Virtual Pass

Barbara Holland has over 10 years' experience as Global Director of HR for nonprofit organizations working in Africa, India, China, Mexico, Kosovo, and Myanmar.  Prior to working in international development, she worked for 15+ years in California in Medical and Health Insurance Industries.  In addition to her HR duties, she also was responsible for Global Travel Security and Facilities Management.  Barbara holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Human Resources from California State Polytechnic University and is a certified practitioner in Myers-Briggs (MBTI®).  Barbara has served on various nonprofits board.  She is married, has two children and three grandchildren and enjoys anything that has to do with family and the outdoors.

For over 20 years, Allison West has used her employment law background in delivering customized workplace training, conducting investigations, coaching executives/managers, serving as an expert witness, and specializing in conflict resolution and facilitated discussions to create more collaborative work environments. 

Allison is a top-rated speaker at the SHRM Annual Conference as well as other HR/diversity conferences, and is a national expert on harassment, discrimination and investigations. She has appeared on PBS, CBS This Morning and in O Magazine discussing workplace harassment issues. 

She is a member of the State Bar of California and holds her SHRM-SCP certification and AWI-CH (investigation) certificate.

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.

Lauren McFerran served as a Member of the NLRB from December 17, 2014 until December 16, 2019. On July 29, 2020, the Senate confirmed her renomination as a Board Member for a term expiring on December 16, 2024.

On January 20, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden named Ms. McFerran Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

Previous to her appointment to the NLRB, Ms. McFerran served as Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee) and had also served the Committee as Deputy Staff Director under Senator Tom Harkin.  She began on the HELP Committee as Senior Labor Counsel for Senator Ted Kennedy.  Before her work in the United States Senate, Ms. McFerran was an associate at Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C. and served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  Ms. McFerran received a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Omari Faulkner is President and CEO of Blue Fire Fed, a strategic communications and development company.  As a trailblazing business leader, driven by service and a passion to address the needs of the military community, Omari delivers solutions and provides thought leadership to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations.  He ensures veterans, military families, and active military members transitioning to civilian life are fully integrated into the civilian workforce and culture; filling an untapped niche in the global workplace.

He has traveled to over 45 countries as a U.S. Department of State Special Envoy and is the author of Athlete for Life, a book providing student-athletes, parents, coaches, and the sport development community with a blueprint for success and lifelong accomplishment.  Today, he remains an active Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  

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.

Steve Lowisz is a successful entrepreneur, TEDx and keynote speaker, educator, trainer, and investor. He founded Qualigence International in 1999 and has since founded other businesses under the Qualigence brand. The additional companies include Qualigence Leadership Institute, Recruiting Education Institute, and others.

Steve prides himself on tailoring every speaking engagement to educate the audience, as a result, he has received requests to speak at corporations headquartered around the world including Starbucks, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems, Whirlpool, and more. Steve is a contributor to the Forbes Human Resource Council and the founder of the HR Executive Council.

Omari Faulkner is President and CEO of Blue Fire Fed, a strategic communications and development company.  As a trailblazing business leader, driven by service and a passion to address the needs of the military community, Omari delivers solutions and provides thought leadership to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations.  He ensures veterans, military families, and active military members transitioning to civilian life are fully integrated into the civilian workforce and culture; filling an untapped niche in the global workplace.

He has traveled to over 45 countries as a U.S. Department of State Special Envoy and is the author of Athlete for Life, a book providing student-athletes, parents, coaches, and the sport development community with a blueprint for success and lifelong accomplishment.  Today, he remains an active Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.  

Wendy Harkness is the Chief Compliance Officer at Harri. She leads the advancement of Harri’s industry-leading Workforce Compliance Platform, supporting a rapidly expanding community of global enterprise clients across multiple compliance functions, including wage & hour, payroll, and training. Wendy is also leading the development of Harri’s Predictive Compliance products. This first-in-market suite of solutions allows HR, legal, finance, and operations executives to better monitor, mitigate, and plan for employee risk across their organization.

Terri L. Dougherty, SHRM-CP, is an editor on the human resources content team at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. It’s rare to find someone who specializes in labor law posting compliance, but that’s Terri’s world. She has worked with posting compliance for more than 10 years and answers hundreds of questions on the topic annually. Always happy to talk about posters, she also delivers posting webcasts and has spoken at national SHRM conferences. Her other areas of specialization include marijuana regulations and drug testing laws.