Live 2024: Dallas

Kimberly Ardo-Eisenbeis currently holds the role of Regional Director, Human Resources for Allied Universal, a global security solutions provider with more than 800,000 employees internationally working in more than 90 countries.  As an organization, Allied’s purpose is to “There for You,” serving and safeguarding customers, communities, and people around the world.  She utilizes her passion to develop others to provide HR leadership support to over 30,000 employees and leaders within the Central Region to fully live out that purpose.

Prior to joining Allied Universal in early 2021, Kimberly has held HR leadership roles with leading retail and logistic organizations such as Blockbuster Entertainment, Federated Department Stores, The Home Depot, and Core-Mark International over her 25+ year career.

Kimberly holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial sociology from Florida Atlantic University with a focus on Human Resources.  She also earned a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, during which she became a Situational Leadership Trainer from the Center for Leadership Studies.  Interestingly, she also has spent time as a Certified Addictions Counselor coupled with her HR experience to give back to those who suffer from the disease of addiction.  She lives in Fort Worth with her husband Chris, her 10-year-old son Zachariah, and their family dogs.

Jennifer Chopelas has more than 17 years of experience in Human Resources Management, and for the past 7 years has been an HR Business Partner at Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator. Jennifer has a demonstrated history of success in the entertainment industry, as she began this chapter of her career supporting a single site and today her remit has grown to include dozens of attractions, a new theme park and multiple iconic brands across the country.
 
Jennifer currently sits on multiple committees that speak to her specific passions, including Learning & Development and Diversity & Inclusion. She is passionate about building strong, cohesive teams by investing in training and employee engagement activities, as well as elevating diversity and inclusion programs to ensure a supportive workplace environment for all. Jennifer leads with conviction, and always gets a genuine thrill when a team member reaches a new goal or progresses in their career.
 
When she’s not working, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her son Adler, as they look for their next adventure in camping or a new roller coaster to try!

Mark Benton is Vice President, HR Corporate Functions with McKesson Corporation. In this role, he partners with executive leaders to identify simple, yet effective ways to implement talent strategies that accelerate employee development and drive engagement and culture within the organization. With over 28 years in the HR/Talent space, Mark has a reputation of balancing straight talk with humor and empathy and has used this approach to partner with hundreds of leaders at all levels, across multiple industries and geographies to successfully link business strategy to people-focused solutions.

Outside of his day job, Mark spends time as an executive coach and public speaker where he engages leaders in meaningful dialogue around lead on purpose™, his framework for impactful leadership. Mark lives in McKinney, Texas with his wife and their two sons.

Dennie Laney is the VP of Human Resources at Associa, which provides community-management services and resources for more than 7.5 million homeowners. The Dallas-based company has more than 15,000 employees in 300 branch offices. Dennie earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Western Michigan University.

Kalisha Holland is the chief diversity and inclusion officer at BNSF Railway, as well as the company’s general director of talent acquisition. In this role, Kalisha leads company-wide initiatives to successfully attract, engage, develop and retain a diverse workforce, thereby fostering inclusion, equity and a sense of belonging across BNSF.
Kalisha has been with BNSF for over 20 years and has held numerous roles in Topeka, St. Paul, and Fort Worth in Accounting/Finance, Technology, Marketing and Operations. Kalisha has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from Ottawa University, an MBA from Washburn University and a master’s degree in Management Information Systems from Friends University. 
Kalisha is a member of the National Association of Railway Business Women, a group dedicated to growing women leaders in the railroad industry, serves on boards for the JPS Foundation and Girls Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains. She is a graduate of Leadership Fort Worth (Texas) Leadership Class 2020 and an alum of Leadership Greater Topeka (Kansas). Ms. Holland’s professional membership also includes the National Black MBA Association and the National Association of Black Accountants. Her community service contributions include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Salvation Army Angel Tree and Tarrant Area Food Bank. She is also a member of The Links, Jack and Jill of America Inc., and The Society. 

Stacey Marx  is the Senior Vice President of Total Rewards & HR Technology for AT&T, the telecommunications giant with about 150,000 employees worldwide. In her nearly 27-year tenure with AT&T, she has served in many leadership roles, including president of AT&T National Business and Channels. Previously, she worked for Chevron and Times Mirror Magazines. She earned a BS degree in business and commerce from Arizona State University and an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.

