In-person Pass

Dr. Mira Brancu helps executives and their teams lead well today and better navigate tomorrow. Her organization development consulting firm, Brancu & Associates was awarded the 2021 Corporate Philanthropy Award for their contributions supporting under-served women professionally and economically. Dr. Brancu brings two decades of experience in healthcare and academia, including an award-winning leadership career at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and a faculty appointment at Duke University. Dr. Brancu is also a contributor for Psychology Today and Thrive Global and author of Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics.

Ashley T. Brundage is the President and CEO of Empowering Differences. While seeking employment at PNC Bank in the United States, she identified openly during the interview process as a woman of transgender experiance and subsequently was hired after facing years of harassment, discrimination, and homelessness. These factors led her to start her second career as a means of survival while doing research on empowerment & differences. She took a role in the bank as a part time teller and then rose to national Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion in less than 5 years. She captured her research as a 4-Step process of empowerment to cultivate change in her new book and online leadership course. Ashley credits her success to those closest to her for providing actionable allyship including her 2 teenage sons, Bryce and Blake. She also volunteers her time serving numerous nonprofit organizations including serving as the vice chair for the national board of directors for GLAAD who works to accelerate acceptance across all forms of media for the LGBTQ+ community.

Devin is a captivating speaker, author, and culture expert. He helps leaders drive growth and engagement by aligning workplace culture with success. His experience working on employee engagement strategy, evolving corporate cultures, talent management, and diversity & Inclusion brings a unique perspective in helping his clients plan for positive growth and evolution. His approach which draws from the science of positive psychology, positive organizational research, appreciative inquiry, neuroscience, mindset, and mindfulness. As a result, clients receive the cutting edge in research on well-being and flourishing. 

Devin’s unconventional and innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention. From State Farm to Disney, from Lockheed Martin to Eli Lilly, from big business to entrepreneurs to government agencies, Devin has been invited to meet with an array of leaders and organizations in nearly every industry.

Devin was named to Peoplehum’s power list of the top 200 thought leaders to follow in 2022. He received his BA Colgate University and his M.S. from Southern New Hampshire University. He is the author of twenty-one books and lives in San Diego, CA with his wife, four daughters and two rescue dogs.   

Daniel works with companies, conference planners, learning and development leaders, school districts, and nonprofit boards - all in a pursuit to help them grow their leadership impact and make the spaces they influence more inclusive and innovative. His work is nestled at the intersection of employee thriving, organizational culture, and diversity & inclusion. A committed “space creator,” Daniel seeks to position learning and growth as an invitation into our better selves rather than as an indictment about our failings. He is human-centered and growth-focused, building trust and psychological safety as he engages in tough conversations and challenging work.

Louis Orslene is the Director of the Employer and Workplace Policy Team, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), U.S. DOL. Prior to joining ODEP, Louis served as a Disability Policy Advisor supporting the Department of Defense Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He also co-directed the Department of Labor’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN). Louis graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with Master's degrees in Public and International Affairs and Social Work. He also holds certifications in Disability Management and Managing Public and Non-Profit Organizations. He holds an undergraduate degree in Human Resource Management.

After years of what his parents called “the diagnosis of the month club,” Dylan was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism at the age of eight. Life has been a minefield of obstacles for Dylan. When he was little, he struggled with learning the rules and following directions that did not make sense to him. As he got older, he was challenged, especially socially, by a world that seemed extremely confusing to him, with a disability that to most was invisible. Even today, Dylan works hard to figure out what he needs to do in order to get through each day as a 27-year-old adult with autism in our fast-paced and often unforgiving society.

Dylan graduated from Sedgefield High School in 2010 and is currently pursuing his goal of making it in the entertainment industry. He has a YouTube channel under his stage name “Real Dielawn” where viewers are treated on a daily basis to a look inside his one-of-a-kind mind. Dylan has also been a regular on SiriusXM’s “Dirty Pop Live” hosted by Lance Bass, heard formerly on OutQ Channel 106 and RadioAndy Channel 102. He has hosted his own radio show, “Ridin with Dielawn” which aired Saturday nights in Portland, Maine on WLOB 100.5-FM and via his podcast.

Dylan has been enjoying his experiences speaking about his life and the book he wrote with his father.  His presentations to thousands of people from coast to coast have been overwhelmingly well-received. He hopes his work helping his father write Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Autism Spectrum and his new book, Bad Choices Make Good Stories: My Life with Autism, will help families as they navigate through the difficulties of living life on the spectrum.  He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Joy Chen, CEO of the Multicultural Leadership Institute, is a trailblazer in global leadership development. A former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles and executive recruiter with Heidrick & Struggles, she brings unique cultural insights to modern leaders.

Joy’s pivot to leadership development was serendipitous, fueled by her blog's viral success in China, establishing her as founder of global training organizations that have served millions. Joy's contributions to global cross-cultural leadership have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, CNN and Vogue China.

Join Joy to hone your ability to excel in a world rich with possibilities.

Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, President of SDS Global Enterprises, a global workforce solutions firm, is an award-winning Human Resources expert, with over 30 years of business experience in a variety of senior executive roles for several Fortune 100 companies, as well as her last role of Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion for the Society for Human Resource Management. She’s also a best-selling author of 5 books, serves on the National Speakers Association and the NSA Foundation Boards, and the Make A Wish Foundation Board. She is a popular facilitator for eight LinkedIn Learning leadership courses.

Ash Beckham helps high-performing individuals and teams realize the freedom that comes from embracing their authentic selves so they can thrive both independently and collectively.  Ash is a bold, dynamic presenter who speaks about empathy, respect, and the power of having real conversations. Online videos of her TEDx talks "Coming Out of Your Closet" and "Owning Your Duality" and her Boulder Ignite speech "I am SO GAY" have gone viral with more than 15 million YouTube views. Ash reaches millions as her inspiring speeches are experienced in classrooms, boardrooms, and auditoriums worldwide.  

Taryell Simmons is an HR Services Manager for the Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Division in the County of San Diego. The Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Division aspires to help create and sustain a countywide culture of belonging and interconnectedness. Taryell and his team have collaborated with various stakeholders to craft a future where all members can fully realize their potential through our diversity, strategic initiatives, partnerships, training, and policy development.

After working in building workforce programs and Talent Development for over eight years, he became more involved in efforts to integrate EDI as internal support, specifically in recruitment, hiring, professional development & career advancement.

Taryell Simmons is also a Board Of Director for Village UP, powering inclusivity in the San Diego Startup Space. Village Up is a collaborative initiative to increase diversity and access to the San Diego innovation economy. After winning a startup weekend pitch competition hosted by Google and Techstars, Taryell became more involved in D&I efforts to help bring diversity to the Tech Startup space. 

He is a RISE Urban Leadership graduate and a 2020 Rockwood Leadership Institute fellow. With an obsession with lifelong learning, he has worked with thousands of students, employees, entrepreneurs, and startups, supporting them through workforce development, employee training, strategic data-based strategies and partnership, execution of workforce program development, and vital alliance-building.