Steven Zwerin is an employment attorney who has conducted hundreds of workplace investigations for the City of Seattle, EEOC, Microsoft, UW Medicine, and more. He has advised and trained employers on hiring, discipline, termination, and conflict resolution. He's the director of the City of Seattle's Human Resources Investigations Unit (HRIU) where he leads a team that investigates workplace harassment and discrimination for the City’s 13,000+ employees. HRIU also conducts training on investigative techniques and management best practices. Steve loves traveling with his family and clings to the faint hope that the Mariners will win the World Series in this century.

Archana (Arch) Singh is Chief People Officer of Expedia Group, Inc. In this position, Singh oversees the global human resources operation focused on creating HR operational excellence, best-in-class employee experience and engagement, and strong leadership development throughout the organization. This role recognizes that Expedia Group’s greatest asset is its people and Singh ensures the company has the right people systems and architecture in place to ensure the company is the place where exceptional people who share our passion for tech and travel want to do their best work. 

With more than 20 years of dynamic human resources and talent management experience, Singh possesses a true mastery of the HR discipline having most recently held the position as Chief Human Resource Officer at John Wiley and Sons, a global publishing company, where she aligned HR strategies with organizational and business goals, emphasizing business performance, talent management, culture alignment and integration. Prior to Wiley, Singh was Chief Human Resource Officer, Managing Director, at the consultancy Hay Group, Inc., where she developed innovative HR strategies and initiatives that positioned the organization for transformation and growth. She also held executive-level HR positions at Computer Science Corporation, AMD Corporation, Unisys Corporation, Sun Microsystems and Credit Suisse First Boston. 

Singh also brings global experience to Expedia Group having lived and work in the U.S. and Asia. Singh’s areas of focus are being data driven and business judgment led, all with the underpinning of a highly analytical approach that has driven focus and high performance across the organizations who have been fortunate enough to benefit from her leadership. 

 Singh earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Bachelor of the Arts in Economics (BA) degrees from Jodhpur University. She also has a Masters in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard University. 

Karen Wilkins-Mickey is the Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the Seattle Seahawks.

Peter Robison is an investigative journalist for Bloomberg and Bloomberg Businessweek. He is a recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award, the Malcolm Forbes Award, and four “Best in Business” awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, with an honors degree in history from Stanford University, he lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two sons.

As the Director of Talent and Organizational Effectiveness at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sonia Vora is responsible for developing and delivering talent-focused solutions that supports a high integrity culture and global impact.  In this role, Sonia oversees the entire talent life-cycle from recruiting  through the alumni program as well as leadership development, organizational effectiveness and culture.

Throughout her career, Sonia has played an instrumental role in building global functions and organizations to optimize for customer experience, employee and engagement and scalable growth.

She graduated with honors with a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Temple University; and an MBA with a concentration in International Business from Georgetown University. She also holds a BA degree with double major in English and Economics from Albion College.

Jonathan Sposato is the Serial Entrepreneur & Chairman & CEO at GeekWire.

Karen leads Microsoft’s global talent and learning experiences efforts focused on identifying, co-creating and operationalizing the big and small moments that matter so all employees are empowered to do their best work.  Through desired, energizing, high quality and repeatable experiences employees become promoters and influencers.  This virality, at the heart of the team’s aspiration, uses community and social interaction to fuel continuous improvement, growth and change.  The value driver is employees opting into talent and learning processes and programs because they believe in them as a means of addressing business objectives.  Prior to this role Karen led Microsoft’s 21^st century jobs, skills and employability global initiative.  Before joining Microsoft Karen was an HR/talent executive and Chief Learning Officer for Cigna.

Shannon Flynn is the Vice President, Corporate Human Resources at Fortive.

Denise Banuelos, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity & Workforce Development Director at Kaiser Permanente Washington has a track record of transforming company culture as a collaborative change agent that inspires employees to bring their best selves to work.  She brings over 25 years of experience leading and implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in both non-profit and private sectors, including higher education, utilities, and healthcare.

