Maral Kazanjian is the Chief People Officer of Moody’s Corporation – she is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team. In this role, Ms. Kazanjian is primarily responsible for setting and overseeing the execution of the Company's strategy to attract, grow, and retain extraordinary talent in service of our business. 

Ms. Kazanjian previously served as Chief People Officer for WeWork, where she led the People team and oversaw talent-related strategies, operations and workforce planning for 4,000 employees, in over 30 countries globally. From 2019 to 2021, Ms. Kazanjian held various people leadership roles at WeWork, leading into her role as Chief People Officer. Prior to that, Ms. Kazanjian worked at Moody’s for 11 years, in the Human Resources and Legal organizations, overseeing the Employment Law and Employee Relations teams. 

Ms. Kazanjian holds a J.D. from the Rutgers School of Law-Newark and a B.A. in government and psychology from Georgetown University.

Charles Abramo currently serves as Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner Function for Delaware North. In this role, Mr. Abramo is responsible for leading Delaware North’s HR Business Partner organization, Employee Relations, HR Shared Services, HR Operations, HR M&A activity, HR communications, and HR Help Desk. Prior to this role, he has help HR Leadership roles with Whole Foods Market, Crate & Barrel, and Gap Inc. Active in his community, he has mentored students in HR programs, been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities, and previously sitting on the board of PASCO, a nonprofit organization focused on providing leadership and HR education to small businesses. Abramo has graduated from the Stagen Executive Leadership Academy and holds a M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and a B.A. in Communications from Niagara University. He is active in many HR, Leadership, and Business communities.

Lydia Dishman is Fast Company’s senior editor for growth and engagement. She has also written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others.

Derek Gordon is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Colgate Palmolive. Derek has held this position since June 2015. Prior to their current role, Derek was the VP/GM US Homecare at Colgate-Palmolive from October 2012 to June 2015. In this role, they were responsible for business strategy, building demand and delivering P&L for the Colgate Home Care businesses. Before Colgate-Palmolive, Derek was the President North America at Armored AutoGroup Inc from November 2010 to January 2012. At AAG, they led strategy, plans, execution and P&L responsibility for the US and Canada. Derek also led the effort to establish AAG as a standalone organization and transition off Clorox support, driving coordination between functions including IT for SAP go-live, Sales with customer agreements and Supply for establishment of an entirely new logistics network. Additionally, Derek drove the development of an aggressive innovation plan, adding new items in year one and tripling the value of the pipeline for '12.

Derek's other experience includes being the VP General Manager Brita and Automotive (Armor All/STP) at Clorox Co from May 1994 to November 2010 and a Brand Manager at P&G from June 1989 to May 1994. Derek Gordon has a MBA in Marketing from University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business and a BS in Gen Mgt from University of Wyoming.

Brent Vader is the Vice President, Human Resources at Verizon.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Cara Stein is Chief Talent Officer and Senior Vice President for NBCUniversal, a newly created position that she was appointed to in June 2011. She is responsible for talent management, including hiring staff, executive development. Since joining the company, she has been a trailblazer in how the company hires, trains and retains talent throughout NBCUniversal.

Stein and team have developed a series of unique leadership experiences for executives at all levels of the company. Under Stein’s leadership, the NBCUniversal Talent Lab was created with the purpose of creating a more strategic, well-informed and engaged workforce. She has also modernized the traditional employee survey and performance feedback process at the company. Stein’s currently re-imagining the early career development programs, including the premier Page Program, NBCUniversal’s longest running franchise. Stein is currently working on a company-wide initiative to maintain and nurture an inclusive environment for women across the entire NBCUniversal Portfolio.

Stein spearheads the NBCUniversal women’s initiative, HERE SHE CAN, focused on respect, equity and opportunity for women at all stages of their career at NBCUniversal.

