Virtual Pass

Michelle spent 10 years at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, supporting employers to close their pay gaps through writing guidance reports and running workshops. This was until 2014, when Michelle took voluntary redundancy whilst on maternity leave and Equality Pays was born.

Michelle set up Equality Pays to provide the business coaching, strategy, support, and confidence that organisations want and need.

Michelle is on a mission to educate and share what organisations should be focusing on when it comes to addressing the root causes of their pay gaps in order to create more inclusive, equitable workplaces.

Michelle's role is to support organisations in identifying what changes need to be made to close both gender and ethnicity pay gaps so that people choose to work for those organisations and go on to build their careers with them. No matter their gender, ethnicity, or workplace needs.

Kelly Bunting, Co-Chair of the Greenberg Traurig, LLP's Labor & Employment Practice's Workplace Compliance & Counseling Group, and member of its Artificial Intelligence Law Group, has considerable experience defending class and collective wage and hour litigation and misclassification claims, having defended employers in Title III ADA access litigation and litigation alleging race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. She is deeply experienced in virtually all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour, labor, Title VII, harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, non-competition and non-solicitation, trade secrets, SOX and Dodd Frank whistleblower claims, CEPA, ADEA, FMLA, NJLAD, and failure to accommodate issues. She has identified and managed employment issues in M&A deals and appeared before the EEOC, NLRB, and DOL in many states, as well as state agencies in DE, NY, NJ and PA. Kelly has represented many clients in mediation and settlement negotiations, and created HR and compliance training modules. She is regularly sought after as a workforce trainer for issues related to harassment and discrimination, FCPA compliance, good management techniques, and union awareness.

Kelly focuses much of her practice on international L&E issues, including employment/secondment contracts, data privacy, and global anti-corruption compliance. She advises clients on national and international handbook policies, procedures, and strategic HR issues, and provides day-to-day counsel in hiring, employee relations, employee discipline, and termination. She also conducts and advises on internal investigations.

Katrina “KT” Thornton is Taco Bell’s Sr. Executive - HR and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Since joining Taco Bell in October 2021, KT has been energetically leading Taco Bell’s efforts in advancing Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (EI&B). She leads with the belief that EI&B needs to be woven into the business strategy and rooted in action. She is leading Taco Bell’s equity evolution with over 15 years of experience. Before her time at Taco Bell, KT spent her career with Kellogg’s, Sears Holdings Corporation, and Target Corporation in multiple HR leadership assignments.

Joelle is a highly respected and accomplished executive, strategist, speaker, and facilitator who has earned national recognition. Prior to launching the LLI, she had a 15-year career crafting impactful strategies for communication, business development, and public affairs across private and public sectors. Joelle's areas of expertise include Neuroleadership, Latino identity, civic engagement, demographic shifts, and workplace diversity and inclusion. Notably, Joelle has made significant contributions to various community and business organizations, actively serving on the Hispanic Advisory Council for Coca-Cola, multiple non-profit boards, for-profit advisory committees, and executive committees.

Jonathan Fowler has over 20 years of experience in data analytics, data strategy, and data-driven change. His prior humanities and education background provides a unique perspective in data analytics in organizations, which drove his doctoral research and the development of the Kulturata Data Quotient. Dr. Fowler regularly consults with companies for assessment, training, and implementation of data analytics solutions that empower and engage all employees. In addition to his industry work, he teaches analytics and data ethics courses for both undergraduate and graduate students, is a conference speaker, and published author. He is an alumnus of Clemson University.

Jennifer McCollum is CEO of Linkage, Inc., where she oversees the strategic direction and global operations of the Boston, MA-based leadership development company. With a mission to “Change the Face of Leadership,” Linkage has dedicated 30 years to improving leadership effectiveness and equity in hundreds of organizations globally. Linkage provides assessments, training, coaching, consulting and conferences, with Solutions designed to Accelerate Purposeful Leaders; Advance Women Leaders; and Create Inclusive Organizations. 

Jennifer is a highly sought-after consultant and speaker, with a deep expertise in Inclusive Leadership and Advancing Women Leaders. She has delivered workshops, keynotes, webinars and podcasts to thousands of leaders globally on live and virtual stages, including 100 Leaders Live (Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches conference), Chief Learning Officer Exchange, Chester Elton’s “Leading with Gratitude” LinkedIn Live, John Baldoni’s “Grace under Pressure” LinkedIn Live, Candy O’Terry’s “The Story Behind Her Success” podcast, and VoiceAmerica radio broadcast. She is a contributing author to Leadership in a Time of Crisis and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Chief Talent Development Officer, CEO Refresher, and Real Leaders. She is a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.