Denise previously worked as Manager of Diversity & Inclusion at the California State University San Bernardino leading university-wide diversity programs.  Before that she served as Manager of Diversity & Inclusion at City of Hope, a comprehensive Cancer Research Hospital where she was actively engaged with managing employee resource groups and leading the expansion of Diversity & Inclusion strategies in the organization, the local community, and for patients.

She specializes in gender transition in the workplace and has developed inclusive policies, benefits, and training for non-binary, and Transgender employees.  She is accredited to achieving designation in Healthcare Equality Index as a Leader in LGBTQ for City of Hope by the Human Rights Campaign and received the Diversity First award, a prestigious recognition by the National Diversity Council for her commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

She has championed equity in the workplace and fair treatment for all employees regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin and persons with disabilities. She is driven by her passion to make a difference for the good of the whole no matter how difficult it may be.

Denise has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Radford University, Radford Virginia, and an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources from Keller Graduate School of Management, Pomona, California.

Madhukar Govindaraju is the Founder & CEO of Numly, Inc. As an experienced Tech. Entrepreneur, Madhukar brings more than two decades of experience in the software industry as a GM/Product Executive, CTO, SVP Engineering, and business leader, at some of the world’s leading software companies, including VMware, Microsoft, TriNet HR Group, Saba Software, SAP / Business Objects, Hyperion Solutions, HP, IBM, and several successful startups. He also has several patents pending in the Talent Management, Innovation Network Analytics and AI-4-HR space.

Sherry Pelletier is the VP, Human Resources at BGIS.

Tigran Sloyan is the Co-Founder and CEO at CodeSignal, the first company to develop a fair, automated skills-based assessment platform used as a standard for technical recruiters and employers. Tigran is also the founder of the #GoBeyondResumes non-profit movement. As an active member of the Forbes Technology Council, Tigran contributes regularly as a thought leader in the technical hiring industry, commenting on trends in software development, diversity, and innovation.

Tom is the CEO and co-founder of Hone, the enterprise talent development platform for modern teams delivering live learning at scale to enable behavior change, human connection, and continuous development.

Prior to founding Hone, Tom was Chief Product Officer and co-founder of gaming unicorn FanDuel, where, for a decade, he helped create a multi-award winning product, a new industry, and a thriving distributed team. He has a lifelong passion for education, technology, and business and is grateful for the opportunity to combine all three at Hone. Tom earned his Bachelors in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge in England, and his MSc in Machine Learning from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Tom regularly speaks and writes about leadership development, equitable access to learning, management training, and the future of work. He lives in San Diego with his wife and young family.

Michaela Doelman (she/her/they/them) is a public servant, parent of four, and occasionally takes on the title of youth soccer coach. They’ve spent 15 years working for the state of Washington, holding various human resource positions in four different state agencies. Prior to that, they spent five years in the food, beverage, and hospitality industry in both the U.S. and Mexico.

As the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Employment Security Department, Michaela is focused on building an equitable and inclusive workplace culture where every employee feels like they belong and understands how they help make Washington better.

Michaela is committed to continuous learning and growth, recognizing learning happens everywhere. Their formal education consists of receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Portland, a master’s degree from The Evergreen State College, and currently attending Leadership Tomorrow, a leadership program focused on building healthier and more resilient communities in the Puget Sound Region while working toward racial justice.  They are also a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) with the Institute for Diversity Certification.

Davida leads Product Management & Sales for E4E Relief, expanding the field of employee relief through our offerings, future enhancements, and innovating grants to individuals around the world.  Coupled with her philanthropic consulting background, Davida has a deep understanding of corporate social responsibility.

She is recognized as a national expert in employee relief, including compliance with program policies and IRS regulations. Through the Napa Valley Disaster Response Fund and Brave of Heart Fund, she has led efforts for applying relief more broadly to communities in crisis. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has completed the Essentials of Business for Nonprofits through Wake Forest University.

As Director of Learning Strategy at AMP Creative, Samreen is responsible for driving the L&D strategy for both AMP Creative and the clients it serves. Her deep expertise in learning design and development coupled with change management work across different industries enables her to provide a thoughtful analysis of both the emergent opportunities as well as challenges facing a rapidly changing workspace and workforce. As a proponent and practitioner of human-centered design, she skillfully weaves practical ideas and tips to situate change within the cultural context and aspirations of organizations and their people. She also finds time to lead upskilling work for economically marginalized families in a community setting.

