Wayne Connell is vice president of Human Resources for The Washington Post, where he leads the HR function in workforce planning, talent acquisition, total rewards, organizational development, retention and HR policy. He has more than 20 years of HR experience, spanning the hospitality, aviation and media industries.

Wayne has guided organizations – including The Post since 2005 – in creating long-term HR strategies that enable the most effective use of their talent. His areas of focus include performance management, succession planning, culture change, leadership development, coaching, employer branding, onboarding, recruiting and employee relations.

He earned his Professional in Human Resources certification in 2001. He also holds a BA from the University of South Florida and an MA in human resource development from the George Washington University. He served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s graduate program in HR studies for three years. He is published by the Academy of Human Resource Development on the topics of organizational learning and culture and speaks at leading HR conferences on topics of leadership, action learning, and other innovative HR topics.

Wayne lives in Washington, D.C.

Valerie helps companies improve their bottom line by elevating employees from tactical thinkers to strategic leaders.

She served in senior leadership roles at RollsRoyce Aircraft before helping to found InterActiveCorp, parent company to Expedia, Home Shopping Network and TicketMaster. She then went to work for Oprah Winfrey, helping to found the Oxygen channel which was later sold to NBC Universal.

Valerie obtained her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Val’s book, Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality, helps leaders manage multiple generations in the office.

Heather Christie is a Certified Executive & Leadership Coach, Professional Speaker and "Recovering Attorney". She has consulted with hundreds of companies and addressed thousands of people in her talks and workshops over the last 12 years.  Prior to founding her Leadership Coaching firm, Evolve Global, Heather was Partner in a prominent Chicago law firm where she practiced as an international lobbyist. She co-authored the book “Bootstrap Business”. Heather has been recognized nationally and globally as a leader in the executive coaching industry. She is President-Elect of the National Speakers Association South Florida Chapter. You can find her at www.HeatherChristie.com.

As an HR Visionary, Samm has spent the last decade passionately pursuing the missing elements for employee engagement within organizations. 

This path led her to studies in Classical Oriental Medicine, and now as a certified Medical Qigong Therapist (pronounced “chee-gong”), Samm brings both Western and Eastern perspectives on wellness into workplaces to heal burnout.  She’s discovered that energetic health is key to building thriving workplaces. 

Samm founded a workplace wellness center called the HRart Center (pronounced “heart”). Also the author of four books, her most recent book Workplace Healers dives into her latest work.

Suz works with executives pressured to implement strategic growth and innovation initiatives. She helps them identify the best solutions, mobilize employees, engage customers, implement technology, and improve business results. The executives she works with benefit from success on the initiative at hand, as well as, enhanced personal capability to lead future success.

Suz has an extensive background in leading strategic initiatives that transform business success. She helps leaders maximize their personal, team, and organizational success. She is a big proponent of programs that leverage analytics, technology, and employee engagement to drive customer experiences that optimize profitable corporate results. This is a win-win-win approach for employees, customers, and shareholders/owners.

Zaheen Nanji is a resilience champion and a business owner in Alberta, Canada.  Embracing change and fear is Zaheen’s trademark because she overcame her speech impediment in her twenties, learned to live in a new country, at the age of 15, without her parents and is a recent breast cancer survivor. Her book, The Resilience Reflex - 8 Keys to Transforming Barriers into Success in Life and Business, became an International Best-Seller on Amazon Kindle. Zaheen teaches people how to make resilience their first reflex using her 3-step system: Release, Re-program and Resolve.

Karlyn Borysenko, PhD is the force behind Zen Workplace. An organizational psychologist and executive/performance coach, she is a leader in integrating mindfulness strategies at work to increase productivity and creativity, reduce stress, and create better work experiences. Her practice is based in the greater Boston area and serves clients all over the world. She holds an MBA and a PhD in Psychology, is an experienced trainer and facilitator, coach, and award-winning speaker. She is the author of Zen Your Work: Create your ideal work experience through mindful self-mastery.