SHRM PDCs

When Maren walks into the room, you know it. She is a natural and dynamic leader one is drawn to for her energy, charisma and her diverse knowledge and background.

Her experience in coaching top performers has brought her clients in diverse areas: from Fortune 500 companies, to U.S. Government, to leaders in the Arts. Maren’s clients are consistently recognized for improved relationships and moving large projects forward swiftly and effectively. Her focus is on developing her clients’ interpersonal and communication skills so that they can lead their teams with a higher degree of engagement and effectiveness.

Prior to coaching as owner of a management consultant company, Maren worked with clients such as the Annenberg Foundation, White House Project, AIG and Blackstone Group. Standout projects include the management of the International Women Leaders Global Security Conference and Initial Public Offerings for Blackstone Group and Genworth Financial.

Drew was born and raised in New York City on January 20, 1955. He was the only child of Rhoda Palestine and Drew "Bundini" Brown, Jr.

Drew's father Bundini was the trainer and motivational force behind three-time world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. His famous slogan "Float like a Butterfly and Sting like a Bee" is timeless and world renown. Brown graduated from Southern University at New Orleans with a major in business administration and minor in economics.

Drew joined the United States Navy where he earned Wings of Gold. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 35 "The Black Panthers"—the oldest Attack Squadron in Naval Aviation history. At one time, he was the only black Naval jet pilot flying attack aircrafts (A-6 Intruder). Drew flew missions from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-69)

Drew has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the President of the United States, The Freedom Foundation Medal by the US Supreme Court, and the Congressional Black Caucus Male Achievement Award. Among Drew's other numerous awards is the United States Chamber of Commerce's Special Salute for outstanding leadership.

Millions of people have seen and heard Commander Drew Brown in person or via his appearances on NBC's Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning Show, and hundreds of local TV and national radio broadcast. He has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fortune Magazine among other publications.

His autobiography "You Gotta Believe" reached the bestseller list and is in its seventh printing and continues to receive rave reviews.

Alan Fine is considered the pioneer of the modern-day coaching movement and is the co-creator of the widely recognized GROW® Model. Alan is a New York Times Bestselling Author, international performance expert, and well-respected business executive and professional athlete coach. He has dedicated the past 35 years to helping people elevate their performance and unlock potential. From the golf course to the boardroom, Alan has worked with many respected athletes and organizations.

Cathy Fyock, CSP, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is The Business Book Strategist and works with professionals and thought leaders who want to write a book as a business development strategy.  She is the author of eleven books, including—On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks, Blog2Book: Repurposing Content to Discover the Book You’ve Already Written, and with coauthor Lois Creamer, The Speaker Author: Sell More Books and Book More Speeches. Her book, Authority, is an anthology about the power of authorship and was a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Her newest book is My New Book: The Upcoming Message that will Change the World.

Since beginning her business in 2014, she has helped over 200 professionals become published authors. She believes that we all have a purpose, and that our stories are the way in which we share our truth with others. She is certain that authors can and do change the world, one word at a time.

John O’Leary lived through worse than most can imagine. At age nine, a fire exploded and burned 100% of his body. Given a one-percent chance to live, he fought extraordinary odds.

John spent five months in the hospital, underwent dozens of surgeries, lost all of his fingers to amputation and had to relearn to walk, write, and feed himself. He endured, persevered, and survived – largely because others emerged, served and inspired. John now lives to share the life-giving lessons from his story in hopes that he can Spark! the extraordinary possibility of your story.

He shares these lessons as a tribute to those who leapt into the flames to save him. Who worked tirelessly to restore him. Who pushed him to write though he no longer had fingers. Who held him close when the days were dark and the nights scary. He shares these lessons as an invitation for you to choose to wake up to the fullness of your life, to embrace the amazing gift of each moment, and to celebrate the joy of your inspired life!

As he shares these lessons, sparks will leap.

Sparks that can renew you with hope, purpose, perspective, faith and love. Sparks that remind you that one person, one action, one word, does indeed make a difference. Sparks that liberate you from excuses, destructive cynicism, limiting beliefs, broken relationships, and lousy results. And sparks that, when united, ignite us together toward an extraordinary future!

What John knows for certain is this: You can’t always choose the path you walk in life, but you can always choose the manner in which you walk.

A charismatic and versatile actor, Blair Underwood has found success acting in television, on stage and on the big screen. His success has been driven by the underlying belief that, in order to achieve longevity in the acting business, you must diversify yourself and become as flexible as possible.

