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LaQuenta Jacobs, serves as the Global Vice President of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity at Kimberly Clark, providing cultural leadership that cultivate K-C’s equity strategy. Her focus includes the important work of diversity and inclusion and partnering with internal and external stakeholders to unleash the power of the company’s workforce.

     Prior to joining K-C, she served as XPO’s Chief Diversity Officer, providing cultural leadership and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion.  She initially joined XPO as head of             human resources for the company’s last mile business unit.  In prior roles, LaQuenta led organizational development initiatives for global public companies, including Delta Airlines,         The Home Depot, Turner Broadcasting and Georgia-Pacific.

     LaQuenta is a passionate business leader with deep experience in cultural transformation. In addition to providing HR business partnership and strategic guidance for diversity,                 equity,  and inclusion, she has worked across a variety of HR disciplines, including talent acquisition, talent development, organizational design, compensation, change management         and employee relations, this experience has shaped her passion for helping organizations cultivate cultures of equitable access for all.

Pedro Jaime Torres-Díaz is the office managing principal of the Miami, Florida, office and a principal in the San Juan, Puerto Rico, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is also a past president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. His practice concentrates on employment discrimination and wage and hour counseling and litigation exclusively on behalf of employers, both in Florida and Puerto Rico.

Pedro has extensive trial experience before both federal and local courts and administrative forums in Puerto Rico and Florida. He has also successfully defended employers in all types of administrative hearings before local and federal agencies. Before joining Jackson Lewis, he was a partner in the Labor and Employment Law Department of a leading law firm in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he resided and practiced law for eight years.

Throughout his practice in Puerto Rico, Pedro was a frequent and featured speaker on many subjects in the labor and employment law field, in seminars for clients and for organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management and the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce. Since arriving in Miami, he has continued to participate as speaker on many topics related to workplace law, both for clients and other organizations in Florida and elsewhere. Pedro has also written articles on legal developments in Puerto Rico, one of which was published in the American Bar Association's The International Employment Lawyer.

During his undergraduate studies, he completed an internship in European Business in the Ecòle Europèenne des Affaires in Paris, France. After completion of his undergraduate studies, Pedro worked as a fiscal analyst in the corporate headquarters of McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Missouri. After his graduation from law school, he clerked for Honorable Aida M. Delgado-Colón, United States Magistrate-Judge (now Chief United States District Judge), at the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Pedro is fluent in Spanish and English, and conversant in French.

Cynt Marshall has been a dynamic force for inclusion and diversity within the Mavericks organization and over a 36-year career at AT&T.  When Cynt was hired as the CEO of the Mavs in March 2018, she set her sights on a culture transformation.  Her vision was for the Mavericks organization to become the NBA standard for inclusion and diversity. Cynt brought transparency, trust and her values-based leadership style that evolved the company culture in her first 100 days.

Prior to her joining the Mavs, Cynt founded Marshalling Resources, a consulting firm specializing in Leadership, Diversity & Inclusion, Culture Transformation and overall optimization of people resources. Upon the company naming its first Chief Inclusion Officer in June 2017, Cynt worked with The Dow Chemical Company to develop and implement a strategy for institutionalizing an inclusive culture. Dow was named to DiversityInc’s Top 50 list in 2018 and has since been identified on Fortune’s Great Place to Work lists.

Cynt’s notoriety began many years ago as a young Officer at AT&T and grew exponentially when she served as Senior Vice President – Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer at AT&T.  There she was responsible for identifying and developing leaders, aligning employees with the company’s vision and priorities, overseeing major business unit HR support, performance development, employee engagement, skills transformation initiatives, EEO and Affirmative Action. Cynt also led the team that created a world class Diversity and Inclusion culture, landing AT&T in the top 3 on Diversity Inc’s 2017 Top 50 list of companies.  She also spearheaded the work that for the first time placed AT&T on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2017, one of only two Fortune 50 companies.

Before her SVP-Human Resources and Chief Diversity Office roles, Cynt served as President-AT&T North Carolina where she became the first African-American chair of the North Carolina State Chamber of Commerce. Prior to her North Carolina appointment, Cynt held a variety of executive line and staff, technical and non-technical positions at AT&T and its predecessor companies.

