Concurrent Session

Curtis Olson is an Inspector with the Calgary Police Service and currently oversees the Community and Youth Services Section. With over twenty years of policing experience he recognizes the strength of diversity and understands the importance of strategic planning to anticipate emerging demographic trends. One of his responsibilities is managing the Diversity Resource Team in which members are responsible for 9 different community portfolios: Aboriginal, African, Caribbean/ Latin America, Sexual and Gender diversity, Hate/Bias crimes, South East Asian, South Asian, Middle East/Europe and Persons with disabilities.

Recently, he guided the development of an integrated, multi-layered organizational framework to advance diversity that includes service provision, human resource practices, community capacity building and strategic communications, within the context of business planning. Curtis has presented at various conferences about topics that have national to international application. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity Western University, a Professional Management Certificate from the University of Calgary and is an alumnus of the 2012 Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

Shilpa Pherwani is an organizational psychologist by training and the Principal and CEO of IBIS Consulting Group, Inc. She has expertise in the areas of cultural competency, diversity and inclusion, organizational development and e-­learning.  As a consultant and trainer, Shilpa provides guidance to organizations to develop and achieve their D&I business goals.  She provides subject matter expertise in change management, organizational development and diversity to help organizations align D&I with business strategy. Shilpa heads the design and development team at IBIS for diversity e-­learning tools. She has led the team for several highly effective programs for clients such as Aetna, Boeing, Campbell Soup, Grainger, ESPN, Nestle, Microsoft, Sun Life Financial, and Xerox. Shilpa’s work with global organizations has included conducting diversity assessments, diversity and cross-­cultural training, leadership development, and implementation of diversity strategic plans. Shilpa received her Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Springfield College with a focus on Organizational Development.

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.

Dr. Edna Chun is associate vice chancellor for Human Resource Services at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She came from Broward College, a very large, multi-campus community college, where she was vice president for human resources and equity. At Broward College, she led the development of its Total Rewards Strategy, resulting in an employee compensation system that promoted consistency and equity. She negotiated labor agreements with faculty and staff. And she initiated a range of cost-savings initiatives. Chun received the Kathryn G. Hansen Publication Award for her co-authored book “Bridging the Divide: Globalization and Reciprocal Empowerment in Higher Education” (2009). She also received that award for the co-authored book “Are the Walls Really Down? Behavioral and Organizational Barriers to Diversity” (2007).

Mark Butler graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1979.  

He joined Marathon Oil Company in 1981 in the Findlay, Ohio office as an Associate Employee Relations Representative.  During his 25 years with the Company, Mark has held a variety of positions within the human resources function.  In 2002, Mark was assigned to his current position as Manager of Diversity.   In this capacity, he’s responsible for the development and implementation of diversity initiatives that create an environment where the talents and differences of all employees are respected and valued for business success.

Over the last 5 years, he’s spoken to over 3,000 people from both inside and outside of his company.  He continues to speak on a national level and has been a presenter at the national conferences for the American Association for Affirmative Action, The National Conference Board and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Maryella Gockel is the EY Americas Flexibility Strategy Leader and a member of the EY Americas Inclusiveness Center of Excellence. In this role, she is focused on embedding a sustainable inclusive and flexible culture to enable EY professionals to achieve their potential and make a difference, wherever they come from and whatever their characteristics.

Maryella is a noted speaker on flexibility in the workplace and has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Working Mother Magazine and Good Morning America. She is the recipient of the 2012 Ted Childs Life Work Excellence Award and Families and Work Institute’s 2009 Work Life Legacy Award.

Maryella joined Ernst & Young in the US in 1980 as a client service professional after completing her M.B.A. in accounting from Rutgers Graduate School of Management. She also completed her CPA certification during that time. She then transitioned to becoming a Human Resources professional, serving as a People Leader for numerous business units in Ernst & Young LLP before taking her current EY Americas role. She also consults with other EY member firms around the world, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, to help make flexibility initiatives locally relevant in those cultures and locations.

