Inclusion & Diversity

Shari Harley, author of How to Say Anything to Anyone, is known globally as an engaging, funny, content-rich business speaker. Her international training firm, Candid Culture, is making it easier to tell the truth at work. Shari is bringing candor back to the workplace. A former HR practitioner and operations leader, Shari’s practical approach has led her to speak and train in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Dubai and Australia. From “Making Meetings Work” and “Delegating Better” to “Managing Your Career” and “Saying Anything to Anyone,” Shari’s tips are sure to delight and inform in a real, direct and very funny way. Watch videos and learn more about Shari at www.candidculture.com.

Kenston Henderson Sr., CSP, is the founder and CEO of Live With Lyfe, LLC, a premier training and development company. A TEDx Signature Speaker, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and certified John Maxwell Leadership Trainer, Kenston brings over 20 years of expertise in Human Resources and personal development. His powerful presentations have reached audiences across 40+ U.S. states and around the globe. Kenston is also an Amazon bestselling author, accomplished musician, and a devoted husband and father, dedicated to living out the values he inspires in others.

Eric Ellis, President and CEO of Integrity Development Corp., is an award-winning entrepreneur, thought leader, author, and keynote speaker with over thirty years of experience in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.  

Named one of the Top 100 DEI Experts in the World by the Society for Human Resources Management and "Cincinnati's Diversity Fixer" by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Eric is an innovative thought leader who helps transform organizational cultures into people-centered workplaces that inspire employee engagement and a sense of belonging.

Eric is a singer/songwriter, and the author of Diversity Conversations. He hosts a weekly podcast named after his book, which can be found on Apple, Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.

Joseph (“Joe”) Beachboard is a nationally recognized employment lawyer who also closely tracks the most important developments at the U.S. Supreme Court impacting the business community. He has more than 30 years of experience representing management in a wide variety of employment and labor matters in perhaps the most challenging state in the nation for employers – California.  Mr. Beachboard speaks regularly before human resource and employer groups on cutting edge employment law topics.  He is a member of SHRM and has been an annual presenter at both the SHRM Annual Conference and the Employment Law and Compliance Conference for two decades.  Mr. Beachboard is frequently quoted in such leading publications as HR Magazine, National Law Journal, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, HR Executive and Workforce, and has been published in dozens of legal and business journals. Throughout his career in Los Angeles, Mr. Beachboard has represented dozens of studios and entertainment properties.  He cites his most interesting project as working with the cast and crew of the television show The Office, from its pilot through the final season.

Ben Greene is a transgender advocate and educator who has spoken internationally on topics surrounding transgender inclusion. After coming out at 15 in a small town, Ben has devoted his career to spreading empathy, education, and storytelling around the trans experience, and has spoken for companies, hospitals, schools, religious organizations, and government entities sharing what it means to be transgender and how to show up as an ally. He is a fierce advocate for transgender youth, regularly speaking in their defense at the Missouri State Capitol, and is the author of the book "My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy Centered Approach to Support". He is passionate about educating others from a place of compassion—no matter where they’re starting from. 

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is the founder/CEO of Civility Partners, a strategic organizational development firm focused on helping organizations create respectful workplace cultures and specializing in turning around toxic cultures. Civility Partners’ clients range from Fortune 500's to small businesses across many industries. Catherine is a TEDx speaker and an HR thought-leader who has appeared in such venues as USA Today, Bloomberg, CNN, NPR, and many other national news outlets as an expert. She’s an award-winning speaker and blogger, author of three books, and she has 50+ courses reaching global audiences on LinkedIn Learning.

As a DEI practitioner and organizational consultant, Judy leads strategic culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion transformations to build organizations where all employees thrive. For over 20 years, she has designed and delivered solutions for corporate, nonprofit and educational clients.

