Early Career

Carney uses his over 30 years of experience across business, IT, and HR to be a trusted advisor as the CHRO for Carter Bank.

And Paul isn't just all talk; he’s penned his wisdom into his insightful book, Move Your Æ(ash): Know, Grow, and Show Your Career Value. The book launched in 2018 and quickly found its place on the desks of many ambitious professionals. Paul's expertise is not limited to HR alone; he
earned respected accreditation from the Blockchain Council as a Certified Prompt Engineer™ and earned the prestigious Level 2 Award in Wine from WSET.

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.

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. 

Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, President of SDS Global Enterprises, a global workforce solutions firm, is an award-winning Human Resources expert, with over 30 years of business experience in a variety of senior executive roles for several Fortune 100 companies, as well as her last role of Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion for the Society for Human Resource Management. She’s also a best-selling author of 5 books, serves on the National Speakers Association and the NSA Foundation Boards, and the Make A Wish Foundation Board. She is a popular facilitator for eight LinkedIn Learning leadership courses.

STEDMAN GRAHAM is a business advisor, chairman and CEO of S. Graham and Associates, a management and marketing consulting firm. He is the author of 12 books, including two New York Times best sellers and one Wall Street Journal bestseller. As a businessman, educator and speaker, Graham lectures and conducts training programs for corporations and educational organizations worldwide on the topic of Identity Leadership, based on the philosophy that one cannot lead anyone else until you first lead yourself. He has delivered Identity Leadership programs in The Netherlands, Germany, China, Canada, the UK, Bermuda and South Africa.

His proven Nine Step Success Process® drives his powerful message. This success process is based on the principle that it doesn’t matter how the world defines you, it only matters how you define yourself. Graham is honored as a distinguished visiting professor at colleges and universities throughout the country. He is a former adjunct professor at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Business where he taught the course, “The Dynamics of Leadership.” Graham’s clients include Gulfstream, Aerospace, Microsoft, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Lenovo, General Dynamics and the US Department of Labor and Education.

As a proud native of Whitesboro, New Jersey, Graham has demonstrated an enduring dedication to youth and community. His New York Times best seller, Teens Can Make it Happen has become a program utilized in numerous middle and high schools in the US and abroad. With dedication to community development, Graham is the founder of the Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro and the Concerned Citizens of Lake Wacamaw, North Carolina. He is also the Co-founder of the Community Alliance for Youth Success (CAYS) and a member of Horatio Alger.

Stedman Graham has served in the United States Army and played professional basketball in the European League. Graham holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Work from Hardin-Simmons University and a Masters Degree in Education from Ball State University and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates. Graham serves on several boards and has received numerous awards.

Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

Terri Bogue has a passion for helping people be healthy and happy, both physically and emotionally. As a clinical nurse specialist with over 30 years of experience in nursing, she understands how difficult healthcare and life is for patients and providers. Through this experience, she has developed tools that support healthcare providers in delivering effective and compassionate care to their patients and themselves and reducing healthcare-associated infections. She inspires people to learn what boundaries are and how to maintain them, both professionally and personally, cool down a conflict during heated situations, and prevent and recover from burnout. 

Mr. Bedi joined Visa in 2014 in Asia Pacific leading its regional client engagement strategy. Recently, he led all sales learning and leadership development for Visa in North America. He is currently focused on helping organizations develop a coaching culture. Mr. Bedi has shared his thought leadership and expertise in this area at leading HR conferences, including the Conference Board (https://www.conference-board.org/events/engagementsummit)

Prior to Visa, Arun was with PayPal  in Sales Enablement.  Previously, he was with  Dell Computers where he helped to develop an integrated go-to-market strategy for emerging markets.   Before Dell, he was with Cisco Systems,  in the client-facing strategic consulting practice.

In his early career, Mr. Bedi ran a successful US fintech startup to provide credit scoring for under-represented minorities.    Mr. Bedi has also held assignments globally with Chase Manhattan Bank and Citibank.  He started his career as a management consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton, in the Financial Services practice.  Mr. Bedi graduated from Cornell University with a BA, BSc, and an MBA. While at Visa, he pursued his Masters in HR at Cornell (awarded July 2023) with an emphasis on coaching and internal talent marketplaces.

Anthony an attorney that helps employers with legal issues affecting the workplace, including matters concerning the rapidly evolving subject of employee privacy. In particular, he assists employers with compliance with a variety of privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act. When providing guidance to clients related to legal issues concerning electronic employment data, Anthony draws on his prior professional experience as a software engineer. Anthony is a member of Fisher Phillips’ Privacy and Cyber Practice Group. He also frequently presents and authors articles on topics related to employment and privacy laws.

Mike Letizia is an accomplished, certified, senior human resource executive with over 35 years’ experience in the full scope of all HR functional areas. His last 23 years holding Director, Vice President, and President roles in HR. Mike is a subject matter expert in California employment law and is the author and developer of, “California Employment Law Essentials for Business” and has collaborated with SHRM in the development of education courses focused on California employment law.

Through his company, Mike provides full scope human resource services to over 30 small to medium sized business in California with a strong focus on training and development. He is a contracted instructor for SHRM delivering both virtual and face-to-face human resource education courses throughout the USA and California. He is also a frequent speaker at business and trade associations delivering presentations, workshops and courses on a variety of human resource topics.

Jennifer Dulski has a wide range of executive experience including leadership roles at Facebook, Google, and Yahoo!, and founder, CEO and president roles at early stage and scaling startups.

She is currently CEO and founder of Rising Team, a team performance platform that helps companies increase engagement, strengthen culture, and scale leadership development by equipping managers to lead science-backed, interactive team sessions without an outside facilitator.

She is also a member of the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and teaches a course called "Managing Growing Enterprises."

She writes about leadership for LinkedIn Influencers, Fortune, and Fast Company, and her first book, Purposeful, was published by Penguin Portfolio in 2018 and is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller.

Jennifer Dulski has a wide range of executive experience including leadership roles at Facebook, Google, and Yahoo!, and founder, CEO and president roles at early stage and scaling startups.

She is currently CEO and founder of Rising Team, a team performance platform that helps companies increase engagement, strengthen culture, and scale leadership development by equipping managers to lead science-backed, interactive team sessions without an outside facilitator.

She is also a member of the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and teaches a course called "Managing Growing Enterprises."

She writes about leadership for LinkedIn Influencers, Fortune, and Fast Company, and her first book, Purposeful, was published by Penguin Portfolio in 2018 and is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller.