Senior-Level

Wayne Connell is vice president of Human Resources for The Washington Post, where he leads the HR function in workforce planning, talent acquisition, total rewards, organizational development, retention and HR policy. He has more than 20 years of HR experience, spanning the hospitality, aviation and media industries.

Wayne has guided organizations – including The Post since 2005 – in creating long-term HR strategies that enable the most effective use of their talent. His areas of focus include performance management, succession planning, culture change, leadership development, coaching, employer branding, onboarding, recruiting and employee relations.

He earned his Professional in Human Resources certification in 2001. He also holds a BA from the University of South Florida and an MA in human resource development from the George Washington University. He served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s graduate program in HR studies for three years. He is published by the Academy of Human Resource Development on the topics of organizational learning and culture and speaks at leading HR conferences on topics of leadership, action learning, and other innovative HR topics.

Wayne lives in Washington, D.C.

 

Global Speaker Sonia Aranza has presented on the international stage from Spain to Singapore.  She brings 27+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion & Global Leadership. Her clients include Boeing, CIA, McDonald’s and more. The U.S. Department of Labor describes her work as “Outstanding” and was selected to execute programs for landmark cases. SHRM featured her as a Diversity & Inclusion Expert in HR Magazine and she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Leadership. She serves on the Faculty of Howard University’s Executive Diversity Program; named “100 Most Influential Filipina Americans in the United States” and honored “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.”

Melodie Craft is an employment and labor lawyer with a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations and over 17 years of experience strategically counseling and successfully defending employers on all aspects of the employment and labor relationship. Melodie routinely defends employers in complex employment litigation in both state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout the country. Her experience includes litigation in both the nationwide-based class and collective action as well as the individual single plaintiff contexts. She has successfully represented clients on appeal, presenting winning oral and written arguments before the appellate courts.

Melodie has built a reputation for providing employers with timely and pragmatic advice and strategic solutions. Melodie counsels companies regarding employment law issues on high stakes issues as well as daily advice. Her additional master's degree in human resources and industrial relations, her pursuit of a strategic decision and risk management certificate from Stanford University, and her extensive experience in employment and labor law provide her a special perspective on the issues faced by management, boards of directors, in-house attorneys, and human resources representatives, in addition to the ability to provide effective strategic advice and counseling. She frequently provides counsel on issues such as:

• Executive agreements
• Employee compensation
• Unfair competition, restrictive covenants, trade secrets
• Contractual and business practices issues, reductions-in-force
• Compliance, training, employment policy, procedure development, implementation, and audits
• Day-to-day labor and employment matters, such as hiring and firing, employee discipline and termination, worker leaves of absence, and discrimination and harassment allegations

Besides successfully litigating in state and federal courts across the country, Melodie has handled administrative matters before federal agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and state governmental agencies throughout the United States. She has handled administrative matters including but not limited to the following issues:

• Compensation
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Wrongful discharge
• Retaliation
• Employee leave and disability
• Safety
• Sarbanes-Oxley
• Union issues (including representation elections, grievances, collective bargaining and unfair labor practice proceedings)

Melodie is a frequent speaker and trainer and has presented on many employment-related topics including litigation avoidance, class action defense and strategy, discrimination and harassment, wage and hour issues, compliance, trade secrets and restrictive covenants, and conducting lawful investigations to such groups as the Association of Corporate Counsel, Chambers of Commerce, and various Bar Associations and Human Resources groups. She has also contributed to numerous books and publications on employment law topics.

 

Sara Taylor, President and Founder of deepSEE Consulting, has 35 years of extensive experience, nationally recognized as in the practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion serving local, national and global clients. While her areas of specialty are in both Diversity and Leadership Development, Sara has become a thought leader particularly in the field of Cultural Competence. Her bestselling book, Filter Shift: How Effective People SEE the World, is used by numerous individuals and organizations to increase success and create greater effectiveness. Sara holds a Master's degree in Diversity and Organizational Development and, prior to founding deepSEE, held positions such as Chief Diversity Officer and Leadership and Diversity Specialist.

Sara Taylor, President and Founder of deepSEE Consulting, has 35 years of extensive experience, nationally recognized as in the practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion serving local, national and global clients. While her areas of specialty are in both Diversity and Leadership Development, Sara has become a thought leader particularly in the field of Cultural Competence. Her bestselling book, Filter Shift: How Effective People SEE the World, is used by numerous individuals and organizations to increase success and create greater effectiveness. Sara holds a Master's degree in Diversity and Organizational Development and, prior to founding deepSEE, held positions such as Chief Diversity Officer and Leadership and Diversity Specialist.

Steve joined Workhuman in December of 2017 as chief human resources officer (CHRO) and works with HR leaders and senior management executives worldwide to help build workplaces where every employee feels recognized, respected, and appreciated for who they are and what they do. He champions and promotes our Workhuman movement to inspire HR leaders to embrace more humanity and foster a sense of purpose in the workplace. Steve is focused on building upon Workhuman’s award-winning culture, which has set a new industry standard through its own power usage of recognition and positivity. Before joining Workhuman, Steve served in senior HR executive roles for Walgreens Boots Alliance and Monster.com. A frequent presenter on Capitol Hill, in 2015, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Competitive Integrated Employment of People with Disabilities.

As Manager of Talent Engagement Solutions, Dana Meyer leads the recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) team’s recruitment marketing and social recruiting practice. In this role, she creates and delivers solutions to attract and engage candidates. Dana draws on a background in marketing, communications, public relations, and social media to support clients in a wide variety of employment branding and employment value proposition efforts, including digital and social advertising, event coordination/promotion, marketing campaigns and mobile recruiting.

Previously, Dana led a social recruiting team for a global RPO provider. She is a recurring contributor to the SourceCon/ERE blogs, and a featured speaker at industry association events and conferences. Dana has a degree in marketing from University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

Marjorie Derven, Director, Valeocon Management Consulting, delivers Diversity & Inclusion strategies and initiatives to some of the world’s best companies, combining D&I expertise with Organizational Effectiveness, Change Management and Learning, to create integrated approaches that produce sustainable results. Marjorie works with clients to establish strategic alignment, clarify key priorities for resource allocation and create designs that have buy-in at mutiple organizational levels and functions.  With a view of organizations as ecoystems, Marjorie collaborates with clients to design best fit solutions. The author of many blogs and articles, Marjorie is a frequent speaker on D&I best practices.

Steve Garguilo is an instigator with a track record of large-scale, grassroots change inside big companies. As the Founder of Cultivate, he leads a team that empowers changemakers inside many different types of organizations. His team at Cultivate also pioneered an enterprise software platform that supports workplace communities.

He is the author of a #1 bestseller, Surge: Your Guide to Put Any Idea into Action.

Garguilo has also worked on social ventures globally. In 2014, he completed The Mongol Rally, a 10,000-mile adventure from London to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, fundraising for the African Prisons Project. He has visited each of the 48 contiguous United States and is a member of the “century club” having visited over 100 countries.