Conference Speakers
Learn more about all of the speakers and presenters for the 2023 Global ERG Network® Conference.
Keynote Speakers
Nicole Bergman
Fitness & Wellness Expert
Owner, Training for Warriors – Greensboro
Nicole Bergemann is the Owner and Head Coach at Training for Warriors Greensboro, North Carolina, and is a 25+ year veteran in the health and wellness industry.
Nicole Bergman
Nicole Bergemann is the Owner and Head Coach at Training for Warriors Greensboro, North Carolina, and is a 25+ year veteran in the health and wellness industry.
Nicole’s lifelong mission has been facilitating health and wellbeing, motivating and bringing people together. She has utilized many different platforms over the years and found Training for Warriors to be the most holistic approach for helping individuals change their lives.
The many facets of our lives are interconnected and the TFW approach to health and wellness focuses on the individual’s whole self. Addressing the mental and emotional aspect alongside physical health can lead to a more complete and balanced sense of well-being. Nicole fosters an environment where human connection and belonging can flourish to create a true sense of “familia.”
She believes the best humans (& animals) lead from the front! She coaches from the heart and gives everything she’s got with every single session. Honesty, enthusiasm and passion fuel every aspect of her life.
Fred Johnson
Vice President/Wisconsin State Manager
Fred is the founder and sponsor of the Erie African American Affinity Network (EAAN) and sponsor of the CamaradERIE Business Resource Group, which supports ERIE’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts.
Fred Johnson
Fred is the founder and sponsor of the Erie African American Affinity Network (EAAN) and sponsor of the CamaradERIE Business Resource Group, which supports ERIE’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts. Fred earned the Global ERG Executive Sponsor of the Year Impact Award in 2021 and 2022!
He is a member of the Business Professionals of America, NAACP, the National African American Insurance Association and has a monthly radio show with 101.7 – The Truth Black Talk Radio. He also enjoys being a youth soccer and basketball coach in the Milwaukee area.
Kai Kight
Violinist, Composer, Keynote Speaker
As a classical violinist turned innovative composer, Kai Kight uses music as a metaphor to inspire individuals and organizations across the world to compose paths of imagination and fulfillment. Kai is on a mission to spark a global mindset shift in which ingenuity is the norm, not the exception.
Kai Kight
As a classical violinist turned innovative composer, Kai Kight uses music as a metaphor to inspire individuals and organizations across the world to compose paths of imagination and fulfillment. Kai is on a mission to spark a global mindset shift in which ingenuity is the norm, not the exception.
Kai’s unique background is one of both art and science. As a musician, Kai has performed his original music for thousands in venues across the world, from the White House to the Great Wall of China. As a product of Stanford University’s design and engineering program, the d. School, and the Behavior Design Lab, Kai studied how to help people create healthy and transformative habits in life.
Co-founder of Tea at Shiloh, a late-night teahouse in Los Angeles, CA, Kai aims to reimagine nightlife by designing environments that calm the senses and foster authentic connection. On stage, Kai fuses his life experiences to create presentations that are not only designed to stir the soul but spark concrete action.
Natalia (Nat) Lyckowski
Global Neurodiversity Advancement Leader
Supply Chain Inventory Transformation Lead
Proudly neurodivergent (ND) and parent of an autistic IT Professional, Nat enables businesses to see the value in embracing ND talent to attain highly skilled and dedicated professionals that may otherwise be overlooked.
Nat Lyckowski
Proudly neurodivergent (ND) and parent of an autistic IT Professional, Nat enables businesses to see the value in embracing ND talent to attain highly skilled and dedicated professionals that may otherwise be overlooked. 1:20 individuals are ND and 1:50 are autistic. This talent pool brings 32% new skills, 66% higher job loyalty and more, improving corporate citizenship and revenue.
Nat has driven culture change, improving trust and allyship through:
- Global Acceptance Training across >30 Countries
- Speaking Engagements >10,000 Audience
- Youth Self-Advocacy Initiatives >2,500 Audience
- Safe-Space Think Tanks to ensure representation >300 Members
Nat is also experienced with intersectionality across PWD/PWDA, LGBT+, Race, Ethnicity,Gender and other identity groups. Nat is also a Business Transformation Leader with IBM for over 25 years.
