Concurrent Session

James is a rare mix of management consultant, change specialist, adventurer and motivational speaker. James helps turn busy and over-worked managers into inspirational leaders.

Jennifer Currence is a Senior Partner of HR Soul consultancy firm in Tampa, Florida, where she delivers results through strategic HR solutions, customized training, and coaching programs for organizational and HR leaders. She is the creator of The SOTO Approach to Leadership and the content architect for the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) international People Manager Qualification (PMQ).

Jennifer is regularly published and featured in industry magazines, webinars, and podcasts, and is the author of three HR books on behavioral business competencies.

Jennifer was named one of the top 100 Influential HR professionals in Leadership and Development in 2023 and Tampa Bay’s HR Consultant of the Year in 2017.  She is a faculty member for SHRM and a former management professor at the University of Tampa.

Shawn Kent Hayashi is the founder and CEO of The Professional Development Group and a global expert in developing inspiring leaders and high performing teams. Growth, innovation, and elevated performance and profits are the results of Shawn’s work as an executive coach and consultant.  Shawn facilitates growth in leadership ability, emotional intelligence, communication skills, collaboration, and building trust and stronger relationships.  Her clients include entrepreneurial companies, Fortune 500, and associations around the globe. The author of six business communications books, Shawn has also been a feature expert in The New York Times, Forbes, and FastCompany.

Danielle Vanderzanden is a Shareholder in the Boston office of Ogletree Deakins. She is CIPP/US certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals and Co-Chair of Ogletree’s international privacy and cybersecurity practice.  She is an active trial lawyer who frequently litigates high-stakes matters involving privacy, information security, discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour claims. She regularly audits clients’ information security policies and practices, compensation practices, and work place policies and procedures.  She is an active speaker on issues such as information security, the wave of recently enacted pay equity laws, and the #MeToo movement’s impact in the workplace. 

Jeanette Maister is the former chief operating officer of Global Campus Recruiting at Credit Suisse. Prior to Credit Suisse, Maister spent eight years in a variety of recruiting leadership roles at Lehman Brothers. She also held positions at IBM in HR, and Gartner, an IT advisory company, as director of Global Talent Acquisition. Jeanette is currently the Americas managing director at WCN, a best-in-class global talent acquisition solutions technology firm. Maister graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in psychology and earned her MBA from Columbia Business School.

Tyi McCray, PhD, is a diversity and inclusion (D&I) thought leader, a dynamic presenter and trained coach. As a D&I consultant for the private sector, Tyi has helped organizations in a range of industries develop tailored diversity strategies and workshops (working with companies such as Twitter, The New York Times, Airbnb, Pinterest, and GoPro).

Before becoming a consultant for the private sector, Tyi served an 11-year tenure at Cornell University. As the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell’s business school (Johnson Graduate School of Management), Tyi designed and executed a data-driven strategic plan aimed at cultivating an inclusive environment. She also taught graduate level courses for MBA students on leading diverse teams, with a focus on effective communication across social and cultural differences.

Tyi has a PhD in Plant Biology from Cornell University and is certified by the Coaches Training Institute.

Johnny Campbell is a serial disrupter in the world of hiring. As founder and CEO of SocialTalent, the world’s leading hiring skills platform, he works with some of the largest enterprises in the world (such as Intel, IBM and Ikea) to drive hiring excellence in their organizations. Hiring, for Johnny isn't just about finding and hiring great talent, it must include on-boarding and fully engaging new hires for it to be considered truly successful. He has presented these concepts at some of the world’s biggest hiring conferences across the world. His dedication is matched only by his enthusiasm, making him one of the most sought after speakers on the topics of hiring and talent. 

Jessica Miller-Merrell is the Founder of Workology, a workplace resource for HR, recruiting professionals and business leaders, and host of the Workology Podcast. The site has been listed twice as a top 75 career resource by Forbes. Jessica is the president and CEO of Xceptional HR, a human capital strategy and consulting agency. Because of her industry expertise and knowledge, Jessica’s expertise is sought after and sourced by publications and media including: The Economist, Forbes, CIO Magazine, CBS, Entrepreneur Magazine, and SHRM’s HR Magazine. Her new book, Digitizing Talent: Creative Strategies for the Digital Recruiting Age was published in 2023 by SHRM.