Widely recognized for her visionary leadership and ability to get things done Cynt is the recipient of several honors and awards. In 2021, Forbes named Cynt one of 15 of the world’s most inspiring female leaders, Dallas WISE (Women In Sports and Events) honored her with the inaugural Women of Inspiration award, The Women’s Forum of New York bestowed the Elly award, and Texas Women’s University recognized Cynt with the Virginia Chandler Dyke Leadership award. Cynt received the 2020 Girl Scouts of America Lifetime Achievement award and was touted as one of Adweek’s 30 Most Powerful Women in Sports. In 2019, Cynt was honored with the Women of Power Legacy Award by Black Enterprise and was the recipient of the National ATHENA® Leadership Program Award. This annual award is presented by chambers of commerce, women’s organizations and universities worldwide. In 2017, Cynt was honored by The Network Journal as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business and was honored with the ATHENA® Leadership Program Award by the Dallas Regional Chamber, which recognizes exceptional women who excel in their careers, contribute to their communities and develop women leaders. In March 2020 and several times prior, Cynt was selected as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise magazine and named to Ebony magazine’s 2016 “Power 100” list.  In 2014, industry analysts and members of the press conferred on Cynt the HR Executive of the Year - Best in Biz Award. For her efforts on behalf of the people of North Carolina, in 2013 Cynt received the prestigious Leadership North Carolina Governor’s Award, which honors just one citizen each year for lifetime achievements.

Cynt graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management and holds four honorary Doctorate degrees. She also earned a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. Cynt has chaired a variety of non-profit boards and currently serves on the board of Dallas CASA (chair), Dallas Regional Chamber, Texas Women’s Foundation, Texas 2036, T.D. Jakes Foundation, Pro Sports Assembly, Executive Leadership Council (ELC), and is a member of the International Women’s Forum. She is also on the Board of Directors of BGSF Staffing, JELD-WEN, Chime Financial, Inc. and Blinkcns, Inc.

The fourth of six children, Cynt grew up in Richmond, California, and lives in the Dallas area. She and her husband, Kenneth Marshall, have four adult children. 

Richard Lowenthal is the Chief Operating Officer at The Game Agency, a division of ELB Learning. Along with lots of interesting war stories, he brings to the fore over 25 years of game development, publishing, and training experience.  Richard has had the good fortune of working on training games with such companies as Intel, Microsoft, Merck, and Pfizer and educational games with National Geographic, Sesame Workshop, Disney, and The Learning Company.  He’s also negotiated licensing deals for world-class brands including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Monopoly, Scrabble, Bicycle Cards, Sesame Street, Crayola, and National Geographic. After computer punch-cards went the way of the Dodo bird but before the first cellphone, Richard graduated with high honors from the University of Texas in Austin with a B.S. in Aerospace engineering and earned the school’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship.  Yes, he’s a rocket scientist.  His tombstone will read: “He Helped People Do Their Jobs Better.”

Gennady Babankov, J.D. is a Manager of SHRM Exchange Visitor (J-1) Program. Babankov oversees two private sector exchange programs for foreign trainees and interns and helps develop, implement, and promote SHRM benefits portfolio for global mobility and immigration members.

Babankov has more than 20 years of experience building and managing global education and training programs for students and professionals. He has experience in teacher training, study abroad, cross-cultural training, and language acquisition, and has directed field operations in Russia, Central Asia, Middle East, and the Caucasus.

Prior to joining SHRM in 2019, Babankov managed several education and training programs sponsored by the federal government, including the Flagship Overseas Language Program (U.S. Department of Defense), Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program (U.S. Department of State), and the Open World Program (Library of Congress).

Babankov earned his J.D. degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia.

Babankov has lived in the United States since 1994 and currently resides in Fairfax, VA.

Marion Anderson, Chartered MCIPD, graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in Scotland in 2014 as a mature student after discovering a passion for driving business results through people during her extensive leadership career in international retail operations working for brands such as Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein and French Connection.  While working in a front-line People Leadership role with Apple Retail in the UK, she decided to undertake a Master’s program at GCU in International HR Management.  Her passion for developing true global professional experience inspired her to pursue the professional standards curriculum set by SHRM, as well as accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). So far she has lived and worked in Mumbai, Kuwait, Dubai, London as well as at home in Scotland. In 2020, Marion has completed an 18-month J-1 visa Trainee program in Orange County, California with the award-winning digital advertising agency Channel Bakers.  Marion has been a SHRM member since 2013.

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.

Taraneh Sarrafzadeh is a yoga teacher and wellness facilitator who specializes in adapting yoga & mindfulness practices to a wide and diverse array of groups. From community-centered classes, to working with corporate groups, Taraneh's intuitive style centers the needs of the people she is working with first. Taraneh has studied a wide range of yoga styles, Vinyasa, Hatha, and Kundalini and completed trainings in Trauma-Informed Yoga, The Subtle Body, Yoga & Social Justice, and Yoga in Action's Leadership Intensive. The teachers who have most influenced her include Noell Clark, Mark Tanaka, Seane Corn, Charanpal Kaur, Alejandro Rivas, Tias Little, and more. As a community organizer, Taraneh is committed to equity, compassionate action, and nonviolence in her work and is always evolving her creative leadership style. In 2017-2018 Taraneh was grateful to participate as a Creative Community Fellow in UPenn's National Art Strategies fellowship. Currently, Taraneh is a fellow in San Jose's Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute Class 11. Taraneh leads workshops on a wide array of topics from Self-Care to Creative Leadership.

Ms. Sarrafzadeh believes “Without inner change there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.”