Leah Owens, Senior Director of Human Resource Operations for Gaylord Opryland Resort & Attractions. In her role, Leah is instrumental in recruitment, total compensation and wage planning, STAR relations and the execution of key objectives as outlined in the Resort’s HR Goals and total property business plan. Additionally, Leah also oversees analytical reporting for the HR team in order to identify key market trends for hiring and recruiting throughout middle Tennessee. 

With more than 11 years’ experience in Human Resources, Leah began her career as a Human Resource Assistant at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, and within a year, she was promoted to Human Resource Manager at the Doubletree Collinsville/St. Louis. In this role, Leah was responsible for overseeing all human resource functions for the property, including training, interviewing, implementing community events, managing benefits enrollment and more. From there, she moved to the Crowne Plaza St. Louis-Downtown where she was Director of Human Resources. In 2012, Leah returned to the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark as Director of Human Resources and spent two and a half years in this position. Following this role, Leah relocated to Savannah, Georgia, where she became the Director of Human Resources at the Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront.

Since 2016, Leah has been a part of the Gaylord Opryland family, joining the HR team as a Human Resource Business Partner. In this role, she assisted our Rooms and Engineering Divisions with all aspects of human resources, including employee relations, training, recruiting and retention initiatives, as well as employee engagement in both strategy and execution. In September 2017, Leah was promoted to Director of HR Operations and has been thrilled to grow her career with Gaylord Opryland and Marriott International.

Leah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management with an emphasis in Human Resources from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. Additionally, she is a 2018 graduate of the Marriott International ‘Emerging Leader Program’. When not in the office, she likes to travel, attend concerts and practice yoga. She also enjoys being creative, and in her spare time, she restores furniture, crafts and takes on a variety of home improvement projects.

Ginger Hardage recently retired as Senior Vice President of Culture and Communications at Southwest Airlines after an illustrious 25 years, where she served as a member of the CEO's executive leadership team. At Southwest (the nation’s largest airline), Ginger led a team of 150 people responsible for building and sustaining the organization's legendary culture and communications enterprise.

Recognized by many as a foremost global authority on building and sustaining organizational culture, Ginger was responsible for the activities that nourished the culture and the internal and external communications function. At Southwest, Ginger was a tireless ambassador of the world-famous Southwest Culture, leading to honors like 22 consecutive years on FORTUNE’s “Top 10 Most Admired Companies in the World” list. Most importantly, Ginger helped champion the values that have made Southwest a culture of enduring greatness – we put people first, we treat customers like family, we nurture our culture, and we try to change ahead of the times.

Rebel hospitality entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Chip Conley is a leader at the forefront of the sharing economy. At age 26 he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality (JdV), transforming one inner-city motel into the second largest boutique hotel brand in America. After running his company as CEO for 24 years, he sold it and soon the young founders of Airbnb asked him to help transform their promising start-up into the world’s leading hospitality brand. Chip served as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for four years and today acts as the company’s Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and Leadership. 

Chip’s five books include PEAK and EMOTIONAL EQUATIONS and are inspired by the theories of transformation and meaning by famed psychologists Abraham Maslow and Viktor Frankl. In his new book, WISDOM@WORK: The Making of a Modern Elder (September 2018), Chip shares his experiences – as both mentor and unexpected intern – at Airbnb, and why he believes the intergenerational exchange of wisdom is critical to the modern workplace and our society.

Chip is the founder of Fest300 (part of Everfest), San Francisco’s annual Celebrity Pool Toss that has raised millions for families in the neighborhood where he opened his first hotel, and the Hotel Hero Awards that shine a light on outstanding line level employees. Chip is a recipient of hospitality’s highest honor, the Pioneer Award, and holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University, and an honorary doctorate in psychology from Saybrook University. He serves on the boards of the Burning Man Project and the Esalen Institute, home of the Conley Library.
 

Tim Kenyon is the director of recruiting at NASCAR, responsible for attracting and sourcing winning talent. Tim provides leadership and strategic direction for the recruiting team, overseeing and supporting all recruiting activities from job posting to offers. He also leads the organization’s diversity and inclusion strategies, and is responsible for building and evangelizing NASCAR’s employment brand.

Prior to joining NASCAR, Tim served as a recruiting manager at Wells Fargo for six years, where he led a team of recruiters supporting senior level roles with an emphasis on mobile and internet product management, risk and compliance and small business strategy and development.

Phil Houston is the Chief Executive Officer of QVerity Inc. QVerity is a provider of behavioral analysis and screening services for private- and public-sector clients worldwide. Phil is also a nationally recognized authority on deception detection, critical interviewing, and elicitation. His 25-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency was highlighted by his service as a senior member of the Office of Security. He is credited with developing a detection of deception methodology currently employed throughout the U.S. intelligence and federal law enforcement communities. Phil is co-author of The New York Times bestsellers Spy the Lie and Get the Truth. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.