Jonah Berger is the James G. Campbell associate professor of marketing at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He studies social influence and social epidemics, or how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular. Berger explains the key emotional and societal factors that push people to share a link or mail a video – the basic human drivers that power sharing and word of mouth, one of the most credible and influential forms of advertising. He believes we are too focused on the medium – Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter only serve as tools that amplify this very human process. The author of New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Berger examines how decision making and social dynamics generate collective outcomes such as social contagion and trends. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, he is an exciting and fresh voice on viral marketing.

Dr. Jody Janati teaches in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. She has an Ed.D. degree in Organizational Leadership and her primary interest area pertains to interpersonal conflict resolution strategies. As an author and independent consultant, she offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective interpersonal communication skills. Follow Jodi on Twitter @jjanati.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

Brad is the Founder and CEO of JB Training Solutions. An accomplished public speaker and executive coach, Brad has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and Dr. Phil, and has been quoted in: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and USA Today. Brad is also the author of three business books including the critically acclaimed Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management, which you can read in Mandarin (assuming you can read Mandarin).

Prior to creating JB, Brad spent 15 years at advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. Today, Brad presents for major organizations including Eli Lilly, Securitas, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Saint Laurent. When he’s not enjoying a robust buffet, you can find Brad playing racquetball or drafting the perfect fantasy football roster. Brad is left-handed.

Pamela Meyer, Ph.D. works with organizations internationally that want to be more agile and innovative. Meyer is author of four books on innovation, learning and change, including The Agility Shift: Creating Agile and Effective Leaders, Teams and Organizations. Specializing in leadership and team development, Meyer develops award-winning strategies and programs that get results. In addition to her speaking and consulting practice, Pamela teaches courses in innovation, organizational change, and adult learning at DePaul University.

Kathleen is currently the President of The HeaRt Group, a human resource consulting firm, with expertise in organizational development, talent acquisition and management, employee engagement, performance leadership, compensation and benefits. She is the former Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prior to that, she was Corporate Vice President of Human Resources at Edgewater Technology in Fayetteville, AR for five years, helping with the acquisition of 44 companies to form Staffmark Inc., later becoming Edgewater. Prior to this position she held various executive human resources positions at Acxiom Corporation, Express Human Resources and M.M. Cohn. In her last position, she was responsible for the human resource function in the UAMS Medical Center, which has over 6500 employees, as well as campus responsibility for the operation functions that includes compensation, HR analytics, recruitment, organizational development, employee relations, affirmative action, immigration, compliance, benefits, employee services, and performance management for 11,000 employees. The HeaRt Group’s focus is to work with small to mid-sized business owners and executives to develop Human Resource practices best aligned with their business objectives and strategic plans. The HeaRt Group provides common sense human resource advice by solving Human Resource challenges, handling Human Resource issues and partnering with clients to enhance their organization. Ms. McComber has over 40 years’ experience in the human resource profession and has done extensive work in the areas of compensation, benefits, employee relations, performance leadership, diversity and organizational development 30 of those at the senior level. She is a member of the Central Arkansas Human Resource Association (CAHRA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for many years. She has served on the CAHRA board of directors twice serving as Chair. She has also served on the SHRM Board of Directors for seven years and held the top volunteer position as Chair in 1998. She served four years on the Human Resource Certification Board and six years on the SHRM Foundation Board serving as chair in 2006. She holds a B.S. in Education from the University of Arkansas and a M.A. in Management from Webster University. She is on the faculty of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the College of Public Health and Webster University teaching leadership and human resource classes at the graduate level.

Brian is an experienced Human Resources Executive with a proven track record in managing and developing a wide variety of human resource functions for both public and private organizations. Brian is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Human Resources Department including recruitment and retention of top internal talent, ensuring compliance with all state and federal regulations, developing competitive compensation and benefits plans, and ensuring improved process efficiencies through the implementation and utilization of the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Lastly, and most importantly, Brian’s team works to develop and foster a workplace culture that allows our employees to achieve their professional goals in an environment where our staff understands that “delivering the Plus” is what makes us a success. 

Prior to joining Staffing Plus, Brian served as Vice President of Human Resources at PointRoll, a Gannett Company, Director of Human Resources for Alliance Consulting and as a Sr. Human Resources Associate at Right Management Consultants.

Keri Gasiorowski is Senior Director of Talent Management for Digital Risk, the largest global independent provider of risk, compliance, and transaction management solutions. She has over 10 years of experience in Talent Management, including having worked for Robert Half International and United Stationers Supply Company. In her role at Digital Risk, she leads the Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and Internal Communications functions. Keri has her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Behavior and her Masters in Human Resource Management, both from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. Aside from working at Digital Risk, Keri is lead faculty member for Human Resource courses at Rollins College and has been published in many industry periodicals including the Encyclopedia for Human Resource Management.

Follow Keri on Twitter @KeriGasiorowski.