2020 guest speakers

Julie Holmes will be delivering our Keynote address on Monday, October 19 at 11:00 AM Eastern: "Think Like an Inventor: The Mindset and Motivation to Spot Opportunities, Take Initiative and Embrace Change".

Julie Holmes lights the fuse for innovation. She's an inventor and entrepreneur who combines 25+ years of real-world corporate sales & marketing experience with the pragmatism that comes from bootstrapping her own companies. Julie travels around the world helping companies find, develop and capitalize on the innovation resources they already have so they can improve their organizations, better support their clients and generate massive lifetime value for their business.

Karen Allen will be our Closing Motivational Speaker on Wednesday, October 21 at 12:00 PM Eastern: "STOP & SHIFT".

Karen Allen is a Mindset Expert and TEDx Speaker who is passionate about teaching individuals the tools and resources to feel better, live better, and achieve their goals with a healthy mindset. She began her career in human resources and talent acquisition where she led countless training, new process, and change initiatives. However, at a young age, she suddenly became a widow when her husband was tragically murdered. On the quest to rebuild her life, she discovered healthy habits and lifestyle changes that helped her find her way back to a whole heart. Now, she shares practical advice and life strategies that provide tangible results and skills to help people push through the everyday challenges we all face in life and work.

Karen is the creator of the mental exercise: Stop & Shift. She developed this method to help people jumpstart their mental strength training. It is a simple, yet powerful, technique that explains how to let go of negative thought cycles and move to more productive and positive thinking. Karen's client list includes NBC’s Golf Channel, Hubspot, Universal Orlando Parks & Resorts, Sprint and many more! Her work has been featured in Forbes, SHRM Magazine, on Good Morning America, MSNBC, and many others! She's also a regular contributor to Arianna Huffington's THRIVE Global community.

Karen received her undergraduate degree in Communication from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist.

Trevor Gandy will be leading a Topical Roundtable Discussion on Tuesday, October 20 at 11:00 AM Eastern: Diversity & Inclusion - Current Realities & The Path to Progress for Organizations.

Trevor Gandy is President and Owner of TréGan Consulting LLC. In this role, he works closely with executives and their teams to ensure the company is viewed by its employees, customers and partners worldwide as an inclusive organization that promotes and leverages the business value of diversity and inclusion.

He previously served as Principal, Diversity & Inclusion at Amazon. Prior to that he was the Senior Vice President, Deputy Chief Culture Officer at Chubb Insurance. Prior to ACE’s acquisition of Chubb in January 2016, Mr. Gandy was Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Chubb.

Mr. Gandy received his Bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and has
completed an Executive Education Program for Senior Human Resources Executives at Stanford University. He further completed the Human Resources Leadership Academy development program sponsored by the Corporate Executive Board and Boston College Carroll School of Management Corporate Responsibility Management program.

He currently sits on the Board of Trustees of the Tri-County Scholarship Fund, the Montclair Film Festival and on the Board of Directors of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).

He has been featured in articles published by the Chicago Tribune, Catalyst, Business Insurance Magazine, TheGlassHammer.com and DiversityInc Magazine. He has served as Executive Committee Chair of The Conference Board Council of U.S. Diversity & Inclusion Executives. Additionally, he has served as a Co-Chair of the Center for Talent Innovation Task Force and Catalyst Expert Community.