In her current role at Western Union, Shannon leads a talented team of business partners for Western Union’s Senior Leadership team, Office of the CEO, and Human Resources. In addition to evolving the global HR Business Partner team, Shannon is best known for building leadership confidence, connecting people and strategically evolving the Western Union workforce through various programs that include; Diversity & Inclusion, Women in Leadership Initiatives, Global Labor Relations and Business & Cultural Transformation.  Shannon holds more than 20 years of experience in human resources, senior leader and business partner development.  Prior to her current role, Shannon led HR strategy for Western Union’s Finance, Legal and Compliance organizations, working closely with the Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.

In prior experience, Shannon has gained professional skills not only in Human Resources, but Regulatory Compliance, Strategic Planning, Payroll, Finance, Vendor Relations, Communications, Employee Relations, Training & Development, Coaching/Mentoring and Policy Enforcement.

Personal Philosophy: ”I enjoy helping others unlock their full potential and creating an environment that creates diversity of thought.  I am most satisfied when I make a difference to others, the company or my family.  My energy is derived from others.  My passion is helping people personally and professionally.  I learn best from conversations and interactions with other people.  My greatest strength in being successful is my genuine intuitiveness regarding people and situations.  I believe in treating others with dignity and respect – always.”

Shannon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a Sociology minor from the University of Dayton and earned a Global Labor Relations Mastery Certificate, as well as Certificates of Merit through the Mountain States Employer’s Counsel and American Management Association. She has been an active member of HR Professional Association, Corporate Executive Board, Society for Human Resources Management, and Mountain States Employers Council.

Bhavna Chhabra is Google Boulder’s Engineering Site Director and an Engineering Director on the Payments team. She first joined Google in 2016 as an Engineering Manager. Prior to joining Google, Chhabra worked as a Senior Engineering Director at Qualcomm. She was born and raised in New Delhi, India, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and attended the Cyprus College in Nicosia, Cyprus, before transferring to the University of Colorado Boulder, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. He has authored or coauthored eight books that have together sold 10+ million copies worldwide, including Good to Great, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall, Great by Choice, and his most recent work Turning the Flywheel publishing this month.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.

Jim, an avid rock climber for more than forty years, has completed single-day ascents of El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.

Yolánda L. Chase, SHRM-SCP, CPM, CM serves as Director, Work(place) Forward – Global Inclusion & Diversity for Arrow Electronics. Chase joined the company in 2015 and is responsible for developing then driving inclusive workplace and employee experience strategies across the enterprise. She is also focused on ensuring that diversity and inclusion is positioned as a key business imperative as Chair of Arrow’s Global Inclusion & diversity Council.

When organizations are looking to build next generation human capital strategies that align with the growth goals of the business on a global scale, that’s when Yolánda puts her 28 years of HR expertise to work, developing solid bottom up workplace inclusion and diversity program frameworks, or optimizing and “leveling up” existing ones. Yolánda wholeheartedly believes in the value and purposeful work associated with inclusive and diverse workplaces. Her passion for creating cultures where everyone can thrive when they bring their whole self to work, is the driving force behind her work ethic. She has built a solid reputation as a trusted advisor expert spending many years consulting in leadership capacities for a variety of industries within the public, private, non-profit, and government sectors.

Drawing upon her SHRM Senior Certified Professional certification, project management and business genetics certifications, complimented by her BA education in Organizational Development from Regis University – Yolánda demonstrates her adept knowledge in strategic planning and program improvement by crafting solutions designed to evolve business practices that ultimately promote employee personal and professional well-being and equity for all.

Mark Bishop serves as Senior Vice President of Associate and Organizational Effectiveness at Terumo BCT. He is responsible for strategic direction and leadership of Terumo BCT’s human resources, talent and organizational development and associate and community communications functions. This alignment focuses on improving associate engagement and performance, as well as fostering the ability to efficiently achieve Terumo BCT’s strategic objectives and goals. In this role, he cultivates the mission, vision and values to align and enable the business strategy.

Mark’s background comprises nearly three decades of leadership that includes starting a successful business, advancing midsized organizations and executive leadership in a Fortune 500 organization. As an organizational leader, Mark has brought transformational change to organizations in a broad range of industries including printing, transportation and logistics, health care and medical device manufacturing.

