Virtual Pass

Dr.  Di Ann Sanchez, Ph.D., SPHR, SHRM – SCP, is the Chief Exceptional Officer of DAS HR Consulting LLC and Sanchez & Associates, a WMBE/HUB-certified firm focused on creative and non-traditional Human Resources programs and Diversity. Dr. Sanchez has over 35 years of experience, is a certified Senior Human Resources Professional (SPHR & SHRM – SCP), and has held executive positions with both private and public companies, including: 
    Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
    United Natural Foods, Inc.
    Burlington Northern Santa Fe
    Boeing Commercial Airplane Group
    American Airlines 
    Delta Technology 

Dr. Sanchez received the 2018 Top Minority Business Leaders Award for Tarrant County. Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the “Top 50 Hispanic Women in Business,” one of the “Top 80 Elite Hispanic Women,” and one of the “Top 100 Latinas in America.” She is also a past SMU Latino Leadership Initiative Advisor. 

She was highlighted in the Hispanic Journal Magazine, recognizing her human resources and diversity accomplishments at American Airlines. She has also been featured in USA Today to improve the employment verification process and encourage comprehensive immigration reform.  

Dr. Sanchez has spoken at the SHRM National Conference, Talent Management, and National Diversity and Inclusion. She has also spoken at several SHRM and Business Chapters and has been featured in many publications as a national Human Resources and Diversity expert. She is also a SHRM National Speakers Bureau Member. Dr. Sanchez actively participates in the SHRM Voice of Work Research Panel. 

I am Dr. Tracy Powell, the founder and driving force behind, Leading with Compassion. With over a decade of speaking, training, and coaching, I have carved a niche as a Tactical Executive Coach, Practical Leadership Expert, Professional Speaker, and Author. Born and raised in Lamar, South Carolina, and a proud graduate of the University of South Carolina, I bring a wealth of experience, including 16+ years of active-duty service as a Scientist Officer and over 12 years dedicated to speaking and coaching on leadership. My journey is marked by resilience, from overcoming racial discrimination to balancing work and family life, leading me to establish Leading with Compassion as a sanctuary for all organizations, corporations, and associations.​My accolades include being an internationally known, award-winning author and speaker, a Distinguished Toastmaster, and a Certified Mediator. Publications, such as Practical Leadership: Lessons Learned from Mickey and The Leadership Journal, reflect her passion for nurturing leaders who are not only effective but also empathetic and inclusive.

Mallory Herrin is an experienced human resources consultant and industry recognized thought leader, serving as HerrinHR’s CEO and Principal HR Consultant. She is a frequent speaker at HR conferences and the author of Intentional HR: A Revolution in Strategic Thinking. With 20 years of HR experience, she holds certifications from both HRCI and SHRM, and has been named one of the Top 5 Most Influential Women Leaders in HR.

Founder of Spark in the Dark & Co-Founder of HelpLink.

As the founder of Spark in the Dark, a nonprofit connecting individuals in need with resources, I've spearheaded a movement that has empowered over 30,000 members and 18 volunteers across Michigan, facilitating the resolution of over 100,000 needs since 2017. With a mission to enable direct assistance anytime, anywhere, Spark embodies the power of community support.

Recognizing the need for businesses to maximize their social impact, I co-founded HelpLink, a platform revolutionizing corporate philanthropy. With HelpLink, I'm passionate about streamlining corporate giving, ensuring businesses can support local causes while prioritizing the needs of their employees. Our innovative approach fosters a culture of giving within organizations and communities, enhancing brand reputation and driving meaningful change.

As an entrepreneur committed to driving social impact through technology and innovation, I bring over 12 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and nonprofit leadership. Named one of the 2022 "40 under 40" to watch in Northern Michigan and recognized as one of the region's most influential women, I've been honored for my dedication to community building and philanthropy. Additionally, Spark in the Dark was awarded the 2020 Torch of Ethics by the Better Business Bureau and selected as one of 77 organizations worldwide for the 2020 Facebook Community Accelerator, receiving direct training from Meta (Facebook).

Scott is an internationally recognized crisis negotiator, advisor, trainer and keynote speaker. He is known and respected for his experience negotiating in highly charged situations, with high stakes and when the situation requires sensitivity to the human element. Clients, audiences and students alike, find Scott’s teachings, insightful, inspiring and pragmatic.   

Scott worked as a hostage/crisis negotiator with one of the largest regional SWAT teams in the United States for many years before moving into the role of a negotiations speaker and trainer. He has over 20 years of law enforcement experience and retired from a Chicago area police department in 2023 at the rank of Lieutenant. He was trained by in negotiation by the FBI and has studied at the Harvard University Program on Negotiation, at IMD Business School, and he continues to receive training from the world’s top negotiators.  

​Scott is a prolific trainer within the negotiation field and travels the country and around the world speaking to a wide variety of audiences. He has taught negotiations at Harvard University, for the FBI, and has keynoted for companies such as Microsoft and Bosch.  In 2016, he was invited to give a TEDx talk titled “The Secrets of Hostage Negotiators”, which has received over 1 million views.  His visibility as a speaker and educator through TEDx and other venues has reached global status.  
 
Scott currently resides in the Chicago area and is a Partner and co-founder with the Negotiations Collective, where he works with organizations and their leaders on how to have difficult conversations to resolve conflict and increase their influence.    

