As the Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Jen improves the work experience for all employees through inclusive programs, policies, and behaviors. During her 9+ years at Lenovo, Jen has held several roles within HR. With over 20 years of experience in leadership and development, she has a deep understanding of how to create and deliver effective training programs that promote a more inclusive culture. Working women and mothers are especially important to Jen. She founded and co-chaired Lenovo’s new mother’s group for 3.5 years and is an active board member of Women in Lenovo Leadership (WILL). Jen has a MBA from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Outside of work Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters. She loves yoga and hiking.

Chris Mikulski is Head of Human Resources for H&M, Region Americas, and an accomplished Retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the industry. He began his career with famed American retailer, Toys ”R” Us, where he spent his several years working in stores, learning about the foundational principles of the retail business and management. During his time in stores, he found his passion for connecting people with business success and made a bold decision to pursue a career path in Human Resources. Chris quickly discovered there was no pre-identified path to achieve this ambition, so he set off on a discovery journey to learn as much as he could about the profession from his network of mentors, leaders and advisors. His journey led him to grow through roles in Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partnering, Employee Relations, Total Rewards and Executive Leadership Chris ended his tenure with Toys “R” Us in 2018 and was then recruited to the iconic global fashion brand H&M, serving as the Head of Human Resources for the Americas Region since 2020. In his current responsibility, Chris leads a team of over 100 diverse HR professionals across Canada, USA, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador who are responsible for supporting 24,000 colleagues across the region. His accomplishments in his current role include leading multiple end-to-end business transformations, architecting a modern colleague experience strategy, increasing colleague retention and engagement, and embarking on the largest HR transformation in the company’s history. Chris also serves as an Executive Sponsor for H&M’s Voices of Internal Black Excellence (VIBE) employee resource group and is a published contributing author in the book “Staying in the Game: Leading and Learning with Agility for a Dynamic Future” by Pamela Meyer. In his personal life, Chris was born and raised in the Hudson Valley area of New York State and currently resides in New York City. He is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and uses his platform to advocate for the equality of all people.

Dr. Whitehead, a certified SHRM and diversity practitioner is a versatile and award-winning senior leader, speaker, strategist, mediator, mentor and coach with over 25 years’ experience in building high performing, inclusive teams. Dr. Whitehead has excelled at "people" work across industries, leading strategic organizational change as well as providing consulting expertise to corporate, non-profit and higher education sectors. Dr. Whitehead has been called a “inclusionist” due to her unique approach to systemic humanity throughout the employee life cycle. Honing her lens of systemic humanity as the “willful interrogation of every element of our “system” of being, acting, communicating and providing access to resources that reflect the foundational belief that all people hold value that is solely connected to their humanity” has helped her “meet employees at all levels, where they are”. A John Maxwell certified coach and leader; Nicole holds several degrees and certifications, however her passion for utilizing her experiences to evolve culture and climate through transformative leadership.

George Rivera III serves as the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at the Society for Human Resource Management.  He is responsible for broadening the awareness of SHRM's mission to enhance workforce development by building and strengthening partnerships with some of the largest enterprise organizations across the globe.  In addition to helping bring to market the top ideas and innovations through outreach, representing all things workplace, workers, and work.     

George is a proven business development thought leader who places a deep emphasis on people, with more than 15 years of experience building and scaling highly productive, results-driven sales organizations.  Prior to joining SHRM George spent over a decade honing his expertise in HCM cloud technology, retirement, insurance, and other employee benefits, as well as HR services and PEO offerings as he led sales efforts of Paychex Inc., a top HR consulting organization.  In addition to business-growth responsibilities, George also led critical cross-functional company initiatives throughout much of the organization including Learning and Development, Marketing and Lead Generation, Finance, and Talent Acquisition, but the most rewarding experience, by far, was his service on the board for the annual United Way Campaign.  

George Rivera III recognizes that strong leaders build strong businesses and strong businesses build strong communities. George is firm believer in focusing on strategic growth for all partners.

When not at work, Rivera serves as Vice President for SHARE International a Non-Profit that aims to support the indigenous peoples of the Amazon in Peru. 

Shannon Bayer, JD, is a Principal Consultant with over a decade of consulting and facilitation experience. Shannon brings in-depth expertise and a passion for designing and implementing programs focused on advancing women in leadership—and empowering each leader with the knowledge they need to transform how they show up in their role and drive change in their organization. Shannon has led strategic engagements across a variety of industries, ranging from government to financial services, healthcare, insurance, and consumer products and goods. 

As a keynote speaker, Shannon brings stories from her personal leadership journey to the forefront, connecting her real-life experiences and work with leaders globally to key leadership concepts designed to help participants reflect on their own journey and take control of their path forward. 

Shannon holds a BS in animal science from the University of Vermont and a JD in international law from Suffolk University. 

Shannon was a rower in college and still loves to get on the water when she can. She enjoys spending time outdoors and will travel for a good hike or beach day with her dog and son, Max. Currently, Shannon resides in the greater Indianapolis, IN, area of the US after living in New England for over 25 years.