Joelle is a highly respected and accomplished executive, strategist, speaker, and facilitator who has earned national recognition. Prior to launching the LLI, she had a 15-year career crafting impactful strategies for communication, business development, and public affairs across private and public sectors. Joelle's areas of expertise include Neuroleadership, Latino identity, civic engagement, demographic shifts, and workplace diversity and inclusion. Notably, Joelle has made significant contributions to various community and business organizations, actively serving on the Hispanic Advisory Council for Coca-Cola, multiple non-profit boards, for-profit advisory committees, and executive committees.

Dane Linn is Senior Vice President of Corporate Initiatives at Business Roundtable. In this role, Linn leads efforts that bring together the organization’s membership to make collective progress and apply best practices on issues such as worker training, diversity, investments in rural communities, veteran and second chance employment, and engagement with small business suppliers. 

He previously oversaw the Education & Workforce Committee, advancing the BRT’s positions on education reform, U.S. innovation capacity and workforce preparedness. He is also the lead staff member for the Immigration Committee, promoting an approach to immigration reform that will help drive U.S. economic growth and keep the American workforce globally competitive.

Linn joins the BRT most recently from The College Board, where he served as Executive Director of state policy. Prior to The College Board, Linn served as Director of the Educational Policy Division of the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices. During his 16 years in this role, Linn represented governors’ education policy issues at the federal level and to state and local associations. He also co-led the development of the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by 46 states.

As the Vice President and Global Head of Human Resources at MS International, Inc. (MSI), Chris leads the HR function for the premier flooring, countertop, and hard surfaces supplier in North America. With over 15 years of experience in HR and business management, Chris has a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions that impact his organization’s people and bottom line. Before his career in HR, he was a business leader responsible for managing sales, supply chain, and warehouse operations for one of the largest private employers in the US. He is a certified Diversity and Inclusion professional, a member of Forbes Magazine’s Human Resources Council, a member of Newsweek Magazine’s Americans Greatest Workplaces Council, and has won the Distinguished HR Leaders award for the last 3 years. In his current role, he partners with the executive team and the operational and sales management teams to align HR strategies with business goals. He oversees all HR activities across 50+ locations in the US, Canada, and India, including employee relations, organizational development, diversity and inclusion, performance management, training, benefits, compensation, rewards, wellness, workers compensation, injury prevention, and compliance. He also leads MSI’s HR modernization efforts, leveraging automation, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques to enhance people practices. 

April Treece has represented business interests with K-12 education for well over two decades. During that time, she set education policy for eight years as a trustee for one of the largest school districts in the East Bay leading the effort to transition career technical education to career pathways believing every child should be college ready and work ready—that it is one in the same.

Leading the nonprofit, Bay Area LEEDS, Treece is proud that the organization is one of the few business/education intermediaries in the Bay Area that brings long-term talent development solutions to workforce shortages by engaging STEM career pathway educators (K-16) and employers who have high-demand, difficult-to-fill STEM jobs. Through innovative programming, her team develops, plans and executes industry-supported approaches that build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable talent base assuring economic vitality in our local communities.
Treece blends her 25-year Fortune 500 public relations work with leadership experience, and has managed STEM-related intermediary efforts in the East Bay since 2001.

Treece has a distinguished career—the highlight having received the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives at White House ceremonies while working at AT&T.

She is a 33-year resident of Clayton and resides there with her husband of 41 years.

April Treece has represented business interests with K-12 education for well over two decades. During that time, she set education policy for eight years as a trustee for one of the largest school districts in the East Bay leading the effort to transition career technical education to career pathways believing every child should be college ready and work ready—that it is one in the same.
Leading the nonprofit, Bay Area LEEDS, Treece is proud that the organization is one of the few business/education intermediaries in the Bay Area that brings long-term talent development solutions to workforce shortages by engaging STEM career pathway educators (K-16) and employers who have high-demand, difficult-to-fill STEM jobs. Through innovative programming, her team develops, plans and executes industry-supported approaches that build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable talent base assuring economic vitality in our local communities.
Treece blends her 25-year Fortune 500 public relations work with leadership experience, and has managed STEM-related intermediary efforts in the East Bay since 2001.
Treece has a distinguished career—the highlight having received the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives at White House ceremonies while working at AT&T.
She is a 33-year resident of Clayton and resides there with her husband of 41 years.