Background & Experience:

Jennifer has 20 years of experience building and leading businesses in the leadership space. Prior to Linkage, Jennifer spent a decade growing businesses within Korn Ferry and Corporate Executive Board (CEB), now Gartner. At CEB, she led product management within the leadership division, driving innovative solutions that helped organizations select, develop and place leaders at all levels. She also ran CEB’s Leadership Academies business, which developed more than 30,000 professionals in 2,100 companies throughout 50 countries and grew revenue at a 97% combined annual growth rate across five years. 

Previously, Jennifer served as CEO of IntraVision, a leadership consultancy she founded and grew over the course of eight years. She worked with public companies, start-ups, associations and nonprofits. Her passion is creating vision, executing strategy and managing cohesive teams toward aspirational goals, with a special focus on supporting women in leadership roles.

She is an avid tennis player and skier, and lives in Bethesda, MD, with her husband and three children.

Education & Training:

Jennifer has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, and an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in psychology and communications.

Katie O'Malley is a Career Coach and Workplace Consultant with fifteen (15) years of professional experience serving the nonprofit, corporate and education sectors. Across these workplaces, Katie noticed her strengths and values consistently steered her toward the
support and development of others. In 2012, Katie translated this observation into action, earning a Master's Degree in Counseling and Board Certification in Coaching.  

Since 2018, Katie has worked alongside more than 125 clients as the Founder and Principal Coach of (en)Courage Coaching. Founded with the noble mission of providing exceptional, financially accessible coaching services to Chicago area professionals, (en)Courage Coaching
has grown to support individuals and businesses from coast to coast, as well as in the United Kingdom.

Coaching clients in the design of authentic career paths, effective leadership practices, and courageous workplace cultures is in the DNA of (en)Courage Coaching. By leveraging a mix of evidence-based practices from the fields of counseling, organizational development,
and leadership education, Katie equips her clients with customized strategies to meet their individual needs and aspirational goals.

Prior to opening the doors of (en)Courage Coaching, Katie served as a leadership coach and course instructor to MBA and graduate students at Chicago Booth, The University of Texas at Austin, and DePaul University. Recently featured in Fast Company and Thrive Global,
Katie's research and writing supports both sides of the workplace equation, encouraging employers and employees to remember, "We're all in this work-thing together."

Lisa Sharapata is the Chief Marketing Officer at The Arbinger Institute, the innovator of leadership development and culture transformation. At Arbinger, Sharapata taps into her 20 years of marketing experience to create strategies that engage and inspire audiences across the buyer journey. 

Prior to Arbinger, Sharapata served as CMO at BoostUp.ai, was the VP of Global Marketing at MindTickle, and held senior positions at 6sense and Aprimo.  

Sharapata has been widely recognized for her contributions in marketing, including being named as one of CIOLook's 10 Most Influential CMOs to Follow in 2023. She was also awarded the 2021 B2B Vanguard and B2B Innovator, and was named a "Woman to Watch” by DMN. 

Sharapata is passionate about making a difference. She serves as a GTM Partners Ambassador, lends her expertise as an advisor for Hushly, and plays a pivotal role as Co-Founder and board member of the PEAK Community. Outside of work, she thrives in the great outdoors, and enjoys watching soccer and spending time with her family and dog. 

Antonio Cortes is the Managing Director for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Justice (EDIJ) at Nonprofit HR. He is an Industrial/Organizational and Business Psychologist with extensive experience in the nonprofit sector. In his current role, he provides strategic and operational leadership to the EDIJ practice area. Areas of support include Organizational Equity Assessments to uncover operations that lead to inequities, strategy development to solve unique organizational issues in the EDIJ space, global application of EDIJ concepts for multinational organizations and training on topics such as Building a Business Case for EDIJ, Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Systems Theory Application to Workforce Development.

Brian McComak is a consultant, speaker, author, and facilitator with over 25 years of experience in DEI, HR, culture, change management, internal communications, and employee experience. He is an openly gay man and a person with a disability who shares his lived experiences in service of fostering workplaces where humans thrive.

​Before starting Hummingbird Humanity, he was the Global Head of Inclusion for Tapestry – the home of Coach, Kate Spade & Stuart Weitzman – where he designed and launched the company’s DEI strategy. He put Tapestry ‘on the map’ as a great place for inclusion, earning recognition from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, Women in the Workplace and Forbes’ Best Places to Work for Diversity.

​​Brian has also worked in leadership roles at leading global companies including The Walt Disney Company, L’Oreal, and Christie’s Auction House. His experience spans a diverse variety of industries including fashion/retail, hospitality, auction, entertainment/media and he has consulted with organizations in technology, financial services, media and non-profit.​

Brian is a frequent guest on podcasts where he shares his passion for creating human-centered workplace cultures. Recent appearances include Jennifer Brown’s The Will to Change, Surabhi Lal’s SIPS & Leadership and Nikki Lewallen’s Gut+Science.

​Brian holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and Change Management from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Management and Marketing. 

​Join Brian in working to create a world where we accept each other, celebrate our differences, and recognize that we truly are #bettertogether.

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.