Katie Duarte is the Founder of Action Potential Solutions, a company dedicated to helping organizations improve their effectiveness and success by optimizing feedback. With a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and a research background in feedback dynamics, she brings insights to help organizations make impactful improvements to feedback. Taking a systems approach to her work, Katie also holds two professional designations: one in training and development, and one in organization development, acknowledging that truly effective feedback requires a cooperative effort between the environment (policies and procedures), the feedback giver, and the feedback receiver. 

Kerri Nelson, Ph.D., is the Director of Mission Research at SHRM. She is responsible for leading, developing, and designing strategic, public-facing research that provides organizations, business leaders, and policymakers with evidence-based insights at the intersection of people and work. She also partners with public and private organizations to produce research related to work, worker, and workplace. Kerri has led research on a variety of topics including pay equity, skills-based hiring, untapped talent pools, workplace culture, and the global workforce. Her work has been featured in top news outlets, on podcasts and webinars, and on the Hill.

Kerri Nelson, Ph.D., is the Director of Mission Research at SHRM. She is responsible for leading, developing, and designing strategic, public-facing research that provides organizations, business leaders, and policymakers with evidence-based insights at the intersection of people and work. She also partners with public and private organizations to produce research related to work, worker, and workplace. Kerri has led research on a variety of topics including pay equity, skills-based hiring, untapped talent pools, workplace culture, and the global workforce. Her work has been featured in top news outlets, on podcasts and webinars, and on the Hill.

Kaitlin brings over 10 years of inclusive leadership experience and business innovation to her diversity, equity, inclusion, and access work. With a strong corporate background in crisis and change management, her superpower is building empowered teams and organizational cultures that interrupt systems of oppression and marginalization. As a queer woman and fat liberation activist, Kaitlin is passionate about creating safer spaces where all bodies are celebrated and have agency.

Kaitlin lives on the Little Feminist Farm just outside of Atlanta, where she and her partner enjoy sustainable homesteading and host social justice workshops and sanctuary retreats.

Kat Frey-Johnson is the owner and founder of Oxygen Coaching Group and The Thalassa Group, speaker, author, and coach.

What started as Oxygen Equestrian, her brainchild of helping business professionals learn more about their body language and relationship styles through hands-on work with horses has turned into an elite training and coaching company where her experience in the intermodal transportation industry (BNSF & UP Railroads), industrial manufacturing industry, and wireless communication industry (Verizon Wireless) allows owners, managers, and business professions to learn more about how their actions affect every part of their results and how they contribute to their lives.

OCG has built programs such as the Tie Game Theory, Conflict to Growth, and the online calculator to determine the optimal rate of pay, SmartHire/ B.L.I.S.S. ©™

Brought up in a family-owned business, the best lesson Kat learned was to stretch and risk which led to her being co-owner of multiple companies before developing OCG. This diverse background helps business owners and their teams see outside the box when looking to take their business and personal relationships to the next level. She is a Lean 6 Sigma Green Belt. She has post-secondary education in engineering, human resources, manufacturing engineering, and project management along with CAD/CAM.

Kat is the ChairWoman of Ohio Western Reserve Ladies, a non-profit that ensures No Veteran is Buried Alone within the National Cemetery system, and also advocates for the American Lung Association. She is a frequent volunteer with the young people in her community through programs like Sources of Strength, Girls on the Run, and the Just Keep Living Foundation.

Her passions include her two adult children, reining horses, rescuing Great Danes, gardening, and long-distance running.

Kat’s daily goal is to take on life’s experiences, good and bad, and all that they teach you.

Jevon Wooden, CEO and Founder of BrightMind Consulting Group, is a dynamic speaker, certified coach, and business consultant with expertise in empathetic leadership, emotional intelligence, and workplace culture. A Bronze Star recipient and Army Veteran, Jevon brings a unique blend of resilience, authenticity, and strategic thinking to his engagements. He captivates audiences with his ability to inspire actionable change, making him a sought-after speaker for organizations looking to elevate leadership effectiveness and organizational performance. Jevon’s insights on leadership and growth strategies have been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Fast Company.

Alexia Georghiou, founder of the Knoxville Happiness Coalition, empowers professionals to discover their compass of purpose. She equips leaders with the tools to cultivate executive presence, foster positive workplace cultures, and achieve sustainable well-being through resilience-building strategies that drive productivity and engagement.

A global advocate for happiness and well-being, Alexia serves as the curator and contributing author on purpose for Global Joy: Unlocking Happiness Across Cultures and advises the Global Happiness Forum in Jaipur, India. She also shares her expertise by teaching leadership and professional development at the University of Tennessee. Additionally, Alexia contributes to the Oak Ridge Human Resources Alliance, helping shape HR policies that uplift and strengthen the community.

Through her signature V.A.L.U.E. Model—Vision, Action, Leadership, Unity, and Engagement—Alexia teaches nonprofits how to expand organizational capacity through volunteer engagement. Storytelling remains at the core of her organizational development strategies, driving advocacy and meaningful change across communities.