Calandra Jarrell
Head of Employee Networks,
Global Diversity & Inclusion Awards,
Diversity & Inclusion Executive,
Global Human Resources
Calandra is a Diversity & Inclusion Executive at Bank of America. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s Global Employee Networks which include 355 chapters and over 240,000 memberships. She also leads the Global D&I Awards strategy and Diversity & Inclusion for Global Human Resources.
Calandra Jarrell
Calandra is a Diversity & Inclusion Executive at Bank of America. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s Global Employee Networks which include 355 chapters and over 240,000 memberships. She also leads the Global D&I Awards strategy and Diversity & Inclusion for Global Human Resources.
In previous roles Calandra led D&I for the company’s Wealth Management businesses: Global Strategy & Enterprise Platforms, Merrill, and The Private Bank. She was also responsible for the enterprise’s Women and Underrepresented Talent and local markets D&I strategy. Key priorities and areas of focus included oversight for D&I councils, diversity growth goals and metrics and targeted line of business inclusion programs such as “Women Ready to Lead”, “Know Your Talent” and “Let’s Get Real ®: courageous conversations”; collectively designed to improve attracting, hiring, development, advancement, and retention of underrepresented talent at all levels of the Bank.
Calandra joined Bank of America in 1997 as an Administrative Assistant and supported the executive leadership team who founded the African American Networking Initiative now known as the enterprise-wide employee network Black Professional Group (BPG). Starting in GHR as a learning facilitator, she has grown her career in several roles in Global Human Resources including instructional designer, learning consultant, talent acquisition manager, and leadership development client manager.
A proud alumna of Hampton University, Calandra and her family live in Lawrenceville, Virginia where she is an active member of the Parent Advocacy Council (PAC), local NAACP and Communities in Schools.
Workshop/Session Speakers
Bobbi Brown-Alexander
Bobbi Brown-Alexander
Bobbi is Director of Employee Resource Groups and Global Communities in Inclusion, Diversity & Equity at Kyndryl, a spinoff from IBM. Bobbi worked in IT at IBM for approximately 39 years in various roles including mainframe systems operator, analyst, programmer, security, auditor, program manager, complex project manager, Senior people manager and Worldwide Data Center Facilities and Operations Manager. During the last 10 years at IBM she also volunteered as a member, Vice President, and President of the IBM Dallas Black Business Resource Group, co-founded the Center of Excellence for Black Business Resource groups in IBM globally and co-led a BRG Optimization project. Bobbi has also served as High School Program Director for ChickTech Dallas and on the Richardson, TX, ISD PTA board committee to help create education and punitive policy for racialized occurrences.
She is not just passionate about inclusion, diversity and equity, but skilled and intentional as well. She has completed 500+hours of e-learning on DEI related topics in the last year and has earned several DEI certifications.
Bobbi has a master’s degree in management and leadership, is PMI Certified, Certified Coach, certified in Kyndry Leadership Behaviors and serves on the board of directors of Under1Roof, a Dallas, TX, non-profit that works to transition the homeless to permanent housing.
Lynn Cowart
Chief Operations Officer, Talent Dimensions
Lynn Cowart
Lynn Cowart is the COO and Co-owner of Talent Dimensions, an organization firmly established in the People Business through its work in Career Development, Engagement and Retention, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Its mission is to partner with organizations to build environments that allow all individuals to bring their whole selves to the workspace. Lynn has extensive experience working and consulting in senior-level human resources positions for companies such as General Electric, Lockheed Martin and Martin Marietta. She has facilitated executive coaching, change management and strategic staffing initiatives, as well as DEI strategy implementation, career transition programs, retention and engagement strategies, assessment interviewing and training. She has spoken on these subjects at numerous conferences and company functions to all organizational levels.
As a career consultant, Lynn has led coaching programs and training events for an array of professional business clients. In addition, she has managed programs designed to instill culture changes within organizations by modifying behavioral tendencies.
Throughout her career she has conferred with corporate business leaders in a broad range of functions such as management and organizational development, communication strategies, career planning and placement and organizational effectiveness.
Lynn has led teams responsible for design, development and implementation of Corporate University Relations and Leadership Development Programs for Fortune 500 companies, resulting in increased diversity and minority representation. She has led a career development group for women in transition in the Atlanta area.