Prior to her work at NBCUniversal, Stein served as partner and television packaging agent at WME, a worldwide leader in the talent representation industry. Stein represented numerous well-known writers and producers for both late night and prime time television series. She also represented actors who built their own production companies, most notably Whoopi Goldberg. Stein also oversaw operations and human resources for the WME New York office during her 25 years at WME and its predecessor, the William Morris Agency, which represented some of the most well-known entertainers of the 20th century. Stein served on the Board of Directors at WMA and subsequently was a senior partner at WME.

Widely known and highly regarded for identifying talent and developing careers, Stein has been named by The Hollywood Reporterin itsWomen in Entertainment Power 100.

Born and raised in Huntington, N.Y., Steinis a graduate of Grinnell College, and she is married to Dr. Barry Rosenfeld, a forensic psychologist and professor at Fordham University. They reside in Manhattan with their three daughters; Jane, Kate, and Anna.

Morgan Bass Roper is thrilled to be on BNY Mellon’s Belonging & Inclusion team as Director, Head of Strategic Programs, Office of Belonging & Inclusion working to support the organization in living out its strategic pillars of Be More for Our Clients, Run our Company Better and her personal favorite, Power Our Culture. In her role, Morgan oversees the strategic alignment to Belonging & Inclusion strategy of BNY Mellon’s six Employee & Business Resource Groups, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-centered employee learning, external leadership development programming for underrepresented talent and global, enterprise-wide Community Impact initiatives in partnership with Corporate Philanthropy, connecting colleagues to signature volunteer opportunities with philanthropic partners. She and her team ideate, develop and implement data-inspired programming and initiatives that foster a company culture of inclusion and seek to create for employees a sense of belonging.

Lukeisha Paul is the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for GroupM US. She leads the company in creating and executing initiatives that champion diversity, promote inclusivity, and are purposeful in providing equitable opportunities to all employees. She serves as GroupM’s representative on WPP’s DEI Advisory Group, 4A’s Foundation Board member, Founding Board member of BRIDGE, and AdClub of New York’s steering committee for diversity and inclusion.
Lukeisha has a passion for people – namely their growth, development, advocacy, and most importantly, equity. At GroupM US, she created the GroupM Media Externship Program, a 10-week program providing media career training to diverse communities, which has led to job placement across GroupM and a wider diverse candidate pool for the industry. She also created GroupM’s Career Advocacy program helping mid-level people of color develop and pursue clear career paths of advancement. She actively mentors professionals across backgrounds and is committed to being an ally to others, including gaining certification as a #IamRemarkable facilitator, empowering women, and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond. As a certified ERG (Employee Resource Group) leader, Lukeisha oversees an ERG ecosystem across multiple companies and various diverse dimensions including Different Abilities, LGBTQIA+, People them a confidential space to be heard and directing them to professional help and support.
Lukeisha began her career in media at Saatchi & Saatchi, and in previous roles has worked with Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediaCom and GroupM overseeing publishing across luxury, pharma, retail, CPG, QSR, and finance accounts. 

Lukeisha’s passion for her work in media and DEI has made her a sought-after speaker and garnered her industry recognition: 
2022 - Ad Club of NY Rockstar Award, Cynopsis Top Women in Media
2021 - ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards Juror, LCW Culture Moment Podcast: Global Lessons in DEI Guest Speaker, The Inclusion Works Podcast Guest Speaker
2020 - Hive Learning’s Most Influential D&I NA Leaders, AEF Talent Champion, Adweek Executive Mentor, Hive Learning Panelist on Race, Diversity & Fueling Lasting Change at Work, Advertising & Society Quarterly Journal Roundtable: Equity & Inclusion Matters  
2019 - Advertising Week of NY Presenter “Bringing Equity to Light”, 4As Decisions 20/20 Panelist on DEI
2018 - Ad Club of NY President’s Award

Rose Fass is the founder and Chair of fassforward Consulting Group, a leading-edge business transformation firm. Rose works with executive teams from Fortune 500 companies. She is the trusted advisor to Mastercard, Verizon, Chick-fil-A, and more. Her work delivers thought leadership, methodologies, and tools to tackle challenging issues, solve complex business problems, execute strategies, and achieve tangible results. A dynamic speaker, Rose is frequently invited to speak at private and public sector events. She has been a guest on CNBC, and quoted in several bestselling business books. She is the author of The Chocolate Conversation: Lead Bittersweet Change, Transform Your Business, and The Leadership Conversation: Make Bold Change, One Conversation At A Time. Rose has been awarded the Great Companies & International Entrepreneurship Award 2024, featured in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women of 2022 and Entrepreneur 100 Women of Influence in Westchester. She is also listed in Forbes; 2012, Top 10 Women Business Leaders of New York.