A gifted and sought-after film actor, Underwood can most recently be seen lighting up the big screen in starring roles in Madea’s Family Reunion, the smash sequel to Tyler Perry’s hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and Something New, a romantic comedy co-starring Sanaa Lathan. He has also co-starred in Malibu’s Most Wanted; opposite Julia Roberts in Full Frontal; and as a Marine Captain in Rules of Engagement, for which he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Film. That same year he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his starring role in Steven Bochco’s City of Angels. Underwood's other film credits include his portrayals of a space shuttle flight navigator in the hit Deep Impact; a death row inmate in Just Cause; a geneticist in Gattaca; a sheriff in Posse; and a corporate banker in Set It Off, for which he received yet another NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

Underwood has received 12 industry nods from the Golden Globes and the NAACP Image Awards, with five wins from the NAACP Image Awards, for his roles in film and television on City of Angels, Rules of Engagement, L.A. Law, Mama Flora’s Family, and Murder in Mississippi. In 2000, People magazine named him one of its "50 Most Beautiful People," and in 2004 named him one of the "Sexiest Men Alive."

Involved in numerous charitable organizations, Underwood’s dedicated support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association won him the 1993 Humanitarian Award. He is also co-founder of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA, ansafrica.org). Founded in 1989 with Alfre Woodard, Danny Glover, Mary Steenburgen and other friends in the arts and entertainment community, ANSA supports a democratic South Africa with equal rights and opportunities for all citizens.

As the first female president of a professional sports franchise, Susan O’Malley is a pioneer in two fields: sports and business. She knows what it takes to be a leader in a tough business environment and how to create an organization from the ground up. Her ground-breaking business ideas and proactive approach to customer service brought her – and Washington Sports and Entertainment – to the top of the sports business world.

Hayward L. Bell is chief diversity officer for Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN). Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity markets throughout the world. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.

Bell was elected to this position in January 2005 and is a member of Raytheon’s Executive Diversity Leadership Team. As chief diversity officer, Bell is responsible for developing and leading innovative global diversity initiatives, practices, programs and strategies for Raytheon. He also serves as liaison between Raytheon Global Headquarters and all business units to ensure enterprisewide consistency.

Prior to joining Raytheon, Bell served as director, global diversity for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., a position he held since 1998.

As director, global diversity, Bell was responsible for strategic development and senior-level leadership of diversity, including program design, resource planning and implementation.

He began his career at Air Products in 1980 and held various positions in finance, corporate policies and professional development.

Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Rutgers University. He is a certified management accountant and holds an MBA from Lehigh University.

Bell is a National Training Laboratories (NTL) Institute certified diversity practitioner. He is a member and past chair of the Conference Board Global Diversity Council, and a Board member of the International Multicultural Institute (iMCI)

Award-winning journalist Michele Norris is one of the most recognized voices in radio. She was host of NPR's longest-running national program, "All Things Considered," until 2012. Norris and "All Things Considered" received many of journalism's highest honors, including a Peabody Award, a duPont Award and an Overseas Press Club Award, and she was named the 2009 Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, solidifying her as an in-demand speaker on current events and American culture.

In 2013, Norris was named host and special correspondent for NPR. While on sabbatical, Norris spent a time traveling the country and developing two successful initiatives: The Race Card Project and NPR's Backseat Book Club. Her new role will allow her to continue this work while producing in-depth segments for all NPR programs.

Before joining NPR, she served as a correspondent for ABC News, where she reported extensively on education, inner city issues, the national drug problem, and poverty. While at ABC, she earned an Emmy Award and Peabody Award for her contribution to the network's coverage of 9/11.

In her 2010 book, The Grace of Silence: A Memoir, Norris focuses on how America talks about race in the wake of the Obama presidential election, and explores her own family's racial legacy. Tom Brokaw says the memoir makes her personal story a universal one: "Michele Norris takes us on a riveting personal journey from north to south and back again through the tangled landscape of race in America -- and teaches anew about the pain and possibilities of our past and future." It was named one of the year's best books by The Christian Science Monitor.

Eric C. Peterson, MSOD is a Senior Consultant with Cook Ross Inc. He is a recognized facilitator and educator in the Diversity & Inclusion space with over 15 years of experience in Unconscious Bias, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Learning Strategies, and Organization Development. Eric is certified in the use of both the Predictive Index and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and is a graduate of the Facilitation Learning Partners Program of Healing the Heart of Diversity. He has been published in Profiles in Diversity Journal and Echelon Magazine, and has been sourced as a D&I expert by CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today, The Bloomberg Group, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times.