Early Career

Kate Southall is the co-founder of Maxi Club DC, a dynamic fitness collective bringing high-energy, dance-inspired group workouts to the DMV.

A lifelong dancer and two-time marathon finisher, Kate blends endurance, rhythm, and community into every class. She previously served as the head coach of the George Washington University Dance Team and has choreographed and consulted for the dance teams of the University of Virginia, American University, and George Mason University.

Kate Southall is the co-founder of Maxi Club DC, a dynamic fitness collective bringing high-energy, dance-inspired group workouts to the DMV.

A lifelong dancer and two-time marathon finisher, Kate blends endurance, rhythm, and community into every class. She previously served as the head coach of the George Washington University Dance Team and has choreographed and consulted for the dance teams of the University of Virginia, American University, and George Mason University.

Jeremy York, SHRM-SCP, SPHR is the Lead Consultant and President of InvigorateHR and coauthor of the “JoyPowered Organization.” He has over 20 years' experience in human resource strategy and business operations where he has worked with and advised all levels of management on critical business and people-related issues. Jeremy's expertise in defining and understanding the "big picture" enables him to translate business needs into tangible solutions. With his guidance, organizations have improved employee relations, increased performance, and developed cultures based on mutual trust and respect. Jeremy holds a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Purdue University. He has served as an adjunct faculty member for Purdue University Indianapolis for over 15 years teaching various leadership and human resources curriculums. Jeremy is a national speaker and currently serves as an advisor on the Society for Human Resource Management’s Diversity Taskforce.

Azizi Marshall, a leading mental health and workplace wellness expert, guides global businesses in cultivating their healthiest, most successful selves. As the Founder & CEO of the Center for Creative Arts Therapy in Chicago, she's a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Board Certified Trainer in Creative Arts Therapy, international speaker, and published author. Featured in Oprah Magazine, CNN, NBC News, Thrive Global, Bustle, Reader’s Digest, and The Huffington Post, Azizi's expertise extends to podcasts and international news articles, focusing on workplace wellness and creativity. Through interactive wellness trainings and programs, she actively engages corporations worldwide, shaping healthier work environments for all.

Terri L. Dougherty, SHRM-CP, is an editor on the human resources content team at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. It’s rare to find someone who specializes in labor law posting compliance, but that’s Terri’s world. She has worked with posting compliance for more than 10 years and answers hundreds of questions on the topic annually. Always happy to talk about posters, she also delivers posting webcasts and has spoken at national SHRM conferences. Her other areas of specialization include marijuana regulations and drug testing laws.

Kevin England, Ph.D. is a consultant, coach, facilitator, and educator in Human Resource Management (HRM), with focus areas in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), talent development, employee engagement, people analytics, and organizational culture. His career has included internal HRM roles, individual coaching, organizational consulting, teaching at the university level, and higher education administration.

Today Kevin helps individuals, teams, and organizations leverage their strengths in the workplace to realize their infinite human potential.

Dr. England holds the SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) credential, along with SHRM Specialty credentials in Inclusive Workplace Culture, People Analytics, Talent Acquisition, Workplace Investigations, and Total Rewards.

Katrina “KT” Thornton is Taco Bell’s Sr. Executive - HR and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Since joining Taco Bell in October 2021, KT has been energetically leading Taco Bell’s efforts in advancing Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (EI&B). She leads with the belief that EI&B needs to be woven into the business strategy and rooted in action. She is leading Taco Bell’s equity evolution with over 15 years of experience. Before her time at Taco Bell, KT spent her career with Kellogg’s, Sears Holdings Corporation, and Target Corporation in multiple HR leadership assignments.

Tracy Layney is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Tracy is responsible for LS&Co.’s people strategy on a global scale, including diversity, equity & inclusion, recruiting, employee engagement, talent management, compensation, and benefits, HR technology and HR communications.