Morgan Chaney is Senior Director of Marketing and Employer Branding Lead at Blueboard, an experiential employee rewards platform for the modern workplace. She is a seasoned professional speaker and employee recognition thought leader, hosting Blueboard’s monthly webinars and presenting across a variety of industry conferences and professional meetups including HR Redefined, HR Transform, HR Southwest, DisruptHR Regional Events, Culture Con Madison, and CalHR Conference.

As a leader of the Blueboard Culture Committee, Morgan focuses her attention on crafting a more meaningful candidate experience. Her current projects center around building a powerful employer brand as a tool for attracting top talent, creating a memorable candidate journey, and setting up “Newboarders” for success through streamlined onboarding efforts.

Living Blueboard’s mission around adventure and exploration, outside of the office you’ll find Morgan photographing wildlife, practicando su español, or teaching yoga. Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganchaney.

Haeli Harris is the director of clinical operations at Nivati, a licensed mental health therapist, yoga instructor, health and wellness coach, and mindfulness practitioner dedicated to helping others through holistic health and healing. She takes a client-based, solution-focused approach helping the client to find their own solutions that are within them and building on their own strengths. Haeli has specialized training in combining yoga and mental health including using a trauma-informed lens when working with her clients. She is also a mother to teenagers and a lover of chocolate and dancing!

Henry founded Limeade in 2006 and has led the company from an idea in his basement to a high-growth, industry-leading software company that elevates the employee experience and helps build great places to work. Before Limeade, Henry served as VP of Product Management at Bocada, an enterprise software company and a product, marketing and business leader at Intuit, where he launched a number of successful new business initiatives.

Henry earned his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management with an emphasis in technology and marketing and his B.A. in economics and literature from Claremont McKenna College.

Outside of work, Henry enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his family.

Cassandra Mitchell is a community partner, influencer, and advocate. Regardless of her role, connecting the right people together and building relationships has been the primary focus throughout her career. She began her career in Human Resources (HR) holding multiple positions across a variety of industries including, Government, IT Professional Staffing, and most recently Financial Services.

As the SVP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy and Engagement for Washington, Cassandra is responsible for executing Washington’s Community Engagement Strategy through partnerships with local non-profit and community based organizations. Her passion and focus is advocating for Diverse and Inclusive communities and work environments where organizations thrive and people excel.

Cassandra’s personal commitment and focus is serving the Puget Sound community through civic engagement. In 2018, Cassandra joined the Board of Directors for Sound Outreach, Foundation for Tacoma Students and Capitol Hill Housing (Seattle).

Cassandra received her Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from Colorado State University and also completed her Professional Human Resource (PHR) certification. She is originally from Portland, Oregon but has called Puget Sound home for over 18 years with her three daughters, Sierra, Kamryn and Kadyn.

Enrique Cerna is a veteran journalist who has worked in Seattle media for more than four decades.

Cerna worked for 23 years at Cascade Public Media’s KCTS 9 and retired in February 2018 from his role as senior correspondent. He anchored current affairs programs, moderated statewide political debates, interviewed major newsmakers, produced and reported stories throughout Washington State and for national PBS programs.

Cerna has earned nine regional Emmy awards and numerous other journalistic honors.  He is a member of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences Northwest Chapter Silver Circle for his work as a television professional.

Josephine Cheng is a 13-time Regional Emmy Award winning journalist who has reported and produced for major network affiliates in the Pacific Northwest, including KOMO-ABC, KING-NBC’s Evening Magazine, and KCTS-PBS. In 2020 Josephine won a Fulbright Specialist Award to teach journalism in China, though due to the COVID pandemic, plans are on hold. Josephine owns a media company specializing in public & media relations, video production, interviews, and writing for corporate, nonprofit, and government entities.

Taryn Little is the Director of Recruiting at Zillow.

Shauna Cour is the Vice President, Employer Sales at Ovia Health.

Steve Scher is a journalist at Town Hall Seattle.

Marissa Nall covers aerospace, manufacturing, and sports business at the Puget Sound Business Journal.