Judy leads the global DEI consulting practice of AMS (Alexander Mann Solutions), a Talent Acquisition and Workforce Solutions firm. She has designed diagnostic tools of end-to-end recruitment processes to foster inclusivity that she’s delivered for organizations including Barclays and Bristol Myers Squibb. She’s also developed DEI strategy, communication plans, career development frameworks and global training initiatives on Inclusive Leadership, Conscious Inclusion in Hiring, and Unconscious Bias for companies including Delta Airlines and MUFG. Prior to joining AMS, Judy led a certified Woman- and Minority-owned DEI consulting firm, Think People.

​Judy serves as an Adjunct Instructor in Workforce Diversity at the University of Cincinnati ‘s Master’s in Applied Psychology Program. She has a B.S. in Management & Organizations from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business. She holds certificates in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University, and Coaching with the International Coaching Federation; she is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory®. She has been named a “Top Diversity Officer” by the National Diversity Council. Her expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been featured in Forbes, DiversityQ magazine, the Recruiting Daily podcast and on numerous conference platforms, including SHRM’s Inclusion Conference.

Michael S. Cohen is a partner in Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group.  Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law training and counseling. He has trained and counseled employers throughout the country on subjects including harassment prevention; diversity, equity and inclusion; combatting implicit bias; performance management; discipline and discharge; hiring and recruiting practices; performance evaluations; FMLA, ADA and FLSA compliance; leave of absence policies; LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace; substance abuse testing; workplace violence; records retention; conducting background checks; and more. Michael also has conducted investigations into claims of harassment and discrimination and has drafted employee handbooks, employment agreements, non-compete agreements and post-termination agreements. Michael regularly conducts in excess of 200 trainings each year.  He has represented clients throughout the country in EEO and other administrative proceedings.

Michael has been cited as a national authority on employment issues by The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC.com, HR Magazine, SHRM On-Line, Employment Law 360, Inside Counsel Magazine, as well as many other publications. Michael serves as an Advisory Board Member of GenHERation and as a Board Member of Serve, Inc. Michael is a 1997 magna cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ashley T. Brundage is the President and CEO of Empowering Differences. While seeking employment at PNC Bank in the United States, she identified openly during the interview process as a woman of transgender experiance and subsequently was hired after facing years of harassment, discrimination, and homelessness. These factors led her to start her second career as a means of survival while doing research on empowerment & differences. She took a role in the bank as a part time teller and then rose to national Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion in less than 5 years. She captured her research as a 4-Step process of empowerment to cultivate change in her new book and online leadership course. Ashley credits her success to those closest to her for providing actionable allyship including her 2 teenage sons, Bryce and Blake. She also volunteers her time serving numerous nonprofit organizations including serving as the vice chair for the national board of directors for GLAAD who works to accelerate acceptance across all forms of media for the LGBTQ+ community.

Tara Noonan Amaral is a Principal Consultant at Riviera Advisors. Tara brings several decades of talent acquisition and leadership strategy expertise to Riviera Advisors. Tara has had an impressive career in recruitment, diversity and strategic talent acquisition for some of the most successful organizations in the world including: Marsh & McLennan, Fidelity Investments, New York Life, ADP and AON/Hewitt. She has more than 20 years of experience developing, implementing, and operating both Corporate and RPO talent acquisition and recruiting functions where she has inspired innovation, and integrated emerging technologies and practices into the talent acquisition function. Prior to her talent acquisition career, Tara held banking and financial services leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase in retail and institutional client management and Six Sigma and Agile project management.

In addition to her corporate leadership roles, Tara has been a frequent industry speaker, well-travelled industry advocate and has participated in leadership roles with the Association of Talent Acquisition Professional (ATAP), the Conference Board Global Labor Advisory Council, and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). Tara also serves as an HR Venture Advisor with SemperVirensVenture Capital.

Tara’s passions include working on the continued importance of a strong talent acquisition and retention ecosystem, the future of work(ers), Diversity & Inclusion solutions, and cross-cultural and multi-generational talent strategies. Tara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Behavior from Brown University. Tara is based in Charleston, South Carolina.