General Session

Zoe Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents the 19th District of California, based in the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” San Jose, and the Santa Clara Valley. A lifelong Bay Area resident and the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook, Zoe attended public schools and attended Stanford University on a California State Scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1970. Prior to attending Stanford, Lofgren worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to save money for non-tuition college expenses not covered by her scholarship. After graduating from Stanford, she attended, with the help of a scholarship, Santa Clara University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1975. She served as a member of Congressman Don Edwards’ staff for eight years in both his San Jose and Washington DC offices. While practicing and teaching immigration law, she was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979.  In 1980, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors where she served for 14 years. Following Congressman Don Edwards’ retirement in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Zoe was elected to the House of Representatives. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and a former immigration attorney and immigration law professor, Zoe is recognized as an established champion of top-to-bottom immigration reform and a national leader in immigration policy. During the 113th Congress she played a key role in negotiating a comprehensive reform bill in the House Representatives as part of an eight-person bipartisan working group.

In 2010, in part due to her work on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented Zoe with the gavel used to preside over the passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Zoe is known for her work on patent reform, copyright issues, digital rights, and net neutrality.  She successfully fought to initiate the “e-rate” that provides affordable internet access for schools, libraries, and rural health centers, and she is the author of legislation that would allow the unlocking of cellular phones and other digital devices to give owners more control over their devices. She led a bipartisan effort in the House to decontrol encryption technology.

A staunch advocate for digital rights, Zoe was the lead early opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and led a successful fight to stop bill in the House Judiciary Committee. Her Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before retrieving communications and documents stored remotely or geolocation information about an individual.

In 2014, Zoe led a bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes on unwarranted government surveillance. The Massie-Lofgren amendment to the 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations Act to stop the NSA from searching Americans’ private communications collected without a warrant, and to prohibit the NSA from weakening security protections in devices and software for unwarranted surveillance purposes, passed the House by a resoundingly bipartisan vote of 293 to 123.In 2019, Zoe was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on House Administration by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and confirmed unanimously by the House Democratic Caucus. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) was established in 1947 as part of a larger effort to streamline the U.S. House of Representatives' committee system and to modernize its internal management and operations. After more than 70 years since the committee was established, CHA’s two principal functions include oversight of federal elections and day-to-day operations in the House. Historically, the committee has had a hand in shaping legislation that touches on any and all aspects of federal elections. Issues concerning corrupt practices, contested congressional elections, campaign finance disclosures, and credentials and qualifications of House Members also fall under its purview. Additionally, she is a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, formed to make Congress more transparent, unifying and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the American people.

Zoe is also the Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. It is the most diverse delegation in the House and outnumbers all other state House delegations.

Zoe is married to John Marshall Collins and is the mother of two.

An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John has come a long way from taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his mother’s house and moving his operation into the basement. John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with over $6 billion in product sales. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, and he has received over 35 awards including the Brandweek Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award and, most recently, was named #4 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices, a list of the top influencers in the U.S. worth following to get inspired and stay informed!

His marketing strategies and ability to build successful brands has made him a highly influential consultant and motivational speaker today. His marketing firm The Shark Group offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with the world’s top celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions. John is also an author of four best-selling books including his New York Times best-selling books, The Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018). In March 2020, John will release his sixth book, Powershift, that walks through his tried and true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal and achieve any outcome through his own experience and vast network of industry leaders.

Finally, he’s celebrating his 11th season on ABC’s hit business show Shark Tank by acclaimed producer Mark Burnett. It has now gone on to win four Emmys and millions of weekly viewers tune into the show as John demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights.

Douglas J. Nicholls is the 27th Mayor of the City of Yuma, Arizona. He began his second four-year term as Mayor in January 2018. Mayor Nicholls is committed to the Yuma community through his core belief that quality communities provide opportunities to success to all residents through quality jobs, superior education and robust quality of life.

Mayor Nicholls spearheads many efforts to enhance and grow the Yuma community, including serving as the Founder and Chairman of 4FrontED’s Governing Board. The 4FrontED effort is an economic development-focused governing board of regional mayors from the region that includes states near the U.S.-Mexico border. Together, they work collaboratively to maximize impact at the global forefront, representing a population of more than one million people.