Treasa Bowers is the Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer for 7‑Eleven, Inc. She leads 7‑Eleven’s talent strategy including talent acquisition, talent management, training and development, total rewards, and employee relations.

Treasa began her 7‑Eleven career in 1983 as an Operations Management Trainee. She went on to hold multiple roles over the last three decades and most recently served as the Vice President of Human Resources and Women’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. In 2020, Treasa was named 7‑Eleven’s first Chief Diversity Officer. Prior to joining 7‑Eleven, Inc., Treasa pursued a career in banking and finance with First Interstate Bank.

Treasa has been awarded SEI’s Ship Shape Award (1993), Division Staff Person of the Year (1994), and Human Resources Excellence Award (2013). She has also been recognized as Convenience Store News’ Mentor of the Year and one of the Top Women in Convenience in 2017. She currently serves on multiple non-profit boards including CSN’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board, Scholarship America, and Global Leadership Enhancement and Mentoring Network.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Kennedy-Western University and lives in Frisco with her husband, Tony, and their son, Jared.

Greg Miller has over 35 years of Human Resources experience. Most recently, he joined AccentCare in 2020 with responsibilities for the HR field, talent management & learning, DEI & employee relations. Prior to AccentCare, Greg has been with: USPI/Tenet in 2013-2020 with responsibility for talent management (recruiting, learning & development, talent planning, organizational development, compensation, as well as HR generalist responsibility). Aflac, as Chief Learning Officer with responsibility for learning and organizational development functions. Concentra/Humana & Alliance Data as Vice-President of Talent Management responsible for talent acquisition, learning & development, onboarding, organizational effectiveness, and employee engagement. Prior to Alliance Data, Greg was a partner at Leadership Research Institute (LRI). At LRI, Greg consulted across a wide range of talent management areas. Prior to joining LRI, Greg was a Professor of Communication at San Diego State. Greg received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon, MA, from San Diego State, and his Ph.D. from the Annenberg School of Communication at The University of Southern California.

Will Maddox is the senior writer for D CEO magazine and the editor of D CEO Healthcare. He's written about healthcare fraud, Texas’ slow march toward marijuana legalization, and the future of healthcare in North Texas.

Brie Harvey is a talent management leader and digital strategist who writes and speaks about trends within Human Capital Management and the future of work.

Having served in a variety of leadership roles for HR Technology companies over the last decade, she brings expert level knowledge of Total Rewards, L&D, talent acquisition, and how to cultivate workplace cultures that transform employee engagement and the Employee Value Proposition.

Passionate about the intersection between behavioral science, managerial effectiveness and technology, Brie has partnered with some of the world’s largest, most complex organizations to build high performance cultures centered around authentic appreciation, trust and inclusion.

In her role as an Employee Engagement Evangelist, Brie works with the research arm of Achievers, the Workforce Institute, to share data-based insights about how to enhance employee engagement and recognition strategies for a pandemic-era workplace.

Elena is a market strategy and product growth leader who is passionate about delivering quality, high-engagement and equitable digital health solutions to the market. She is responsible for all new and existing client growth, marketing, and product collaborations at First Stop Health.

Elena has worked in and held leadership positions in employee-focused digital healthcare since 2014, with experience in operations management, product and business development at Compass Professional Health Services (now Alight Solutions) and digital health venture as a former Rock Health Research Fellow and Flare Capital Academic Scholar. Elena has also supported growth, financing strategy, and new market research for several leading digital health entities, investment firms and clinical providers as an independent consultant.

Elena has earned a BS in Spanish, Biology and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA and Business Analytics Certificate from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and an MPH in Health Policy and Management from University of California, Berkeley.

Will Anderson is editor in chief of Dallas Business Journal, overseeing a newsroom reporting on one of the most dynamic economies in the country. He leads a staff of about a dozen covering business, real estate, finance and much more in the nation’s fourth-largest — and soon to be third-largest — metro. He previously spent more than seven years at Austin Business Journal, a sister publication.

Amit Sharma is the Executive Director of Talent & Career Development Experience, HR, at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he has worked for 12 years. Previously, he was a VP in leadership and management development at HSBC, and earlier the head of centralized operations and underwriting at GE Money. He has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from Delhi University. 