Heather Tinsley-Fix is a Senior Advisor at AARP, where she leads the organization’s work on employer engagement and helps drive AARP’s focus on providing workers 50+ with the tools they need to thrive in today’s work environment.  With a background in marketing, innovation, and program management, Heather works with employers and job seekers, external partners, and academics to provide thought leadership on 50+ labor market issues and create practical resources that enable employers to build age-inclusive organizations that capitalize on the value of experience.  She holds a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Literary Theory, both from the University of Exeter.

Alyson Watson is the founder and CEO of Modern Health, a mental health benefits platform for employers. We are the first global mental health solution to offer employees access to one-on-one, group, and self-serve digital resources for their emotional, professional, social, financial, and physical well-being needs—all within a single platform. Whether someone wants to proactively manage stress or treat depression, Modern Health guides people to the right care at the right time. We empower companies to help all their employees be the best version of themselves and believe in meeting people wherever they are in their mental health journey. We are backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, John Doerr, Y Combinator, and Battery Ventures and partner with global companies like Lyft, Electronic Arts, Pixar, Clif Bar, Okta, and Udemy that are taking a proactive approach to mental health care for their employees. Modern Health has raised more than $170 million in less than two years with a valuation of $1.17 billion, making Modern Health the fastest entirely female-founded company in the U.S. to reach unicorn status. Prior to starting Modern Health, Alyson held leadership roles, including health industry strategy consulting at PwC, healthy behavior change management at Keas (acquired by Welltok), and partner point solution integrations at Collective Health. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in global environmental change and sustainability. Alyson has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40 lists.

Matthew Legere has been a Senior Vice President with Brown & Brown for the last 11 years and has 25 years of experience with employee benefits.  In his current role, he leads both the Manhattan, NYC office and Parsippany, NJ office for Brown & Brown, as well as serving as a senior Employee Benefits leader in the Boston area for Brown & Brown. 

He manages a team of over 20 leaders and consultants across the New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts area for Brown & Brown and believes that life is all about relationships.  As an Employee Benefits leader, he helps his teams and clients design innovative solutions that drive engagement, cost containment, and strategic innovation. 

Prior to his consulting experience (which started with Mercer), he spent 11 years working for insurance carriers (CIGNA, Aetna, and UHC) in a variety of roles including claims management, data analytics, underwriting, procurement, and operations. 

Matthew is also very passionate about making sure that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts move from buzzword to action.  He is a Senior Leader with Brown & Brown’s LGBT Teammate Resource Group.  He also leads a monthly meeting design to talk about how to incorporate DEIB into our daily lives as HR, Compensation, Recruiting, and Total Rewards leaders.

Matthew feels that he has been put on the planet to encourage people and his favorite phrase to say is “we got this!”.  He believes that a good benefits consultant should have the heart of a teacher and be in the trenches to “do life together” with their clients.

Melissa Fridman is an SVP, Head of People for North America and Global MS&A for VISA. Melissa joined VISA in September 2022 and in her role she acts as a strategic thought partner to VISA’s Regional President for NA and Global Head of MS&A and their organizations. She is  responsible for creating and delivering a strategic People plan in line with business priorities, with an integrated approach to regional/functional organizational effectiveness, talent acquisition, talent management, learning, development, Inclusion & Diversity, and all People processes with the goal of helping the business to drive their desired results.  