His vision to enhance accessibility to higher education culminates in plans for the Yuma Multiversity Campus (YMC). Mayor Nicholls currently serves as Chairman of the YMC’s Governing Board which includes multi-disciplinary industry leaders from throughout the community who are working to develop a centralized campus in Yuma. The YMC will offer baccalaureate programs in full, utilizing the academic programs and specialties offered by the state universities and local community colleges.

Mayor Nicholls was appointed to the Military Affairs Committee by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. He serves as Treasurer of the Arizona League of Cities and Towns’ Executive Committee. In 2019, he was inducted into the Arizona State University (ASU) Academy of Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

Mayor Nicholls was raised in Yuma, Ariz., and earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from ASU, before continuing post-baccalaureate studies in transportation engineering. In addition to his role as Mayor of Yuma, he is President/Owner of Core Engineering Group, an active Rotarian, a deacon at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, and a dedicated husband and father. Mayor Nicholls is married to Danette, his high school sweet heart, and the two have four children.

Responsible for the design and execution of the people strategy of more than 230,000 associates, with the main focus in supporting business continuity and making Walmart the best place to be, grow and belong, leading the company transformation from the HR view within an agile framework. In 2020, Eduardo joined Walmart Foundation Board of Directors (Mexico & USA) and BIG Group Board of Directors (Brazil).

Prior to joining Walmart, Eduardo was the CHRO for PepsiCo and an active member of the PepsiCo LATAM leadership and transformation council, with a focus on strategy of organizational development, culture and talent management. Responsible for cultural transformation in projects such as the integration of Gamesa and Sabritas.

Eduardo has a history of more than 35 years in Human Resources in various companies and has obtained several awards such as: Top 10 CHRO´s during the last three years (Executive World) and HR Executive (AMEDIRH). Additionally, he has participated as a speaker in national and international forums, including: RH ERIAC World Forum (2018), Marcus Evans Latin Summit (2018) and AMEDIRH World Forum (2017).

Eduardo is an industrial engineer from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and has an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources and Productivity from the same institution.
Eduardo is the current president of NAHRMA (North America Human Resource Management Association) and was president of AMEDIRH from 2015 to 2016. Additionally, he is an active member of the board of Talent and Culture in the TEC of Monterrey, and former board member of companies such as Naranya, Endeavor and Intelexion.

George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, MI. Survived by his family, George Floyd was the oldest of five siblings. Philonise and Rodney Floyd, George’s brothers, have publicly spoken out about George’s senseless murder, seeking racial justice in his name. Following public outrage over George’s death, Philonise and Rodney delivered powerful remarks during recent events like the 2020 Democratic National Convention and the  March on Washington this summer. Philonise even testified before U.S. Congress in June of this year during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on policing practices and law enforcement accountability.

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Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. Recognized as one of the “300 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America” for 2024 by Savoy Magazine and one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."

Mr. Taylor's career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit spaces. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/InteractiveCorp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which immediately upon its release in September 2021, was in the top three of The Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books.

Mr. Taylor is a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and serves on the corporate boards of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), Flores & Associates, and Guild Education. He previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Trump Administration.

The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers is Eastern Washington’s chief advocate in Congress and a rising star in American politics. Since first being elected to the House in 2004, she has earned the trust of her constituents and praise on Capitol Hill for her hard work, conservative principles, bipartisan outreach, and leadership to get results for Eastern Washington. As someone who grew up on an orchard and fruit stand in Kettle Falls, Washington, worked at her family’s small business, and later became a wife and working mom of three, Cathy has lived the American Dream, and she works every day to rebuild that Dream for our children and grandchildren.

Cathy served as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018. Cathy was the 200th woman ever elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since being elected to Congress in 2004, Cathy has focused on moving legislation based on the priorities she hears in conversations with the people of Eastern Washington. Her mission is to restore trust and confidence in representative government and the rule of law, and lead as a trust-builder, ability-advocate, and unifying force to get results for hardworking men and women in Eastern Washington.

Dr. Eden King is the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University. She is pursuing a program of research that aims to make work better for everyone. This research– which has yielded over 100 scholarly products and has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, Good Morning America, and Harvard Business Review– addresses three primary themes: 1) current manifestations of discrimination and barriers to work-life balance in organizations, 2) consequences of such challenges for its targets and their workplaces, and 3) individual and organizational strategies for reducing discrimination and increasing support for families.

In addition to her scholarship, Dr. King has partnered with organizations to improve diversity climate, increase fairness in selection systems, and to design and implement diversity training programs. She is currently a Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Management, an Associate Editor for the Journal of Business and Psychology, and the 2019-2020 President of the Society for I-O Psychology.