Lynn received her MBA from the University of Connecticut. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Communications from SUNY at Buffalo. In addition, she has worked with the University of Pennsylvania on an MS in Organizational Dynamics. Lynn holds a certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She is certified in the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), Lumina Learning, and International Career Consulting (ICC) as well as qualified in Myers Briggs (MBTI).
Lynn’s diverse and broad range of expertise includes competencies in the following areas:
- Retention and engagement management
- Building and leading inclusive environments
- Career development and management
- Strategic staffing and assessment interviewing
- Executive coaching and change management
- Communication strategies
Lynn is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE), and the Association for Psychological Type (APT). She is deeply involved in small group facilitation and strategy development for non-profit organization initiatives.
Stephen Cutchins
Senior Product Manager-Accessibility, Cvent
Stephen Cutchins
Stephen joined Cvent last year after over 20 years working for IT consulting firms, the past 15+ years being dedicated to helping his clients achieve their accessibility-related goals. In prior work leading accessibility programs, he worked closely with People with Disabilities, including those who were Blind, Deaf or had physical disabilities, including his prior Test Lead who was a quadriplegic, so he has both a passion and firsthand experience understanding how People with Disabilities use the web. As Cvent’s Senior Product Manager-Accessibility, Stephen works to ensure that Cvent products are both usable and enjoyable by attendees who have disabilities. On a personal note, his mother was an amputee, and he grew up with two cousins who were in wheelchairs, so accessibility is near and dear to his heart.
Joshua Dantzler
Sr. Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Specialist, Amtrak
Joshua Dantzler
Named a 2022 Rising Star, by Progressive Railroading Magazine, his work includes supporting the development and mobilization of Amtrak’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging programs and initiatives, while also managing the company’s eight Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
Originally from South Carolina, his upbringing has led him to have a passion for addressing educational and racial inequities, a spirit for community involvement, and an interest in creating inclusive communities wherever he goes.
A graduate of the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington DC, Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a minor in Communication Studies, and a certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies. He also holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace from the University of South Florida.
Anna Ettin
Anna Ettin
Anna Ettin is a trailblazer and innovator, having developed strategy and framework for employee groups at two of the largest companies in the world.
Anna spent 18 years at Bank of America. In 2007, she accepted the first of several roles in the global women’s group. In 2012, she launched the Inter-Generational Employee Network (IGEN), helping shape the company’s strategies and practices around a multi-generational workforce. She was recognized four times with the company’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Award. Anna joined Amazon in 2019 to enable global expansion and amplify the impacts of Affinity Groups, driving 225% increase in membership and 900% growth of chapters across the company footprint. Her team supports 13 Affinity Groups with 1,500 chapters and more than 130,000 memberships.
She is a frequently requested keynote speaker for diversity, equity and inclusion topics and leadership skills, and generational dynamics in the workforce.
Dr. Karen Francis
Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, American Institutes for Research (AIR)
Karen Francis, Ph.D.
Karen received her doctorate in Medical Sociology and Social Inequality from Howard University. She has authored and coauthored several publications that focus on cultural and linguistic competence and its practical application for service delivery and also represents AIR and serves as an expert panelist for the 2021 Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Benchmarks.
Bobby Gordon
Regional Vice President, Talent Dimensions
Bobby Gordon
As a dedicated, seasoned diversity professional who leads with heart and passion, Bobby specializes in assisting organizations and individuals in achieving business goals by leveraging a diverse, energized and engaged workforce. His portfolio of clients include American Family Insurance, TIAA-CREF, Lockheed-Martin, University Medical Center (Texas), Chevron, Clorox, Universal Parks and Resorts, Entergy, Sony-Latin America, the Center for Disease Control, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, The U.S. Air Force, Denny’s Corporation, Blue Cross Blue Shield NC, Cracker Barrell Old Country Store, GM Financial, American Airlines, Texas Instruments, CalPERS and Michelin North America.
Prior to his work with Talent Dimensions and its predecessor, PRISM International, Bobby was a cultural diversity trainer with the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) where he developed and conducted training for managers and senior military leaders in communications, organizational effectiveness and conflict resolution.
