Concurrent Session

Meera joined Gradifi with 20 years of B2C and B2B marketing experience, and oversees all aspects of the company’s marketing and brand strategy. Most recently, Meera spent over 5 years at Valore (formerly SimpleTuition) as VP of Marketing, where she led a team responsible for a number of education brands including SimpleTuition, ValoreBooks and Boundless. Prior to Valore, Meera worked in consumer marketing roles at major consumer brands including Sports Illustrated and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Meera has a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Laura Rodnitzky is VP of People at 3Q Digital, the largest independent agency in digital marketing, headquartered in Silicon Valley. Laura joined 3Q Digital as a search engine marketer in 2009, when there were just three employees, and has helped the company grow to nearly 300 employees in nine offices across the U.S. and overseas. Having previously managed process innovation and training at 3Q, she currently oversees the company’s HR, Payroll, Benefits, Recruiting, Diversity and Inclusion, and Employee Engagement initiatives.

Marlin D. Smith is a dynamic HR professional that is passionate about helping employees and companies find common ground for success. As founder of Mandrake HR Consulting, LLC, he has a solid background in leadership, safety, and employee culture from over 15 years in Human Resources leadership. He believes that the key to a successful employer/employee relationship is commitment: on the part of the employer to provide the best environment for employee to thrive, and on the part of the employee to bring the whole of their skills to the table to fulfill their given roles. When both parties bring their best, it’s amazing what can happen!

Shyrl Scalice is Assistant Director in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf Center on Employment at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.  In addition to supporting students, she provides consultation and training to numerous employer organizations nationwide on recruitment, communication and inclusion strategies related to working with deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.  She regularly participates in conferences of national organizations including the NACE, SHRM, Disability:IN and ILG.

She previously worked as a Career Consultant and Trainer with Lee Hecht Harrison, a career transition and outplacement firm where her clients were from the Financial, Pharmaceutical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing industries.  She managed Diversity Training programs and also worked as a Corporate Recruiter at Eastman Kodak.  Her areas of expertise include Career Management and Transition, Networking and Job Search Best Practices, Inclusion practices for the deaf and hard of hearing.  Shyrl holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Nazareth College and Biology degree from SUNY at Geneseo.

Global Speaker Sonia Aranza has presented on the international stage from Spain to Singapore.  She brings 27+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion & Global Leadership. Her clients include Boeing, CIA, McDonald’s and more. The U.S. Department of Labor describes her work as “Outstanding” and was selected to execute programs for landmark cases. SHRM featured her as a Diversity & Inclusion Expert in HR Magazine and she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Leadership. She serves on the Faculty of Howard University’s Executive Diversity Program; named “100 Most Influential Filipina Americans in the United States” and honored “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.”

Heather Tinsley-Fix is a Senior Advisor at AARP, where she leads the organization’s work on employer engagement and helps drive AARP’s focus on providing workers 50+ with the tools they need to thrive in today’s work environment.  With a background in marketing, innovation, and program management, Heather works with employers and job seekers, external partners, and academics to provide thought leadership on 50+ labor market issues and create practical resources that enable employers to capitalize on the value of experience. 

Dr. Michael Baran is the CEO of Iris Inclusion, a global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) firm. Dr. Baran draws on his own social science research to inform his DEI speaking engagements, writings, consulting, leadership development, and eLearning. After teaching at Harvard University, he has been supporting DEI in organizations for 20 years. His work has been covered in the New York Times, BBC, Forbes, CNN, NPR, and more.

His recent book, Subtle Acts of Exclusion, was named by Forbes as one of “The 11 Books To Read To Be A More Inclusive Leader” and has won several awards.

Ricardo is an international keynote speaker, consultant, author, filmmaker, and explorer. He immigrated to the United States from Mexico City after graduating from photography school with the singular focus of building a career that would allow him to explore the world. Later he earned a Film degree at the University of Texas at Austin, then he went on to create documentary work in Mexico and China, and make the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago in Spain. His most recent project, Pedal South, entailed leading a team on a two-year expedition cycling from Alaska to Argentina.