Tracy brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and organization strategy to her role. Prior to joining LS&Co., she served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Shutterfly, Inc., the leading retailer of personalized photo-based products. Before Shutterfly, Tracy spent 10 years at Gap Inc., where she held numerous senior leadership roles in HR, most recently serving as the senior vice president of Global Human Resources and Communications for Old Navy. Prior to Gap Inc., Tracy held positions at LS&Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers/IBM Business Consulting Services where she worked with Fortune 500 clients in the high tech, financial services, retail, and healthcare industries on projects ranging from organization design and development to strategic change management.

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude. She is active in the HR thought leader community and serves on the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Foundation. In her free time, Tracy loves to cook and share great food and wine with family and friends. She has a life-long love of dance, theater, and art, and is passionate about travel, visiting destinations near and far with her husband and son.

Steve Browne, SHRM-SCP is the Chief People Officer for LaRosa's, Inc., a regional Pizzeria chain. He has 35+ years working as an HR professional in a variety of industries. He has a globally recognized HR blog and author of three books, HR on Purpose !!, HR Rising !! and HR Unleashed !! He is a past member of the SHRM Board of Directors. Steve also runs a global HR network called the HR Net which reaches 15,000+ HR and business professionals weekly.

For over 20 years, Ian has been an investor, entrepreneur, and advisor to education and technology companies. He has a deep global network in the education sector and brings a wealth of investing and board experience to the Owl Ventures team. Ian serves on the boards of Degreed, BenchPrep, LeLe Ketang, Sanjieke, and Abl and works closely with MasterClass. Prior to joining Owl Ventures, Ian led the education sector at Warburg Pincus and was a technology investor at Silver Lake Partners. Earlier in his career, Ian was a consultant at Bain & Company and also helped launch BigMachines, a SaaS company that was acquired by Oracle.

Ian serves on the Advisory Board for SEO, a non-profit that provides educational, career, and mentoring programs for young people from underrepresented communities. He is a member of the Advisory Council for Gladeo, a digital social enterprise dedicated to providing career guidance to underserved youth of diverse backgrounds. Ian was also the lead author of Caution: Watch for Scholarships Ahead, a practical guide for students to navigate the complex scholarship application process, which was endorsed by Stanford University’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid.

Ian is a graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, with Distinction, and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering, with a concentration in technology management and entrepreneurship. He also received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and Arbuckle Leadership Fellow.

Deborah Hanus is the CEO and co-founder of Sparrow, the first high-tech, high-touch leave management solution to help employers care for their people. By managing federal, state, and local leave compliance, Sparrow ensures employee leave is stress-free for human resources, payroll, compliance, managers, and employees. Before founding Sparrow, Deborah earned multiple engineering degrees from MIT, worked in Cambodia as a Fulbright Scholar, and started a Ph.D. in AI at Harvard. Under her leadership, Sparrow has quickly grown to impact hundreds of thousands of lives.  

Kaitlin brings over 10 years of inclusive leadership experience and business innovation to her diversity, equity, inclusion, and access work. With a strong corporate background in crisis and change management, her superpower is building empowered teams and organizational cultures that interrupt systems of oppression and marginalization. As a queer woman and fat liberation activist, Kaitlin is passionate about creating safer spaces where all bodies are celebrated and have agency.

Kaitlin lives on the Little Feminist Farm just outside of Atlanta, where she and her partner enjoy sustainable homesteading and host social justice workshops and sanctuary retreats.

Janice Litvin is an award-winning workplace wellness speaker and author of Banish Burnout Toolkit. She is on a mission to help leaders and teams banish burnout in their organizations so they can retain top talent. She does this through keynotes, workshops and coaching groups.

What makes Janice unique is her 10 years in corporate IT, 20 years in tech recruiting, and a lifetime of working on her own work-life balance.

Janice is past president of National Speakers Association of Northern California, and is a member of SHRM, for whom she is a Recertification Provider.

For fun she leads Zumba Fitness classes.