Joy Johnson-Carruthers is the founder of Jtraining Solutions, a consulting firm dedicated to helping clients apply diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies that make a difference. A former police officer and US Army Veteran, Joy’s expansive career in the public and private sector make her a sought-after Public Speaker, HR Consultant, and Workforce Development Leader with over twenty years of award-winning experience developing leaders and high-performing teams across the United States and abroad. Her presentations are a call to action for better business outcomes and more inclusive workplaces. She currently resides in Nashville, TN, with her husband, Tom.

Sejal Thakkar is on a mission to educate and empower people to create a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Sejal is a former employment law attorney, a 2X TEDx speaker, and the Founder and Chief Civility Officer at TrainXtra, where she helps leaders create positive, safe, and respectful workplaces through customized training and coaching. She is responsible for cultivating a people-first culture at Nobody Studios.

Mike Letizia is an accomplished, certified, senior human resource executive with over 35 years’ experience in the full scope of all HR functional areas. His last 23 years holding Director, Vice President, and President roles in HR. Mike is a subject matter expert in California employment law and is the author and developer of, “California Employment Law Essentials for Business” and has collaborated with SHRM in the development of education courses focused on California employment law.

Through his company, Mike provides full scope human resource services to over 30 small to medium sized business in California with a strong focus on training and development. He is a contracted instructor for SHRM delivering both virtual and face-to-face human resource education courses throughout the USA and California. He is also a frequent speaker at business and trade associations delivering presentations, workshops and courses on a variety of human resource topics.

Michelle Clare, MA, was named founding Vice Provost for Continuing Education and Dean of UC's newly formed College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies in May of 2023.

As a senior member of the Provost's team, Michelle  provides vision and leadership for the advancement of CCPS, most notably with co-op.

Throughout her 15-year career with CCPS, Michelle has served in both faculty and administrative leadership capacities and was instrumental in expanding CCPS's academic mission, including career education, to meet the evolving needs of our students and university.

Michelle is a respected leader in the field of Cooperative Education and Experiential Learning, serving on the boards of state and national co-op associations and as an invited speaker at national and international conferences including the U.S. News Workforce of Tomorrow Conference in Washington D.C.  Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Kentucky University and a master’s degree in communication from UC.

Aniketh is a Senior Test Engineer at Tesla where he works on evaluating battery pack safety under abusive conditions. Originally from India, he attended UC for his MSME on a scholarship. He's currently based out of the San Francisco Bay Area and in his free time, he enjoys running, and reading.