Melodie Craft is an employment and labor lawyer with a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations and over 17 years of experience strategically counseling and successfully defending employers on all aspects of the employment and labor relationship. Melodie routinely defends employers in complex employment litigation in both state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout the country. Her experience includes litigation in both the nationwide-based class and collective action as well as the individual single plaintiff contexts. She has successfully represented clients on appeal, presenting winning oral and written arguments before the appellate courts.

Melodie has built a reputation for providing employers with timely and pragmatic advice and strategic solutions. Melodie counsels companies regarding employment law issues on high stakes issues as well as daily advice. Her additional master's degree in human resources and industrial relations, her pursuit of a strategic decision and risk management certificate from Stanford University, and her extensive experience in employment and labor law provide her a special perspective on the issues faced by management, boards of directors, in-house attorneys, and human resources representatives, in addition to the ability to provide effective strategic advice and counseling. She frequently provides counsel on issues such as:

• Executive agreements
• Employee compensation
• Unfair competition, restrictive covenants, trade secrets
• Contractual and business practices issues, reductions-in-force
• Compliance, training, employment policy, procedure development, implementation, and audits
• Day-to-day labor and employment matters, such as hiring and firing, employee discipline and termination, worker leaves of absence, and discrimination and harassment allegations

Besides successfully litigating in state and federal courts across the country, Melodie has handled administrative matters before federal agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and state governmental agencies throughout the United States. She has handled administrative matters including but not limited to the following issues:

• Compensation
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Wrongful discharge
• Retaliation
• Employee leave and disability
• Safety
• Sarbanes-Oxley
• Union issues (including representation elections, grievances, collective bargaining and unfair labor practice proceedings)

Melodie is a frequent speaker and trainer and has presented on many employment-related topics including litigation avoidance, class action defense and strategy, discrimination and harassment, wage and hour issues, compliance, trade secrets and restrictive covenants, and conducting lawful investigations to such groups as the Association of Corporate Counsel, Chambers of Commerce, and various Bar Associations and Human Resources groups. She has also contributed to numerous books and publications on employment law topics.

Elizabeth is an attorney, HR professional, and diversity practitioner.  Effective July 16, 2018, she joined the Campbell Soup Company’s D&I team and will work on the  development and execution of key components of a new D&I strategy. Previously, Elizabeth was Partner/Chief Diversity Officer for Andrews Kurth Kenyon in Houston. Before joining the law firm in 2007, Elizabeth was VP Employment Relations/Corporate Diversity Officer for ARAMARK in Philadelphia. Elizabeth is a frequent speaker, training facilitator and author on D&I and employment law. Elizabeth received her J.D. from University of Michigan and her B.A. from American University.

Dr. Edward E. Hubbard, President and CEO of Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc., an International Business Performance Consulting Corp. specializing in Business Improvement, Diversity Return on Investment (DROI®) Measurement/Analytics, and organizational development.  Author of more than 59 DEI ROI and Business-related books, Dr. Hubbard is an expert in Organizational Analysis, ROI Measurement, Strategic Planning, and more. Dr. Hubbard was an honoree at the Inaugural International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals Living Legends of Diversity Award Ceremony in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico where he received the “Living Legends of Diversity Award” for creating the “Diversity ROI Analytics” and “Diversity Measurement Fields and their associated Disciplines” and is recognized globally as the creator of these unique sciences and fields of study. 

Dr. Hubbard received the “Excellence in Global Leadership Award” from the World HRD Congress (the highest individual professional award given), the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences, the Sentry Award from the U.S. Pentagon, and many others.

Dr. Hubbard serves on the Harvard Business Review, Diversity Executive Magazine and Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Management (SDIM) magazine Editorial Advisory Boards and serves on the Board of Directors for The Ohio State University African American Alumni Society. He also holds a Practitioner Certification and Master Practitioner Certification in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), a Neuroscience discipline. Dr. Hubbard earned Bachelors, Masters Degrees from The Ohio State University and earned a Ph.D. with Honors in Business Administration.