Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

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.

Julie Burch has spoken at 2 SHRM National Conferences, 5 state SHRM conferences, and countless regional and local SHRM events. She was also inducted in to the Speaker Hall of Fame at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Southwest Conference in 2017. She has spoken in all 50 states, 3 countries, and 3 U.S. Territories. Where she has designed programs for industry leaders in a wide range of industries

Julie is the comedienne with content! Julie’s presentations are high energy, highly interactive and packed with real world, tangible techniques the audience can implement immediately. Julie also loves to make them laugh! She has discovered the more her audience laughs the more they learn. “Solid Business Strategies. Brilliant Comedic Humor.” It’s not just her tag line, it is her promise in every presentation!

Steve Mellor is an ICF PCC-certified Executive Coach and has coached high performers for 2 decades such as elite athletes, business owners, executives, and emerging leaders. As the owner of Career Competitor Coaching, Steve oversees coaching and workshop facilitation that ensures clients invest in their optimal selves when pursuing optimal performance. As a speaker, it is Steve’s mission to educate, equip, and empower audiences to make lasting investments into their personal growth, performance mindset, and culture development. An author, a podcast host, a devoted husband, and a committed embarrassing dad to his two children, Steve is the coach who realizes his potential by helping you realize yours

Two themes are woven throughout Lauraine Bifulco's diverse career: a passion for a job well done and a zest for continual learning and improvement.  Lauraine infuses Vantaggio HR with these qualities every day. When she founded the firm in 1994, Lauraine combined her rare talent in understanding what a client needs and her gift of business foresight to create a company that can service the HR and management consulting needs of small and large companies equally well.  Today, Vantaggio serves clients across the country from their offices in California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York. 

Her Career experience helps employers realize their HR goals and adapt to the shifting HR landscape.  Lauraine is a veteran HR executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of international, corporate, and consulting experience. Her bold career has taken her to employment and business opportunities in Europe and multiple U.S. cities. She serves as co-chair of the California Small Business Administration's committee on Labor Issues which reviews and makes recommendations on pending labor/employment laws, keeping her abreast of legal developments.                                                                            

Delivering over 30 presentations and webinars each year, Lauraine is a well-respected, and highly sought after guest lecturer and speaker on a variety of business management and HR-related topics for both state and national organizations including Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA), American Payroll Association (APA), Next Concept HR Association (NCHRA), Paylocity annual Elevate Conference, and HR Star Conference to name a few. She has been invited to review, develop, and deliver certificate programs for SHRM, and has developed and delivered curriculum for businesses throughout the U.S.                                                                   

Lauraine received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and conducted graduate level studies in linguistics at the Sorbonne in Paris.