Leadership & Personal Growth

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.

Hilary Blair, co-founder ARTiculate: Real&Clear, incorporates her professional voice over and performing techniques into a re-framing of executive presence and leadership communication. As a trainer, coach, facilitator and speaker, she sees beyond habits and extensively across the globe with businesses including: AWS, PwC, Maersk, ALCU, Centura Health, Liberty Global, and MD Anderson. Hilary is a CSP™, Certified Speaking Professional, and is certified in Conversational Intelligence™ (CIQ), and CultureTalk. She holds an MFA in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory and a BA from Yale University.

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.

As the Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Jen improves the work experience for all employees through inclusive programs, policies, and behaviors. During her 9+ years at Lenovo, Jen has held several roles within HR. With over 20 years of experience in leadership and development, she has a deep understanding of how to create and deliver effective training programs that promote a more inclusive culture. Working women and mothers are especially important to Jen. She founded and co-chaired Lenovo’s new mother’s group for 3.5 years and is an active board member of Women in Lenovo Leadership (WILL). Jen has a MBA from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Outside of work Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters. She loves yoga and hiking.

Dr. Whitehead, a certified SHRM and diversity practitioner is a versatile and award-winning senior leader, speaker, strategist, mediator, mentor and coach with over 25 years’ experience in building high performing, inclusive teams. Dr. Whitehead has excelled at "people" work across industries, leading strategic organizational change as well as providing consulting expertise to corporate, non-profit and higher education sectors. Dr. Whitehead has been called a “inclusionist” due to her unique approach to systemic humanity throughout the employee life cycle. Honing her lens of systemic humanity as the “willful interrogation of every element of our “system” of being, acting, communicating and providing access to resources that reflect the foundational belief that all people hold value that is solely connected to their humanity” has helped her “meet employees at all levels, where they are”. A John Maxwell certified coach and leader; Nicole holds several degrees and certifications, however her passion for utilizing her experiences to evolve culture and climate through transformative leadership.

Shannon Bayer, JD, is a Principal Consultant with over a decade of consulting and facilitation experience. Shannon brings in-depth expertise and a passion for designing and implementing programs focused on advancing women in leadership—and empowering each leader with the knowledge they need to transform how they show up in their role and drive change in their organization. Shannon has led strategic engagements across a variety of industries, ranging from government to financial services, healthcare, insurance, and consumer products and goods. 

As a keynote speaker, Shannon brings stories from her personal leadership journey to the forefront, connecting her real-life experiences and work with leaders globally to key leadership concepts designed to help participants reflect on their own journey and take control of their path forward. 

Shannon holds a BS in animal science from the University of Vermont and a JD in international law from Suffolk University. 

Shannon was a rower in college and still loves to get on the water when she can. She enjoys spending time outdoors and will travel for a good hike or beach day with her dog and son, Max. Currently, Shannon resides in the greater Indianapolis, IN, area of the US after living in New England for over 25 years. 

JoDee is the Founder of Purple Ink, a human resources consulting firm in Indianapolis, IN. They serve a wide array of organizations with recruiting, HR consulting, leadership training, and HR outsourcing services.

JoDee serves on the Indiana SHRM State Council and is the chair of the Indiana SHRM conference.

Dr. Caroline Brookfield is a veterinarian, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and award-winning innovator. She discovered the joy of merging her creative and scientific sides, and loves to share how to engage a creative mindset to make life better. Although she can’t sing Happy Birthday, she expresses her creativity through comedy, writing, and problem solving, like sneaking vegetables into smoothies. She holds a Certificate of Professional Management, a DVM, and is a creative problem solving facilitator. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, where her lectures go unheeded by her family. The dog listens, if treats are involved.

Robert Garcia is Vice President & Chief Staff Officer of ICF Coaching in Organizations and is responsible for leading the operations that enable global organizations to build coaching capabilities and develop a strong coaching culture. He has held senior level positions at Randstad, SHRM, Baptist Health, Florida International University, LHH, ADP, and United Healthcare. 

He has an MBA from FIU and a Bachelor of Science in Management from NSU. He has 5 HR Certifications, the ICF Associate Certified Coach credential and is a Certified Association Executive. He is fluent in English and Spanish and has presented in 6 continents.

Jyoti Mehra, Gilead's Executive Vice President of Human Resources, is responsible for leading people strategy and, together with the Gilead Leadership Team, building an inclusive and collaborative culture. In her role, she has responsibility for elevating team performance and developing a cohesive approach to attracting, developing and retaining employees.

Jyoti brings extensive experience in business partnership and organizational design to her current position. Prior to joining Gilead in 2017, Jyoti held senior leadership positions with Novartis Corp. in the United States, Europe and China, bringing a broad international perspective to her work.

Jyoti received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Delhi University and her master’s degree in international studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

She currently serves on the board of directors of Lam Research and California Conference for Women.