Melissa brings over 20 years of HR experience within financial services having worked at Deutsche Bank Securities for the past 15 years and Bloomberg, L.P. prior to that. During her career Melissa has advised and coached global business leadership teams through change and transformation. Her broad experience includes recruiting, compensation, talent management, employee relations, organizational design, shared services, strategic people support and leadership of global HR teams. 

Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Union College, and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University. When not at work, you can find Melissa traveling, spending time with her 12-year-old boy/girl twins or running on her Peloton tread.

Marcus is the Lead Solutions Engineer for North America at Clinch, having joined the organization as a Software Developer almost 10 years ago in Melbourne Australia. He works closely with the customer and sales teams across multiple industries to help bring talent best practices to life. An avid rock climber and gaming enthusiast, he's currently based in NYC and after 5 years in the US still thinks of the weather in Celsius.

With more than 20 years of experience guiding organizations toward workplace inclusion, Teresa Hopke brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on the importance of establishing cultures of belonging where everyone can thrive. Her unique, trusted, and proven insights on employee wellbeing, women's leadership development, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) make her an incredibly valuable resource as Talking Talent’s CEO and as a partner to her coaching clients. ​

​Teresa’s career has been focused on building up others in order to achieve the best results, both for the individual and the teams they work with. Her innovative ideas and determination to see real change are the reasons for her success over the last two decades.  She is a nationally recognized thought leader on the topic of inclusive leadership, and she has been featured in many top tier business publications and media outlets such as CNBC, the CBS Morning Show, NBC Nightly News, NPR, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, HR Magazine, Money Magazine, and others. ​

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As a mother of four, Teresa understands the needs of working parents and caregivers. She also continually advocates for people who are underserved, undervalued, and underestimated in the workplace.

As Director of Alumni and Employer Partnerships for General Assembly, I help companies accelerate and diversify their tech talent hiring at scale. We have the largest bootcamp community of alumni who we leverage for events, hiring, and more, and are amazing candidates for tech roles at all levels.

Joanne Mallia-Barsati is Vice President, Global Talent Management for Penguin Random House. A member of the Global Executive Committee and reporting directly into the Global CEO, Jo is responsible for continuing to advance Penguin Random House’s global talent management and development strategy. In addition, Jo oversees the Learning and Organizational Development function for the U.S. business.

With a pragmatic and collaborative approach, Jo and her team advise and support all aspects of talent management, learning, and organizational development in the U.S. and globally, delivering best-fit solutions for individuals, teams, and the organization. Jo is passionate about using coaching as a development tool and believes in the power of coaching skills in developing high-performing and empowered teams and cultures. As an accredited Associate Professional Coach with the International Coach Federation, Jo also works directly with talent internally to support them in reaching their goals and potential.

Jo joined Random House U.K. in 2011 to lead the Learning & Development function and moved to New York in 2014. Prior to that, Jo spent over 13 years honing her talent and learning expertise at the creative agency Leo Burnett, and The Walt Disney Company.

Anita Hossain Choudhry is the Co-founder and CEO of The Grand, a group coaching platform and community that helps leaders gain clarity, confidence and connection in both work and life. Anita is also an executive coach, previously with Reboot.io, supporting clients on their journeys to become the most effective and intentional leaders they can be. Prior to that, she was Head of Knowledge at First Round Capital, where she designed and launched hundreds of learning initiatives providing entrepreneurs and tech operators resources to stay motivated, accelerate their businesses, and build community. Before joining First Round, Anita was an Assistant Vice President at Deutsche Bank and managed multi-million dollar investment portfolios for Latin American clients. She also worked for MTV and Nickelodeon to create integrated marketing strategies and amplify their social impact initiatives. Anita graduated from Georgetown University and is an MBA graduate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she launched Wharton Storytellers, a community to connect and inspire through stories. The Grand is a culmination of her previous work experiences and inspired by her belief that everyone deserves group coaching and a supportive community.