His DEOMI experience took him to over 30 states and US territories and also throughout Germany and South Africa. Directly responsible for the needs analysis, instructional design and leadership duties on diversity seminars for requesting civilian and military organizations, Bobby also served as a participating think tank panelist in developing strategies on increasing representation of women and people of color in senior positions in the Army and Air National Guard. He helped to develop and design a human relation-training program for newly assigned DEOMI staff and faculty members.
After September 11th, he was tasked with co-moderating and developing a video to dispel myths and stereotypes about American citizens of Middle Eastern descent or Muslims. The film’s purpose was to ensure that service members and their families who either appeared or were Middle Easterners or Muslims were treated with fairness, dignity and respect. The film is used by the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Homeland Securities.
Bobby received his Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College and a Master’s of Science in Transformative Leadership from Bethune-Cookman University. He is a graduate of the Army’s Officer Candidate School. He is also a certified Equal Opportunity Advisor graduating from Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. Bobby lives in Daytona Beach and is an avid golfer and Harley Davidson enthusiast.
Tammy L. Hodo, Ph.D.
Owner of All Things Diverse LLC
Tammy Hodo, Ph.D.
She has worked in academia for over fifteen years in a variety of positions that include faculty and university administrator. Her most recent administrative role was as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for a law school where she was responsible for policy development and overall institutional compliance for students, faculty and staff related to discrimination and harassment, including violations of the non-discrimination policy and the sexual misconduct policy. Dr. Hodo completed a Visiting Assistant Sociology Professor at the University of North Florida (UNF), where she taught courses on Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Introduction to Sociology, Urban Sociology and Sociological Theory. She still teaches for UNF on a part-time basis as an adjunct professor as time allows.
Cile Johnson
Chief Business Officer, Talent Dimensions
Cile Johnson
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Cile Johnson is a business leader with vast experience helping organizations solve their most pressing leadership and talent challenges. Early in her career, she held various positions of increasing responsibility within the telecommunications industry at Sprint and AT&T. It was through those leadership experiences that Cile found her passion in the human capital management space and transitioned to leadership positions at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and then Mind Gym. Over the next 16 years, Cile and her teams supported Fortune 500 companies across all industries to enhance the performance of their most important resource — their talent.
Cile is a co-owner and serves as Chief Business Officer for Talent Dimensions. She oversees the sales and marketing and finance and IT functions. Her team is responsible for understanding the unique talent management and development needs in the marketplace. Through research, consulting and talent development, this team aligns solutions in support of those needs.
EDUCATION/CREDENTIALS
Cile received her MA in Organization Development from Fielding Graduate University. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Business Administration from North Carolina Wesleyan College. She attended the Young Executives Institute at Kenan Flagler Business School. Cile is certified in CCL’s suite of 360-degree assessments.
SPECIALTY AREAS
- Career development and management
- Strategic staffing and assessment interviewing
- Executive coaching and change management
- Workshop and strategy facilitation
- Retention and engagement management
- Communication strategies
Jennifer Martineau
President and Founder, Leap & Inspire Global
Jennifer Martineau
With over 25 years of experience in the leadership development field, Jennifer has served leaders, organizations and communities globally including healthcare, government, military, educational, community leadership, pharmaceuticals and energy. Through organizational change, impact evaluation, high impact design, delivery of programs and research, she brings a deep expertise in leadership research and how to apply it in practical, powerful ways for leaders and organizations. A co-author of the highly regarded book, Kick Some Glass: Ten Ways Women Succeed at Work on Their Own Terms with Portia Mount, Jennifer is passionate about helping women to break through their proverbial glass ceilings and move toward understanding and attainment of their unique definitions of success.
Jennifer is the president and founder of Leap & Inspire Global LLC, an organization focused on helping individuals and organizations achieve their full potential through coaching, consulting and development. A key area of focus for Jennifer is on equity, inclusion and diversity. Jennifer’s passion is in helping organizations do the hard work required to become inclusive and equitable, and in helping individuals in traditionally underrepresented groups identify and break through the barriers they confront in their leadership journeys. Jennifer works with organizations to create inclusive cultures that sustain diversity of leadership at all levels for all types of leaders. She also serves as an Honorary Senior Fellow for the Center for Creative Leadership as well as an adjunct professor at High Point University (High Point, NC) and National University (La Jolla, CA).
