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Marshall Chiles
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Marshall Chiles started stand-up comedy in 1999. After 10 years of being a stand-up comedian and club owner, in 2009 he opened the world famous comedy club called The Laughing Skull Lounge. In 2010, Marshall started The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival which is considered by the industry to be the number one discovery comedy festival in North America.
Marshall has also written three books. His first book is called ‘Your Presentation is a Joke: Using Humor to Maximize Impact’ and is currently in use as a textbook at the University of Alabama.
His second book is a children’s board book called ‘Cool Kids Share.’ He came up with the concept when his son was four years old playing on a playground. This one kid did not want to share and Marshall’s wife said, “It’s ok that the kid does not want to share.” Marshall said, “No, not really. That kid is being a jerk. Only cool kids share.” And then BAM, 10 years later he wrote the book.
His third book is children’s book for adults called ‘My Colonoscopy & Me: A Love Story.’ He wrote the first version of this book as a poem while sitting in the waiting room of his first colonoscopy. You know, like you do.
As you can see, Marshall is building a comedy empire to pass down to his children so they can eventually run it into the ground.
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Eddice Douglas, SHRM-CP
Senior Specialist, Education Products
SHRM
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Eddice Douglas, SHRM-CP, Senior Specialist, Education Products, began her SHRM journey over a decade ago as a valued partner to the CHRO. After several years, she advanced to focusing on HR Standards and Academic Initiatives, assisting students and faculty at Colleges and Universities to align with SHRM’s curriculum guidelines. Douglas’ achievements continued to be recognized as she moved into a critical role for the Certification team managing the certification department’s community engagement plan for corporate and global clients. She continues to focus on SHRM Certification in her current role by specializing in delivering a premier exam preparation experience through the SHRM Learning System.
Prior to joining SHRM, Eddice held various management positions while serving in the United States Air Force. She specialized in Health Service Management and led training and development programs as a Professional Military Education Training Instructor. She holds a master’s degree in Human Resources Development from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and is certified as a SHRM-Certified Professional. Douglas resides with her husband and two children in Tampa, Florida.
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Nikki R. Lanier, JD
Adjunct Professor
University of Louisville MBA/HR
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Nikki Lanier is an experienced leader with over 25 years of career achievements that span Banking, Labor and Employment Law, Collective Bargaining, Human Resources, and State Government. She is an author, a sought after keynote speaker, and has received many awards and recognitions for her expertise and leadership in talent development, HR innovation, community development, DEI, and economic equity.
Nikki spent eighteen (18) years as an HR Executive and employment attorney. She has worked in more than ten (10) sectors including manufacturing, consulting, consumer goods, health care, media, law, government, higher education and banking. She has led organizations in both the public and
private sector. She has served as an HR Executive with Philip Morris USA (VA) and Georgia-Pacific Corp (GA), CHRO for Charter Schools USA (FL), Vice Chancellor of HR for Maricopa Community Colleges (AZ), and Personnel Cabinet Secretary for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (youngest and first black female appointee).
In these roles, she drove accelerated cultural change, created and implemented innovative organizational development, and focused on strategic planning, employee relations, community engagements and partnerships, training and development, succession planning, recruitment and retention, and labor negotiations.
Nikki is deeply involved in the community and has served on more than 25 nonprofit boards, commissions and civic committees. Through her work and strong local and national board memberships, she is widely recognized as an accomplished thought leader in progressive HR strategies and in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism, corporately and civically.
She is the current Board Chair of OneWest Community Development Corporation, Chair of the Commonwealth of Kentucky – Kerner Commission 2.0, Secretary, Treasurer and Audit Committee Chair of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority Board (4th largest Cargo airport in the world w/ $129 mil budget); a board member of Greater Louisville Inc. Chamber of Commerce (GLI), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and two national foundations.
Nikki earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Hampton University and holds a certification in Collective Bargaining from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She has served as an adjunct MBA professor for the University of Louisville College of Business since 2018, where she also serves on its Board of Advisors.