Eric Popiel is a 1998 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. Prior to being hired by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, he flew Coast Guard missions and instructed pilots in both the HU-25 Falcon Jet and the HC-144 Ocean Sentry. Following his aviation tours, he was assigned to the Emerging Policy Staff under the Deputy Commandant for Operations at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he managed the Evergreen Program, the Coast Guard's Strategic Foresight Initiative. In this capacity, he utilized various foresight techniques and methods to help the Coast Guard leverage future opportunities, identify emerging threats, and recognize potential blind spots across all 11 statutory missions.

He currently works at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as a Strategic Foresight Analyst and manager of OPM’s Strategic Workforce Foresight Team (SWFT). He is responsible for the long-term futures program that informs federal workforce policy for OPM and assists 24 CFO Act agencies in Strategic Human Capital Management. In addition, he serves as a co-chair of the Federal Foresight Community of Interest (FFCOI). He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Joint Professional Military Education Level 1 certification, and a Masters Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He has attended the University of Houston Foresight Certification Program, and facilitated multiple workshops for Senior Coast Guard leaders, Senior Federal Executives, and foreign countries. He currently provides foresight guidance to multiple federal agencies.

As the VP of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP Company, Amy Leschke-Kahle leads the applied research and professional services teams, uncovering what actually moves the needle on engagement and performance and designs approaches that bring those findings the real world of work. Amy is a frequent contributor to business media such as Fast Company, Forbes.com, MIT Sloan Management Review, Chief Executive Magazine, Human Resource Executive, TLNT and many others. Amy holds a chemical engineering degree from Miami University (Ohio) and an MBA from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lis is a Culture Strategy Leader in Gensler’s New York office who is focused on sparking innovation and humanizing work. Combining critical thinking and research methodologies, she has created and implemented culture strategies and activations, built innovation capability frameworks, developed workplace experience strategies, and led change management programs for various clients. 

Mindy Corporon, Co-Founder of Workplace Healing and the Human Recovery Platform™ helps corporate leaders transform how they support an employee experiencing a life disruption. By balancing the head-based corporate environment with empathetic heart-based support, leaders preserve long-term productivity, retention and morale.  

The former CEO of a successful wealth management firm, Mindy was in the middle of raising two talented boys when her father and oldest son were murdered by a white supremacist intent on killing Jews. Her life purpose changed from guiding people financially to shaping how initiatives focused on increasing confidence in leadership can positively impact culture.  

Lisa Cooper, Co-Founder of Workplace Healing and the Human Recovery Platform™ helps corporate leaders recognize how empathy can help them engage an employee experiencing a life disruption and lead a high-performing team. By striking a delicate balance of thought and humanity, leaders enhance team performance, corporate culture and fiscal well-being.  

 A former marketing professional, Lisa earned a reputation in the advertising industry for driving creative solutions as she led marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. She built upon her corporate success by launching a consulting practice and sharing her expertise in teaching graduate-level marketing classes.   

Bill Pace is President of Cardinus LLC. He has worked in the US HR software market since 1995 and has specialized in ergonomics solutions for business for over 12 years. He has worked with several Fortune 500 and 100 companies including the University of California (all 12 campuses, 5 medical centers, and research facilities), Marsh, and Visa.

Thomas Stewart is EVP for Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (S-JEDI) at National University. He has over 30 years of K12 and post-secondary experience in education, innovation, and transformation. Before his current position, Dr. Stewart served as President of John F. Kennedy University and Patten University. He has co-founded or led over 20 schools, universities, and non-profit organizations. He has authored numerous publications on school reform, parent involvement, criminal justice reform, and gracefully leading change. Dr. Stewart earned his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Political Science from the University of the District of Columbia.