In-person Pass

Savannah is a data-driven people operations leader, DEI advocate and SHRM certified professional (SHRM-CP) with years of experience helping fast-growing organizations scale through the power of their people. She is currently the Head of People at Untapped, the all-in-one recruiting platform that helps startups to Fortune 500 companies source and connect with underrepresented talent, identify biases in the hiring process, and measure the ROI of diversity recruiting initiatives. She sits on the executive leadership team and oversees the people operations and talent acquisition functions spanning the entire employee life cycle, including: sourcing and recruitment, employee engagement, total compensation, learning and development, and Untapped’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. Previously Savannah served as the Vice President of Leadership Development at Notley, a social impact investment firm, where she worked across multiple initiatives in both a program management and people operations capacity. She was recognized as a DivInc Champions of Change Rising Star nominee in 2021 for her work in relaunching and rebranding Beam Founders (formerly Women@Austin), an organization dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs looking to scale their companies. Savannah also led Diversity & Inclusion efforts at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas, and served on the Board of Directors of the Young Women's Alliance, an nonprofit dedicated to empowering women leaders, and GoodPolitics, an Austin organization focused on civic engagement. Savannah is currently based in San Diego, CA.

Kayla McKeon is the Manager of Grassroots Advocacy for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) where she works to advance legislation beneficial to the Down syndrome community. Kayla gained experience working with Members of Congress as an intern for Congressman John Katko of New York. She was named NDSS Self-Advocate of the Year in 2016 and joined the NDSS staff the following year. As the first registered lobbyist with Down syndrome, Kayla is a spokesperson for NDSS and the Down syndrome community, participating in media and speaking publicly both nationally and internationally.  Kayla has an associate degree in general studies from Onondaga Community College.

Kayla resides in Syracuse, NY.  She is a Special Olympics athlete and former Special Olympics Athlete Congress member. In 2011, she competed in the Special Olympic World Games in Athens, Greece winning silver and bronze medals. In 2022, she competed in the Special Olympic USA Games in Orlando, Florida winning gold and bronze medals. Kayla is active in her church, is an avid reader, and loves swimming in her pool when the weather is warm.

Peggy O’Neill is a keynote speaker, diversity trainer, author and coach. Standing a whopping 3’8”, Peggy has had the unique opportunity of developing many skills and great wisdom overcoming countless life, business and relationship challenges. Weaving together her from-the-trenches life experiences, good humor and background in psychotherapy, Peggy has supported individuals and businesses such as Chase Bank, Texaco, FEMA, Lockheed Martin, and many others in triumphing over their challenges, and building cultures of greater resiliency, inclusion, empathy and empowerment. More info at PeggySpeaks.com.

Zac is a former college basketball player for Clayton State University, who only played his freshman year due to a tree falling on his car resulting in a spinal cord injury in the summer of 2011. In a moment, Zac went from being a college basketball player to a C6/C7 quadriplegic. This ultimately shifted the trajectory of his life and career. Zac has been a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) since 2017 and has extensive knowledge in assisting people with disabilities enter the workforce. Additionally, Zac has been playing wheelchair rugby since 2012 and had the opportunity to compete in The World Games 2022 for the USA Low Point Team.

Zac began his career as an intern at the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) where he learned how to assist clients in finding employment through the various services available through community providers. While interning at GVRA, Zac also worked for the Shepherd Center part-time as a Peer Liaison, where he assisted inpatients and outpatients adjust to spinal cord injury.

Upon earning his CRC, Zac became a part-time Vocational Specialist at the Shepherd Center, in addition to his Peer Liaison position. In this role, Zac learned the process of returning people to work. Zac transitioned to work for the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO), the state’s designated protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, as an Employment Advocate. At the GAO, he had
robust training in Social Role Valorization and Customized Employment. With this knowledge, he worked to encourage and increase meaningful employment for people with disabilities. He was responsible for monitoring state and private facilities for compliance with federal and state laws, ensuring that people with disabilities had access to competitive-integrated employment.

