Christi Venable is an award-winning Business Owner, Organizational Leadership and Culture Change Expert and Speaker. She’s the founder of SMILE Therapy Services, a multi-million-dollar mental health agency that she managed to build from the ground up. 

Over the years SMILE Therapy has developed an arsenal of workshops that speak to the needs of a diverse market and an ever-changing social climate. Some of the most sought-after topics include Leading with Effective Communication, Leveraging your Leadership Style, Mental Health Spot-Checking, Sexual Harassment, Resiliency, Self-Care and Stress Management, The Power of Patience and many more. 

Christi received her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and her master’s degree from George Washington University. Christi Venable is a National Certified Counselor, A Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. 

Francis Joseph Tsai is a Deaf advocate who has been raised in the United States after immigrating from Hong Kong. Growing up in the U.S., Tsai learned about the importance of equity and accessibility for Deaf individuals—values he found lacking in his native Hong Kong.

Now working for Convo Communications, a company dedicated to providing communication services for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, Tsai is committed to promoting equal communication access. His advocacy focuses on ensuring that Deaf individuals have the tools, resources, and support needed to navigate a predominantly hearing world. Through his work, Tsai continues to raise awareness about the importance of equity and accessibility for all.

Heather Hansen, former trial attorney, and seasoned business advisor, merges two decades of courtroom experience with her expertise in psychology and dispute resolution to empower global audiences. As a best-selling author and keynote speaker, she helps leaders and teams believe in their potential and persuasiveness, enhanced by her skills as a hypnotist to influence the subconscious. Heather has shared her insights at prestigious venues like Harvard Business School, Google, and Stanford MedX, and has appeared on platforms such as The Today Show and Dr. Oz. Currently, she anchors at the Law and Crime Network.

Bo Cooper, Partner, Fragomen Bo Cooper is a Partner in Fragomen’s Washington, DC office, leading the Government Strategies and Compliance Group. He serves on the firm’s Executive Committee, where he works to set Fragomen’s strategic vision and philosophy, manage its worldwide operations, and ensure it remains progressive, agile, efficient, innovative, and consistent across all its jurisdictions. He provides strategic immigration advice to a diverse clientele, including corporations, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, and media outlets. Bo has extensive experience in navigating complex immigration challenges, interacting with Congress, executive agencies, and consulates, and representing clients in federal audits and investigations.  

 Previously, Bo was General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1999 to 2003, directing a legal program of 700 attorneys. He advised top U.S. officials on immigration law and has significant federal litigation experience as a former trial attorney in the Department of Justice. Bo has frequently testified before Congress and appeared in various media outlets such as PBS Newshour, Sixty Minutes, and CNN. He participated in negotiating international immigration agreements and served as a U.S. delegate to international organizations.  

Bo has taught immigration, national security and related courses at the University of Michigan, Georgetown and American University law schools, and he currently teaches asylum law as a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane Law School. He has an extensive pro bono practice and has contributed as amicus in key Supreme Court cases, served as an expert witness in federal litigation, and advised the Department of Homeland Security. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Migration Policy Institute. Bo received his J.D. from Tulane Law School and his B.A. from Tulane University. 

Barbara Leen serves as a Senior Corporate Counsel with Microsoft’s U.S. Immigration group.  She provides legal advice to Microsoft’s employees and business teams and provides legal and policy advice on a range of immigration matters.  In addition to her direct legal work, she advocates for legislative and policy reforms to improve the immigration system. Prior to joining Microsoft, Barbara worked at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee where her work focused on immigration policy, legal operations, and litigation.  She attended the University of Connecticut School of Law and the George Washington University.

As Director of Government Affairs and Corporate Citizenship, Deriece K. Harrington represents PepsiCo before state and local governments in the Mid-Atlantic and key national organizations. In her role, she engages with community and government officials on key regulatory and legislative issues impacting the company. While developing and maintaining key relationships with stakeholders in her region and around the country. Prior to her role at PepsiCo, she served as the Deputy Executive Director of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, where she managed the day-to-day operations of the Caucus and critical relationships with corporate and nonprofit partners and legislative members from around the country. As a political science graduate of Morgan State University, she began her career as the Executive Director for the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc. (LBCM). She was instrumental in implementing the Caucus’ agenda while operating as an intermediary between its constituents and community partners. Her tenure at the LBCM led her to gain her Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy and Management and her work with the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. As the Chamber’s Vice President of Government Affairs, she advocated on behalf of their members in the areas of employment law, energy, environment, transportation, and tax. Over the years, Deriece has participated in several leadership fellowship programs, including the American Young Professional Leadership Exchange Program (2022 Canada Exchange), and the Council of State Governments Robert J. Thompson Eastern Leadership Academy to name a few. She has also won numerous awards like the Daily Record’s Leading Women in Maryland, Top 40 under 40 in Prince George’s County by the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund and a 2018 Rising Star by the Living Classrooms Foundation. In 2021, she was named one of the Top 40 under 40 Very Important Professionals by The Daily Record. Deriece currently serves on several community and national boards and committees, including A Wider Circle, the Women and Girls Foundation, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and the Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In her “free time,” Deriece enjoys listening to audiobooks, watching home improvement shows, and traveling with her family. Deriece is a native of Jamaica, New York, and currently resides in Southern Maryland with her husband and daughters.

