Jim Beamesderfer is vice president, Veterans Initiatives and heads the Prudential Veterans Initiatives Office. He is responsible for the company’s external and internal veterans programs, which includes supporting Diversity and Inclusion activities, implementing the communications strategy and overseeing philanthropic activity in coordination with internal business partners. In addition, he oversees the VETalent program that in partnership with the nonprofit organization Workforce Opportunity Services, recruits, trains and hires Iraq and Afghanistan-era military veterans and military spouses. Beamesderfer has been a driving force behind the development of the company’s military spouse employment program and was recently appointed as the Co-Chair of the US Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Hereos Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council. He also plays a key role in expanding the VETalent program and other Military Talent employment programs to other companies.

Beamesderfer joined Prudential in 1997. Prior to his current role, he was a director, Information Systems in Prudential’s Individual Life Insurance business where he supported Prudential Advisors technology functions such as Customer Relationship Management, marketing, financial planning, and learning / professional development. 

Prior to joining Prudential, Beamesderfer was a captain in the U.S. Army, serving six years in Infantry units.

Beamesderfer has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.  He also earned the Project Management Professional designation.

Beamesderfer sits on the board of directors of the United Service Organizations (USO) of Metro NYC, the board of advisors for the Center for a New American Security and is an active member of the Rutgers Business School Military and Veteran Advisory Board.

John Perez is the Head of Military & Veterans Affairs at Johnson & Johnson.  John is a graduate of Johnson & Johnson's Procurement Leadership Development Program and Shaping Talent & Accelerating Results (STAR) Supply Chain accelerated development program; he has held previous Procurement, Supply Chain and Acquisition & Divestiture roles across Johnson & Johnson.  Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, John served as a US Army and US Army Reserve officer in various cross-functional roles, twice deploying to Iraq.  John is a graduate of Seton Hall University and Yale School of Management and holds numerous professional certifications, including the SHRM Foundation’s Veterans at Work Certificate.  John is also a George W. Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program alumnus.

Dr. Tina Atherall is a social innovation strategist with a concentration in non-profit management, community development, and advocacy. She obtained her Doctor of Social Work (DSW) from the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work focusing on the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work to eradicate social isolation. She is the CEO of PsychArmor Institute and works extensively with communities educating and advocating for critical support for those who have served and their families. Tina has advanced certificates in nonprofit leadership, human-centered design facilitation, military family readiness, military social work, and is a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator. She is an Associate Adjunct Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work.

Karen S. Carter serves as Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer for Dow. As Chief Human Resources Officer, Carter is responsible for developing and implementing human resources policies and practices to support the company’s global workforce, which includes talent, recruiting, compensation, benefits, and employee experience. 

As Dow’s first Chief Inclusion Officer, she guides and directs the Company’s efforts to create a more inclusive environment and diverse workforce while integrating inclusion as a key driver for business success. 

Carter has more than 25 years of experience with Dow. Before assuming her current responsibilities, Carter held the role of North America commercial vice president, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP). While serving in that role, Carter was a member of the global business leadership team and was responsible for the overall profit & loss of P&SP’s North America region. 

Carter has held a variety of global business positions throughout her career, including global business director and global marketing director for Dow P&SP, and has also held roles within Building and Construction, Polyethylene, Engineering Thermoplastics, Fabricated Products and Information Technology Equipment and Consumer Electronics. 

Carter is on the board of directors for the Great Lakes Bay Region Boys and Girls Clubs of America. She is also a previous member of the Dow Kakoh Kabushiki Kaisha board of directors, a joint venture between Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited and The Dow Chemical Company, and previously served as board chair of the Adoption Option, Inc. board of directors. Carter is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and is on the Catalyst Board of Advisors. 

Carter has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Howard University and a master’s degree in international business from DePaul University. Carter has been published in the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association and featured in Chemical Week, the Huffington Post, MORE Magazine, and the Disrupt Yourself Podcast and The Future of Work Podcast. In 2014, Carter was named to the prestigious Forty Women to Watch Over 40 list for her innovative leadership contributions. In 2018, she was named to Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Diversity list and received Northwood University’s Distinguished Women Award. In 2019, Carter was named to Black Enterprise’s Most Powerful Women in Corporate America list, and most recently was recognized as one of the 100 Ethnic Minority Executives on the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model Lists supported by Yahoo Finance. 

Danette Gerald Howard, Ph.D. is senior vice president & chief policy officer at Lumina Foundation, the nation’s largest private foundation focused solely on increasing student access and success in postsecondary education. Howard oversees several of Lumina’s key strategies to increase Americans’ attainment of high-quality postsecondary degrees and credentials, including strategic work in both state and federal policy. She also leads the Foundation’s efforts to mobilize and engage employers, metropolitan areas, higher education institutions and other key actors with a stake in postsecondary attainment.

Prior to joining Lumina, Howard served as Secretary of Higher Education in Maryland, leading the state’s postsecondary education coordinating agency, the Maryland Higher Education Commission.  As secretary she oversaw Maryland’s statewide financial aid program, approved new academic programs and institutions seeking to operate in the state, and advised the governor and legislators on higher education policies and initiatives.

A nationally regarded analyst and thought leader, Howard previously served as director of research and policy analysis at the Maryland Higher Education Commission.  She also held positions as the assistant director of higher education policy at the Education Trust in Washington, D.C., as a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, and as a student affairs administrator and admissions counselor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Howard earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Howard University. She also received her master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her Ph.D. in higher education policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2015, she was honored for her outstanding success and national distinction in the fields of education and policy with Howard University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, MI. Survived by his family, George Floyd was the oldest of five siblings. Philonise and Rodney Floyd, George’s brothers, have publicly spoken out about George’s senseless murder, seeking racial justice in his name. Following public outrage over George’s death, Philonise and Rodney delivered powerful remarks during recent events like the 2020 Democratic National Convention and the  March on Washington this summer. Philonise even testified before U.S. Congress in June of this year during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on policing practices and law enforcement accountability.

J

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. Recognized as one of the “300 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America” for 2024 by Savoy Magazine and one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."

Mr. Taylor's career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit spaces. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/InteractiveCorp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which immediately upon its release in September 2021, was in the top three of The Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books.

Mr. Taylor is a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and serves on the corporate boards of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), Flores & Associates, and Guild Education. He previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Trump Administration.

The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.