James Wright of JamesWantsToKnowYou.com is a dynamic and compelling leader with a track record of delivering practical roadmaps for increasing Inclusion and Diversity in global corporations such as Apple Inc., LinkedIn, NBCUniversal, and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia). A featured guest on NBC and FOX, Wright’s articles and commentary appear frequently on LinkedIn and his expertise has been included in The Washington Post as well as several SHRM articles. 

In his practice, James offers transformative training solutions on Gender Equality, Unconscious Bias, Improving Race Relations, and Generational Diversity. In addition, James introduced The Language of Inclusion - a free download of over 135 key terms and definitions to help organizations find a common language to Inclusion. With increased focus on gender and LGBTQIA+ equality, James believes it is important to update these terms to signal where we are today in our journey to ensure diverse communities are truly seen, heard, and valued.

James attended Erskine College in SC & The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

Howard Ross is lifelong social justice advocate, and is considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing unconscious bias.  Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and major institutions within healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias:  Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His latest  book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2018, received the Nautilus Gold Medal for Social Change and Social Justice. His next book, Building Belonging: 9 Pathways to Creating Inclusive and Joyful Organizational Communities, will be published in 2020.

 

Jennifer B. Kahnweiler is a bestselling author and one of the leading speakers on introverts in the workplace. Her pioneering books, The Introverted Leader, Quiet Influence, The Genius of Opposites, and Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces have been translated into 18 languages. The Introverted Leader was named one of the top 5 business books by The Shanghai Daily.

Jennifer has partnered with leading organizations like Amazon, Merck, Kimberly Clark, NASA, Bosch, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She has delivered her signature presentations from Singapore to Spain. She holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation, awarded to a small percentage of speakers, and serves as a mentor to many professional women.

A native New Yorker, Jennifer calls Atlanta, GA home.

 

 

 

Renowned international speaker, corporate consultant, thought leader with a focus on engaging, retaining and promoting diverse employees, particularly women and Latinos. Ever present on CNN, Univision, Telemundo, Yahoo, Cala Presenta and many other outlets, speaking on success, education, women empowerment and career advancement.

Through the Red Shoe Movement (RSM) Mariela helps companies interested in increasing their ROI by developing, retaining and promoting multicultural and Hispanic women up the ladder. With a proprietary methodology, the RSM helps women own their career development by eliciting a level of engagement with their organizations seldom seen before. As a result, they experience accelerated career growth. 

Mariela is a sought after speaker, well known for her communication style, a combination of high energy, motivation, down to earth actionable advice & an ability to connect with a wide diversity of audiences. From CEOs to immigrant parents with little education, Mariela has developed programs and keynote presentations for P&G, McDonald's, Kroger, GE, Verizon, Citigroup, ExxonMobil, Avon, ColgatePalmolive, McGraw Hill Financial, American Express, Goldman Sachs, UBS, HBO and many others. She also presents at universities such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, NYU and University of Michigan and at professional organizations such as The College Board, the Conference Board, Junior Achievement, Working Mother Media, Hispanic Retail 360, NSHMBA, ALPFA, and othes.

She has a Master's degree in Philosophy and Literature.

Global Speaker Sonia Aranza has presented on the international stage from Spain to Singapore.  She brings 27+ years of experience in Diversity, Inclusion & Global Leadership. Her clients include Boeing, CIA, McDonald’s and more. The U.S. Department of Labor describes her work as “Outstanding” and was selected to execute programs for landmark cases. SHRM featured her as a Diversity & Inclusion Expert in HR Magazine and she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Leadership. She serves on the Faculty of Howard University’s Executive Diversity Program; named “100 Most Influential Filipina Americans in the United States” and honored “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.”

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.

Denise Pirrotti Hummel, J.D., is a Human Capital Principal at EY, where she leads national culture integration and optimization across the globe. She is the former CEO and Founder of Universal Consensus, LLC, a culture transformation firm. Her team helps clients improve global business results and build lasting performance by enhancing corporate, national, gender and generational culture, key components of enterprise financial success. In addition to serving clients, she leads a team of 40 engineers, computer scientists, curriculum specialists and researchers that operationalize EY’s global culture tools used for H.R. transformation and M&A culture integration. Hummel is a member of the prestigious U.S. State Department Worldwide Speaker and Specialist Program and a speaker on culture and change management at SHRM 2013 and SHRM 2014. She has consulted for a myriad of Fortune 100 companies in every sector, as well as the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon. Prior to founding Universal Consensus, Hummel was an attorney practicing commercial and employment law, and D&I internationally. That experience has enabled her to effectively link a client’s HR and cultural considerations with the overall enterprise risk management impacts. Denise was recognized by the American Bar Association as one of the top twenty young attorneys in the United States in 1992. She is a published author and speaks multiple languages.

Robert F. Wiedefeld’s career in senior management positions has spanned four and a half decades in both the private and public sectors.  He has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Sales Systems, Inc., in Memphis; Clarinda Color, Inc., in Minneapolis, and the John D. Lucas Printing Company, Inc., in Baltimore.  Each of these private sector assignments involved critical turn-around situations which required extensive use of the fundamental principles of management, finance, marketing, and customer service in the restructure of the firms.  During the early 1980s he performed the duties of Regional Director of Marketing for the American Management Association, and traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada delivering workshops on various management, finance, marketing, and strategic planning topics.  Mr. Wiedefeld has an extensive background specializing in the restructure and development of companies for optimal organizational and profit performance.  When his time permits, he also serves as a facilitator of seminars and workshops with the ultimate goal of working with practitioners to strengthen their strategic and operational management skills for improved productivity and performance.    

Earlier in his management career he served as Chief Pilot of the United States Naval Academy Flight Training Program, Chief Fiscal Officer at Catonsville Community College, and Chief Financial Officer at Prince George’s Community College, two of the larger community colleges in the Baltimore/Washington area.    He has also served as Chair of the Management and Marketing Department at Prince George’s Community College, and as the Area Chair of Management, and Professor of Finance, Philosophy, and General Studies in the undergraduate and graduate programs at The University of Phoenix.  He has delivered strategic planning sessions, workshops, and seminars for the past thirty years for clients such as the Martin Marietta Corporation, Pfizer, The United States Postal Service Executive Institute, NASA, Genstar Corporation, The Gernhardt Management Group, Monotype Composition, Inc., EBI Inc., and the Southern Management Corporation, among others.

Mr. Wiedefeld has served in an active capacity on the Board of Directors of the John D. Lucas Printing Company, the Board of the Maryland Schools for the Deaf, and numerous selection committees for high-level positions in the private and public sectors.

Mr. Wiedefeld has an MBA in Management and Finance from Loyola College, a BA in Pre-Law Studies from the University of South Florida, and has extensively pursued studies in management, finance, and marketing at George Washington University, The University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the University of Baltimore.  He completed his doctoral course work and is abd, at the School of Public Administration, the University of Southern California. He is also a graduate of AMA’s Management Course for Presidents. He is coauthor of a novel entitled Alejandra’s Quest, published in 2013.