Senior-Level

Nicole Butts is an accomplished Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion executive, strategist, and coach who specializes in transforming executives into inclusive and equitable organizational leaders.

During her 20-year career, she has built multiple inaugural DEI offices; served as a chief diversity officer; a director of employee diversity, inclusion, and climate; and a director of equal employment.

Nicole is the founder of NLYB Solutions, a DEI consulting firm helping executives, executive teams, and organizations courageously and effectively navigate personal, professional, and organizational DEI journeys. She is the creator of SHIFT, a transformational five-step framework for creating systemic, effective, measurable, and sustainable DEI cultures.

Angela Rogers is a Specialist with the HR Registered Apprenticeship Program (HR RAP) at the SHRM Foundation.  Angela conducts outreach, partner engagement, and project management to build the SHRM apprenticeship brand.  She brings diverse experiences from her well-established career in the public and private sectors.

Previously, Angela was a USDOL, Office of Apprenticeship, recognized Apprenticeship Training Representative (ATR), and State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA), Registered Apprenticeship Program Coordinator with the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Angela managed and oversaw Statewide Registered Apprenticeship Programs in multiple industries.  Her oversight significantly led to the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs within the state.

Angela received her Master's degree in Public Administration from Kentucky State University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky.  In addition, Angela is certified in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Angela is a two-time commissioned Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the sitting Governor of Kentucky in recognition of outstanding service to the community, state, and nation.

Clayton Lord (Clay, he/him) oversees strategy, planning, program delivery, and program evaluation for the SHRM Foundation, the 501(c)3 nonprofit arm of SHRM, which focuses on widening pathways to work and helping every worker and workplace thrive by empowering HR leaders to be forces for social good. He is a social impact executive who has spent his career driving systemic change in the world of work. Clay is also a writer, painter, and quilter, as well as a travel fanatic, and holds a B.A. in English and Psychology from Georgetown University. He lives with his husband and daughter in Maryland.

David Jones is the managing partner of the firm's Memphis office. He practices exclusively in the area of immigration and related employment and compliance matters.

David has extensive experience assisting companies with hires or transfers from outside of the U.S.   He represents clients in complex matters relating to both immigration benefits and enforcement and in proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice and the Department of State, as well as in citizenship status discrimination matters and export control compliance under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR). 

William D. Wight is a partner in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices and is the chair of the firm's International Employment Practice Group.  He counsels employers on various global employment, compensation and benefit issues related to employees abroad, as well as foreign nationals working in the U.S. and the employment of the U.S. permanent residents and citizens abroad.  Bill has worked with compliance issues related to hiring, retention and separation of employees in a multitude of jurisdictions.  His experience with global employment issues has helped him assist our clients with international operations on all sevel continents including Antarctica.  Bill has assisted clients with the implementation of strategic planning and policy development with respect to global HR practices and policies.  He has also assisted clients with the management of litigation and employment controversy matters in numerous international jurisdictions.  Bill has also counseled clients based outside the United States with the special considerations that are required when complying with U.S. employment and employee benefit rules and regulations. Bill is regularly involved with resolving questions related to privacy and data protection issues.  

William D. Wight is a partner in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices and is the chair of the firm's International Employment Practice Group.  He counsels employers on various global employment, compensation and benefit issues related to employees abroad, as well as foreign nationals working in the U.S. and the employment of the U.S. permanent residents and citizens abroad.  Bill has worked with compliance issues related to hiring, retention and separation of employees in a multitude of jurisdictions.  His experience with global employment issues has helped him assist our clients with international operations on all sevel continents including Antarctica.  Bill has assisted clients with the implementation of strategic planning and policy development with respect to global HR practices and policies.  He has also assisted clients with the management of litigation and employment controversy matters in numerous international jurisdictions.  Bill has also counseled clients based outside the United States with the special considerations that are required when complying with U.S. employment and employee benefit rules and regulations. Bill is regularly involved with resolving questions related to privacy and data protection issues.  

Janice Underwood, Ph.D. joins the Biden-Harris administration having most recently served as the inaugural Virginia Chief Diversity Officer in Governor Ralph Northam’s cabinet, leading the DEI agenda and the COVID-19 equity leadership task force. As a national expert in diversity leadership across multiple sectors, Dr. Underwood has worked for 20+ years to make structural inequity visible in government and education as a state official, teacher educator, a nationally certified special education teacher, academic researcher, higher education administrator, and diversity trainer. Most notably, she has been nationally recognized for her contribution to advancing equity initiatives at the intersection of government and politics, including launching the first statewide DEI strategy across 100+ state agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Dr. Underwood has been appointed to the role of Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at OPM, where her primary responsibility will be to lead the government-wide White House initiative on DEIA. 

Janice is a graduate of Hampton University and Old Dominion University.  

Mona Dexter is the Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast NBCUniversal. In this role, she leads a team that works across Comcast NBCUniversal to provide strategic leadership to aspects of programs and outreach engaging the military and veteran community, including efforts to make the Company one of America's most military-ready employers, advancing digital equity among veterans and military families, and delivering special media and entertainment experiences to military customers.

Prior to this role, she was the Chief of Staff and Vice President of Hiring Our Heroes, a workforce development program and the largest center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Mona oversaw the organization's mission to educate the business community on best practices in diversifying their workforces with military-connected and nontraditional talent and improving workplace equity for underserved populations.

She has extensive community leadership experience with adult learning and career and workforce development in higher education and programs, including Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Army Family Programs, and multiple school districts. Mona also serves as the chair of the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education (VACOE), advising the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on educational issues affecting Veterans and ensuring access to quality programming and services.

Mona holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science in higher education administration from Kansas State University. She was a military spouse for over 25 years and lives in Washington, D.C.

Marcus Ohlenforst – better known as Ohley – currently serves as the Lead Military Workforce Strategist responsible for USAAs enterprise Military Workforce Strategy in addition to managing and championing various strategic military talent programs and initiatives to ensure the company attracts world-class veteran and military spouse talent.  He served 25 years in the Marine Corps both Enlisted and as an Officer and retired in 2016.  His transition led him to some great organizations that connected him with people who invested their time and energy to ensure that he was successful, and he is committed to continuing to pay it forward within the military community. 

Ohley represents USAA as not only a brand ambassador, but also an expert in national level discussions that impact the military community and works closely with internal and external stakeholders to differentiate the company’s goal of being the employer of choice for the military community.  In 2022, Ohley was selected as the GI Jobs Veteran Champion of the Year in Corporate America due to the extraordinary amount of effort that he exerts to inspire, educate, and advocate for the military community.    

Ohley leads numerous strategic workforce programs and initiatives while also being an active participant in numerous Non-profit advisory boards and committees, such as the US Chamber Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Advisory Councils, JP Morgan Veteran Jobs Mission Advisory Board, and the SHRM Foundation Military Community Advisory Committee.  He is sought out as an industry thought leader and influencer who has been featured by nationally recognized magazines and social channels due to his devotion and servant leadership with organizations and respective communities. 

Been there – done that!  With 30 years of HR and business experience – Lori has walked in your shoes.  A recovered HR Generalist, she built a consulting company that she sold to Arthur J Gallagher after 7 years and then reinvented her current business – HR Topics -  training, speaking and developing content for HR professionals.  Lori delivers facts, tips, tricks and best practices in a way that appeals to human resource and business leaders: with a sense of humor, a bias toward actions that improve their operations right away, and practical resources and tools to support their progress.  As an annual speaker at the National SHRM conference, she has leveraged her masters in HR, SPHR and SHRM-SCP background to elevate the position of all HR professionals!