Paul directed the work of an award-winning staff covering business news at the Dallas Morning News for the last nine years. Before that, his four-decade career in newsrooms included serving as editor-in-chief of the Dallas Business Journal; business editor and deputy metro editor at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and executive editor and managing editor at the News-Herald in Ohio. In August, he’ll join the journalism faculty at Texas A&M University.

Richard brings an extensive background in executive coaching, human resources and talent acquisition along with a well-developed ability to translate customer needs into value-added solutions. He has worked with clients such as The Atlanta Hawks, Cox, Serta Simmons Bedding, Georgia Power and SunTrust Banks. Over the course of his work history, Mr. Smith has been recognized for his perceptive listening skills and for being a creative problem solver with a bias for action. Before founding Benton+Bradford Consulting, Mr. Smith was with the Terex Corporation as the Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion. At Terex he is responsible for coaching executives and advancing the global diversity and inclusion effort for this $9 billion heavy equipment manufacturer with over 16,000 employees in 22 countries. Prior to the Terex Corporation, Mr. Smith was the Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition for the South Business Unit for Wal-Mart. His area drove the talent acquisition strategy for nearly 1,200 stores in eight states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas representing $85 billion and 450,000 associates. Mr. Smith was also Vice President and Principal Consultant with Roosevelt Thomas Consulting and Training where he consulted with Fortune 500 companies to develop diversity strategies, training initiatives and coaching efforts to assist companies in developing a capability to address an increasingly complex and diverse environment. Mr. Smith was also an Associate Partner for Bell Oaks Executive Search where he worked with senior executives to acquire talent to advance strategic objectives. He also spent 11 years with INROADS, a leading international organization for Human Resources Development. As Regional Director of Operations in the state of Florida, he led a team of human resources professionals that resolved employee relations issues, identified career paths, coached staff and clients as well as developed training to increase business performance.

Mr. Smith has been a featured speaker to several organizations including Technology Association of Georgia, SHRM Georgia, Société Générale, Norfolk Southern Diversity Council's Fall Brunch & Learn, SHRM Atlanta, NAAAHR, Kettering Group, Mulling Corporation, National Black MBA Association and the National Society of Public Relations Professionals, and has been a guest on WGKA-AM's The Career Doctors with Craig Allen, Business Radio X’s Professional Atlanta with Andrew Dietz and FifthCity Podcast on culture, business performance and DEI.

In Atlanta, Mr. Smith is an active member of the Board of Directors for SHRM Atlanta and the Atlanta Tip Off which awards the prestigious Naismith award to the best college and high school players in the country. He was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors for Technology Association of Georgia Diversity Society, and a former board member of VOX ATL.
Mr. Smith graduated from The Bolles School, Jacksonville, FL and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Florida. He also holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Development from Webster University, St. Louis, MO. He resides in Johns Creek, GA. He enjoys jazz music, amateur golf and spending time with family.

Sarah began her career in Human Resources at companies like SiriusXM, Coach, and Gilt Groupe before transitioning to the role of Head of Sales at Gilt City—the company’s luxury lifestyle experiences arm. In this role, Sarah ran a 65-person sales team, managed $60 million in yearly revenue, and expanded the brand to top cities across the U.S. It was there that she identified the direct correlation between culture and the bottom line—when employees failed to address their issues with colleagues and managers, revenue suffered.

Before co-founding Bravely, Sarah launched an EdTech company (accepted into the acclaimed 500 Startups accelerator) that helped educate kids on the importance of environmental and wildlife conservation.
Sarah’s experience in HR, team management, and tech—combined with an ongoing obsession with helping people gain the confidence they need to find meaning in their work—inspired her to co-found Bravely in 2017.

Lauren Crawford joined the CBS News Texas team in July of 2023. Born in Fort Worth and raised in Keller, she is thrilled to be home and telling stories that make a difference in the community. She's a sixth-generation Texan and a third-generation TCU Horned Frog!

Before returning to the Lone Star State, Lauren was a morning reporter and anchor for WGHP FOX8 in North Carolina. She spent two years in the Piedmont Triad covering breaking news, hurricanes, wildfires, environmental disasters, crime, and politics. Lauren covered the deadly Mount Tabor High School shooting in 2021. She felt the devastation across the community and became passionate about reporting on school security enhancements made across the state. She also covered the Winston Weaver fertilizer fire and chemical explosion threat which forced evacuations across the city of Winston Salem. 

