To use business as a force for good, Derek Lundsten leads LifeGuides, as a transformative platform for conscious leaders and values-driven cultures.  In addition to successfully building companies over the past decade, Derek has been a frequent speaker at key industry events around the globe on innovation. He is an invited contributor for the trades and a sought-after guest for renowned national podcasts, focused on business, technology, entrepreneurship, multi-generational learning, wellbeing, along with innovation and DEI topics. Derek’s path to becoming President and Chief Culture Officer of LifeGuides was guided and inspired by its powerful destiny to help people minimize their struggles and ultimately thrive in their everyday lives.

Donald Knight is Chief People Officer at Greenhouse Software. He leads with a people-first mentality hoping to unlock the potential of Greenhouse talent globally. With a laser focus on the connection between people and the processes that serve them, Donald and his team create proximity by building bridges focusing on enhanced experiences that nurture culture and develop people.

In his role leading the People team, Donald works to help Greenhouse create an environment for people to do the best work of their lives. He is responsible for providing global strategy and leadership in developing, overseeing, and administering people programs. With expansion top of mind, the team delivers a scalable people strategy that enables the organization to expand globally. Before Greenhouse, Donald served as Senior Vice President of Global Talent for Edelman. He helped shape the HR brand as a proactive, insightful, and collaborative solution provider in this role. Donald has held numerous senior leadership roles for Southern Company Gas, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), and the Defense Commissary Agency.

A native of Virginia, Donald holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master’s degree in human resource management from the University of Richmond. Donald is also a graduate of the project leadership program at the engineering school of Cornell University for business executives. He and his family reside in the Greater Atlanta area.

Jim Link is the CHRO for SHRM.  With more than 340,000 members worldwide, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world and the leading voice for matters related to workers and the workplace.

Jim’s career includes roles of increasing responsibility across various industries and companies, including General Electric, the Pillsbury Company, Porsche Cars, and Randstad.  In his most recent role as CHRO for Randstad North America, he led a global team of 150 HR professionals who were instrumental in transforming the company into an award-winning, inclusive, and sustainable global leader.

Jim has served as a volunteer leader in several organizations including the SHRM Foundation Board, the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank Human Capital Advisory Board, and the Human Resources Leadership Forum.

Jim holds undergraduate and master’s degree from Murray State University.  Born and raised on a working family farm in western Kentucky, he currently resides in Atlanta and Alexandria, VA. 

Jim is an adjunct instructor in the Executive MBA program at the University of Poznan (Poland) School of Economics and Business and the University of Liège (Belgium) Asia-Pacific campus in Taipei, Taiwan.

Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Nguyen, M.D. is a healthcare and AI product leader. At Transcarent, Dr. Nguyen founded and currently leads the Transcarent AI team which is tasked with expanding Transcarent’s suite of AI products while maintaining the highest standards for patient safety. Throughout his career, Dr. Nguyen has led multiple teams building AI products ranging from hospital AI deployment platforms, radiology AI safety applications, chatbots for patients, and AI tools for clinicians. Dr. Nguyen is known as an expert on AI in healthcare, and was recently called to testify before Congress on the subject, educating lawmakers and the public about the potential and safety risks of AI. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California, where he teaches about AI fundamentals and safety in healthcare. Dr. Nguyen received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, as well as graduate specialization certificates from the Marshall School of Business and the Viterbi School of Engineering. He is a bay area native and lives in San Francisco, California.

 Lisa Hammond serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Veradigm. Along with her team, she is accountable for setting the vision and strategy for supporting all Allscripts associates. Lisa has more than 25 years’ experience in Human Resources across various industries, including healthcare, hospitality and retail. Prior to joining Allscripts in 2020 to lead the Optimization, Talent Development and Talent Acquisition teams, Lisa worked with companies such as Pizza Hut Corporation, On the Border, ACG Texas LP, and Samsung Electronics America, and has additional experience in operations, marketing, and sales.

A graduate of Indiana University, Lisa earned her Business Coaching certification at NC State University, and holds certifications in DISC, EQ, and Driving Forces.

Janine is Chief Marketing Officer of Transcarent, where she oversees the company’s corporate brand and communications, Member growth and engagement, and commercial marketing. She joined Transcarent from Redesign Health, where she launched more than 30 new digital health startups​. Before moving into healthcare, Janine led global consumer marketing for Instagram, overseeing the company’s brand strategy, user engagement, and teen anti-bullying efforts for the Americas, Europe, and Asia​. In 2015, she joined the United States Digital Service under President Obama, where she developed the new agency’s brand, led strategic communications, and built a lasting culture. Janine started her career in technology at Google in 2005, accelerating the media industry’s shift to digital, and later focused on Alphabet’s innovation bets, including Verily Life Sciences, Google Glass, and the self-driving car project​. Janine lives in San Francisco with her husband and dogs, and sits on the board of Douglass College at Rutgers University.​

Katharine Panessidi is the Director of Enterprise Solutions Products at SHRM. In this role, she leads the product management team, driving the strategic direction, growth, and success of SHRM's Enterprise Solutions HR and leadership product suites.

Previously at Linkage, a SHRM Company as Associate Vice President of Advancing Women Leaders she oversaw the design, development, execution and growth of a global portfolio of signature programs for high-performing women leaders, including the Women in Leadership Institute^TM.

She is passionate about creating experiences that inspire and propel the most powerful partnerships, professionals and ideas. Katharine has spent her career fostering growth and innovation for people and brands through shared experiences. Prior to joining SHRM, Katharine led event strategy, thought leadership, and operations in various categories, including venture (Glasswing Ventures), consumer electronics (Bose), and nonprofit (MITX). As VP of Content and Programming at Comexposium US, one of the world’s leading event organizers, Katharine managed a team of content managers, setting the educational strategy for iMedia Summits, Modern Marketing Summits, ad:tech, and Techno Security Conferences.

She holds a BS from the Honors Program at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and an MPA from Bernard M. Baruch College.

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.