He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and is active in their mission to cure blood cancers and improve the lives of patients and their families.
Prior to joining Terumo BCT, Mark served in leadership roles at Nations Way Transportation, Gambro Healthcare and DaVita.
Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in organizational development from Regis University.

Kristen Blessman has over 20 years of leadership experience, including strategic marketing, business development and executive management; working with both non-profit, for-profit as well as small business ownership experience.  Kristen is a change-agent leader with a focus on revenue development through the areas of innovation, strategic planning, start-up social enterprise, rebranding, and award-winning marketing and advertising campaigns.

Currently, Blessman serves as the President and CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CWCC).  As CEO of the CWCC, Blessman is responsible for executing the organization’s mission of advancing women in business.  Blessman was hired in 2017 to bring value to membership through innovation, brand awareness and long-term vision.  Through the creation of a new leadership program, mentoring program and unique peer group programming, Blessman has overhauled programming and curriculum at the CWCC and brought a new value proposition to CWCC members and the community.  Additionally, Blessman is recreating the CWCC brand through new educational and inspiring events, enhanced digital and traditional media as well as extensive community outreach programs to create awareness and advocacy for women in the workplace.  To date, Blessman’s efforts have created a unique space for the CWCC in the community as well as increased interest and membership in the organization.

Prior to the CWCC, Blessman was the Chief Marketing Officer for Goodwill Industries of Denver.  Having been drawn to the organization’s triple-bottom line business approach of people, profit and planet, she was responsible for the rebranding of Goodwill’s image in 2009 and started Goodwill’s first customer loyalty program, Club Blue in 2012.  Blessman was appointed as innovation and business development officer in 2013, launching several new social enterprise businesses as well as doubling the organization’s fundraising revenues.  Under her leadership, Goodwill opened more than 40 new retail locations and grew from $30 million in revenues to over $70 million.

Ms. Blessman has received several awards for her marketing, advertising and public relations campaigns, including the 2009 Public Relations Society of America’s Gold Pick Award.  Kristen has served on multiple committees and boards of directors, including The American Marketing Association,  The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Denver Press Club, The Women’s Leadership Foundation, and Arapahoe House.  She also volunteers for Goodwill Industries of Denver’s youth career programs in several metro Denver high schools and has been a guest lecturer at Metro State, Argosy and Regis University.

Blessman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from The University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Business Administration Degree in Marketing from Regis University. She enjoys the outdoor lifestyle that Colorado provides by snowboarding, running, biking and hiking.  She currently lives in Denver, CO with her 14-year old son.

Willie (he/him) is a keynote speaker, consultant, and facilitator who helps organizations advance vital conversations that unlock connections across differences. His belief in the transformative power of media to change narratives led him to found Abernathy, a magazine for black men backed by companies like Mailchimp, Atlassian, and WeWork. In its four-year run, Abernathy published 400+ articles and produced a series of curated events for diverse professionals across the nation.

Willie served as Founding Technical Lead of Seth Godin’s altMBA program for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead, and CTO of The Domino Project, an award-winning publishing company founded by business luminary Seth Godin and powered by Amazon.com. He's been featured in documentaries (I’m Fine, Thanks), on HGTV (House Hunters International), and in print (Icarus Deception). Willie is an avid houseplant aficionado and loves to spread the gospel of self-watering planters whenever possible.

Cynthia Carpenter is Vice President of Human Resources & Employee Experience for Charter Communications. In her role, she deploys initiatives to attract, motivate, and cultivate talent and optimize employee potential. Leveraging her strategic marketing background, she positions Charter as a premier technology employer in the Denver market and cultivates a spirit of inclusiveness that produces extraordinary results.

A leader with Charter since 2013, Cynthia began her tenure with responsibility for the strategy and life cycle management of Charter’s commercial product portfolio. In 2016, she transitioned into her current role overseeing the employee experience for the Product & Technology organization. Prior to joining Charter, Cynthia held leadership roles in marketing and product management with Level 3 Communications, AMC Networks, Time Warner Cable, and Starz Entertainment.

