Relationship Management

Adam Smiley Poswolsky
Author, Speaker & Millennial Workplace Expert
Connect Online with this Speaker

Adam Smiley Poswolsky is a millennial workplace expert, internationally renowned keynote speaker, and bestselling author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough (Penguin Random House), and The Breakthrough Speaker. Smiley helps companies attract, retain, and empower millennial talent, and he’s inspired thousands of professionals to be more engaged at work, through speaking at companies like Facebook, ASAE, Unilever, IDEO, Salesforce, SAP, Deloitte, Uber, Harvard Business School, and TED. His TEDx talk has been viewed over 1 million times, and he has done hundreds of speaking engagements, reaching over 50,000 people in 15 countries. Smiley’s writing has been published in The Washington Post, Fast Company, Time, and Business Insider, and his work has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, CNN, CNBC, and the World Economic Forum, among others.

SESSIONS:
Thursday, October 3, 2019 - 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Michelle Kim
Co-Founder and CEO
Awaken
Connect Online with this Speaker

Michelle Kim is a fierce immigrant queer woman of color entrepreneur challenging the status quo in tech.

Michelle is the co-founder and CEO of Awaken (www.visionawaken.com), a leading provider of modern, experiential diversity and inclusion workshops that go beyond just “checking the box.” Awaken creates compassionate and inspiring learning experiences to empower leaders and teams to lead fearlessly and inclusively in today’s dynamic workplace.

Prior to Awaken, Michelle had a successful career in both tech and management consulting, working with C-/VP-level executives to build high performing organizations around the world.

Michelle has been a lifelong social justice activist and has served on a variety of organizations such as the LGBTQ Speakers Bureau, SF Human Rights Commission's Advisory Committee, and LYRIC nonprofit’s Board of Directors.

Michelle graduated from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business with a passion for social entrepreneurship. Michelle is a passionate keynote speaker and writer -- she was named “Top Writer in Diversity” by Medium for her thought leadership and is a contributor to Quartz at Work.

SESSIONS:
Thursday, October 3, 2019 - 3:00pm to 4:00pm
James E. Wright, SHRM-CP
Diversity & Inclusion Strategist and Tech Enthusiast
Connect Online with this Speaker

James Wright of JamesWantsToKnowYou.com is a dynamic and compelling leader with a track record of delivering practical roadmaps for increasing Inclusion and Diversity in global corporations such as Apple Inc., LinkedIn, NBCUniversal, and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). A featured guest on NBC and FOX, Wright’s articles and commentary appear frequently on LinkedIn and his expertise has been included in The Washington Post as well as several SHRM articles

In his practice, James offers transformative training solutions on Gender Equality, Unconscious Bias, Improving Race Relations, and Generational Diversity. In addition, James introduced The Language of Inclusion - a free download of over 135 key terms and definitions to help organizations find a common language to Inclusion. With increased focus on gender and LGBTQIA+ equality, James believes it is important to update these terms to signal where we are today in our journey to ensure diverse communities are truly seen, heard, and valued.

James attended Erskine College in SC & The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

SESSIONS:
Thursday, October 3, 2019 - 10:55am to 12:10pm
Tracy Stock, CSP
Founder and Owner
Achieve Positive Outcomes, LLC
Connect Online with this Speaker

Tracy Stock is one of the most in-demand and top-rated female speakers in North America today because of her ability to inspire behavior change and achieve positive outcomes. As a workplace culture expert, an engaging Certified Speaking Professional®, highly skilled live and virtual training expert and a best-selling author with five published titles, her 25 years of experience include clients such as the U.S. Army, Motorola, True Value, US Bank and Subway, to name a few. As a speaker of choice, Tracy is committed to helping energize workplace culture, enhance employee engagement and empower high performance. 

 

 

SESSIONS:
Allison West, Esq., SHRM-SCP, AWI-CH
Personal Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Principal
Employment Practices Specialists
Connect Online with this Speaker

For over 20 years, Allison West has used her employment law background in delivering customized workplace training, conducting investigations, coaching executives/managers, serving as an expert witness, and specializing in conflict resolution and facilitated discussions to create more collaborative work environments. 

Allison is a top-rated speaker at the SHRM Annual Conference as well as other HR/diversity conferences, and is a national expert on harassment, discrimination and investigations. She has appeared on PBS, CBS This Morning and in O Magazine discussing workplace harassment issues. 

She is a member of the State Bar of California and holds her SHRM-SCP certification and AWI-CH (investigation) certificate.

