Leadership (Behavioral)

Lisa McConnell is a human resource professional with over 20 years of experience in HR management primarily focused on employee relations, legal compliance, training, and workplace investigations. She is a Senior Certified Professional with SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) and is also an MD-110 certified EEO investigator. Lisa has worked in roles ranging from an HR department of one to leading a team of over 30 HR professionals. Her HR experience spans industries from healthcare, call centers, construction, manufacturing, distribution and retail to the federal sector, and she has a passion for training!

Lorrie Coffey is a Talent Management Consultant specializing in strategic human resources planning and infrastructure. She helps organizations foster strong working relationships that meet the needs of employees while advancing the goals of the organization.

Her focus includes full-scale HR audits, classification and compensation analysis and design, HR process design and implementation, recruiting, and onsite HR support. She also has experience in payroll and benefits administration.

Lorrie received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from James Madison University and earned her Master’s of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University Law School. She is a member of the American Bar Association.

Michael Bach is a nationally and internationally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert in the fields of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA). He has worked globally in the IDEA field, including as the Deputy Chief Diversity Officer for KPMG International. He is the founder of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), CCDI Consulting and Pride at Work Canada.

He is the author of the best-selling and award-winning books Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right and Alphabet Soup: The Essential Guide to LGBTQ2+ Inclusion at Work.

Emily Gregory’s gift is to create for her audience a moment of self-discovery that leads to change.

Clients praise Emily for her nuanced mix of vitality and credibility. Emily’s depth of experience, academic background, and rigorous intellectual reasoning that provides the solid foundation for her message.

For 15 years, Emily led Crucial Learning teams including Product Development, Training and Consulting, Delivery Operations, and Sales.

Emily is also the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High and travels the world speaking and presenting on the crucial skills for improving results and relationships.

As a DEI practitioner and organizational consultant, Judy leads strategic culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion transformations to build organizations where all employees thrive. For over 20 years, she has designed and delivered solutions for corporate, nonprofit and educational clients.

Judy leads the global DEI consulting practice of AMS (Alexander Mann Solutions), a Talent Acquisition and Workforce Solutions firm. She has designed diagnostic tools of end-to-end recruitment processes to foster inclusivity that she’s delivered for organizations including Barclays and Bristol Myers Squibb. She’s also developed DEI strategy, communication plans, career development frameworks and global training initiatives on Inclusive Leadership, Conscious Inclusion in Hiring, and Unconscious Bias for companies including Delta Airlines and MUFG. Prior to joining AMS, Judy led a certified Woman- and Minority-owned DEI consulting firm, Think People.

​Judy serves as an Adjunct Instructor in Workforce Diversity at the University of Cincinnati ‘s Master’s in Applied Psychology Program. She has a B.S. in Management & Organizations from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business. She holds certificates in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University, and Coaching with the International Coaching Federation; she is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory®. She has been named a “Top Diversity Officer” by the National Diversity Council. Her expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been featured in Forbes, DiversityQ magazine, the Recruiting Daily podcast and on numerous conference platforms, including SHRM’s Inclusion Conference.

Eric Ellis, President and CEO of Integrity Development Corp., is an award-winning entrepreneur, thought leader, author, and keynote speaker with over thirty years of experience in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.  

Named one of the Top 100 DEI Experts in the World by the Society for Human Resources Management and "Cincinnati's Diversity Fixer" by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Eric is an innovative thought leader who helps transform organizational cultures into people-centered workplaces that inspire employee engagement and a sense of belonging.

Eric is a singer/songwriter, and the author of Diversity Conversations. He hosts a weekly podcast named after his book, which can be found on Apple, Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.

Lei partners with individuals, teams, and organizations to amplify communication skills, relationships, and leadership effectiveness. Known for her thought partnership and passion for empowering clients, she helps them achieve and surpass their goals through increased self-awareness. 

Lei is a highly effective Leadership & Executive Coach, Facilitator, Speaker, and AI Enablement Specialist with over 20 years of strategic and operational experience in healthcare and over 5 years in hospitality.

She currently volunteers as a Board Member of ATD Nashville, an Advisor for the HBA Ambassador program, and gives back via coaching services through the Humanitarian Coaches Network.

Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group.  Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year.  He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc. Michael is a 1997 magna cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Nadine O. Vogel is the CEO of Springboard Global Enterprises, home to Springboard Consulting, Disability Mama, The WIP Group and The Springboard Foundation.

Vogel is the author of “DIVE IN, Springboard into the Profitability, Productivity and Potential of the Special Needs Workforce”, a regular contributor to professional, industry and consumer publications and the subject of published cases for both the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. She also lectures at the Universita Europea di Roma in Italy, where she developed executive curriculum on Disability.

Vogel has received numerous awards and accolades for her civic activities and global thought leadership.

Since August 2022, Mrs. Tiana Carter has been with USAA serving as the AVP, Human Resources Strategy and Planning, DEI (talent) and the HR chief of staff office. She is a visionary and execution architect who moves the business and people forward with innovative solutions and measurable results. Tiana has over a decade of experience leading workforce, culture and diversity strategies across global brands.  

Reporting directly to the Chief Human Resources Officer, Mrs. Carter serves as Chief of Staff, using over a decade of human resources and client services experience to drive a high- performing team through a culture of connectivity, innovation and collaboration. Tactically, she oversees board operations, change management, HR's budget and business operations.  

Prior to USAA, Mrs. Carter worked at WM Inc. (NYSE: WM) serving as Senior Director of Culture and Social Impact (equivalent to Chief Diversity Officer). She designed and lead execution of WM's pioneering employee engagement, DEI and social impact strategies focused on making the company of nearly 50,000 employees an employer of choice and a great place to work. In 2021, Mrs. Carter was the recipient of the CEO's Circle of Excellence Award, granted to the highest performers across the company. 

Prior to WM, Tiana served as the Vice President of Innovation and Business Development at Skills for Chicagoland's Future's a social impact organization based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work focused on creating strategic diversity and workforce solutions for Fortune 500 and other major brands like Ulta Beauty, Anthem, Gap Inc., W.W. Grainger, CDW, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, United Airlines, Walgreens, and Exelon. She is a recognized thought leader and her work has been featured by local and nationally recognized newspapers (NBC, Chicago Business, The Chicago Tribune, and the Sun-Times to name a few) and has sat as an expert on numerous panels or has served as a keynote. 

Tiana resides in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and two daughters. She holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology and Counseling from the Adler University and a Bachelors in Psychology and Communications from Converse College.