Kal Penn is an actor, writer, producer, and former Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He is known for starring roles including the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, Designated Survivor, and most recently the patriotic immigration comedy Sunnyside, which he co-created with SNL alumnus Matt Murray for NBC and Hulu. Penn’s other credits include roles on Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, 24, and Law & Order: SVU. He has appeared in a number of independent films, most notably Mira Nair’s adaptation of Pulitzer-winner Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake, about which The New York Times called his lead role a "crackling, star-making performance."

From 2009 to 2011, Penn took a sabbatical from acting when he was appointed by President Obama to serve as an Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, where he focused primarily on outreach to young Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the arts community. He worked on issues as diverse as the Affordable Care Act, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, college affordability, countering violent extremism, and veterans benefits for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan among others. Penn served as a national co-chair for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, and later served on the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities, focusing on arts education in underperforming schools, and cultural diplomacy in Cuba and India.

Penn has taught courses on film and media at the University of Pennsylvania, and on politics and sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Originally from New Jersey, he received his BA in Sociology with a specialization in Theater, Film, and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a graduate certificate in International Security from Stanford University.

He has maintained careers in both entertainment and public service, has been an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and most recently completed several global documentary series for Amazon, VICE, and National Geographic.

Katie Hunter was a veteran Hill staffer with over 10 years of policy experience serving multiple members of Congress before joining SHRM. Katie most recently served as Legislative Director for Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12), Ranking Member of the HELP Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee. Katie’s primary focus during her time on the Hill has been labor, health, education, and tax issues. Katie started her career with Congressman H. Morgan Griffith (VA-09), member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Joya Hayes is the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Civil Service for the City of Austin, Texas. She has over 22 years of experience in human resources, training, and organizational development, community-based programming, policy & procedure development, and executive-level planning. In her career, Joya has worked for the State of Texas, the city of Richmond, Virginia, and has worked for the City of Austin, Texas, for 17 years.

Joya is a servant leader. Her personal, community and professional endeavors are a true testament to her commitment to serve and improve the quality of life for all citizens and communities. Under her leadership, the city of Austin has received awards for innovative public sector programs in health and wellness, bestmanaged healthcare benefit plans, employment, and re-entry initiatives to support employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated citizens. With over 16,000 employees, the City of Austin is the only major metropolitan city in the State of Texas with a benefits plan that sustained no rate increase or plan design changes for four-plus years. Austin is also the only city in Texas to score 100+ on the Municipal Equality Index. This index examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality. In 2017, Austin ranked number nine in the Forbes Best Employers list. Austin was the only city listed in the top ten.

Joya is a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the International Public Management Association for Human Resource Professionals (IPMA-HR). She is a cum laude graduate of Huston-Tillotson University. She received her bachelor's degree in Mass Communications and a graduate of Texas State University, where she received her master's degree in Public Administration. While attending Huston-Tillotson University, Joya served two terms as Student Body President. During her tenure, she was instrumental in organizing community protests and marches to address the time's injustices, including Hopwood vs. the University of Texas and statewide affirmative action initiatives. Joya's community advocacy work to support communities of color has been acknowledged by national publications, the Texas House of Representatives, and the Texas Senate.

Currently, she is a board member of Child, Incorporated (Austin's Head Start Program). She is a 20-year board member of the Austin Area Heritage Council (responsible for Austin's MLK March and Festival celebrations). She is also a former licensed foster parent in Virginia and Texas. She has received over 35 community awards for her dutiful service. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Austin NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award.

As a motivational speaker, Joya has delivered speeches to over two million people in six states and two countries. She is a dynamic and energetic speaker known for her humor and powerful energy. She is also an extraordinary emcee and speechwriter and has written speeches for elected officials in three states. Her greatest reward has been her son, Robert Elijah Hayes, whom she fostered for two years, and adopted in June 2016.

Julie Schweber, SHRM-SCP, has over 18 years of strategic and tactical HR experience in for profit and nonprofit organizations including FedEx and IKON Office Solutions. Prior to joining SHRM, Julie was a senior HR consultant for more than six years and provided Fortune 500 HR expertise to small and midsize organizations. Julie earned her bachelor's degree in human resources with a business minor from Old Dominion University.  Julie enjoys spending time at the beach and hiking.

Byna Elliott is devoted to caring for communities. Her decades long career in banking centers around reinvesting to improve the economic plight of the vulnerable. As the Head of Advancing Black Pathways for JPMorgan Chase, Elliott’s mission is to strengthen the economic foundation of the Black community and bring shrinkage to the racial wealth divide.

By focusing on targeted investments and programs under the firm’s diversity and inclusion framework, Elliott leads the Advancing Black Pathways global efforts surrounding Careers & Skills, Financial Health & Wealth Creation, Business Growth & Entrepreneurship and Community Development.

Prior to JPMC, Elliott was the chief architect behind the success of Fifth Third Bank’s landmark five-year $32 billion investment in underserved communities nationwide from 2015 – 2020. As Chief Enterprise Responsibility Officer at Fifth Third, Elliott oversaw the firm’s corporate social responsibility functions which included environmental sustainability, philanthropic giving, ethical business practices and economic responsibility.

A native Detroiter, Elliott openly shares of growing up poor while being raised by her single mother and grandmother. Despite their lack of resources, her grandmother instilled in a strong sense of community and concern for others. This foundational lesson and example stuck. Today Elliott intentionally continues her grandmother’s legacy both professionally and personally. Her hard work is heart-work. She has brought hope and real impact to hurting communities in measurable ways for more than two decades.

Elliott and husband Tony reside in Michigan with their two children.

Gregory (Greg) Jones, a Chicago native and Navy veteran, is the chief diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer at Cargill. Greg works closely with Cargill’s businesses and functions to align actions, investments and processes in support of Cargill’s DEI strategy and goals.

Throughout his career, Greg has committed himself to ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to realize their potential and use their unique perspective to help organizations succeed. Guided by this strong sense of purpose, he’s excelled at developing strategies, practices and teams that drive real change.

Greg started his career with GE Healthcare in 1989 as a Stanford-trained electrical engineer, followed by various business leadership roles in GE Healthcare and later as a consultant with executive recruiting firms. Over the next 20 years, he led DEI efforts for Fortune 500 companies in the airline and financial services industries, including United Airlines, UBS and Bank of America. Most recently, he served as chief DEI officer for KeyBank.

Following his time in the U.S. Navy, Greg graduated with an electrical engineering degree from Tuskegee University, a historically black college in the U.S. and a current partner through our Cargill University thrive program. He continued his education with a master’s degree from Stanford University.

He currently serves as a member of the board for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund; the advisory board for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP); and the Executive Leadership Council (ELC). He is also a distinguished visiting professor at Johnson and Wales University. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including being recognized by Black Enterprise magazine’s Top 100 Executives in Diversity and Ebony magazine’s Power 100.