Ahilya Wallia is Director of Business Development at SoFi, responsible for new client sales in the Northeast Region. In her role, she works alongside prospective clients in HR to design benefit programs. Together, Ahilya works with clients to build the business case, forecast program impact and support budget justification for student loan repayment and financial wellness programs. Prior to SoFi, Ahilya worked at an industry leading online learning startup, ExecOnline, as a high performing member of the sales team. Ahilya started her career as a grassroots organizer running large scale political campaign digital marketing and operations before shifting to the private sector. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Wellesley College.

Anthea Hoyle is the Managing Director, North America Lead at United Minds.

Ellyn Michalak is a Senior Principal at United Minds.

Jessi Hempel is the host of the award-winning podcast Hello Monday, and a senior editor-at-large at LinkedIn. For nearly two decades, she has been writing and editing features and cover stories for magazines including Wired, Fortune, and TIME about work, life, and meaning in the contemporary age. She has appeared on CNN, PBS, MSNBC, Fox, and CNBC, addressing the culture and business of technology. In 2022, she published The Family Outing, a literary memoir about her family’s transformation, with almost all of them embracing their queer identities. Hempel is a graduate of Brown University and received a master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and children.

Mekayla Castro is the Head of Curriculum at Praxis Labs. In this role, she has the privilege of leading a team of learning and behavioral scientists to develop immersive learning journeys that help people become more conscious DEI advocates. Mekayla is a social-organizational psychologist who’s leveraged her training and interests in DEI, coaching, teams, employee engagement, and talent development to further organizational development goals and objectives in various capacities. She’s been an educator, held both internal and external consulting roles, and most recently led a team of learning experience designers at BetterUp. At the core of her work is the desire to create equitable and inclusive workplaces that foster human flourishing. In addition to being a servant leader, she’s a wife, mother, and lover of all foods hot and spicy.

Abby Schneiderman is an entrepreneur, innovator and visionary leader with a passion for finding ways to use technology to make people’s lives better. Together with Adam Seifer, she is currently the co-founder and co-CEO of Everplans (Everplans.com), a life and legacy planning company dedicated to transforming the way people think ahead and get their families organized. Everplans is offered by hundreds of financial services companies, insurance providers, and employers across the country. As an industry expert in the areas of digital estate planning, technology and consumerism, Abby has been featured in numerous publications including the NYT, WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Huffington Post. Abby was named to Fast Company’s list of the most creative people in business in 2016 (https://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2016). Abby lives with her husband and two little girls in Washington, D.C.. Abby is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

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.

Emma Hinchliffe is a senior writer for Fortune, where she covers women in business and gender issues across business, politics, and culture. Emma is a co-author of the MPW Daily newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women and co-chair of the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. Before joining Fortune, she worked as a reporter for Mashable and the Houston Chronicle. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Jeanhee Kim is a freelance journalist and editor at Unchained. She has worked as an editor, producer and writer at CoinDesk, Crain's New York Business, Meredith Interactive, Oxygen Media and Money Magazine.

Chris Gambino is a seasoned leader in the Digital Health and Wellness Industries, currently serving as the Head of Operations and Strategy at Burnalong, a Tivity Health company. With over 10 years of industry experience, Chris has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth. In addition to his role at Burnalong, Chris brings extensive experience consulting and advising Executives, Founders, and HR Leaders in the digital health, wellness, and well-being space, helping them navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. His expertise in operations, strategy, business development, and strategic partnerships has been instrumental in shaping Burnalong's success and positioning the company as a leader in employee wellness and engagement. Chris also serves on the leadership team for a large men's fitness and wellness non-profit, further demonstrating his commitment to promoting health and well-being in communities.

Marie Carasco, Ph.D., GPHR, SHRM-SCP is an HR executive and culture transformation strategist known for her strength-based, solution focused and collaborative approaches to managing change. Currently the VP of Organization Development, Culture and Diversity at GitHub, a Microsoft company, Marie is also a part-time faculty member in New York University's Human Capital Management portfolio of graduate and executive programs. She is the Founder and Chief Social Scientist of Talent en Floré LLC, an executive coaching and organization change consulting practice based in New York. Marie holds a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Workforce Education and Development and her research lies at the intersection of leader development and identity work.