Cynthia is the Immediate Past President of Women In Cable Telecom (WICT) Rocky Mountain Chapter, which counts more than 900 members. In this role, she is responsible for leading the chapter to activate WICT’s mission to empower women in the cable and telecom industry through advocacy and leadership development.

Cynthia is a graduate of Cornell University and holds an MBA from Boston University. An avid reader, runner, and yogi, she and her husband live in Denver and are the proud parents of two daughters.

Natasha Gardner writes and edits long-form journalism and multimedia projects for 5280. Gardner has been honored with two National Magazine Award nominations (for “Direct Fail” and “Low on O2,” which was co-written with Lindsey B. Koehler), a Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism for “Dry Times,” (co-written with Patrick Doyle) and a City and Regional Magazine Award in civic journalism for her reporting on Denver’s police department. Her investigation of Colorado’s foster care system (“Unwanted”) received multiple honors, including a prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Gardner regularly appears on Colorado Public Television to discuss her work and current affairs. She was a Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma Ochberg Fellow in 2011. Before settling in Colorado, she worked in book publishing in New York. She has a BA from Smith College and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado. She lives in Denver with her husband and son.

Scott Dishong became Make-A-Wish Colorado’s second CEO on July 1, 2019. Prior to joining the organization, Dishong was Executive Director for the Mountain States region of the American Cancer Society and spent 12 years serving in a variety of leadership positions.

Dishong was born and raised in Nebraska and graduated from what many refer to as the “Harvard of the Midwest” or “Yale of the Plains,” otherwise known as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Scott lives in Parker, Colorado with his wife Joni, his two children Norah and Harrison and his rescue dog Bo.

Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson is an associate professor of leadership at the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Dr. Johnson studies the intersection of leadership and diversity, focusing on (1) how unconscious bias affects the evaluation of leaders and (2) strategies that leaders can use to mitigate bias. Stefanie has published 40 journal articles and book chapters in outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Applied Psychology and The Academy of Management Journal. She has presented her work at over 50 meetings around the world including at the White House for a 2016 summit on diversity in corporate America on National Equal Pay Day and the 2016 Harvard Negotiation and Leadership Conference. She has extensive consulting experience and has created and delivered leadership development training with an emphasis on evidence-based practice. She has received multiple million dollars in federal and other grant funding to study leadership and create leadership development programs aimed at increasing safety. Media outlets featuring Stefanie’s work include: The Economist, Newsweek, Time, CNN, ABC, NBC, CNBC, Wall Street Journal

Jandel Allen-Davis, M.D. is the CEO and president of Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in the neuro-rehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord and brain injuries.

Dr. Allen-Davis was the vice president of government, external Relations and research for Kaiser Permanente Colorado from 2009-2018. In that role, she led the organization’s government relations and regulatory affairs, community relations and community benefit investment, clinical research activities, stakeholder engagement, communications, and advertising and marketing functions.

Dr. Allen-Davis is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and was in active practice for 25 years. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School, Dr. Allen-Davis completed her residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Dr. Allen-Davis is an active participant in the community and currently serves on the boards of Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, National Jewish Health, Mile High United Way and the Geisel Board of Advisors at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She is married to a Dartmouth College graduate, Anthony Davis (‘82), and they have two children, one of whom graduated from Dartmouth College in 2009. She enjoys gardening and hiking and is a fiber artist whose work has been displayed in several galleries over the years.

Tamara Chuang has spent the better part of the last two decades covering technology and business news primarily for the Denver Post and the Orange County Register. But as the newspaper industry changed and the decline in traditional newsrooms seemed inevitable, Tamara jumped at the chance to start The Colorado Sun in 2018 to figure out how to create a sustainable local news business and provide valued stories for the community. She continues to focus on business and tech coverage and looks for stories that get overlooked. The Colorado Sun is owned by 10 journalists and relies on member and community support.

John is responsible for all GeoStabilization’s training, administration, and human resource functions across North America. With over 25 years of experience in human resources, talent management, training, and organizational effectiveness, John has worked across a variety of industries and high growth companies most notably American Airlines, Boeing, ProBuild, and DigitalGlobe. In addition to his extensive background in human resources & talent management, John has experience in operations, six-sigma, project management, high performing teams, lean organizations, and safety. John earned an MBA from the University of Dallas and a B.S. in business administration from Regis University.

