Kristen Dodge is a Learning Director at the Hartford, focusing on leadership and early career development. Leveraging needs analysis, assessment and focusing on behavioral change, she collaborates with leaders to provide content and performance support that accelerates development and ensures a talent pipeline.

Kristen has Leadership Learning and Development experience within the Fortune 500 financial services industry. She is a member of the Masie Learning Consortium and throughout her career has engaged with the Association for Talent Development and other industry groups.

Kristen is an active volunteer for the Pan Massachusetts Challenge and is a member of the Volunteer Engagement Committee at her alma mater.

Kristen received her BA degree from Mount Holyoke College.

Lieutenant General (ret) Nadja West is the 44th Army Surgeon General and the former Commanding General of US Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015 West became the first African American woman 3-star General in the Army’s history, and is currently the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from West Point.

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a Soldier.

In her last Army assignment, West managed an $11 billion budget and led an organization consisting of more than 130,000 healthcare professionals comprised of Active, Guard and Reserve soldiers, civilians, contractors and volunteers. She was responsible for medical centers, community hospitals and clinics; dental, veterinary and public health facilities; research, education and training platforms; and deployed medical formations around the globe, supporting over 4 million people. In her role as SG, West was the senior medical advisor to the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army. During her tenure, she led the AMEDD through the most comprehensive transformation that military medicine has seen in over three decades.

West is a 2019-2020 Hauser Leader at Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership, serves on the boards of directors for Americares, Nucor Corporation, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation. She is also a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth.

Zoe Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents the 19th District of California, based in the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” San Jose, and the Santa Clara Valley. A lifelong Bay Area resident and the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook, Zoe attended public schools and attended Stanford University on a California State Scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1970. Prior to attending Stanford, Lofgren worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to save money for non-tuition college expenses not covered by her scholarship. After graduating from Stanford, she attended, with the help of a scholarship, Santa Clara University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1975. She served as a member of Congressman Don Edwards’ staff for eight years in both his San Jose and Washington DC offices. While practicing and teaching immigration law, she was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979.  In 1980, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors where she served for 14 years. Following Congressman Don Edwards’ retirement in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Zoe was elected to the House of Representatives. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and a former immigration attorney and immigration law professor, Zoe is recognized as an established champion of top-to-bottom immigration reform and a national leader in immigration policy. During the 113th Congress she played a key role in negotiating a comprehensive reform bill in the House Representatives as part of an eight-person bipartisan working group.

In 2010, in part due to her work on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented Zoe with the gavel used to preside over the passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Zoe is known for her work on patent reform, copyright issues, digital rights, and net neutrality.  She successfully fought to initiate the “e-rate” that provides affordable internet access for schools, libraries, and rural health centers, and she is the author of legislation that would allow the unlocking of cellular phones and other digital devices to give owners more control over their devices. She led a bipartisan effort in the House to decontrol encryption technology.

A staunch advocate for digital rights, Zoe was the lead early opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and led a successful fight to stop bill in the House Judiciary Committee. Her Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before retrieving communications and documents stored remotely or geolocation information about an individual.

In 2014, Zoe led a bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes on unwarranted government surveillance. The Massie-Lofgren amendment to the 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations Act to stop the NSA from searching Americans’ private communications collected without a warrant, and to prohibit the NSA from weakening security protections in devices and software for unwarranted surveillance purposes, passed the House by a resoundingly bipartisan vote of 293 to 123.In 2019, Zoe was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on House Administration by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and confirmed unanimously by the House Democratic Caucus. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) was established in 1947 as part of a larger effort to streamline the U.S. House of Representatives' committee system and to modernize its internal management and operations. After more than 70 years since the committee was established, CHA’s two principal functions include oversight of federal elections and day-to-day operations in the House. Historically, the committee has had a hand in shaping legislation that touches on any and all aspects of federal elections. Issues concerning corrupt practices, contested congressional elections, campaign finance disclosures, and credentials and qualifications of House Members also fall under its purview. Additionally, she is a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, formed to make Congress more transparent, unifying and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the American people.

Zoe is also the Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. It is the most diverse delegation in the House and outnumbers all other state House delegations.

Zoe is married to John Marshall Collins and is the mother of two.

Olivia Lang is Director of Faith-based Partnerships for CVS Health, Workforce Initiatives. She is providing oversight of the Faith-based and Second Chance programs in support of the company’s Social Justice and Equity Initiative. Olivia is also the former National Co-Chair for the CVS Health Faith-based Colleague Resource Group.

Olivia was previously employed as Bureau Chief of the Family Investment Administration, Maryland Department of Human Resources in Baltimore, Md.  She was responsible for program planning, development and marketing for statewide hiring agreement initiatives and charitable campaigns. 

