer, igniting crucial conversations and spearheading actions that promote equity within organizations.

With a track record of collaboration alongside influential leaders, including CEOs and senior executives from Fortune 500 companies, Willena's expertise is a testament to her ability to navigate complex corporate environments. Her dynamic approach to leadership growth, career advancement, and personal fulfillment has inspired countless individuals to unleash their potential and embrace growth.

In her pursuit of excellence, Willena is not only a coach but a catalyst for transformation. Her presence leaves an indelible mark, and her dedication to empowering individuals to become the best versions of themselves sets her apart as a true advocate for positive change and empowerment.

 

Stephen Paskoff is president and CEO of ELI®, which helps organizations activate and align their values with core organizational behaviors to build respectful, welcoming and inclusive cultures, maximize results and reduce legal and operational risks.

Paskoff has been named the highest-ranking speaker at SHRM’s national conference. The EEOC recognized ELI’s impact and quoted Paskoff in its Harassment Study. He is a nationally recognized speaker, commentator and author on workplace issues.

Before founding ELI® in 1986, Paskoff was an EEOC trial attorney and partner in a management law firm. He authored Teaching Big Shots to Behave and Civility Rules!

Angela L. Talton, MBA, is City of Hope’s system senior vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. In this role, Talton leads the development of City of Hope’s vision and strategy for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), improving health equity and community benefit, and ensuring measurable DEI progress across administrative, clinical and research functions. 

Under her leadership, City of Hope has improved its ranking on DiversityInc’s list of Top Hospitals and Health Systems from #8 to #2. City of Hope has also earned the Healthcare Equality Leader designation from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for four years.

Twelve-time published author, Dr. Elijah Nicholas is an Author, Actor, and Advocate. Assigned the female sex at birth, Elijah spent almost half of his life in the US Military, as a woman. Retiring from the US Air Force as a Lt Col in 2012, Dr. Elijah now fully lives and embraces his core values: Authenticity, Integrity, and Transparency. Dr. Elijah further resigned his pastoral duties when he started his gender affirmation in 2018.

Dr. Elijah holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), a Masters of Science in Leadership and Operational Art, a Masters of Art in Education Training & Leadership (MAET), and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Administration of Justice. Dr. Nicholas attended the Harvard Divinity Executive Education program in 2021. Dr. Elijah is the author of a Tran-inclusive family & children's book featuring Madoodle (aka Madison), a ten-year-old girl whose Uncle Pete was once her favorite Auntie Mary. Madoodle is based on Dr. Elijah's personal experiences with family as he navigated his gender transition.  Dr. Elijah has provided Gender Identity and Trans Awareness & Inclusion Training for a host of organizations around the world.

Ben Greene is a transgender advocate and educator who has spoken internationally on topics surrounding transgender inclusion. After coming out at 15 in a small town, Ben has devoted his career to spreading empathy, education, and storytelling around the trans experience, and has spoken for companies, hospitals, schools, religious organizations, and government entities sharing what it means to be transgender and how to show up as an ally. He is a fierce advocate for transgender youth, regularly speaking in their defense at the Missouri State Capitol, and is the author of the book "My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy Centered Approach to Support". He is passionate about educating others from a place of compassion—no matter where they’re starting from. 

Gina and Margaret are the coauthors of the bestselling book, The Business of Race: How to Create and Sustain an Antiracist Workshop and Why It’s Actually Good for Business (McGraw-Hill, 2021). You can download a free chapter on their website.

Gina and Margaret are OD (organizational development) consultants and coaches, not DEI experts, and that is precisely why their systems approach to workplace racial equity is fresh and actionable.

Joy Toney  serves as a Senior Program Consultant for AIM for Change, LLC.  Joy’s career successes are mapped over 20+ years professional experience in non-profit, consumer services, government contracting, and transportation and distribution. Her work experience spectrum includes both people leader and individual contributor roles at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Accredo Health, FedEx Express, Johnson & Johnson, and CAS Incorporated. Joy enjoys utilizing her skills in process and performance improvement, software development, information security, quality assurance, project management, talent management, organizational change management, and justice/equity/diversity/inclusion awareness. She is a CISSP, CCA, CBAP, CTFL, CSM, CSPO, ITIL4, and Prosci Change Management certified as well as Brightline's Organizational Transformation micro-credentials (OTF, OTO, OTI), and soon-to-be PMP (Fall 2023) and SHRM-CP (Spring 2024). Joy has served as an advisor to local non-profit boards such as Extreme Dreams USA, OUTMemphis, the International Institute of Business Analysis – Greater Memphis Chapter, and the PMI Memphis Chapter (Project Management Institute).

Joy holds a MBA with a concentration in Information Systems from the University of Memphis, and a Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Information Systems, both from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Business Administration focusing on organizational behavior in tech spaces. 

At a time of high work stress, declining mental health and burnout, Woodrie is on a mission to strengthen teams, drive better outcomes and offer hope. An award-winning thought leader, author, Forbes Coaches Council Member and TEDx speaker, Woodrie’s known for her proprietary approach to setting boundaries and building sustainable strategies in fast-paced and high-demand environments. She brings 20+ years of senior leadership and change management expertise working with Fortune 500 companies on global tech projects and billion-dollar merger & acquisition work. She’s won Stevie Awards for her Achievements in Thought Leadership and as Female Thought Leader of the Year.