In-person Pass

Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education,  and corporate learning and development.  He has a history of driving product innovation, growth and profitability and he has led organizations operating worldwide. 

Nick is Chief Commercial Officer for SHRM, the world’s largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, Nick was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, Nick was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry.  Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development.  Nick was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content.  He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR.  He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. 

Nick graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds Master’s degrees in Administration from the University of Maryland University College, and Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University.

Nikki Lanier is an experienced leader with over 25 years of career achievements that span Banking, Labor and Employment Law, Collective Bargaining, Human Resources, and State Government. She is an author, a sought after keynote speaker, and has received many awards and recognitions for her expertise and leadership in talent development, HR innovation, community development, DEI, and economic equity.

Nikki spent eighteen (18) years as an HR Executive and employment attorney. She has worked in more than ten (10) sectors including manufacturing,  consulting, consumer goods, health care, media, law, government, higher education and banking. She has led organizations in both the public and
private sector. She has served as an HR Executive with Philip Morris USA (VA) and Georgia-Pacific Corp (GA), CHRO for Charter Schools USA (FL), Vice Chancellor of HR for Maricopa Community Colleges (AZ), and Personnel Cabinet Secretary for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (youngest and first black female appointee).

In these roles, she drove accelerated cultural change, created and implemented innovative organizational development, and focused on strategic planning, employee relations, community engagements and partnerships, training and development, succession planning, recruitment and retention, and labor negotiations.

Nikki is deeply involved in the community and has served on more than 25 nonprofit boards, commissions and civic committees. Through her work and strong local and national board memberships, she is widely recognized as an accomplished thought leader in progressive HR strategies and in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism, corporately and civically.

She is the current Board Chair of OneWest Community Development Corporation, Chair of the Commonwealth of Kentucky – Kerner Commission 2.0, Secretary, Treasurer and Audit Committee Chair of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority Board (4th largest Cargo airport in the world w/ $129 mil budget); a board member of Greater Louisville Inc. Chamber of Commerce (GLI), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and two national foundations.

Nikki earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Hampton University and holds a certification in Collective Bargaining from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She has served as an adjunct MBA professor for the University of Louisville College of Business since 2018, where she also serves on its Board of Advisors.

Tracy is the VP of Marketing for Fountain, an all-in-one high volume hiring platform empowering the world’s leading brands to find and hire the right people through smart, fast and seamless recruitment. Prior to Fountain, she worked at SparkPost, where her passion for creativity and media was the drive behind some of SparkPost’s award winning campaigns, such as #FindTheFlame. Prior to SparkPost, Tracy spent 10 years at TiVo and almost 5 years at Cisco helping marketing organizations deploy digital solutions and tell stories that drove significant market impact. She has served on the board of Women for WineSense, and co-founded a nonprofit for lung cancer, for which she received a Bay Area Jefferson Award. She has also been an adjunct professor in digital marketing and social media at UC Berkeley and SFSU, and has authored Taking Your Brand from the Bench to the Playing Field.

Jay Charness is a sales professional with over 20 years of driving change at organizations of all sizes. He is passionate about working directly with individuals to better understand their talent management and talent acquisition needs to better solve the business challenges they face every day. When not helping clients tackle their business challenges, Jay spends his time teaching self-defense workshops and enjoying the beauty of Colorado with his family.

Danielle Mahoney is the Vice President of Human Resources and Training for Insight Credit Union, headquarters in Orlando, FL.  Danielle has 20 years of Human Resources experience with concentration in the Financial Industry sector.  She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Management with focus in Human Resources Management from the University of Central Florida, and holds a SHRM-SCP and SPHR certification.  Danielle is experienced in Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition, Compensation and Benefit Analysis, including 401(k) and 457(f) plan review and implementation, and overall strategic Human Resources planning.

Brian joined Transamerica in 2019 as AVP, Business Development and is responsible for overseeing the business development effort for retirement plans across the country. He works on firm-level business planning and implementing business development strategies with Transamerica’s top distribution partners. He has spent the past 24 years in multiple leadership roles in the Retirement industry, from Service and Operations to Sales and Business Development. Brian lives in Hamden, CT with his wife of 22 years, Kim, daughter Abby (17), and son, Tyler (14). Brian enjoys golfing, running, and spending quality time with his family, and he makes maintaining an active lifestyle one of his top priorities.

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.

Erica started her career designing and facilitating training for social impact organizations. She quickly realized her calling: arming organizations with the capability needed to evolve. Since joining SHRM four years ago, Erica has held three roles. She began her career at SHRM in Research, then moved onto the founding SHRMLabs team. SHRMLabs explores the intersection of work and technology. Now, Erica oversees the enterprise client experience as the Manager of Solution Architecture.

Erica holds a master’s degree in industrial/Organizational Psychology, with a focus in instructional systems design. She earned her SHRM-SCP and consistently speaks on behalf of SHRM on workplace tech, the future of work, DEIB, and upskilling. Outside of work, you can find Erica tending to her indoor and outdoor garden, and giving her cat, Suki, more attention than she wants.    

Karith Foster is a Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Expert and creator of the groundbreaking INVERSITY™ methodology and other signature programs. She is creating a seismic shift in diversity and culture change in academic institutions, organizations and corporations across America. These new conversations are revolutionizing the way we address issues of diversity, mental wellness and leadership.

Karith brings the perfect blend of humor, knowledge and experience while conveying the ever-present need to address diversity, inclusion and effective communication. Karith leaves her audiences feeling engaged, connected, inspired and encouraged to commit to the journey of mutual respect, acceptance and a greater sense of belonging.

As a speaker, humorist, TV & radio personality, author, entrepreneur, wife, and mother, Karith is a positive force of change with her sense of duty, service—along with her riotous sense of humor. “If you can laugh at it you can get through it,” is her motto and the invaluable lesson she seeks to instill in others. 

In addition to being CEO of INVERSITY™ Solutions, Karith is also the Founder of F.R.A.M.E the Foster Russell Alliance for Meaningful Expression a 501(c)3 non-profit, whose mission is to inspire free speech, inclusion, social change and empowerment through education and mentorship on college and university campuses.

Karith was featured in two hit documentary films “Can We Take a Joke?” and "No Safe Spaces" which have garnered accolades in The Washington Post and TIME Magazine, as has her TEDx Talk “The Art of Defying Stereotypes: Learning to be True to Your Voice.” Karith is a former co-host on Imus in the Morning, has also made regular appearances on Fox&Friends, MSNBC, Howard Stern, Comedy Central, and Oprah.