As vice president of Military Affairs at Microsoft, Chris Cortez leads the company’s engagement with veterans and military families as part of its focus on inspiring and developing former service members for roles in the IT industry. Chris’ responsibilities touch STEM education, veteran community engagement, high-tech training and employment of veterans. His team’s mission is to lead and challenge the technology industry to fill the IT pipeline with former service members. Chris is an advocate for Microsoft employees who have served in the military and is executive sponsor of the Military Veterans at Microsoft Employee Resource Group. Retired Major General Cortez served for more than 33 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and has worked at Microsoft since 2006.

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.

Stephanie E. Turner is vice president of inclusion, diversity, and social innovation at MITRE. In this role, she works collaboratively to develop and drive inclusion and diversity strategy within the company, oversee talent acquisition, and establish a new function for social innovation programs, including corporate social responsibility. Under her leadership, MITRE will maximize relationships with external organizations whose perspectives are important in shaping our national social landscape, with an initial focus on STEM education in underserved communities.

Turner has spent two decades championing diversity and inclusion. She brings leadership experience in strategic planning, professional development, process improvement, talent acquisition, multicultural marketing, and employee engagement for global brands. Turner most recently served as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Engagement at Liberty Mutual Insurance where she optimized sponsorships and brand presence at national diversity conferences, expanded national presence, increased membership in employee resource groups, established governance models to improve customer service and launched a new employee referral program with talent acquisition.

Her previous leadership roles include managing diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, and employee engagement at Lockheed Martin, Kaiser Permanente, ESPN, and Motorola. Turner also worked in the oil industry for five years as a marketing and diversity consultant.

She represents MITRE on the AMIE (Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering) board of directors and sits on the advisory board for Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. Turner earned her M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her B.A. in economics from Spelman College.

Dani leads education, training, and consultation work on gender and orientation and intersecting diversity topics. They are frequently invited, both locally and internationally to present to corporate and non-profit organizations, medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, and educators. Dani is committed to empowering leaders to drive positive individual and organizational change that fosters belonging and inclusion. As a Non-binary Latinx person, they have had to contend with the exclusion, discrimination, and violence that follows many marginalized communities, along with the internal struggles of being seen as "different". They utilize their background, lived experience, and education, to bring a human aspect to conversations of diversity, equity, inclusion, in a way that inspires and moves people to action. Their continued commitment to this work is that no one ever has to question their self-worth or their sense of belonging, and all people are free to be authentically who they are. Dani continues to grow and expand their reach and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Diversity & Equity in Education, with an emphasis on Human Resource Development. 

Gearah Goldstein is a nationally recognized Diversity & Inclusion consultant and LGBTQ+ subject matter expert. She is a founder of The GenderCool Project, an awareness campaign and 501c3, that promotes positive conversations supporting young people who identify as transgender or non-binary. She has been featured prominently in national media including: NBC TODAY; The New York Times; Rolling Stone; CBS; NPR national news and many other outlets.

Jennifer Shaw is the founder of Shaw Law Group and a 2019 recipient of the Sacramento Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” award. A well-respected expert in employment law for more than 30 years, employers regularly rely on Jennifer to counsel them on a broad range of employment law issues. Jennifer’s practical advice covers subjects such as wage-hour compliance, anti-discrimination and harassment policies and procedures, reasonable accommodation/leave of absence issues, and hiring/separation processes. She is a trusted advisor to in-house counsel, HR professionals, and leadership across a broad spectrum of public-sector and private-sector employers.

Marion Anderson, Chartered MCIPD, has led an extensive leadership career in international retail operations working for brands such as Apple, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein, and French Connection. While in the UK, she decided to undertake a Master’s program at Glasgow Caledonian University in International HR Management which has a SHRM aligned curriculum. So far, this had led her to live and work in Mumbai, Kuwait, Dubai, London, and her native country, Scotland. Marion is currently completing a professional and cultural exchange, sponsored through SHRM’s Exchange Visitor (J-1 Visa) Program, with the award-winning advertising agency Channel Bakers, in Orange County, California in a Global People & Culture leadership capacity.