In-person Pass

Ms. Fairweather is an abuse survivor with 30+ years of experience in the domestic violence response and prevention field. Her unique subject matter expertise was developed by handling thousands of high-risk cases throughout her career. Her company "Presage Consulting and Training" provides tailored guidance and education to a diverse portfolio of multinational Fortune 500 employers. Ms. Fairweather regularly presents at industry conferences around the world and is an active member of the National Speaker’s Association, the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, and the American Society for Industrial Security. She is also an award-winning author on the subject of domestic violence.

As a diversity leader and consultant, Dr. Kimberly Underwood has over two decades of experience in diversity management and strategic planning in business, government and higher education. She has also received numerous awards for teaching and research excellence throughout her academic career, including her recent acceptance of the 2023 Research and Scholarship Award, in Washington, DC. Dr. Underwood earned her Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Executive Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University, and Diversity and Inclusion for Human Resources Certification from Cornell University. 

Eddie Turner is an in-demand leadership development expert who works with leaders to “Accelerate Performance and Drive Impact!”®  He is "Changing the Face of Leadership" and helping to create “Better Workplaces and a Better World”™ as a Principal Consultant and Executive Coach at Linkage, a SHRM company.

 Eddie is a professional speaker, facilitator, trainer, technologist, author, and executive coach.  He is recognized on global ranking lists and has shared his expertise in national print, radio, and television media, such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, PBS, NPR, and ABC.  He has also worked as a national media commentator.

Kristen Howe is the Vice President Enterprise Products for SHRM Enterprise Solutions, where she oversees Product Management and Product Development. She has over 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership and development space, with a focus on leadership development, sales, coaching and facilitation.

Kristen is passionate about building products that foster inclusive behavior, positive corporate performance and business outcomes. She strives to create products that help global organizations develop key segments of their business, in both live settings and through digital platforms. She empowers teams by developing smart and efficient processes designed to utilize the individual skills of every team member, all while optimizing overall performance.

Kristen is a highly sought-after leadership consultant and speaker, with a deep expertise in Advancing Women Leaders and Inclusive Leadership. She has delivered programs and keynotes to thousands of leaders globally at organizations such as the Chief HR Officer Exchange, The Chief Learning Officer Exchange, Constellation Brands, The Tata Group, Western Union, and Texas Instruments, among others. She is also an emcee at Linkage’s Women in Leadership Institute™, an immersive experience which attracts more than 1,400 women leaders across the globe each year.

Background & Experience:

Prior to joining Linkage, Kristen spent the last decade growing businesses within Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. During her time there, she led multiple teams across the Talent Solutions business, focusing on conceptualizing, building, selling and delivering talent solutions based on CEB data. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals at 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries; Kristen was consistently recognized as one of the top managers and coaches across the entire firm.

Education & Training:

Kristen previously served in a variety of roles including global facilitator, consultant and engineer. She has a Master of Business Administration from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Rachel Sheerin, CPBA is an award-winning keynote speaker, emcee and employee engagement consultant on a mission to help people feel better, think better and do better - together!

A Certified Professional Behavior Analyst, audiences are transformed and recharged with energy and leave equipped with strategies and tangible tools. What makes Rachel connect is the fact that she has been on all sides of business - sales, operations and executive leadership.. She's built multi-million dollar sales teams for organizations that want to grow profits and boost happiness and delivered organization-wide training for different vocations from machinists to executive director, SVP and beyond.

She's also burned out, failed and ruined her career a couple of times - which makes her messages of burnout prevention, happiness and success sincere, impactful and hilarious. With a strong dash of vulnerability, Rachel meets audiences where they are and with her background in meetings and events, gives planners and executives the 5-star surveys they want most.

With Fortune 500 clients such as The Ritz Carlton, WAL-MART, National Associations in Healthcare and Banking, Hilton, Berkshire Hathaway and many more, Rachel is also Co-Founder of MAGNET METHOD, an employee engagement and retention consulting firm for growing cultures.

Rachel's continued research and motivational content around burnout, happiness and success can be seen regularly on her LinkedIn profile and read in her upcoming book, BETTER: How to Feel Good as You Live, Lead and Succeed (8/8/23, Hawthorn Road Press).

Currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Association for Women in Events (AWE), Rachel is a proud member of Meeting Planners International (MPI), supporter of the Appalachian Bear Foundation and can often be found playing ping pong badly with her husband, Jeff.

Scott Warrick  (www.scottwarrick.com) is an Employment Law Attorney, HR Professional, and best-selling author with 40 years of hands-on experience.  Scott uses his unique background to help organizations get where they want to go, which includes coaching and training managers and employees on-site in his own unique, practical, and entertaining style.  

Scott's best-selling books include: Solve Employee Problems Before They Start, Living The Five Skills of Tolerance, and Healing The Human Brain, which is an International Best Seller.  

Scott travels the country presenting on such topics as Emotional Intelligence, Resolving conflict, Harassment & Bullying, Tolerance, and Healing the Human Brain. 

Sara leads Cara Collective’s national expansion arm, Cara Plus, where she drives growth, strategic partnerships, and impact to help businesses and non-profits drive more inclusive employment pathways in Chicago and around the country. Prior to Cara Collective, Sara spent 12 years managing, measuring, and scaling programs across the social sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia, and as a social impact strategy and measurement consultant for organizations like the Canadian Federal Government, City of Chicago, Google.org, TD Bank, and YouTube. Sara serves on the Executive Board of Fast Company and as a graduate mentor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She holds a BA from Boston University and an MPP from the University of Chicago.

Exceptional at using story-telling to teach concepts and inspire, Candice Gottlieb-Clark is a sought-after speaker at leadership conferences world­wide. A renowned Business Advisor, Coach and Conflict Management Specialist, Candice distills her more than 20 years of expertise into actionable strategies, that attendees can apply to raise the functionality of their teams, leaders and organizations. 
Candice is the author of the best-selling book, FIND, FIX, FILL your LEADERSHIP GAP, and she has been published in numerous business and professional journals, including Business Insider and Forbes, where she serves as a contributing writer. Candice's passion and expertise for helping businesses raise the level of their functionality, teamwork, productivity, and performance are boundless. 

Ms. Walters has more than 30 years’ combined experience in management, HR administration, employment law practice, and teaching.

She has presented at conferences across the country, been engaged as an expert witness, and testified before U.S. Congressional and state legislative committees on employment issues.

Her book, “From Hello to Goodbye: Proactive Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations” is in its 2nd edition and was one of the SHRMStore’s “Great 8” best-sellers for eight consecutive years.

Today, Ms. Walters works as an independent consultant doing business as FiveL Company, “Helping Leaders Limit their Liability by Learning the Law.”SM

Sara Taylor, President and Founder of deepSEE Consulting, has 35 years of extensive experience, nationally recognized as in the practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion serving local, national and global clients. While her areas of specialty are in both Diversity and Leadership Development, Sara has become a thought leader particularly in the field of Cultural Competence. Her bestselling book, Filter Shift: How Effective People SEE the World, is used by numerous individuals and organizations to increase success and create greater effectiveness. Sara holds a Master's degree in Diversity and Organizational Development and, prior to founding deepSEE, held positions such as Chief Diversity Officer and Leadership and Diversity Specialist.