Dr. Michael Baran is the CEO of Iris Inclusion, a global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) firm. Dr. Baran draws on his own social science research to inform his DEI speaking engagements, writings, consulting, leadership development, and eLearning. After teaching at Harvard University, he has been supporting DEI in organizations for 20 years. His work has been covered in the New York Times, BBC, Forbes, CNN, NPR, and more.

His recent book, Subtle Acts of Exclusion, was named by Forbes as one of “The 11 Books To Read To Be A More Inclusive Leader” and has won several awards.

Renee Ramirez is the Director of Human Resources with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS. Renee has more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources and Public Service involving the development and implementation of several HR functions. She has spent time working on drafting policies/ procedures and practices in areas such as employee recruitment and selection, random drug/alcohol program for DOT/Non-DOT employees, labor and employee relations, management of human capital inventory, management of employee assistance program referrals and fitness for duty evaluations, departmental budget, compensation and benefits, and enterprise resource systems. Renee and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Saint Mary's University and is a graduate of the Certified Public Manager program from the University of Kansas. 

As senior manager of the workforce management practice group at Kronos, Alec Frazier explores the intersection of innovative technologies and the employee experience. His research focuses on both cross-vertical and industry-specific topics, ranging from new strategies to engage the hourly workforce to the impact of emerging technologies on employee engagement in manufacturing.

Alec has more than a decade of experience as a thought leader and technology evangelist, guiding organizations through digital transformation – with a focus on building an engaged workforce – all to enable better business incomes. In addition to Kronos, Alec has worked with SAP, eRecruit, and Hitachi Consulting. He earned his MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management.

Brad Patrick was named Valvoline’s chief people and communications officer in January 2018. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic direction and global management of all aspects of human resources, including talent development management, compensation and benefits, and labor and employee relations. He also oversees corporate communications.

Before joining Valvoline, Patrick served as executive vice president and chief human resources officer of Shearer’s Snacks, a leading contract manufacturer and private-label supplier for the snack industries in North America, Australia, Asia, Central and South America. From 2010 to 2015, he was the executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Tempur Sealy International. Before that, Patrick spent more than 22 years in senior leadership roles in HR at the Sara Lee Corp., Procter & Gamble, The Gillette Co., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Frito-Lay Inc.

Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky, where he is also an MBA advisory board member of the Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Katherine Brune has over 15 years of experience working in the Financial Services field.  Her areas of passion and expertise include Employee Well-being, Organizational Purpose, Employee Engagement, Adult Learning, Behavioral Economics, and Project Management.

Katherine joined SunTrust in 2006 and currently leads employee well-being & benefits programs, focused on creating a culture of well-being by delivering leading well-being experiences and competitive benefits for SunTrust employees. Katherine previously led the employee engagement function where she steered the end-to-end employee engagement strategy.

Katherine has received various internal SunTrust awards including Best of the Best for all Corporate Functions in 2015. She currently sits on the Board of Advisors for Georgia Tech’s School of Economics.

Katherine received a B.S. in Economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a M.S. in Human Resources Development from Georgia State University.

Katherine lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and two young children.