John, with his wife Kim and teenagers Jack & Hannah, resides in the Denver area where he enjoys the outdoors, biking, skiing, hunting, fishing, and hiking.

Pattie Money brings over 25 years of People leadership experience, working with executives and leaders at all organizational levels. Her work is focused on driving exceptional organizational performance while helping those within the organization achieve their fullest potential. She currently serves as the interim Chief People Office at Twilio and was the Chief People Officer at SendGrid until their successful acquisition by Twilio, where she was responsible for the companies greatest asset, their people. She has been responsible for building and implementing the People strategies and programs required to support ambitious growth and an evolving organization while preserving and enhancing an award winning culture.

Prior to joining SendGrid, Pattie served as Chief People Officer at TubeMogul, a publicly traded global ad tech company in the Bay area and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Mercury Payment Systems, a payment technology company. Prior to Mercury, she lead the People function for Monotype, a publicly traded font and font technology company headquartered in Boston, leading through multiple stages of growth including a successful IPO and global expansion.

Pattie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from University of Memphis and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development Degree from Villanova University.

Jensen Werley is Denver Business Journal’s technology and health-care reporter. She previously worked at DBJ sister publication Jacksonville Business Journal and most recently worked at Boulder-based BizWest, covering technology, startups, outdoor recreation, natural products, cannabis and breweries.

A Florida native, Werley is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism in Gainesville. While in school, she worked as an intern at the Gainesville Sun and the New York Post, and as a reporter/copy editor at the university’s independent school newspaper, The Alligator.

“We are thrilled to have Jensen join our talented and award-winning news team,” said DBJ Editor-in-chief Rebecca Troyer when Werley joined the publication last spring. “Her previous experience made her an ideal candidate for the technology and health care beats, both of which are important contributors to the Denver metro’s economic engine.”

As the managing director of the Colorado Workforce Development Council Office, Lee manages the execution of strategies to develop and sustain an industry-led talent development system in Colorado. By forging relationships with industry and public partners at the local and state level, Lee helps to ensure the alignment of talent development efforts statewide. Lee has been with the CWDC for four years and brings extensive project management and leadership experience to this role, having previously worked as an independent consultant for mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit entities, as well as holding senior leadership positions with Hunger Free Colorado and Colorado Court Appointed Special Advocates. Lee holds an MBA with a concentration in social entrepreneurship from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and is an active coffee drinker at his local Edgewater coffee shop.

Judith Almendra, Group Vice President of People & Culture of TTEC, is an accomplished human capital professional with a proven track record of integrating business and people strategies to drive results. With over 15 years of business and human capital experience, Judith has led teams in the implementation of traditional and innovative strategies in the areas of marketing and communications, public relations, learning and development, talent acquisition, performance management, succession and employee engagement and employee retention.

In her 12 years with TeleTech, Judith has held progressive leadership positions, covering multiple facets of the for Human Capital spectrum as well as leading the development of company’s proprietary human capital tools, programs and solutions. Through her career, she has gained deep expertise in the international business and multicultural markets. And, she has played key roles leading global cultural transformation.
She is originally from Mexico and moved to the US in 2001 to pursue her Masters in Business at the University of Colorado. She is also a board member of the TTEC Community Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to provide better education opportunities to children in underserved communities, which is something Judith is very passionate about.

Mike Bailen is VP of People at Lever where he leads the Recruiting and Employee Experience functions for the San Francisco-based hiring software company. Bailen first met Lever while leading recruiting efforts for Eventbrite, where he drove the selection and implementation of Lever as the company’s primary recruiting platform. During his tenure at Eventbrite, Bailen overhauled the company’s recruitment practices across recruitment marketing, employer branding, candidate experience, and hiring manager and interviewer training. Bailen previously held multiple recruiting and HR roles at Zappos, where he led the company’s innovative decision to remove all job postings in favor of building talent pipelines among their passionate user base.In 2015, Bailen was named to LinkedIn’s “Next Wave” list, which recognizes the top professionals under 35 across different industries.