Jennifer is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Women Business Collaborative. She serves on multiple boards and committees locally and nationally. Jennifer and her husband Jim are the proud parents of three adult children who are living their own lives of leadership.
Tonja Moyer
Director of Continuous Improvement at the University of Michigan
Tonja Moyer
Tonja Moyer is the director of Continuous Improvement at the University of Michigan Health-West. As the chair of the ERG Makabila, she believes that these groups can enhance the concept of “belonging” in a work environment. Her first experience with Inclusion Resource Groups was cochairing SHAARE at a previous employer. She believes focusing efforts on the mentorship of employees, connecting the community to the company, while reducing health disparities is another way to find joy in work.
With 8 years in the manufacturing industry and 17 years in healthcare, she is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt. She received her BS in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and her MBA in Global Leadership from Cornerstone University. Her time is spent as a mother of three, a published children’s book author and founder of the honey company Black Queen Bee.
Ashley Nessler
Senior Vice President, Financial Center Operations Strategy
Ashley Nessler
Ashley Nessler is a Customer Segment Manager in Preferred Banking Controls, Operations and Supervision team at Bank of America. Ashley is responsible for leading strategy development, partner integration, process simplification and risk reduction for over 3800 financial centers. In her role, Ashley is focused on improving the end-to-end process for Signature Services and complex account services / requests.
Prior to this role, Ashley developed and improved credit enablement programming through new program strategies for Small Business sales teammates and the Small Business Administration (SBA) team. In 2020, Ashley led an organization of 400+ campus hires with Enterprise Independent Testing efforts for the Paycheck Protection Program.
Ashley joined Bank of America in 2003 as a professional teller during her second year in college. The majority of Ashley’s professional experience is attributed to her journey through Consumer and Small Business Banking, including leading Sales associates, leading large scale transformation initiatives and driving performance goals.
Ashley is passionate about diversity and inclusion and led the creation of LEAD for Women in Greater Tampa Bay. Ashley serves as the Enterprise LEAD for Women Co-Enterprise Leader, an employee network at Bank of America. LEAD for Women is comprised of over 65 chapters and 44,000 + members worldwide. Ashley serves on the Investing in Women Council for Bank of America to support women internally at the bank. She is active in the Tampa Bay community, by serving as a board member for Centre for Women and Girls Scouts of West Florida committing more than 75 hours each year. Ashley was the Bank of America Diversity & Inclusion Award winner in 2017
Ashley has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Saint Leo University. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, photography and traveling. Ashley resides in Tampa, Florida, with her family and is a new mother to her first daughter, Palmer.
Natasha Ray
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Engagement Manager, Guild Education
Natasha Ray
Want to know the secret sauce for a best-in-class ERG Program? Natasha Ray might not have the family’s secret recipe, but she has all the ingredients and is excited to thought partner and share her learnings with fellow DEI practitioners.
Being a lifelong learner and champion for change is the north star that guides Natasha Ray, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Engagement Manager at Guild Education. Her work has included growing six, and counting, ERGs from a meeting room vision to a best-in-class program over the span of just three years. Fast-paced and ever-changing is the environment that best describes Guild Education, an education technology start-up on a mission to educate America’s workforce. Her time in this innovative space has led to impactful insights, lessons learned and knowledge worth sharing with ERG leaders and DEI practitioners alike.
Natasha Ray’s educational background includes a B.A. from Franklin Pierce University in NH and a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.
Rich Robles
Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, Boston Children’s Hospital
Rich Robles
Rich is the VP and Chief Diversity Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. In this role, Rich leads strategies and work that create a culture where people feel included, engaged and have a sense of belonging while achieving BCH’s goals.
Prior to joining BCH, Rich led diversity and inclusion work for Novant Health, a health care organization in the southeast, where he was responsible for managing BRGs, internal D&I work with senior leaders and teams, and growing the external D&I consulting work for the organization. Rich’s background also includes both consulting and internal roles in the areas of organizational development, culture transformation, merger integration, and change management. He has led work for companies such as Bank of America, Motorola, PepsiAmericas, McDonald’s, Schering-Plough, Chicago Tribune Company, The Spiegel Group, and Exelon.
Rich received an M.A. degree With Honors in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from Roosevelt University and a B.A. degree in Psychology from Huntington University.