She is the recipient of the National Eagle Leadership Award, from The National Eagle Leadership Institute that recognizes Black and Hispanic professionals in Corporate America whose records of performance inspire others to reach a higher standard of leadership in both their business and community endeavors. She is also the recipient of the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures, Corporate Roundtable, Benjamin S. Ruffin Leadership Award for exemplary service, dedication, and commitment to advancing the mission of the organization.

Olivia is a graduate of Morgan State University and holds a Master of Administrative Science Degree in Human Resources from The Johns Hopkins University.  She also obtained a Master of Theology from Roanoke Theological Seminary and received a Certificate of License in the Gospel Ministry in 2018. Olivia is a very active Pastor’s wife who serves in various capacities in the areas of Church Growth, Christian Education and Community Outreach.

She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, NOBEL Women’s Corporate Advisory Council and Suffolk Vicinity of Ministers Wives and Widows.  

Juan Otero serves as Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) for Comcast Corporation where he oversees the operational management of the company’s DE&I efforts across the corporate enterprise. Previously, Juan served as Vice President for Comcast Corporation’s Federal Government Affairs team. In this role he was responsible for federal legislative advocacy with Members of Congress and the Administration. He was also responsible for developing strategies for achieving corporate legislative objectives and actively working with third-party policy stakeholders. Prior to joining Comcast Corporation, Juan served as a director for the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C. and previously served as Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he oversaw the Department’s efforts to develop improved interoperability technologies and communications. Before joining DHS, he worked as Principal Counsel for the National League of Cities.

As Vice President of DE&I, Juan also regularly interfaces and supports Comcast Corporation with the leading national public policy, inter-governmental associations, and civil rights organizations.

Juan currently sits on several national nonprofit boards, including Easterseals, the Hispanic Federation, and the Smithsonian’s Latino Center. Juan also sits on the Panasonic Foundation’s board of directors. He has previously sat on the governing boards of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, and the Studio Theater Board of Washington D.C.

Juan holds a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a M.P.A. from American University.

Olga Feingold is passionate about leading with integrity and creating a more just and equitable world.  For the past decade she has worked with students, school officials, educators, executives, managers and federal leadership to create a more equitable nation. Her background in facilitation, training and coaching has spanned across roles in non-profit, finance, bio-pharmaceutical and technology. She is currently the Talent Development Partner at Analog Devices and leads the Diversity and Inclusion Initiative.  

Kathryn Jo Mannes is vice president, impact partnerships, at JFF. She helps catalyze partnerships and programs that further JFF’s mission and impact in the field.

Kathy identifies educational and employment needs and crafts solutions to address those needs. She builds and promotes public and private partnerships to reimagine and scale opportunities that benefit companies, communities, and individuals. She is a dot-connector, with a wide range of corporate, education, government, and community contacts.

Before joining JFF, Kathy worked at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she launched the Center for Workforce and Industry Partnerships. Previously, she served as senior vice president for workforce and economic development at the American Association of Community Colleges and as the managing director of workforce development at the National Retail Federation Foundation. She has also worked at Dusco Community Services, the Council for Adult Education and Learning, and American University.

Kathy is a member of the board of the Center for Employment Opportunities and of the SkillsUSA Foundation council. She previously served on the Workforce Investment Board of Montgomery County, Maryland, and on the board of the National Center for Children and Families. She speaks on the opportunities and challenges in a changing economy and world of work.

Kathy says she looks for new ways to push systems, investors, and other stakeholders to combine efforts and resources. Her goal is to change the paradigm of how we prepare for and think about work by taking risks and putting ideas into action.

Kathy joined Northwestern Mutual in April 2020. Rooted in her passionate belief that development is a strategic asset that drives business results, Kathy and her team are responsible for transforming the end to end future talent experience, from career exploration through early career success. 

Kathy is a results-driven leader with a proven track record of applying talent development strategy to solve business challenges. Under her leadership, company initiatives have been recognized by Bersin by Deloitte, Training Magazine, Association for Talent Development, Working Mother Magazine and others. She was twice honored in Training Magazine as a “Top 40 under 40” and is regularly sought after to speak at conferences to share how her strategic approach to learning can be used across multiple industries.

Kathy’s brings deep expertise in career distribution from both Guardian Life and Metlife as well as innovation from other industries including healthcare, real estate and telecommunications in sales and leadership development, diversity and inclusion, client experience, marketing and product development, distribution and human resources. She holds a NJ life and health insurance producer license and is a graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in English and Secondary Education. She served as a national board member for Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS), board member and president of the West Orange, NJ Board of Education, and as an invited member of the Clinton Global Initiative’s Workforce Development Committee in partnership with American Association of Community Colleges.

Kathy splits her time with her husband and family between Winter Garden, FL and South Seaside Park, NJ providing the perfect balance between her love of the beach and all things Disney!