Nikki Cicerani became president & CEO of Upwardly Global in April 2009 after serving as founding managing director of the organization’s New York Office. During her tenure as CEO, the organization expanded from two major metropolitan areas to five, launched online, virtual services and elevated its mission from a local program to a national conversation around skilled immigrants’ value to the United States. Upwardly Global's services now reach thousands of underserved immigrants and refugees across the country, who are increasingly being recognized as a valued community asset at the city and state level.

Today, Nikki leads the organization’s efforts to scale its impact by advocating for inclusion of skilled immigrants in federal, state, and local workforce policy, as well as full integration of this population into corporate recruiting and diversity programs. Nikki believes in building strong national and community partnerships that support the awareness and resources available to this often invisible and overlooked talent pool.

Nikki is a founding member and serves on the steering committee of IMPRINT, a coalition of organizations working to promote and implement best practices in the integration of immigrant professionals. She has advised the White House Domestic Policy Council on the economic integration of foreign-trained professionals. She has also served as an expert panelist at national and international forums on migration, including the 2010 Cities of Migration Conference, 2014 Global Great Lakes Conference, and the 2011 and 2013 Clinton Global Initiative meetings on the U.S. economic recovery.

Prior to joining Upwardly Global, Nikki worked in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She was an associate in Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Management Practice, and spent several years with Ernst & Young in the Economics Consulting Practice, as well as in the Office of the Chairman where she focused on evaluating the success of integration strategies for advancing women to the Partner level. Nikki proudly initiated and led the creation and implementation of the first network for women of color at the firm. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she was president of Columbia Women in Business, and a bachelor’s degree in Policy Analysis from Cornell University.

Nikki lives in Millburn, New Jersey with her husband and two children.

Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, President of SDS Global Enterprises, a global workforce solutions firm, is an award-winning Human Resources expert, with over 30 years of business experience in a variety of senior executive roles for several Fortune 100 companies, as well as her last role of Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion for the Society for Human Resource Management. She’s also a best-selling author of 5 books, serves on the National Speakers Association and the NSA Foundation Boards, and the Make A Wish Foundation Board. She is a popular facilitator for eight LinkedIn Learning leadership courses.

Grace A. Odums, an independent strategy consultant, has a growing consultancy spanning over fifteen years.  Her impressive client list boasts Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 companies including: Disney ABC Media NetWorks, Waste Management (PA/WVA Area), Fairmount Southampton Resorts, Chevron-Phillips, Siemens Medical Solutions, Wells Fargo Bank.  

A much sought after international speaker, Grace welcomes the opportunity to partner with organizations and professionals in the areas of management coaching, revenue recapture, change leadership, optimum customer care, talent performance enhancement, productivity improvement, increased efficiencies, balanced scorecard architecture, and diversity strategy creation with diversity scorecard and strategy map development and system-wide implementation.

Mark J. Schmit, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is the Executive Director for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation. In this capacity he leads the Foundation’s efforts to advance the strategic direction and impact of the HR profession. Dr. Schmit was previously the Vice President of Research for SHRM. Dr. Schmit has more than 25 years of experience in the field of human resources including work as an HR generalist, academic, applied researcher, and internal and external consultant to both public and private organizations. Dr. Schmit earned a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green State University in 1994. Dr. Schmit is a Fellow in both the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Association. He is also certified as a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Barbara Bissonnette is a certified coach and the Principal of Forward Motion Coaching (www.ForwardMotion.info). She specializes in career development coaching for individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome (autism spectrum disorder) and Nonverbal Learning Disorder. She is the author of the award-winning Complete Guide to Getting a Job for People with Asperger’s Syndrome; the Asperger’s Syndrome Workplace Survival Guide; and Helping Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome Get & Stay Hired: Career Coaching Strategies for Professionals and Parents of Adults on the Autism Spectrum.

Barbara also offers consultation and training. Finding Employment that Works for Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome is a full day seminar for career counselors, vocational rehabilitation and transition specialists. Services for employers include training on how to utilize the talent of individuals on the autism spectrum, and coaching for employees.

Prior to coaching Barbara spent more than 20 years in business, most recently as Vice President of Marketing and Sales for an information services firm. In addition to first-hand experience hiring and managing people at all levels, she understands the challenges of Asperger’s and NLD and focuses on practical strategies for employment success.

Barbara earned a graduate certificate in Executive Coaching from the Massachusetts School Professional Psychology and is certified by Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC).

She has spoken about Asperger’s and employment at Antioch University, Asperger/Autism Network (AANE), Bentley College, Boston University, Bryant University, Career Counselor’s Consortium Northeast, Career Resource Manager’s Association, Central Massachusetts Employer’s Association, College Internship Program, Colleges of the Worcester Consortium (keynote), Community Resources for People with Autism, Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers Conference, Emerson Hospital, Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance Autism Spectrum Disorders Conference, Job Developer’s Network, Katherine Greer Associates, Keene State College Transition to Employment Symposium (keynote), Maple Leaf Center, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Massachusetts Vocational Rehabilitation Commission, Middle Atlantic Career Counseling Association (keynote), National Association of Career Development Professionals, New England Human Resources Association, New Hampshire Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, New York Society of Human Resource Management, Rhode Island Psychological Association, Shriver Job Corp, Wayside Youth and Family Support Services, The Wellness Corporation, Work Without Limits (keynote).

Her articles have been published in AANE Journal, Autism-Asperger’s Digest Magazine, Autism Spectrum News, Career Developments magazine, Insights, Job Training & Placement Report, and the Journal of Employee Assistance.

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.

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.