Jason Kanter is the HR and Labor Policy Executive on IBM’s Government and Regulatory Affairs team, focusing on issues related to the use of AI in employment, labor and employment rules, and employee benefits such as paid leave, health care, and retirement programs. Prior to joining IBM, Jason worked on Capitol Hill for 15 years. Most recently, he worked as a professional staff member on the Democratic staff of the Ways and Means Committee’s Worker and Family Support Subcommittee, where he played a key role in the effort to create a national paid leave program and the enactment of the historic expansion and enhancement of unemployment insurance due to COVID-19. He has also worked as a policy advisor on the Joint Economic Committee, at the Congressional Affairs Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, and in the offices of U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). In these positions, Jason worked on a range of economic and workforce policy and legislative issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Connecticut College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, where he was an Irving B. Harris fellow. A proud native of Swampscott, MA, Jason currently resides in Alexandria, VA, with his wife and two young children.

Lynne is Senior Leave Management Legal and Compliance Counsel at Voya Financial. In this role she advises on regulatory and compliance matters applicable to leave management and accommodations. As an employment attorney, Lynne has many years of experience counseling management and Human Resources professionals on all aspects of workplace issues including the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Paid Family and Medical Leave laws and general employment policies and procedures. Prior to her current role, Lynne held roles as senior counsel for a software company advising on compliance for the absence and accommodations products and as a labor and employment attorney for a major corporation. Lynne frequently speaks at industry conferences about legal and compliance issues related to absence management. She has also written extensively on FMLA, ADA, PFML and related areas of leave management. Lynne received her undergraduate degree from American University and her law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Eden-Reneé Hayes (aka Dr. E) is a DEI strategist and executive coach with 15 years of experience driving genuine inclusion and addressing DEI challenges. As CEO of Pluralism Solutions, she guides organizations to enhance equity in hiring, boost retention, and tackle unconscious bias that hinders business success. Dr. E is a respected expert on bias, intersectionality, and cultural competency, with research showcased at major conferences and published in key academic outlets. Committed to community impact, she mentors emerging leaders and serves on nonprofit boards. Dr. E holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. from Tulane University.

Scott Woods is a Vice President of Policy & Research at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he manages a broad portfolio that focuses on improving patient access and affordability for medicines across public programs and the commercial market, driving down costs in the supply chain, and health equity issues. He is the founding executive sponsor of the PRIDE Umbrella, PhRMA’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group.

Prior to joining PhRMA in 2020, Scott was an Assistant Vice President of State Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), where provided strategic legislative and regulatory advocacy for PCMA and its member companies in states across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Southeast and before various state-based intergovernmental groups, including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and various attorneys general organizations. Earlier in his career, he held policy positions at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Avalere Health.

Scott holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law, and is currently pursuing an M.S.Ed. in School and Mental Health Counseling at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. He and his husband, Ryan, live in Washington, D.C.

James Gelfand became president and CEO of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) in April 2023, having previously served as its senior and then executive vice president for eight years. He was promoted to the position of president in June 2022. James oversees all aspects of the association’s activities, which focus on programs that shape federal and state health and retirement benefit policies, and that impact ERIC member companies’ ability to operate under federal ERISA protection from a patchwork of conflicting state and local laws. He has brought prominence to ERIC among federal and state lawmakers, thought leaders, and major companies in the U.S. and globally. James provides strategic leadership to ERIC’s legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy; membership and partnerships; and communications and operations, to achieve ERIC’s mission and implement the directives of ERIC’s Board of Directors. James first joined ERIC in 2005, when he was appointed a policy research associate, then health policy research manager for more than two years. He next led health policy efforts at the U.S Chamber of Commerce and served on Capitol Hill as counsel to Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee. James also served as an associate project director for Luntz Global Partners, where he helped spearhead the firm’s political practice during the 2014 election, and then led the federal affairs team at the March of Dimes Foundation, where he successfully advanced policies critical to the health of women and children. James has been recognized as a top industry lobbyist by both the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics and The Hill. Since 2018 he has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Arlington, VA-based Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA). MMHLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the mental health of mothers in the United States, with a focus on national policy and health equity. MMHLA is a staunch advocate for improved mental health care during pregnancy and postpartum. James earned his J.D. at George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and his undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Legal Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife and son.