 

 

SESSIONS:
Christopher CJ Gross
Founder and CEO
Ascension Worldwide
Connect Online with this Speaker

Christopher “CJ” Gross is the author of the best-selling book What's Your Zip Code Story? Understanding and Overcoming Class Bias in the Workplace and the highly acclaimed Harvard Business Review article, A Better Approach to Mentorship. He is a TEDx Speaker and founder of Ascension Worldwide, a firm dedicated to DEI and cultural transformation consulting based in the Washington, D.C. area. CJ has 20-years of experience as an international organizational development consultant specializing in leadership development, and DEI transformation. CJ is a certified Social + Emotional Intelligence coach, trainer, Keirsey Temperament professional, and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Administrator.

SESSIONS:
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 - 11:30am to 12:30pm
James E. Wright, SHRM-CP
Diversity & Inclusion Strategist and Tech Enthusiast
Connect Online with this Speaker

James Wright of JamesWantsToKnowYou.com is a dynamic and compelling leader with a track record of delivering practical roadmaps for increasing Inclusion and Diversity in global corporations such as Apple Inc., LinkedIn, NBCUniversal, and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). A featured guest on NBC and FOX, Wright’s articles and commentary appear frequently on LinkedIn and his expertise has been included in The Washington Post as well as several SHRM articles

In his practice, James offers transformative training solutions on Gender Equality, Unconscious Bias, Improving Race Relations, and Generational Diversity. In addition, James introduced The Language of Inclusion - a free download of over 135 key terms and definitions to help organizations find a common language to Inclusion. With increased focus on gender and LGBTQIA+ equality, James believes it is important to update these terms to signal where we are today in our journey to ensure diverse communities are truly seen, heard, and valued.

James attended Erskine College in SC & The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

SESSIONS:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Sonia Aranza
CEO
Aranza Global Cross-Cultural Strategies
Connect Online with this Speaker

Global Speaker Sonia Aranza has presented on the international stage from Spain to Singapore.  She brings 27+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion & Global Leadership. Her clients include Boeing, CIA, McDonald’s and more. The U.S. Department of Labor describes her work as “Outstanding” and was selected to execute programs for landmark cases. SHRM featured her as a Diversity & Inclusion Expert in HR Magazine and she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Leadership. She serves on the Faculty of Howard University’s Executive Diversity Program; named “100 Most Influential Filipina Americans in the United States” and honored “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.”

SESSIONS:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Blair Bloomston
partner, VP of development
Game On Nation
Connect Online with this Speaker

Blair has spent the last 15 years working with the world’s most recognizable teams, corporations, athletes, and brands. Game On’s proprietary approach leverages the interactive power of game-based learning to inspire tangible workforce behaviors. Blair is considered a leading expert on the use of gamification and game theory to improve communication, leadership, team building, and culture.

Blair’s recent work in D&I includes instructional design and delivery for the U.S. House of Representatives and Deloitte. Some of Blair’s other clients include Joint Special Operations Command, USOC, US Air Force, US Army, USO, WWP, Hilton, Honda, Acura, NASCAR, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

SESSIONS:
Howard J. Ross
partner
Udarta Consulting
Connect Online with this Speaker

Howard Ross is lifelong social justice advocate, and is considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing unconscious bias.  Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and major institutions within healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias:  Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His latest  book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2018, received the Nautilus Gold Medal for Social Change and Social Justice. His next book, Building Belonging: 9 Pathways to Creating Inclusive and Joyful Organizational Communities, will be published in 2020.

 

SESSIONS:
Leslie Traub
founder
Udarta Consulting
Connect Online with this Speaker

Leslie Traub offers Udarta Consulting clients exceptional facilitation and training, inspiring and evidentiary instructional designs, meaningful organizational change, and transformative personal development. With more than 30 years of experience leading diversity, inclusion, and change management initiatives, Leslie creates sustainable systems of change that yield greater social belonging, organizational performance, and possibility.

As a Principal Consultant and former Partner with Cook Ross, Leslie has developed an international reputation for leading systems based change in shifting organizations’ lenses and practices on diverse talent, particularly for women. She has substantial experience leading engagements on gender inclusion, inclusive leadership, and mitigating bias in talent management and decision making, with many of her clients representing Fortune 100 companies.

Leslie has worked and lived in numerous cultures and countries, bringing her personal experience and sensibility to her work in cultural competence and cultural communication. Leslie spent the first 10 years of her career providing consulting services to national primary healthcare programs in West Africa and conducting operations research on service delivery and national program evaluations. Throughout her career, she has served as a guest lecturer at numerous U.S. academic institutions including Georgetown University, University of Southern California, and Johns Hopkins University.

Leslie is a Fellow in change management from Johns Hopkins University, holds a Master of Science in biostatistics and epidemiology from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
 

SESSIONS:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 - 10:30am to 12:00pm