During Maryella’s leadership tenure, Ernst & Young LLP has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for its inclusive and flexible culture, including 15 consecutive years on FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For^® list and the 2012 Great Place to Work^® Top 25 World’s Best Multinational Workplaces list. The firm has also achieved 16 consecutive years on the Working Mother100 Best Companies list, the past seven as a Top 10 employer.

Jack H. Cage, Ph.D., is president of Cage Talent (CageTalent.com), an executive recruiting and management consulting firm, and Premier Profiling (PremierProfiling.com), which offers customized, multi-component solutions to talent challenges pre- and post-hire. Jack is the coauthor of HR’s Seat at the Table: How to Lead the Conversations and Deliver the Talent That Drives Strategic Results.

A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, Jack served in the US Army for 22 years: as a commander of infantry units; a special assistant to the Army’s senior leadership, advising White House/National Security Council, congressional, and Pentagon staffs; and as a CIO overseeing large-scale technology migrations. He returned to West Point as an associate professor to teach psychology, leadership, and research methods. A recipient of the Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, and three Legions of Merit, Jack was an Airborne/Ranger infantryman who retired as a colonel.

Jack created Antigua Partners, Inc., and Cage Talent with his wife, Laura Larson, in 2007 and Premier Profiling in 2011. Together they conduct talent-centric work (search, pre-hire assessment, individual/team evaluation and development, management consulting) for both business and nonprofit organizations, as well as for high-net-worth families in the United States. They also design and implement customized programs centered on workplace effectiveness, selection and hiring best practices, and leadership, for the City of New York, the US State Department, and Chinese CEOs visiting the United States.

Jack holds a master’s in social psychology and a doctorate in organizational psychology, both from Columbia University. Upon retirement from the US Army in 1997, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a senior client partner for 10 years in executive search at the two largest publically traded search firms, Heidrick & Struggles and Korn/Ferry International. At these firms, he specialized in advanced technology and financial services searches, placing senior executives at, among many others, American Express, Cisco, JPMorgan Chase, McGraw-Hill, Visa, and Wells Fargo.

Jack is on the board of the Pat Tillman Foundation. He also does extensive pro bono coaching to veterans transitioning to civilian life.

In his current role, Mark is responsible for program development, project management and the expansion of Tanenbaum programs nationally and internationally. A sought-after expert on equality issues like race, gender, sexual orientation and religion, Mark's recent engagements include workshops at SHRM’s Annual Conference & Exposition, the National Association for Multicultural Education, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, and Multicultural Forum for Workplace Diversity.

Ed Rodriguez joined Ventura Foods as Vice President of Field Human Resources in 2011 and has held the title of Vice President of Organizational and Leadership Development since 2012. He began his career in human resources at PepsiCo in 1995. After serving as a Human Resources Manager in several Los Angeles area locations, he became regional Staffing and Training Manager for Southern California in 1999. In 2001, he joined Pepsi Bottling Group’s headquarters HR team as a Labor Relations Manager and Chief Spokesperson. A year later, he joined the acquisition and integration team, and later was named Director of Human Resources for PBG Mexico, where he was responsible for 26,000 employees, twenty-five plants, and more than 150 sales and distribution locations. In 2004, Mr. Rodriguez returned to PBG’s headquarters as Vice President of International Capability for its Mexico, Canada, and European operations, and was later named Vice President of Organizational Capability and Diversity, where he led PBG to a #2 ranking on DiversityInc Magazine’s 2006 Top Companies for Diversity. In 2007, he was named divisional Vice President of Pepsi’s West Business Unit, where he was responsible for 7,500 employees across California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Hawaii, and Alaska. In 2009, Mr. Rodriguez was named to HispanicBusiness magazine’s Top 60 Corporate Elite list. 

Mr. Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in Communication Management from USC. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Education with an emphasis in Leadership studies at Chapman University in Orange County, California.  He is a Certified Professional Coach.

Kathy Kacher, President of Career/Life Alliance Services, (CLAS) and Cofounder of The SMART Workplace, is a workforce transformation expert with a focus on workplace mobility, change management and leadership engagement. She is also a faculty member with World at Work.