Early Career

An accomplished HR practitioner, Laurie has industry experience in non-profit, health care, consumer packaged goods, and banking. As a senior leader of SHRM’s HR team, she focuses on strategic initiatives to drive innovation to positively impact the employee experience and allow staff to maximize their potential through a culture of learning. She received her Masters’ degree in HRM from Capella University, is a Certified Strengths Coach and holds both SHRM-SCP and CAE designations.

An accomplished HR practitioner, Laurie has industry experience in non-profit, health care, consumer packaged goods, and banking. As a senior leader of SHRM’s HR team, she focuses on strategic initiatives to drive innovation to positively impact the employee experience and allow staff to maximize their potential through a culture of learning. She received her Masters’ degree in HRM from Capella University, is a Certified Strengths Coach and holds both SHRM-SCP and CAE designations.

Diane is PwC’s US HR Transformation Leader, helping organizations modernize their HR function to support changing business and workforce needs and expectations. With tenacious curiosity, Diane welcomes the opportunity to explore the art of the possible with organizations to shape HR’s contributions to culture, careers, collaboration, and community. Working across multiple industry segments, she is passionate about helping organizations rethink and reimage HR’s role through new services and modern technologies, inspiring new ways to engage and deliver services to leaders, managers, and employees.      

With over 30 years of consulting, Diane has been a speaker at numerous conferences and internal corporate leadership events. Prior to her role as PwC’s US HR Transformation Leader, Diane was the PwC Global Workday Leader, growing the business organically from inception and driving PwC’s Global professional services business in delivering Workday services. She was also the Diversity & Inclusion Leader for our Industrial Products and Services market segment.      

A math and computer sciences graduate of the University of Texas - Arlington, Diane is a past board member of the YWCA, Dallas helping low-income women achieve stability and higher levels of self-sufficiency. She is also a volleyball and tennis mother, supporting her family’s multiple interests. Diane married a Texas native and now lives in Dallas with her husband, Robert, and son.

Darren is an accomplished leader and seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience focused on driving healthcare innovation and transforming organizations. He has a background in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare, having held senior roles at companies specializing in developing disruptive and innovative genomic technologies for personalizing cancer treatments. Darren’s impressive track record of leadership roles includes the former Managing Director of Champions Oncology, founder and CEO of Reframe Health, and Chief Product Officer and Head of Programs and Market Intelligence at Genomic Life. Originally from the UK, he was a regular healthcare commentator for BBC before relocating to the U.S. to continue to make a significant impact on the healthcare industry.

Lori Tauber Marcus is a corporate board director, executive coach and founding member of “The Band of Sisters.” Lori spent 24 years at PepsiCo in multiple roles, including Senior Vice President, Marketing Activation. After PepsiCo, she served as SVP, CMO of The Children’s Place Retail Stores; EVP, Chief Global Brand & Product Officer at Keurig Green Mountain; and Interim Global CMO, Peloton Interactive. She also served for several years as the leader of the direct-to-patient workstream at Harvard Business School’s Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator. Lori has significant Board experience and presently sits on the boards of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Primo Water, and 24-Hour Fitness. She earned her BS from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Lori lives in CT and is a health and fitness nut. You can find her most mornings riding her Peloton bike at the crack of dawn

Cie Nicholson is an investor, speaker, and advisor to a number of start-up companies, and a founding member of “The Band of Sisters.”. Cie spent 11 years at PepsiCo in marketing positions, including Chief Marketing Officer, Pepsi-Cola N.A. After PepsiCo, she served as EVP and CMO of Equinox, SVP and CMO of Softcard (fintech start-up acquired by Google). Cie presently serves as public board director for Selective Insurance and also served as a private board member for Heartland Food Group and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). Cie earned her BS at the University of Illinois and her MBA at Indiana University. Cie lives in NYC and is on a 20 year quest (2015-2035) to do handstands all over the world.

Angelique Bellmer Krembs is a Chief Marketing Officer, Advisor and Board Director, and a founding member of “The Band of Sisters.” She is currently CMO-in-Residence at A.Team working with a portfolio of VC and PE-backed brands, and an independent Board Director at NextFoods, Inc. Angelique spent 23 years at PepsiCo, leading turnaround and growth for many beloved brands, including VP of Pepsi in the US and VP/Regional CMO for Brand Activation. After PepsiCo, she was EVP, CMO at News America Marketing, leading digital transformation for this a division of News Corp, and then Global Head of Brand at BlackRock, creating the corporate brand strategy and activation around BlackRock’s brand purpose and Corporate Sustainability. Angelique earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. Angelique passionately believes in “performance with purpose,” and that great business results and high functioning teams always "start with why.” She claims a quirky obsession with how board games can teach leadership lessons.

Christie Engler has been a Human Resources practitioner for 20 years with a focus on small businesses. 

Christie is dedicated to advancing the HR profession.  She has spoken at various HR conferences, and she writes a blog entitled ‘Living in the Gray’ designed to inspire HR professionals.  Christie contributed to the book, ‘People Fusion’, which was published in January 2023. 

Christie is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the Keller Graduate School of Management.  She holds the SPHR and SHRM-CP certifications. 

Christie lives in the Columbus, Ohio area with her husband and two daughters.  She is a fanatic of Ohio State football and Orangetheory Fitness.

Claire Stroh, MBA, SHRM-CP is currently the Manager, of Managed Talent Services at Lighthouse Technology Services and CEO of Claire is Coaching. She has used LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and networking to build her personal brand and uncover new opportunities for herself and the companies she’s worked for. She’s passionate about helping others do the same! Claire has more than 10 years of successively diverse human resources management experience with privately-owned and publicly-traded global leaders. She is an active member and blogger for SHRM and served on SHRM’s Emerging Professional Advisory Council (EPAC) for four years. Claire was named a 2022 HR Impact Award Winner by Buffalo Business First and 2022 Community Catalyst Award Winner by HRUnite!.

Claire Stroh, MBA, SHRM-CP is currently the Manager, of Managed Talent Services at Lighthouse Technology Services and CEO of Claire is Coaching. She has used LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and networking to build her personal brand and uncover new opportunities for herself and the companies she’s worked for. She’s passionate about helping others do the same! Claire has more than 10 years of successively diverse human resources management experience with privately-owned and publicly-traded global leaders. She is an active member and blogger for SHRM and served on SHRM’s Emerging Professional Advisory Council (EPAC) for four years. Claire was named a 2022 HR Impact Award Winner by Buffalo Business First and 2022 Community Catalyst Award Winner by HRUnite!.

During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction. In 2015, Kennedy co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which details a bold plan for the future of mental health care in America. In 2023, The Kennedy Forum launched the Alignment for Progress, a movement to align leaders from across industry and across the aisle to achieve 90/90/90 by 2033: 90% of all individuals will be screened for mental health and substance use disorders; 90% of those screened will be able to receive evidence-based treatment; 90% of those receiving treatment will be able to manage their symptoms in recovery. Kennedy’s second co-authored book “Profiles in Mental Health Courage” available April 2024 will delve into the compelling stories of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with their mental health – many of whom are sharing their stories for the first time.

Kennedy is also the founder of DontDenyMe.org, an educational campaign that empowers consumers and providers to understand parity rights and connects them to essential appeals guidance and resources; co-founder of One Mind, an organization that pushes for greater global investment in brain research; co-chair of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19 (National Response); and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force.