Brittany Hill is the CEO of Accelerist, the partnership intelligence SaaS platform where some of the industry’s most prolific brands and nonprofits prospect, value, access and measure their events and partnerships with each other. As a passionate data seeker and trend translator, Brittany specializes in using analytics and innovations to support B-corporations and Fortune 1000 companies as well as enterprise and federated nonprofits in their pursuit of sustainable events and partnerships. In her role, Brittany spearheads social impact product development and leads a talented team who has supported 100s of customers in effectuating social change.

Brittany holds over 15 years of experience in the entertainment, nonprofit and agency sectors, with a consistent specialization and commitment to purpose-driven work. Throughout her career, Mrs. Hill’s portfolio of work ranges from building multi-channel partnerships and award-winning campaigns between blue-chip nonprofits and companies, to helping entertainers and celebrities find their social purpose, and producing social activism events.

Brittany’s trendsetting insights have been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, TIME, and MSN.com. She is a seasoned speaker on the topics of data-driven cause partnerships, social impact measurement, industry trends, sponsorship valuation and cause partnership sales, with previous engagements at Sustainable Brands, SXSW, Association of Fundraising Professionals and Engage for Good

(Hello Video!) Workplace storyteller and IO Psychologist, Abby spends her days leading the team at Skill Scout to bring jobs to life on video. Every workplace has a story to tell, and Abby helps tell those stories to attract the right candidates for the job. Abby really geeks out on: new media (360, VR, POV videos, silent storytelling), data & analytics, product development for Skill Scout's DIY Video app and client happiness.

Ellen is PwC’s Workforce of the Future Managing Partner.  Our Workforce of the Future consulting teams help organizations build teams that thrive, today and in the future.  Ellen leads the teams providing advise as organizations upskill their employees, develop their workforce strategy, drive workforce performance and experience, and optimize the workforce environment.

Ellen is also the Denver Office Managing Partner for PwC, leading a team of more than 600 professionals in delivering high quality, innovative business solutions to clients.

Ellen has been with PwC for over 30 years and has served as a partner for nearly 20 years.  Ellen has extensive experience leading and managing global public engagements, as well as private equity-owned, family-​owned, and fast growing companies. Ellen’s industry experience includes consumer markets, retail, and manufacturing.  Ellen also provides guidance to clients in structuring business transactions and has significant experience with mergers and acquisitions.

Ellen’s true passion is people development. She was one of the catalyst organizers for PwC’s women’s networking circles, a program designed to provide access to role models, mentors and networks across the firm. Among Ellen’s notable achievements is her recognition as the PwC mentor of the year. Ellen is actively involved with recruiting and has served on PwC’s partner admission committee.

Daliah Singer is an award-winning freelance writer and editor living and exploring in Denver. She writes about everything, but she’s primarily focused on social justice and travel/outdoors journalism. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Outside, Travel & Leisure, BBC.com, NBCNews.com, Hemispheres, and others. She’s a contributing editor at 5280 and the editor of 5280 Traveler. In 2016, Folio: honored her as a 30 Under 30, calling her a “young journalist to watch.” She was named a 2015 Livingston Award for Young Journalists finalist for “The Girls Next Door,” an exposé on the sex trafficking of minors in Colorado. Her 2015 article on the high rate of suicide in the western U.S. was anthologized in Mile High Stories. Follow her work at www.daliahsinger.com

Wendy is an experienced Business Partner with Lingo Live and recently acquired her Nature Connected Coaching certification (ICF accredited). She plans to leverage her experience in both these areas to support individuals in their personal and professional lives by finding ways to deepen connections to themselves, others and Nature, with kindness at the heart of everything.

Wendy was born and (mostly) raised in the UK, lived 3 years in Chile and spent many years working in Spain. She moved to the US 20 years ago and has lived in Boston, the bay area in CA and recently moved to Golden, CO to continue her journey. Coaching is her passion and she considers witnessing the transformations which people experience thru’ deeper connections and self awareness to be a privilege.

Mina Morris is a Partner with Aon’s Assessment Solution Practice.  As an organizational psychologist, Mina works with clients to maximize the effectiveness of their talent selection processes, implement talent management systems and manage change.

Mina has extensive global experience partnering with clients in North America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East to deliver human capital solutions that help deliver business results. Before joining Aon, Mina held various management consulting roles with leading human capital firms.

Mina holds a Masters of Science in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Psychology, from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.