Leadership & Personal Growth

Joe Grasso, PhD, is the Vice President of Workforce Transformation at Lyra Health and a clinical psychologist by training. At Lyra, he oversees Lyra's product suite for supporting workplace mental health and he leads a team of experts who consult with employers on their management practices, corporate policies, and learning and development programs. Dr. Grasso has been interviewed by national media outlets including CNN, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Fast Company, and Washington Post for his perspective on workforce mental health topics. Prior to joining Lyra, Dr. Grasso managed the implementation of a national training program for the US Department of Veterans Affairs, where he also led quality improvement initiatives and conducted health services research. His peer-reviewed research spans topics including integrated health care, psychotherapy outcomes, and the intersection of social identities and mental health.

Bree Bacon is the Vice President & General Manager of Employer & Individual at eHealth, your health insurance matchmakers. Before eHealth, Bree held leadership positions at UnitedHealth Group and General Mills.  She has her MBA in marketing strategy & analysis from Duke University and her BA in Business | Economics & Music from Wheaton College.   A cancer survivor herself, Bree is passionate about eHealth’s mission to match businesses with quality healthcare plans employees will love at a price employers can afford.

Kahina is a firm believer in collective intelligence, and in the power of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

After graduating from law school, Kahina first immersed herself in the world of international law and dedicated herself to tackling global issues. For many years, she led initiatives focused on international law, working in four languages across many different continents.

Driven by the desire to ignite collective action, she progressively – and then passionately – focused her work on organizations and the people behind them.

Through her role as Chief People Officer, Kahina continues to be driven by her ambition to make the world a better place, one organization at a time. She genuinely believes that great things can only be achieved through the development and strengthening of diverse, inclusive, passionate and high-performing teams. Much like Workleap, the company where she has worked for over 7 years, she is also convinced that people are the driving force behind organizations, and that great leaders know how to maintain elevated standards when it comes to both humanity and high performance.

Kahina is a lawyer by training and was a member of the Québec Bar from 2008 to 2022, having obtained both her law degree (LL.B.) and a Masters in International Law (LL.M.). She also studied international relations at the Universidad de Cádiz in Spain. Before joining Workleap, Kahina held strategic consulting and international law management leadership positions at organizations including the Canadian Red Cross, Lawyers Without Borders and PwC.

Darla Shaw, CEO of Talent Masters, has a distinguished 25-year HR career spanning small startups to Fortune 500 companies. With a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology, an MBA, and a Masters in Employment Law, she holds advanced certifications in HR, Executive Coaching & Project Management. Darla's unique blend of humor, strategy, psychology, and legal knowledge has made her a pivotal figure in creating inclusive, effective work environments across diverse organizational landscapes.

Dan Irvin is a high-energy, fun-loving leader, consultant, motivator, and public speaker whose valuable insights and relatable stories of success and passion consistently set up entrepreneurs and employees across the nation for personal and professional growth.

As a former CEO and COO, Dan helps leaders remove distractions so that they can lead intentional, fulfilled, and meaningful lives. His popular presentations and trainings offer structure, fun, and best practices that are both thought-provoking and buck the age-old mentality of “this is how it’s always been done.” Too often, we become uber-focused on “being busy” and ultimately lose sight of our goals. Dan’s thoughts and ideas get you back on track.

Dan’s message will have you laugh and cheer, and his personality will convince you to stop taking life so seriously. His fanbase is growing, but his biggest fans continue to be his wife and three children.

For more information, visit danirvin.com.

As Bonusly's Chief Customer Officer, Debra combines her passion for an exceptional customer experience with her drive to empower companies to connect, motivate, and engage their employees to build winning workplaces. Prior to Bonusly, Debra was the VP of CS at Beamery and the Chief Client Officer at Namely, to name a few. She has over 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles in Human Resources ranging from in-house HR leadership to HR Consulting, Outsourcing, Client Services, and Customer Success working directly with HR teams across a variety of industries. She currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and two dogs.

Dima is Middle-Eastern in her genes and global citizen in her spirit. She ignites the untapped potential in individuals across the globe, empowering them to shatter limitations and become courageous, purpose driven leaders.

Through keynote speeches, workshops, and executive coaching, Dima shares her unique leadership transformation journey with one goal in mind: motivate those around her to reimagine their potential and grow into leaders.

Dima has worked across the United States, Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa for several Fortune 100 companies and has honed a keen expertise in developing leaders to meet the demands of the global workforce.

Sebastian manages industry and client engagement for the Workplace Wealth Solutions teams as well as corporate client communications. He joined UBS in 2019 as a consultant and became an employee in 2021. His 20+ years of experience in the finance industry in various employee and client engagement roles has allowed him to continuously focus on building relationships with organizational leaders to assist, counsel, develop and execute event management, communications, and marketing strategy campaigns.

Sebastian is also active in DEI initiatives, appointed and serving on the UBS Americas DE&I Council. He’s also an Ambassador for the UBS Americas Advisory Council and is involved with several volunteer committees in his local New York City community.

Before joining UBS, Sebastian’s professional background was in community affairs, employee engagement, corporate communications, program management, business analysis and event management. He is continuously recognized for outstanding work to deliver positive experiences through high-quality client care and relationship management.

Sebastian has a Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a Master’s degree from New York University. He’s also received professional certificates from University College London, Columbia University and New York University.

Marilena Acevedo serves as the Sr. Vice President of People and Culture at Moove, a leading fuel and lubricants distributor headquartered in King of Prussia, PA with 53 locations throughout the US.  Marilena is a highly skilled, experienced Human Resources Executive whose career began a little over 20 years ago as Personnel Assistant providing her the unique experience and opportunity to learn from the ground up.  The experience of running a one person HR Department for a number of years along with progressive growth within the HR field prepared Marilena for her current role.

Marilena holds a degree in Human Resources from DePaul University and has authored, served as subject matter expert on panels, and was interviewed for HR publications including SHRM’s HR Magazine, Freightwaves, and Transport Topics, to name a few.   A native of Chicago, Marilena and her husband currently reside in the greater Philadelphia area.

Marilena’s advice for up and coming HR professionals:  Never turn down an opportunity to learn.  Be a sponge.  Learn all you can even if it doesn’t pertain to your current role.  Volunteer for projects.  All of this experience will come in handy someday and it will make you a more rounded individual.  Lifelong learning is not overrated and it will lead to growth and innovation regardless of the field or expertise area you choose.

Jarrod Edge is the Director of SharePoint Services for Spindustry. His job is to help companies through their SharePoint journey. Jarrod helps them with Governance, turning around bad experiences and non-efficient implementations as well as end-user adoption. Jarrod and his team help our clients through migrations, development, training and more.

Jarrod has twenty plus years as a Microsoft Certified Trainer and has crossed the globe training and consulting on SharePoint and other Microsoft products. He has worked with small to large companies and in all different industries.

Jarrod holds the following certifications: MCT, MCPD, MCITP, MCSD, MCTS, MCAD, MCP, CTT, CTT+