Lauren began her on-air career at WBTW News13 in South Carolina. In August 2019, her first big assignment was Hurricane Dorian then Hurricane Isaias. That's when she found a passion for local news and saw an opportunity to make a difference in the community through reporting. 

Lauren loves the adrenaline that comes with breaking news. She strives to dig deep into stories that have an impact on viewers while creating a relationship that connects, informs, inspires, and motivates people to know what's happening in their community. 

She's also an avid sports fan. At TCU, she worked closely with TCU Football and loved interviewing recruits during summer football camp. After having watched the Horned Frogs on the screen the last four seasons, she's ready to be back inside the Amon G. Carter Stadium in the fall. 

When she's off-air, you can find her at the airport heading on an adventure, running on a trail, trying a new Tex-Mex restaurant, or volunteering. Lauren is passionate about giving back and excited to get involved in the Dallas/Fort Worth community. 

One of Lauren's favorite quotes is, "Your greatness is not what you have, it's what you give."

As the Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Keystone Partners, Tim is responsible for the overall performance of the firm’s sales and marketing initiatives, alignment with the business strategy, and the expansion of Keystone into new markets nationwide and globally.

Tim has over 25 years of expertise spanning across global sales, marketing, client success, and revenue operations. Tim brings a track record of success and expertise in revenue growth, market expansion, and change execution across the teams he’s led with Fortune 100, global enterprise, mid-market, and startup SaaS companies. Tim excels at building and optimizing go-to-market teams and strategies to drive and sustain growth. Over the past 12 years Tim has worked with numerous HR executives on their people and leadership strategies, including employee engagement and performance strategies. Tim has held leadership positions at UPS, Tiffany & Co., O.C. Tanner, Inspire Software, and Reward Gateway; he has also served on the Advisory Board for HR.Com, contributing thought leadership in HR leadership practices. Outside of work, Tim enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and tennis, skiing, hiking, and rooting for his kids’ college sports teams.

Shawna is responsible for successfully managing and fostering current and prospective client relationships, ensuring proper and consistent delivery of holistic development strategies. Nothing thrills her more than to work with clients, helping companies and individuals excel, grow, and develop. Her warm, engaging style, combined with her quick intellect and understanding of psychological processes, organizational effectiveness, and dynamics have made her a highly sought-after consultant.

She strives to be an authentic leader with a strong commitment to mentoring, promoting collaboration, and developing new approaches that are built on credibility, creativity, ethics, and knowledge. Previously, she held Board positions with the Mile High Society for HR Management (MH-SHRM) and the Executive Advisory Council of the Association for Talent Development, Rocky Mountain Chapter. Shawna is a writer for the ColoradoBiz Magazine, Training Industry, and serves as an Advisor on the Corporationʼs Advisory Board with Merritt Trailers, Inc. 

Kaanji Irby is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Signet Jewelers.  She is an attorney, an inclusion and belonging strategist, emotional intelligence practitioner, and an executive coach.  Prior to joining Signet, Kaanji was the Head of Inclusion and Social Impact at NEXT Insurance, an online insurance provider headquartered in the Bay Area. Kaanji began her legal career as an associate in the New York offices of Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP and DLA Piper before moving to an in-house compliance and litigation roles at Bank of America and Beal Bank in Plano, TX.

She received her Bachelor’s of Science in International Affairs and Spanish from Georgetown University and her J.D. from Cardozo School of Law.  Kaanji lives in Frisco, TX with her husband and son.

Hope is a seasoned professional serving as the Global Lead, Client Relationships at AceUp, bringing a wealth of experience to driving strategic initiatives that propel the company forward. In her pivotal role, she spearheads key initiatives aimed at expanding AceUp’s impact within clients, orchestrating comprehensive strategies that foster transformation and drive tangible results.

With a sharp focus on identifying growth opportunities, Hope excels in developing and nurturing long-term programs that deliver sustainable growth and outcomes for businesses. Her innate ability to spot opportunities for transformation and her dedication to driving impactful change makes her an invaluable asset to AceUp and its clients.