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Data & Insights Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.

Steve Phelps is President for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). 

Promoted to President in September 2018, Phelps became just the fifth person to hold the position in NASCAR history. Phelps is based at NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida.

In his current role, he oversees all day-to-day operations of the sanctioning body including competition, racing operations, commercial business, marketing, communications, broadcasting, productions, content, digital and international.

Under Phelps’ leadership, the sanctioning body has refocused its priorities to ensure the world’s best racing experience is delivered to NASCAR fans on a weekly basis at track, at home or on the go. Through increased collaboration and consensus-building with drivers, race teams, tracks and stakeholders, Phelps’ leadership has the entire industry focused on long-term growth through exciting on-track action and intense competition and innovation.   

Phelps joined NASCAR as Vice President of Corporate Marketing in July 2005. He was named Chief Marketing Officer in February 2006 and promoted to Senior Vice President in January 2010, Executive Vice President in December 2013 and COO in April of 2018.

During his time at NASCAR, Phelps has won Adweek’s prestigious Sports Marketing Executive of the Year and was named its Brand Genius Award winner in the “sports” category.  

Prior to joining NASCAR, Phelps was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Wasserman Media Group. In 1990, Phelps began a 14-year tenure at the National Football League where he served as Vice President, Corporate Marketing.

A native of Vermont, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and an MBA from Boston College.  He resides in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Coretha Rushing has over 30 years of corporate business and leadership experience.

She has worked in various executive roles at Equifax Inc., The Coca-Cola Co., Pepsi, IBM and Cameron Wesley LLC and also had her own human resource consulting firm. Additionally, she has provided consulting services and served on various nonprofit boards. She currently serves as a board member of 2U Inc., an educational technology platform company, and is a member of the Compensation and Succession Committee.

Coretha served the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a 300,000-member global human resource organization, for eight years as a board member. During that period, she served as board chair and board chair emeritus. Currently, Coretha serves as an executive coach to various clients. She also provides advice and counsel to Kano Partners, a private investment partnership specializing in the acquisition, support and sale of family and founder-based businesses and startup businesses. She also serves as an advisor for Evident ID Inc., a tech company that supports companies that want to screen and contact trace employees to monitor COVID-19 status.

Coretha retired in January as the senior vice president and chief people officer for Equifax Inc., a 3B global credit and data analytics organization currently based in 24 countries. She joined the firm in May 2006 and led the global HR organization and the company’s Foundation during its greatest period of financial growth, global expansion and product innovation and during its biggest business challenge: a cybersecurity breach.

Prior to joining Equifax, Coretha served as president of Cameron Wesley LLC, a human resource strategy and executive coaching firm.

From 1996 to 2004, Coretha held progressively senior roles at The Coca-Cola Co. She was promoted in 2000 as the first woman and Black EVP, chief people officer, for the company. During her tenure as the chief people officer, she played an instrumental role in the resolution of the largest U.S. racial discrimination lawsuit, working with the board of directors and a court-appointed board chaired by Alexis Herman, a former U.S. secretary of labor. Coretha also led the development of leading-edge people programs and initiatives that serve as the foundation for the company's current leadership and employee programs designed to ensure business success and leading-edge diversity, inclusion and equity programs. Other experiences include working as the vice president, human resources, for the Midwest division of Pizza Hut, a division of PepsiCo.

She began her global HR career at IBM where she held several roles during her 10 years across all HR disciplines, supporting diverse businesses in various major IBM US locations.

A native of Virginia, Coretha received her undergraduate degree in education from East Carolina University and holds a Master of Education with an emphasis in human resources and counseling from The George Washington University.

She is active in several professional and community organizations and has served as a panelist and keynote speaker at various business, university, women and human resource conferences. She has received numerous community awards and has been recognized for four consecutive years (2016-2019) for outstanding business achievements by Black Enterprise.

She currently resides in Atlanta and St. Petersburg, Fla., with her husband, Howard Smith.

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Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. Recognized as one of the “300 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America” for 2024 by Savoy Magazine and one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."

Mr. Taylor's career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit spaces. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/InteractiveCorp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which immediately upon its release in September 2021, was in the top three of The Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books.

Mr. Taylor is a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees and serves on the corporate boards of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO), Flores & Associates, and Guild Education. He previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the Trump Administration.

The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.