After the GAO, he worked for Amy Price of the Price Support Network doing customized employment, where he practiced discovery and saw firsthand the beauty of uncovering individuals’ strengths and gifts. Zac earned an Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators credential in Employment Services with an Emphasis on Customized Employment certification in 2021.
Zac now works at Shepherd Center as an ABI-post acute vocational specialist. He has worked across the continuum of brain injury post-acute services: SHARE Military Initiative, the Complex Concussion Clinic, and Shepherd Pathways, returning people to work with the help of an interdisciplinary team.

Of note, from 2019-2022, Zac served on the board of directors for Citizen Advocacy of Atlanta & Dekalb. This experience allowed him to expand his knowledge of Social Role Valorization and dream big for individuals with disabilities. Zac firmly believes that with proper placement and accommodation, we can truly increase employment outcomes for people with disabilities.

Laura Sherbin is Managing Director of Consulting at Seramount. She is an economist who specializes in the creation of advantage through inclusion and diversity. Most recently, Laura was co-president at the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) in New York City, a premier think tank and content provider that studies global workplace diversity.

Laura has co-authored several Harvard Business Review articles, including “How Diversity Can Drive Innovation,” “How Gen Y and Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda,” and “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited,” as well as the Harvard Business Review research report titled “The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology.” She has also taught a Women and Globalization course at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Laura built the rigorous data analytics machine and team that have been core to innovative approaches to measuring and tracking employee experiences. She is known as a leading expert in applying diversity and inclusion data to human behavior in organizations and using such data to quantify how workforce sentiments and satisfaction affect company bottom lines.

Laura holds a BS in math and economics from the University of Delaware and earned her PhD in economics from American University. She currently resides in Irvington, New York, with her husband, their four children, and their dog, Gus. Laura has always loved math and numbers, but when not working, she also enjoys baking, traveling, and meditating.

As Vice President, Research Growth Strategy at EAB, Carla leads the design and development of new research initiatives, experiences, and services to drive action and results for Seramount’s DEI Research Partnership as well as EAB’s K12 and higher education partner institutions. With Seramount, her research seeks to understand the DEI needs of organizations and to help CDOs effect change in their own companies that advance the cause of DEI more broadly.

Following her time as an undergraduate at Colgate University, Carla cultivated a passion for education as a K12 teacher in the Bronx and Washington, DC. She holds an MS in Teaching from Pace University and a Duke MBA from the Fuqua School of Business. When not cheering on the Cubs or the Crimson Tide, you’ll find Carla volunteering as a mentor for Tennessee Achieves or serving as chair for the Duke University Learning Innovation Advisory Council.

Devin works with leading companies by combining data + behavioral science with best practices in DE&I to understand, predict and influence employee and organizational behavior in service of growth and transformation. Over the course of his career, Devin has led numerous consulting engagements focusing on developing and implementing sustainable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies. In addition to his work in DE&I, Devin assists organizations to improve their overall approach to talent strategy, people analytics, organization design, and team effectiveness.

Natalie Egan (she / hers) is an openly transgender, award-winning B2B software entrepreneur and a recognized thought leader living her life at the intersection of technology and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Natalie has over 20 years of experience driving digital change, developing high performing teams, building complex products, and selling enterprise solutions. Today, she is the CEO & Founder of Translator, Inc., where she and her team are on a mission to scale empathy and equality through technology. Prior to founding Translator in 2016––and prior to her transition––Natalie was CEO & Founder of PeopleLinx, a venture capital backed sales technology solution that was acquired in 2015. In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Natalie has also worked in sales leadership positions at large public companies like LinkedIn, Autonomy, and Ecolab. Outside of work, Natalie is a parent, a marathon runner, an artist, and a consummate activist for transgender rights and representation. Based in Philadelphia, PA––Natalie received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, her MBA from The Villanova School of Business, and is currently writing her first book about her gender transition as a CEO in corporate America and the business lessons learned along the way.

With over 10 years of experience in the recruitment marketing industry, Ruth Toombs focuses on helping employers navigate and implement everything from new technology to branding and hiring strategies. She specializes in career site solutions, D&I hiring technology, employer branding, recruiting metrics, and various other talent acquisition essentials.

As an active and engaged member of the Talent Acquisition community, she spends time as an industry-related speaker, presenter, blogger and educator. Ruth also has a healthy obsession with writing, music, and Dachshunds.