Mike Walsh is a futurist for leaders, internationally renown for his visionary and pragmatic insights on how organizations can leverage AI for reinvention. A regular columnist for the Harvard Business Review, a strategic advisor to Fortune 50 corporations, and a global nomad - he is the author of three bestselling books, most recently: ‘The Algorithmic Leader: How to be smart when machines are smarter than you’. He has a rare talent for connecting emerging technologies, cultural shifts, and commercial strategies — crafting insights that bridge the present to the future with clarity, relevance, and a compelling touch of wit.

At the heart of Mike Walsh's work is a singular focus on redefining leadership for the AI age. Unlike other futurists who concentrate on predicting technological advances or broad societal trends, Walsh zeroes in on how leaders must fundamentally reimagine their role in a world where machines are increasingly capable of making complex decisions. His key insight is that traditional leadership approaches, built for an analog era of predictable business cycles and hierarchical organizations, are no longer sufficient. Instead, leaders must develop new capabilities to harness data and AI while maintaining their essential human judgment and ethical principles.

Walsh believes that the real challenge isn't just understanding the technology itself, but rather how leaders can adapt their decision-making, develop new mental models, and reshape their organizations to effectively combine human and machine intelligence. His emphasis on the human dimension of technological change makes his insights particularly valuable for business leaders navigating digital transformation.

On a personal note, Mike’s ethnic background is as diverse as his experiences. Born in Australia to parents of mixed Asian and European heritage, he has lived, worked, and traveled across many countries, embracing a truly global perspective.
A prolific writer and sought-after commentator, Mike’s insights have been featured in leading global publications such as Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. As a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, he tackles cutting-edge leadership themes ranging from data-driven decision-making and agile organizations to algorithmic management and AI ethics. Through his popular podcast Between Worlds, Mike engages with bold thinkers, innovators, and disruptors from across industries. He also produces The Future is Elsewhere, a YouTube series offering fresh perspectives from dynamic locations like Seoul, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Istanbul, bringing global trends and future forward ideas to life.

Mike is an accomplished author with three published books and a fourth on the way, focused on the future of AI Agents, set to release in early 2026. His most recent work, The Algorithmic Leader, provides an optimistic and practical roadmap for harnessing AI, automation, and algorithms to transform leadership and reshape organizations. The book has achieved global success, with translations available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Polish, and Russian. In his 2014 release, The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas, Mike foresaw groundbreaking innovations such as micro satellite networks, cryptocurrencies, remote work, life extension technologies, self-driving cars, drones, digital biology, digital activism, and the commercialization of space. His debut book, Futuretainment, published by Phaidon in 2009, earned the prestigious Art Director’s Club design award in New York. It accurately predicted the impact of smartphones on media and marketing, as well as the rise of social media, digital influencers, streaming platforms, and the emergence of the Metaverse.

Kylen Sharpe is an Agent in the Music department at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Sharpe is based in the Nashville office and works with such artists as Tim McGraw, Billy Currington, Shaboozey, Niko Moon, Danae Hays, Aaron Watson, Tyler Braden and developing clients Walker Montgomery, Clayton Mullen and Reid Haughton.  She is also responsible for booking fairs, festivals and rodeos throughout the mid-South for CAA's entire country roster including Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Zac Brown Band, Sam Hunt, Cody Johnson and others.  

Sharpe began her career at APA and joined CAA in 2010.

Sharpe sits on the board (and serves as Vice Chair) at Monroe Harding and serves as a mentor, helping a young people transition out of the foster care system and in to adulthood.  She also serves as a mentor inside CAA working with a group of developing women in the support staff.  In 2015, Sharpe won the International Entertainment Buyers Association’s Rookie of the Year award.  In 2018, she was featured as an “Agent to Watch” in Variety’s music issue.

Sharpe graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in Microbiology. 

Shawn McSpadden was born in Ft. Worth Texas but considers Nashville home.  Shawn attended Franklin Road Academy, where he played football and baseball, helping win two state championships, was captain of the football team, and President of his senior class.

College life started at Liberty University, followed by a transfer to Belmont University in the Fall of 1988. While attending Belmont, Shawn and his father Gary McSpadden started McSpadden Music Group where he was able to develop and publish artists and writers.

McSpadden Music Group grew quickly and became McSpadden-Smith Music with a full-scale management company as well as a catalog of over 20 staff songwriters and over 3,500 copyrights. Songs published by McSpadden - Smith Music were recorded by artists such as Faith Hill, Vince Gill, She Daisy, Earth Wind and Fire, Amy Grant and many others. The catalog contained over 30 #1 chart topping songs in both the Country and Christian Billboard charts. In 1998 McSpadden - Smith was purchased by Music and Media International and Shawn took over as VP/GM of Word Music publishing.

During his time as VP/GM for Word Music Publishing he also added the title of Senior VP of Artist and Repertoire for Word/Warner Bros. Records where he worked with Randy Travis, Sixpence None the Richer, MuteMath and Robert Randolph, among others. In 2004 Shawn left Word/ Warner Bros. Records to team up with Greg Hill at Greg Hill Management and began managing artists in both the Country and Christian industry.

 In 2006 the company became a part of Red Light Management where he worked alongside Coran Capshaw to develop the Nashville office and roster.

In 2023 after many years at Red Light Management Shawn became Managing Partner at Range Media Partners in Nashville Tennessee. Range Media Partners is a diverse company representing talent in Film/TV, Music, Sports and Influencers with offices in Santa Monica, Nashville, New York and London.

Shawn has served on the board of Music for the Soul, Belle Meade Plantation, the Gospel Music Association and NARAS. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Academy of Country Music and is Chairman of the board for the Academy’s Lifting Lives.  He completed Leadership Music in 2001 and is involved with Habitat for Humanity along with other charities.