Relationship Management

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

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.

Jacob Goldstein is the founder of The Leadership Laboratory, and leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning & development to his work.  As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Patti LuPone, as a recording artist for Netflix series Sense8, and at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center.  In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator for high school, undergraduate and graduate students throughout the Midwest, and has been a Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University since 2016.  As a Learning & Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked as a one-on-one coach and group workshop facilitator to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel.  Jacob holds a Bachelor's degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master's of Science in Communication from Northwestern University.

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.  

Rachel Shaw is the President and Principal Consultant of Shaw HR Consulting, Incorporated. With 20 years of executive-level Human Resources experience, Rachel is recognized nationwide as a leader in helping public and private sector employers manage their most challenging personnel issues. Rachel and her team provide comprehensive solutions to employers on how to successfully manage the interconnected roles of human resources, workers’ compensation and disability compliance to successfully reduce litigation, the costs of claims and improve employee-employer relations throughout the process.

Rachel is known nationally as the authority on how to implement and manage the FEHA/ADA Disability Interactive Process for candidates and employees. Her trainings and seminars are highly anticipated by Human Resource and Risk Management professionals as informative, dynamic and packed with real-life practical solutions. She is author of the industry best-selling and award-winning book, “The Disabled Workforce: What the ADA Never Anticipated.”

Rachel served as the Director of Human Resources for the City of Oxnard and prior to that was the Human Resources Director for the Montebello Unified School District. She is a graduate of Brown University and later earned a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University.

Magi The Evolutionist

Catalyst for Positive Change

Personal - Interpersonal - Team - Organizational

Using a unique combination of experiential coaching, science-backed development tools, and actionable strategies, Magi empowers leaders to evolve themselves and their organizational culture to meet the moment. Whether it’s change initiatives, new leadership, or cultural transformation, she partners with teams to catalyze positive change.

Magi has spent her life reinventing herself. From a single mother at 19 working at the first Cable TV company, to leading one of the fastest growing consultancies and becoming a best selling author in her field of expertise, Magi has continually taken challenges and failure as lessons and learned to move beyond her limits (both real and perceived) to live a life that inspires and contributes. Her body of work cuts through the personal, group, and organizational malaise stifling happiness, joy, and fulfillment at work. Her uplifting talks and groundbreaking courses uncover, catalyze, and optimize human potential, unite teams, and raise organizational effectiveness. 

Steve McElfresh is a Principal at, and the Founder of, HR Futures, Inc where he works with scaling organizations to address their people problems of growth. Recently, Steve was also the SVP/People at Duo Security, driving growth and supporting their acquisition and integration with Cisco. He has been the CHRO at three other tech companies, two of which he took public. He was also the President/CEO of Saratoga Institute and taught at the Boston College School of Management.

Steve has a Ph.D is from Boston College and a JD from Santa Clara University. He is also a past-president of BAHREC and has been a member of SHRM and BAHREC for several decades