2011 turned out to be a banner year for Jose Rene “J.R.” Martinez. Not only did he and his dance partner Karina Smirnoff take ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” season 13 coveted mirror ball trophy, he was also named the 2012 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal. He is an actor, spokesman and retired soldier. Martinez played “Brot Monroe” on the Emmy Award-winning daytime drama “All My Children.”
After high school he joined the army. Martinez was proud to serve, as a way to give something back to a country that had already given so much to him and his family. In March 2003, Martinez was deployed to Iraq, and on April 5, less than a month into his deployment, he was serving as a driver of a Humvee in Karbala when his left front tire hit a landmine. Three other soldiers with Martinez were ejected from the burning vehicle, but he was trapped inside and suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. Martinez travels the country to spread his message of resilience and optimism. He devotes himself to showing others the true value in making the most of every situation.
Dr. John J. Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, has a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organizes information. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School—a provocative book that takes on the way our schools and work environments are designed. Medina is an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate. She is Founder and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, head of the Liberia Reconciliation Initiative and Co-Founder and Executive Director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-A). She is also a founding member and former Liberia Coordinator of Women in Peacebuilding Network/West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WIPNET/WANEP). Gbowee’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace – which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war in 2003 – is chronicled in her memoir, "Mighty Be Our Powers," and in the documentary, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." In addition, Gbowee is the Newsweek/Daily Beast's Africa columnist. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Gbowee Peace Foundation USA, Nobel Women’s Initiative and the PeaceJam Foundation, and she is a member of the African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health and Family Planning. She holds a M.A. in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, VA). She is based in Monrovia, Liberia and is the mother of six.
Submitted by lswanson on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 2:49pm
This year’s conference covers a wide array of topics including how to:
- make the business case for diversity and inclusion
- develop a robust D&I strategy that’s aligned with your organization’s business objectives
- create a globally inclusive and culturally competent workplace
- build measurement and accountability mechanisms … and much more.
View daily session schedules for this year's Diversity & Inclusion Conference & Exposition by clicking on the days at the top, or by conducting a search on the left.
As Managing Partner of Competitive Solutions, Inc., Seth runs the day to day operations of the Atlanta office. He joined CSI in 1997 as Director of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining CSI, he worked in the printing and publishing industry serving as Southeast Regional Director for Enterprise Communications. Seth is a popular speaker at Human Resource, Operational Excellence and Quality Conferences. He believes organizations today must create and sustain a culture with three non-negotiable attributes. Those attributes include: a sense of urgency, a clear and concise business focus and leadership driven, shared accountability. He has assisted a wide variety of organizations in the development of their key business metrics, documented communication strategy and established a collective accountability across the company. Organizations Seth has worked with include Pfizer, Genentech, Genzyme, Goodwill Industries, Revlon, Michelin Tire, Gerber Legendary Blades, National Institute Severely Handicapped (NISH), and several Army Depots. He is a graduate of Presbyterian College.
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