Rich grew up in Guatemala City where he attended a military school before moving to the U.S. To honor his heritage, he continues to be active and lead work in the Latino/Hispanic community. He was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina to be part of the Advisory Council for Hispanic/Latino Affairs, and he played an active role as a board member of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte. He has also served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations.
He resides in Boston, MA with his wife and four children, where he takes pleasure in spending time with them, especially if it includes making singing videos. He also enjoys anything related to his favorite soccer team, FC Barcelona, and traveling to other countries.
Millicent Rone
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Sr. Specialist, American Airlines
Millicent Rone
Millicent Rone has been with American Airlines for 8 years and serves as a Sr. Specialist for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is a passionate motivator for change, an ally for all cultures and an advocate for social justice.
In her role, Millicent provides strategic oversight and management of American’s 20 Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRG). The span of influence in her role reaches across 160 global chapters and 34,000 team members who make up the EBRG Community.
Millicent holds a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management and her business acumen is reflective of 26 years in Project Management in Information Technology across multiple industries such as retail, oil and gas, healthcare, food and beverage.
Outside of work, Millicent is a founding member of newly established DFW Collective of Black Employee Resource Groups. Their mission is to create a community focused on amplifying the collective voice of Black Resource Groups in the DFW Metroplex. They provide a space for cross-company collaboration, sharing of best practices, networking and community engagement.
Millicent is a wife, a mother of three and a grandmother of four. In her free time, she is studying ancient medicines and desires to be an herbalist. She loves history, traveling and meeting new people and exploring new cultures.
Favorite Quote: “Our unity is our strength and diversity is our power.” K. Harris
Shannon Snowden
Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Wellness, Experian
Shannon Snowden
Shannon manages the global ERG and Wellness Strategy. She is building programs and processes that support Experian’s culture of belonging which enables employees to speak their truth and feel valued. She collaborates with key stakeholders and functional teams to operationalize the strategy while embedding inclusion and diversity principles into workplace practices and policies.
Prior to joining Experian, Shannon held various roles at Bank of America during her 25-year tenure including: Business Development Manager, Strategy and Design for Financial Centers, Low-to-Moderate Income Strategy in Mortgage and, finally, Senior Learning Manager, where she managed a team of Learning Consultants who supported both the Corporate Risk and Chief Financial Office teams.
Shannon also led the Global Inter-Generational Employee Network which had 33,000 members with 31 chapters, in over 15 countries. During her time as Global Lead, the network experienced over 400% growth in membership, onboarded 16 chapters and established a sound organizational structure which led to both committed volunteers, as well as strong processes and programming. Shannon received 3 Diversity and Inclusion Awards for the work she accomplished as Global Lead.
Shannon currently serves on the Board of Directors for Loganville Christian Academy and is actively involved in her community. Shannon is a proud graduate of Shorter University and resides in Atlanta, GA, with her family.
Natalie Torres
Director of Inclusion & Diversity, ChristianaCare
Natalie Torres
Natalie Torres is the director of Inclusion & Diversity at ChristianaCare – one of the nation’s most dynamic health systems, who recently ranked No. 2 as one of the best employers for diversity and inclusion in healthcare. In this role, she provides leadership over the multi-year strategic priorities, curates interventions to develop inclusive leaders and cultivates a work environment where every caregiver can thrive. Her focus is on equity-liberation in the workplace by uprooting systemic barriers and its origins to establish a new and inclusive lived experience. She believes what was once a crucial or courageous conversation is now essential.
Imelda Wicks
University of Texas at Arlington
Imelda Wicks
Imelda is a global diversity and inclusion leader with a demonstrated history working in higher education, human resources, non-profit organizations and healthcare. She has created strategies to advance a culture of inclusion at all levels of the organization which includes affirmative action, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), institutional diversity councils, executive DEI taskforce, DEI curriculum and training, international and intercultural student services, cultural marketing strategies and belonging and inclusion across the institution. Imelda is known as a DEI speaker and panelist in multiple forums across the state and at the national level. As a proud Chicana, she served as President of the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) and as a member of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE). She also served as a board member of the Greater Houston Industry Liaison Group (GHILG), the Association of American Adjunct Education (AAAE) and continues to mentor young professionals from underserved communities working in higher education.
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