At AceUp, Hope collaborates closely with organizations to unlock the full potential of their people. Leading her team, she specializes in providing hyper-personalized experiences for leadership coaching and team coaching, leveraging AceUp’s AI-powered solutions to impact organizations at scale. Her passion lies in supporting and developing people, both professionally and personally, fostering transformational change in their lives and in the workplace.

Beyond her professional commitments, Hope finds joy in spending time with her family and friends.  She finds solace in nurturing her garden and enjoys engaging in creative DIY projects.

Christine is the editor of D CEO magazine and its online platforms. She’s a national award-winning business journalist who has covered the DFW region since 2000. She grew up in northern Michigan, has an identical twin sister, and two sons. Now a downtown Dallas denizen, she went car-free in 2018.

As a Member of the Executive Board at Top Employers Institute, Adrian Seligman is fanatical about
driving business results through a winning combination of People and Strategy. His career has been
focused on assisting companies and executives to develop their HR maturity, and he is now
responsible for the healthy growth of the Top Employers Institute Certification Programme
worldwide. He is particularly passionate about performance, development, and growth, and finds
that one of life’s greatest rewards is watching the ripple effect of great leadership across an
organisation.
Being part of a purpose-led company that stands for building ‘a better world of work’, Adrian is
driven by the challenge of bringing that purpose front and centre to the working lives of all
employees in the business. This challenge is yet to be fully resolved, and never has it been more
important for all organisations to strive for in today’s pandemic-affected environment.
Outside of work Adrian is married with two young kids, and lives in the UK. In between work and
family life, he is a keen motorcyclist and was delighted to discover that recent studies prove that
motorcycling has the same benefits as light exercise and meditation combined – something he long
suspected!

Rob has over a decade of leadership and team development expertise and is known for driving organizational success through strategic initiatives and innovative solutions. His tenure at Birkman has been marked by successfully aligning Fortune 100 companies with tailored Birkman products and services, enhancing their team dynamics and performance. Rob's commitment to fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation is evident from his roles
leading a disaster response team during Hurricane Harvey and serving on governance boards in Texas. His hands-on approach and deep understanding of organizational development have made him a respected thought leader in optimizing individual and team performance.

Michelle Johnson Howard is currently the Diversity & Inclusion Director at Vizient, Inc. where she shares her passion for building relationships and supporting individuals in their personal and professional lives. Michelle has her D&I certification from Cornell, is a qualified IDI administrator, master trainer, and a certified Emotional Intelligence trainer. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with degrees in Computer Information Systems and Business Technology.

As a master facilitator she uses her ability to encourage and inspire people and is highly respected and sought out by many for her DEI, effective communication, and leadership development skills. As a DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) practitioner, she uses her expertise and tenure to create psychologically safe environments.

Michelle currently resides in Mansfield TX, and is a proud New Orleans native, the oldest of nine children, a wife, and a mother of 4 (ages 4,17, 20, and 22).

She believes her responsibility is to be a resource for others, whether it’s leadership, D&I, L&D, or organizational development. Her 20 years of experience in corporate America has aided her in providing wise counsel and identifying strategic goals to support and implement positive and effective change.

Eric Walker serves as Managing Director for Harvard Group International (HGI) and brings over 25 years of global experience in the field of Human Resources. He has a history of driving organizational strategy with human capital solutions, spearheading numerous business transformations, implementing major reorganizations, and driving large-scale culture initiatives for some of the world’s leading companies. These experiences as an effective change champion and dynamic leader of global teams, as well as a trusted advisor to C-Suite executives, have proven invaluable in advising HGI clients on their strategic workforce planning needs. 

Prior to joining HGI, Eric was a global HR executive with experience in several industries, including manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, high-end luxury vehicles, and aerospace. He has worked for several fortune 100 companies such as General Danaher, General Electric (GE) and General Motors Corporation (GM). Throughout his career, Eric has been relentless with building inclusive and high performing cultures. His passion for DE&I and ensuring all employees feel a sense of belonging while providing counsel to companies on the value of diversity are a fine compliment to HGI’s Diversity Recruiting Practice, strengthening HGI’s capabilities. 

Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from Wright State University as well as an MBA from Benedictine College. In addition, he is a Certified Change Management Practitioner and holds a DE&I Certificate from Cornell ILR School. He resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Tawnya, and they enjoy playing golf, entertaining friends and family, and attending various cultural events.